What are RTO and RPO, and how do they drive architecture decisions?

RTO (Recovery Time Objective) is the maximum acceptable time to restore service after a disaster; RPO (Recovery Point Objective) is the maximum acceptable amount of data loss, measured in time. A near-zero RPO requirement forces synchronous replication (with its latency cost), while a more relaxed RPO allows cheaper asynchronous replication or periodic backups. A tight RTO forces investment in automated failover and warm/hot standby infrastructure, while a relaxed RTO can tolerate a slower, more manual recovery process. Both numbers should come from a business conversation about acceptable ris