AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Test 6 — 15 Questions

Question 1

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?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

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.. 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.

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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 2

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

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Manually change the access tier every 30 days

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Use Azure Policy to enforce tier changes

Question 3

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

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Azure Redis Cache Premium tier

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Azure Content Delivery Network

Question 4

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

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Azure Files

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Azure Disk Storage

Question 5

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

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Azure Database for MySQL

Answer

Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Question 6

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.

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Azure Blob Storage (with flat namespace)

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Azure NetApp Files

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Azure HPC Cache

Question 7

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

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Azure SQL Managed Instance

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SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines

Question 8

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

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Azure Files

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Azure NetApp Files

Question 9

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.

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Active geo-replication

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Auto-failover groups

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Database copy

Question 10

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)

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Azure Cache for Redis (Standard tier)

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Azure Cache for Redis (Enterprise tier)

Question 11

A software company hosts multiple small databases for different clients on Azure SQL Database. Each database has low average usage but experiences unpredictable spikes. The company wants to minimize cost by pooling resources across databases while allowing each database to consume resources up to a set limit during spikes. They also need the ability to easily add new databases without manual sizing. Which Azure SQL Database deployment option should they choose?

Accepted Answer

Azure SQL Database elastic pool. Azure SQL Database elastic pool is the correct choice because it allows multiple databases to share a fixed pool of resources (eDTUs or vCores), which minimizes cost by pooling resources across databases with low average usage and unpredictable spikes. Each database can automatically burst up to a configurable per-database resource limit (e.g., max eDTU per database) during spikes, and new databases can be added to the pool without manual sizing, as they simply consume from the shared pool.

Answer

Azure SQL Database single database with reserved capacity

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Azure SQL Managed Instance

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SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines

Question 12

A company is building a petabyte-scale data lake for analytics. The workload includes Apache Spark and Hive jobs that read and write large files. The storage solution must support a hierarchical namespace for efficient directory operations, POSIX-like access control lists (ACLs) for fine-grained permissions, and must be accessible via the Azure Blob Storage API for compatibility with existing tools. Furthermore, the solution should be optimized for analytics workloads with high throughput. Which Azure data service should they choose?

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 accessible via the Azure Blob Storage API. This service is specifically optimized for analytics workloads like Apache Spark and Hive, providing high throughput for petabyte-scale data lakes. The hierarchical namespace enables efficient directory operations, while the Blob Storage API ensures compatibility with existing tools.

Answer

Azure Data Lake Storage Gen1

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Azure Blob Storage

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Azure Files

Question 13

A media company needs to store large volumes of video files that are processed by an application. The files are accessed via REST APIs and are rarely accessed after the first few days. The company wants to minimize storage costs by automatically moving older files to a cheaper storage tier without any manual intervention. Which Azure storage solution should they use, and which feature should they configure?

Accepted Answer

Azure Blob Storage with lifecycle management policies. Azure Blob Storage with lifecycle management policies is the correct solution because it allows you to define rules that automatically move blobs to cooler tiers (e.g., from Hot to Cool to Archive) based on age or last modification time, minimizing storage costs without manual intervention. The REST API access requirement is natively supported by Blob Storage via HTTPS, and the large video file workload fits well within its object storage capabilities.

Answer

Azure Files with tiering

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Azure NetApp Files with capacity pools

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Azure Disk Storage with managed disks

Question 14

A media company stores raw video files and processed output in Azure. These files are accessed via REST APIs by a processing application. After processing, the files are rarely accessed but must be retained. To minimize costs, the company wants to automatically move files to a cheaper storage tier after 30 days and archive them after 90 days. Which Azure storage solution and feature should they use?

Accepted Answer

Azure Blob Storage with lifecycle management policies. Azure Blob Storage with lifecycle management policies is correct because it allows you to define rules that automatically transition blobs from the hot tier to the cool tier after 30 days and then to the archive tier after 90 days. This directly meets the cost-minimization requirement for rarely accessed files that must be retained, as lifecycle management automates tier transitions without manual intervention.

Answer

Azure Files with snapshot schedules

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Azure Disk Storage with incremental snapshots

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Azure NetApp Files with snapshot policies

Question 15

A global e-commerce platform uses Azure Cosmos DB for its product catalog. The application requires multi-region writes to provide low-latency updates from any geographic location. Two users may update the same product item concurrently, so the solution must automatically resolve conflicts. For real-time inventory checks, reads must be strongly consistent, while product description reads can be eventually consistent. Which Cosmos DB configuration should they choose?

Accepted Answer

SQL API with multi-region writes, last-writer-wins conflict resolution, and per-request strong consistency. The SQL API in Cosmos DB supports multi-region writes with last-writer-wins (LWW) conflict resolution using a timestamp or custom property, which automatically resolves concurrent updates to the same product item. Per-request strong consistency allows inventory reads to achieve linearizability by setting the consistency level at the request level, while product description reads can use the default session or eventual consistency for performance. This combination meets all requirements: multi-region writes, automatic conflict resolution, and the ability to mix strong and eventual consistency on a per-request basis.

Answer

MongoDB API with multi-region writes and automatic conflict resolution

Answer

Table API with multi-region writes and strong consistency

Answer

Cassandra API with multi-region writes and strong consistency