If a secondary server cannot contact the primary server, what typically happens?

If a secondary server cannot contact the primary server, what typically happens?

• A. It immediately fails over to another secondary.
• B. It will stop responding to queries after a specified period.
• C. It re-queries the primary every second.
• D. It continues to answer queries with cached data only.

Answer: (B)

When a secondary can’t contact the primary, it relies on a heartbeat or health check to decide what to do next. It waits for a defined period for the primary’s signals. If that period passes without contact, the system treats the primary as unavailable and the secondary stops answering client queries. This prevents returning data that might be stale or inconsistent. The exact timeout is configurable, balancing availability with safety. In some setups, a failover to another replica may then be triggered, but the immediate action described here is the secondary becoming unresponsive after the timeout.

When a secondary can’t contact the primary, it relies on a heartbeat or health check to decide what to do next. It waits for a defined period for the primary’s signals. If that period passes without contact, the system treats the primary as unavailable and the secondary stops answering client queries. This prevents returning data that might be stale or inconsistent. The exact timeout is configurable, balancing availability with safety. In some setups, a failover to another replica may then be triggered, but the immediate action described here is the secondary becoming unresponsive after the timeout.