Which disaster recovery technique ensures that a system remains operational even when one of its dependent components fails?

• A. Log shipping
• B. Failover
• C. High availability
• D. Incremental backup

Answer: (C)

High availability is a disaster recovery technique designed to keep a system operational even in the event of a failure of one of its dependent components. This is achieved through redundancy, where critical components are duplicated so that if one fails, the system can instantly switch to a backup component without significant downtime. This ensures that services remain uninterrupted, providing continuous access to critical applications and data.

High availability can involve various technologies and architectural strategies, such as clustering, load balancing, and replication. These strategies work together to eliminate single points of failure and maintain system performance and reliability under adverse conditions.

In contrast, other options do not primarily focus on maintaining system operations during a component failure. Log shipping is a technique primarily used for backup and disaster recovery rather than providing immediate operational continuity. Failover is a component of high availability that describes the process of switching to a standby database or server but does not ensure overall operational functionality without the existence of a high availability setup. Incremental backup pertains to data protection strategies and does not relate to ensuring ongoing service availability during a component failure.