AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A company has 10 branch offices, each with Windows file servers. They want to centralize file storage in Azure and allow each branch office to cache files locally for fast access. The solution must support cloud tiering so that only frequently accessed files are kept locally. Which Azure service should they implement?

Accepted Answer

Azure File Sync. Azure File Sync is the correct choice because it enables centralizing file shares in Azure Files while providing local caching on Windows file servers at each branch office. It supports cloud tiering, which automatically keeps only frequently accessed files locally and moves cold data to the cloud, meeting the requirement for fast local access and efficient storage.

Answer

Azure Files

Answer

Azure Blob Storage with Azure File Sync

Answer

Azure NetApp Files

Question 2

A SaaS company uses Azure SQL Database for a multi-tenant application. They have 80 tenant databases, each with varying and unpredictable usage patterns. The company wants to optimize costs without sacrificing performance and wants the ability to easily add new tenant databases without over-provisioning. Which deployment option should they use?

Accepted Answer

Azure SQL Database elastic pool. Azure SQL Database elastic pool is the correct choice because it allows multiple tenant databases to share a fixed set of resources (DTUs or vCores), automatically absorbing the unpredictable usage spikes of individual tenants without over-provisioning. This model optimizes cost by paying for the pooled resources rather than each database's peak capacity, and new tenant databases can be added seamlessly to the pool without upfront resource allocation.

Answer

Single Azure SQL Database per tenant

Answer

Azure SQL Managed Instance

Answer

Azure SQL Database Hyperscale

Question 3

A company needs to store large amounts of unstructured data (log files) for analytics. The data is accessed frequently for the first 30 days, then occasionally for the next 90 days, and rarely after that but must be retained for 7 years for compliance. The data must not be modified or deleted during the retention period, and administrative access must not be able to bypass this restriction. They want to minimize storage costs. Which combination of Azure Blob Storage features should they configure?

Accepted Answer

Configure a lifecycle management policy to move blobs to Cool tier after 30 days and to Archive tier after 120 days. Apply a time-based retention policy with a retention period of 2,555 days and lock it.. Option A is correct because it combines a lifecycle management policy to automatically transition blobs from Hot to Cool after 30 days and to Archive after 120 days, minimizing storage costs. The time-based retention policy with a locked retention period of 2,555 days (7 years) ensures that blobs cannot be modified or deleted during the retention period, and locking the policy prevents administrative bypass, meeting the compliance requirement.

Answer

Enable soft delete and versioning on the storage account, and use a custom script to delete blobs after 7 years. Manually move blobs to Cool and Archive tiers using Azure PowerShell.

Answer

Set each blob's access tier to Cool on upload, then manually change to Archive after 30 days. Enable Azure Backup on the storage account for retention.

Answer

Apply a legal hold on the container to prevent deletion, and configure a lifecycle policy to move blobs to Archive after 30 days.

Question 4

A global e-commerce platform requires a database that supports multi-region writes with automatic conflict resolution and single-digit millisecond latency for reads and writes from any region. The application uses a flexible schema with JSON documents. They also need to enforce strong consistency for critical operations (e.g., order placement) while allowing eventual consistency for less critical reads. Which Azure data service and configuration should they choose?

Accepted Answer

Azure Cosmos DB with multi-region writes enabled on the account, using the SQL (Core) API, and applying strong consistency for the order placement operation via RequestOptions.. Azure Cosmos DB with multi-region writes enabled and the SQL (Core) API meets all requirements: it supports multi-region writes with automatic conflict resolution (last-writer-wins or custom), offers single-digit millisecond latency for reads and writes from any region, and uses a flexible JSON document schema. The ability to enforce strong consistency for critical operations like order placement via RequestOptions (using session or strong consistency at the request level) while allowing eventual consistency for less critical reads directly addresses the mixed consistency needs.

Answer

Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication across two regions and failover groups.

Answer

Azure Cache for Redis with geo-replication.

Answer

Azure Table Storage with geo-redundant storage (GRS) and read-access (RA-GRS).

Question 5

A company stores website static assets in Azure Blob Storage. The assets are updated weekly and must be available for immediate access for 30 days. After 30 days, older versions can be moved to the Cool tier to save costs but must still be accessible within seconds. They want an automated solution. What should they configure?

Accepted Answer

Use Azure Blob Storage lifecycle management rules. Azure Blob Storage lifecycle management rules allow you to automate tier transitions based on age or last modification time. By configuring a rule to move blobs to the Cool tier 30 days after creation, you meet the requirement for immediate access (Cool tier offers sub-second latency) while optimizing costs without manual intervention.

Answer

Set the access tier to Cool on the container

Answer

Manually change the access tier every 30 days

Answer

Use Azure Policy to enforce tier changes

Question 6

A company wants to cache frequently accessed session state and product data for their e-commerce website. They need the cache to be highly available with a 99.9% SLA and provide fast read and write access. The solution must be fully managed. Which Azure Cache tier should they choose?

Accepted Answer

Azure Redis Cache Standard tier. The Standard tier of Azure Redis Cache provides a 99.9% SLA through built-in replication with two nodes (primary and replica) in the same region, ensuring high availability. It is fully managed, supports fast read/write access for session state and product data, and meets the requirement without the additional cost or complexity of the Premium tier.

Answer

Azure Redis Cache Basic tier

Answer

Azure Redis Cache Premium tier

Answer

Azure Content Delivery Network

Question 7

A company runs large-scale analytics workloads using Apache Hadoop and Spark. They need a cloud storage solution that is fully compatible with the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) and provides unlimited storage with high throughput for parallel processing. They also want to take advantage of tiered storage to reduce costs for older data. Which Azure data service should they use?

Accepted Answer

Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2. Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 (ADLS Gen2) is the correct choice because it combines a hierarchical namespace with Azure Blob Storage, providing full HDFS compatibility. This allows Apache Hadoop and Spark workloads to use the `wasbs://` or `abfss://` driver for unlimited storage and high throughput parallel processing, while also supporting tiered storage (hot, cool, archive) to reduce costs for older data.

Answer

Azure Blob Storage

Answer

Azure Files

Answer

Azure Disk Storage

Question 8

A company is building a new application that requires a fully managed relational database. The application has varying workloads across different databases. The company wants to pool resources to optimize cost and allow each database to scale as needed. They also need automated backups with point-in-time restore and geo-replication for disaster recovery. Which Azure data service should they use?

Accepted Answer

Azure SQL Database. Azure SQL Database is a fully managed relational database service that supports elastic pools, which allow you to pool resources across multiple databases to optimize cost and enable each database to scale independently based on demand. It also provides automated backups with point-in-time restore (PITR) and active geo-replication for disaster recovery, meeting all the stated requirements.

Answer

Azure SQL Managed Instance

Answer

Azure Database for MySQL

Answer

Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Question 9

A company is building a petabyte-scale data lake for analytics. They need a storage solution that supports a hierarchical namespace, POSIX-like permissions (ACLs), and is optimized for big data analytics workloads using Apache Spark and Hive. The data must be accessible over the Azure Blob Storage API. Which Azure data service should they use?

Accepted Answer

Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2. Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 (ADLS Gen2) is the correct choice because it combines a hierarchical namespace with POSIX-like ACLs and is natively optimized for big data analytics workloads like Apache Spark and Hive. It exposes data through the Azure Blob Storage API, meeting all stated requirements for petabyte-scale analytics.

Answer

Azure Blob Storage (with flat namespace)

Answer

Azure NetApp Files

Answer

Azure HPC Cache

Question 10

A software company runs 50 small Azure SQL databases for different clients. Each database has low average usage but unpredictable spikes. The company wants to minimize cost while providing resources for peak loads and easily adding new databases without manual sizing. Which Azure data service should they use?

Accepted Answer

Azure SQL Database elastic pool. Azure SQL Database elastic pool is ideal for multiple databases with low average usage and unpredictable spikes because it allows them to share a fixed set of resources (eDTUs or vCores). This pooling model minimizes cost by only paying for the aggregate peak usage across all databases, not each database's individual peak, and automatically handles resource allocation without manual sizing for new databases.

Answer

Azure SQL Database single databases

Answer

Azure SQL Managed Instance

Answer

SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines

Question 11

A global IoT platform ingests telemetry data from millions of devices. The application requires multi-region writes to support low-latency ingestion from any location. The schema uses JSON documents and fields often vary. The team needs automatic conflict resolution when the same document is updated concurrently from different regions. Additionally, read operations for device commands must use strong consistency, while user-facing dashboard queries can use eventual consistency. Which Azure Cosmos DB configuration should they choose?

Accepted Answer

Azure Cosmos DB with multi-master and per-request consistency override. Option C is correct because the scenario requires multi-region writes (multi-master) for low-latency ingestion, automatic conflict resolution (which multi-master provides via last-writer-wins or custom conflict resolvers), and strong consistency for device command reads while allowing eventual consistency for dashboards. Per-request consistency override in Azure Cosmos DB lets the application set strong consistency on specific read operations (e.g., device commands) while defaulting to eventual consistency for others, meeting all requirements without sacrificing performance.

Answer

Azure Cosmos DB with single-master and multiple read regions

Answer

Azure Cosmos DB with multi-master and default strong consistency

Answer

Azure Cosmos DB with multi-master and eventual consistency only

Question 12

A company runs a custom analytics application that reads data using the NFS 3.0 protocol. The data consists of large files organized in a directory structure. The application also requires POSIX-like access control lists (ACLs) for fine-grained permissions. The solution must be fully managed and support high throughput for parallel reads. Which Azure data service should they use?

Accepted Answer

Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2. Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 (ADLS Gen2) is the correct choice because it combines a hierarchical namespace with POSIX-like ACLs and supports the NFS 3.0 protocol for high-throughput parallel reads. It is fully managed and designed for big data analytics workloads that require fine-grained permissions and directory structure management.

Answer

Azure Blob Storage

Answer

Azure Files

Answer

Azure NetApp Files

Question 13

A company uses Azure SQL Database (Premium tier) for their application. They need to offload reporting queries to a read-only copy of the database to reduce load on the primary. The read-only copy must be kept in sync synchronously within the same Azure region. They also need automated failover to the read-only copy if the primary fails. Which Azure SQL Database feature should they enable?

Accepted Answer

Read Scale-Out. Read Scale-Out is the correct feature because it offloads reporting queries to a read-only replica that stays synchronously committed within the same Azure region. It also provides automated failover to the read-only replica if the primary database fails, meeting both the synchronous sync and failover requirements for Premium-tier Azure SQL Database.

Answer

Active geo-replication

Answer

Auto-failover groups

Answer

Database copy

Question 14

A company needs to store massive amounts of unstructured data, such as images and videos, for a media processing application. The data must be accessible via REST APIs and support tiered storage for cost optimization. Which Azure storage solution should they use?

Accepted Answer

Azure Blob Storage. Azure Blob Storage is the correct choice because it is designed for massive amounts of unstructured data (images, videos) and provides REST API access via HTTP/HTTPS. It also supports tiered storage (Hot, Cool, Cold, Archive) to optimize costs based on data access patterns, making it ideal for media processing workloads.

Answer

Azure Files

Answer

Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2

Answer

Azure Disk Storage

Question 15

A company deploys a web application on Azure VMs. The application stores session state and frequently accessed product data. They need a low-latency, in-memory cache to reduce database load and improve response times. The cache must be managed and support data persistence with replication across availability zones within the region. Which Azure service and tier should they choose?

Accepted Answer

Azure Cache for Redis (Premium tier). Azure Cache for Redis Premium tier is the correct choice because it supports data persistence (RDB/AOF), replication across availability zones via zone redundancy, and provides low-latency, in-memory caching for session state and product data. The Basic tier lacks replication and persistence, Standard tier offers replication but not zone redundancy or persistence, and Enterprise tier is overkill for this scenario, adding unnecessary cost and complexity.

Answer

Azure Cache for Redis (Basic tier)

Answer

Azure Cache for Redis (Standard tier)

Answer

Azure Cache for Redis (Enterprise tier)