In disaster recovery planning, what does the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) specify?

In disaster recovery planning, what does the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) specify?

• A. The maximum acceptable downtime for a service.
• B. The maximum tolerable data loss.
• C. The frequency of backups.
• D. The budget for recovery efforts.

Answer: (A)

RTO is the target time within which a service must be back online after a disruption to avoid unacceptable business impact. It defines the maximum downtime permitted, which is why the statement about the maximum acceptable downtime is the best description. The other concept, RPO, covers how much data loss is tolerable and is about data freshness rather than how long the system can be down. Backup frequency relates to how often data is saved, which influences recovery capabilities but does not set the recovery time window. Budget for recovery efforts is a planning consideration, not the time limit for restoration.

RTO is the target time within which a service must be back online after a disruption to avoid unacceptable business impact. It defines the maximum downtime permitted, which is why the statement about the maximum acceptable downtime is the best description. The other concept, RPO, covers how much data loss is tolerable and is about data freshness rather than how long the system can be down. Backup frequency relates to how often data is saved, which influences recovery capabilities but does not set the recovery time window. Budget for recovery efforts is a planning consideration, not the time limit for restoration.