Advanced – Non-Functional Testing
RTO / RPO – ISTQB Definition
Last Updated: July 12, 2026 · SoftwareTestPilot QA Team
Official ISTQB Definition
Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) are targets that define acceptable downtime and data loss respectively.
In simple words
RTO = how long you can be down. RPO = how much data you can lose.
Exam tip
Both are business-defined — testing must confirm the system meets them.
Related terms
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