Selecting a Disaster Recovery Site Type for Segregated Fault Domains
Short answer
C The customer must select an identical infrastructure facility ready to provide service to meet the requirements for segregated fault domains and low human intervention during disaster recovery.
Question
• fully segregated Layer 2 and 3 fault domains
• low or no human intervention for service restoration
• medium to high RPO/RTO for a subset of applications
• asynchronous storage replication for application data
Which disaster recovery solution must the customer select to meet these requirements?
Key Takeaways
The key is distinguishing between 'stretched' (shared L2) and 'segregated' (separate L2/L3) domains, and matching 'low human intervention' to a pre-provisioned 'ready' site rather than a cold or partially equipped one.
This question tests knowledge of Disaster Recovery site types, specifically identifying why an identical, ready-to-use facility is required for low-intervention failover.
Common mistake: Candidates may choose Option A because 'mirrored' implies data protection, but 'fully stretched' resources violate the explicit requirement for 'fully segregated Layer 2 and 3 fault domains'.
Expert Analysis
The question describes a Disaster Recovery (DR) site that requires low or no human intervention for service restoration. This is the critical discriminator. Let's evaluate the options based on standard DR site definitions:
- Option A (Mirrored inactive infrastructure with fully stretched resources): "Fully stretched" Layer 2 domains imply the same VLANs extend across sites. The prompt explicitly requires fully segregated Layer 2 and 3 fault domains. Therefore, this option violates a core constraint.
- Option B (Cold infrastructure facility with basic infrastructure): A cold site has only power, cooling, and space. It requires significant manual setup of hardware, software, and configuration before services can be restored. This contradicts the requirement for low or no human intervention.
- Option D (Partially equipped infrastructure facility for on-demand activation): This describes a warm site, but the term "partially equipped" suggests missing components that need to be procured or installed during activation. While faster than a cold site, it still typically requires more human intervention than a fully pre-provisioned site. Furthermore, "on-demand activation" often implies a manual trigger and setup process.
- Option C (Identical infrastructure facility ready to provide service): An "identical" and "ready" facility implies a hot site or a fully provisioned warm site where all hardware, software, and configurations are mirrored and pre-tested. Because it is "ready," failover can occur with minimal human intervention. It supports segregated fault domains (as it is a separate physical/logical entity) and handles asynchronous replication (which does not require real-time stretching). This best meets the combination of segregation, readiness, and automation requirements.
The most attractive wrong answer is likely A, because "mirrored" sounds like high availability, but it fails the "segregated fault domain" test due to the "stretched" requirement. Another potential trap is D, which might seem sufficient for "acceptable level of service," but "partially equipped" introduces latency and manual effort that violates the "low/no human intervention" clause compared to C.
Exam Strategy
When evaluating DR options, always cross-reference the 'intervention level' with the site state. 'Low/No intervention' mandates a hot or fully provisioned warm site (ready infrastructure), eliminating cold or partially equipped sites. Additionally, check for specific network constraints like 'segregated' vs. 'stretched' domains; 'stretched' L2 is incompatible with 'segregated' L2 requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a cold, warm, and hot DR site?
Why can't we use a 'stretched' Layer 2 domain for disaster recovery?
Community Votes
34% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Discussion 3 contributions
Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.
From public community threads 3
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garza_javi 👍 1 Answered CThe requirements describe a warm standby disaster recovery (DR) site with infrastructure already deployed and configured, ready to take over when the primary data center experiences a disaster. Option C provides the best match because: - Fully segregated Layer 2 and Layer 3 fault domains: The DR site operates independently from the primary data centers. - Low human intervention: Preconfigured infrastructure enables faster service restoration and automation. - Medium to high RPO/RTO: Applications can tolerate some recovery delay and data loss. - Asynchronous storage replication: Application data is replicated to the DR location without requiring synchronous writes.
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StonedGhost254 👍 1 Answered AThe correct answer is C. identical infrastructure facility ready to provide service. This solution (often referred to as a "hot site") meets the requirement for low-to-no human intervention during failover, while supporting segregated Layer 2/3 domains and the asynchronous replication needed for application data recovery.
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chad0128 👍 1 Answered DGoing with D as the question states " by providing an acceptable level of service"
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