What does 'System Replication - without data preload' imply in SAP HANA?

The statement 'System Replication - without data preload' indicates that the data is replicated without initially loading the existing data from the primary system to the secondary system. This results in a specific behavior regarding data replication costs and recovery time objectives (RTO).

When utilizing system replication without data preload, the secondary system starts with an empty database and subsequently receives transaction logs from the primary system. Since the initial data load is skipped, the overall costs associated with data transfer and the initial setup are reduced. However, the RTO—the time required to recover and bring the secondary system online in the event of a failure—can be impacted. It is typically medium because, while the system can be brought up quickly, it may not be immediately transaction-consistent, depending on how up-to-date the log files are and the last point of successful replication.

Therefore, this option successfully captures the relationship between lower costs and the moderate RTO due to the absence of initial data loading.