RTO and RPO.
Targets need evidence.
Two recovery objectives. Two different questions. A shared need to validate what happens in practice.
Recovery time objective (RTO) is the target time for restoring a service after disruption. Recovery point objective (RPO) is the target limit on data loss, expressed as a period of time. They answer different questions and should be defined per business service.
Time to recover versus data you can lose
| Objective | Question | Illustrative target |
|---|---|---|
| RTO | How quickly must the service return? | Restore within 45 minutes. |
| RPO | How much recent data loss is tolerable? | Recover to a point no more than 15 minutes before disruption. |
These are examples, not NitronOrbit performance guarantees. Meeting one objective does not establish that the other was met.
Measure the whole service
A restored virtual machine can still depend on an unavailable database, identity service or network route. A recovery exercise should include these dependencies and check that the application can complete its critical work.
Separate targets from evidence
Record the agreed target, the recovery start and completion criteria, the data recovery point and the results of application checks. Document the test conditions and any manual intervention so the result can be interpreted accurately.
Where NitronOrbit fits
NitronOrbit is being developed to connect recovery objectives with dependency intelligence, simulations and application validation. Ask the team how an evaluation would measure your critical service against its agreed objectives.
Be ready for the question.
“Can we recover?”
Let’s explore what recovery confidence looks like for your business.