Which DR site tolerates short downtime for non-critical apps?
Short answer
C Warm
Question
Key Takeaways
This question tests your understanding of DR site types and their recovery time objectives; the trap is choosing a hot site when the wording 'short period of downtime' implies some acceptable delay, not instant failover.
For non-critical applications that can tolerate a short period of downtime, a warm site offers the ideal balance of cost and recovery speed. CompTIA N10-008 community consensus strongly favors warm site over hot or cold options.
Common mistake: Hot site is the most common wrong answer because it provides the fastest recovery, but it is over-engineered and expensive for non-critical applications and normally expects near-zero downtime, while the question explicitly allows a short outage.
Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
A warm site is the correct answer because it sits between a hot and cold site. It has pre-installed hardware, connectivity, and maybe backups, but not full real-time data synchronization, so it can be brought online in a short period—not hours or days.
The question deliberately says "non-critical" and "can tolerate a short period of downtime," which rules out the need for instant availability (hot site) and excessive low cost with long RTO (cold site). Community comment [1] explains this compromise well, noting warm sites are suitable for exactly this type of workload.
Comment [3] further highlights the phrase "short period of downtime" as the clue; warm site offers quicker recovery than cold but not instant as hot. This matches the requirement perfectly.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
A hot site is a fully redundant, always-on facility with real-time data replication and near-zero RTO/RPO. It is the most expensive and is intended for critical systems that cannot tolerate any meaningful downtime—not non-critical apps. Comment [2] simply states "Warm site," confirming consensus against hot.
A cold site provides only physical infrastructure (space, power, cooling) with no preinstalled equipment or data. Recovery can take days or even weeks, which exceeds the "short period" allowed in the scenario.
Passive is not a recognized category of disaster recovery site in CompTIA's framework. The three main types are hot, warm, and cold, so passive is a distractor.
Community Comment Notes
The top community comment [1] gives a textbook definition of warm site and directly ties it to the question's requirement, making it a useful reference. Comment [3] specifically points at "short period of downtime" as the deciding phrase. Comment [2] provides minimal but correct agreement, showing community consensus that warm is the proper choice.
Official Reference
- https://www.comptia.org/certifications/network
- https://www.comptia.org/training/resources/exam-objectives
These links open the official vendor documentation in a new tab.
Exam Strategy
When you see phrases like 'short period of downtime' or 'non-critical applications,' compare the RTO of each site type: hot is near-zero, warm is short, cold is long. Choosing the cheapest option that still meets the stated RTO is usually the correct DR site answer.
Community Votes
75% 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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subaie503 👍 5 Answered CC. Warm A warm site is a type of disaster recovery site that offers a compromise between the instant availability of a hot site and the cost-effectiveness of a cold site. It is equipped with some hardware and connectivity, allowing for a quicker recovery than a cold site but not instantaneously as with a hot site. Warm sites are suitable for non-critical applications that can tolerate a short period of downtime, fitting the company's requirements described.
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Marinos_89 👍 2 Answered C''short period of downtime''
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Biancoega10 👍 2 Answered CWarm site.
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