hardScenarioCase StudySeniorStaffLead
You have just joined and you are asked whether the company could restore production if the primary database were destroyed right now. How do you find out?
6 min readUpdated 2026-08-15Target archetype: Big Tech, Enterprise Captive, Product Startup
Answer
Short answer
You cannot answer it from configuration, only by performing a restore into an isolated environment and timing it.Establish the recovery targets first, then test each mechanism separately, because backup jobs that report success and replicas that are not backups are the two ways this claim is usually wrong.
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Likely follow-ups
- Your rehearsal restores successfully in fourteen hours and the business expects to be back in two. What do you change first?
- How do you verify that a restored database is correct rather than merely running and accepting connections?
- The credentials that could destroy production can also delete the backups. What design removes that?
- One customer needs their data as it was on Tuesday, and everyone else's must stay current. How do you serve that request?
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