Which metric focuses on the maximum amount of data loss tolerated after a disaster?

• A. Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
• B. Recovery Point Objective (RPO)
• C. Failover
• D. High availability

Answer: (B)

The focus on the maximum amount of data loss tolerated after a disaster is embodied in the Recovery Point Objective (RPO). RPO quantifies the age of files that must be recovered from backup storage for normal operations to resume after an incident. It essentially determines how frequently data backups should be performed to minimize potential data loss. For example, if the RPO is set to one hour, this means that in the event of a disaster, the organization is willing to lose up to one hour's worth of data.

Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is related but focuses on the duration it takes to restore operations after a disaster occurs rather than the amount of data loss tolerated. Failover refers to the process of switching to a standby database, server, or network if the primary system fails, which is not a metric of data loss itself. High availability is a system design approach that ensures a certain level of operational performance for a higher than normal period, but it does not indicate the acceptable level of data loss. Therefore, RPO is the correct choice for defining the tolerance for data loss after a disaster.