What is a consequence of not having multiple VAs in a production cluster?

Having multiple Virtual Appliances (VAs) in a production cluster is essential for ensuring high availability and fault tolerance. When there is only one VA, it creates a single point of failure; if that VA goes down for any reason—be it hardware failure, software glitch, or maintenance—then the entire cluster becomes inoperable. This can lead to significant downtime for business operations, impacting user access to identity management services and potentially resulting in loss of productivity and revenue.

In contrast, multiple VAs distribute the workload and provide redundancy. If one VA fails, others in the cluster can continue to operate, ensuring that services remain available and operational. This design approach is critical for maintaining a resilient infrastructure and ensuring that business continuity is upheld in the face of unexpected challenges.

Addressing the other options, having more VAs does not inherently lead to increased data processing speed, higher maintenance costs, or more complex network requirements. Instead, it provides a balanced and reliable environment that mitigates the risk associated with potential failures.