A customer wants a new solution that reaches a near-zero recovery time objective (RTO) and a zero recovery point objective (RPO). In this scenario…

NetApp MetroCluster is the solution designed to meet the stringent requirements of a zero Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and a near-zero Recovery Time Objective (RTO). It achieves a zero RPO through synchronous replication of data between two physically separate sites. In the event of a site disaster, failover can be automated and is nearly instantaneous, thus providing a near-zero RTO. This ensures continuous data availability and protects against data loss, making it the ideal solution for mission-critical applications that cannot tolerate downtime or data loss.

A. NDMP: NDMP is a backup protocol. It is not a continuous data protection or disaster recovery solution and results in an RTO and RPO measured in minutes or hours.

C. SnapMirror: While SnapMirror Synchronous mode provides a zero RPO, the failover process is typically manual or scripted, resulting in a longer RTO compared to the highly automated MetroCluster solution.

D. SnapVault: SnapVault is a disk-to-disk backup and archival technology for long-term data retention. It is not designed for high availability or to meet near-zero RTO/RPO requirements.

1. NetApp Technical Report TR-4705: NetApp MetroCluster Solution Architecture and Design.

Section: Introduction, Page 6.

Quote: "MetroCluster provides zero RPO and near-zero RTO data protection for mission-critical workloads... This is accomplished by synchronously mirroring data and SVM configuration between the clusters." This document explicitly states that MetroCluster is the solution for these requirements.

2. NetApp ONTAP 9.8 Data Protection Power Guide.

Section: Business continuance with MetroCluster, Page 11.

Quote: "A MetroCluster configuration provides synchronous replication with a recovery point objective (RPO) of zero and a very low recovery time objective (RTO)." This guide contrasts MetroCluster with other technologies for achieving specific business continuance goals.

3. NetApp Technical Report TR-4574: SnapMirror Synchronous Deployment and Best Practices Guide.

Section: Introduction, Page 5.

Quote: "SnapMirror Synchronous (SM-S) is a feature of NetApp ONTAP software that provides synchronous data replication at the volume level... SM-S provides an RPO of zero." While it confirms the zero RPO for SM-S, the document details a multi-step failover process, which does not align with the "near-zero RTO" typically achieved by MetroCluster's automated switchover.