RPO and RTO answer different questions
One is about how much you lose, the other about how long you are down.
Recovery point is the data between the last good copy and the failure. Recovery time is how long until service resumes. A system can have an excellent one and a terrible other, and confusing them produces plans that satisfy neither. They also cost differently, so conflating them makes the investment conversation incoherent.
More on Backups and recovery
- Offline copies break attacker reachabilityReach ends at the last plug
- Immutable backups trade flexibility for protectionSet in concrete
- Restoring data can restore malware tooThe newest jar is the spoiled one
- Backup credentials deserve separate protectionNot on the same switch
- Recovery order follows dependenciesBottom crate first
- Backup retention determines how far back you can restore to escape corruption or compromiseAs far back as the rope goes