recovery-time-objective · shipping · also RTO

Recovery time objective

The recovery time objective sets the tolerable duration of resource unavailability before its effect on supported processes becomes unacceptable.

It is a target, not a measured restore duration. Specify the resource and success criterion before comparing a recovery exercise with that target.

Relations

related

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

Limitations

• A data-copy duration alone does not establish that a service has recovered. [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-time-objective.json