recovery-point-objective · shipping · also RPO

Recovery point objective

The recovery point objective specifies the point in time to which data must be recoverable after a disruption, commonly expressed as the maximum tolerable data-loss interval.

It is a requirement, not an observed backup age. A schedule alone does not prove that a usable recovery point exists.

Relations

related

backup, snapshot, recovery-time-objective, restore-test

Limitations

• Evaluate the recoverable point against the objective, rather than equating the objective with job frequency. [1]

Citations

1. NIST SP 800-34 Rev. 1 (2010), sections 3.2.1 and 3.5.1: recovery objectives and testing (accessed 2026-10-13)
2. Hesela: Snapshots and backups: which failures can you recover from? (accessed 2026-10-13)

JSON: /data/terms/recovery-point-objective.json