DP-300 Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment Practice Test 11 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You are the database administrator for a global e-commerce company. The company uses Azure SQL Database in the Business Critical service tier for its transactional database, db1, hosted in the East US region. The database is 500 GB and experiences high write throughput. The current disaster recovery solution uses active geo-replication to a secondary in West US, but during a recent failover drill, the failover took 45 seconds, exceeding the corporate RTO of 30 seconds. The RPO requirement is zero data loss. You need to improve the failover time while maintaining zero data loss. The secondary must be in a different Azure region for compliance. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Configure an auto-failover group between East US and West US using zone-redundant deployment within each region and ensure the secondary is zone-redundant.. Option B is correct because using an auto-failover group with a secondary in the same region (West US) but in a different availability zone provides synchronous replication with zero data loss and faster failover due to lower latency. Option A is wrong because increasing replicas does not reduce failover time significantly. Option C is wrong because changing to General Purpose would increase RPO. Option D is wrong because Hyperscale does not guarantee zero data loss in this context.

Answer

Increase the number of replicas in the Business Critical tier to 5.

Answer

Change the secondary to a General Purpose tier and use async replication.

Answer

Move both primary and secondary to Hyperscale tier and use named replicas.

Question 2

Your company runs a critical application on Azure SQL Managed Instance in the North Europe region. The application requires an RPO of 5 minutes and an RTO of 2 hours during a regional disaster. The current setup uses a single instance with geo-redundant backup storage (RA-GRS). During a disaster recovery planning session, you discover that geo-restore from RA-GRS backups takes approximately 4 hours to complete, which exceeds the RTO. You need to modify the disaster recovery solution to meet the RTO without exceeding the budget significantly. The solution must minimize administrative overhead. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Deploy a secondary instance in a different region and configure a failover group.. Option C is correct because configuring a failover group between two instances in different regions provides fast failover (RTO minutes) and meets the RTO. Option A is wrong because scaling up doesn't reduce geo-restore time. Option B is wrong because zone redundancy doesn't protect against regional failure. Option D is wrong because it changes backup policy, not failover speed.

Answer

Change backup storage to locally-redundant (LRS) and rely on point-in-time restore.

Answer

Enable zone redundancy on the primary instance.

Answer

Scale the instance to a higher service tier to improve restore performance.

Question 3

A small business uses Azure SQL Database single database in the General Purpose tier for its inventory management system. The database is located in the Brazil South region. The business wants a disaster recovery solution that can automatically fail over to a secondary region in case of an outage, with an RPO of less than 1 hour and an RTO of less than 2 hours. The budget is limited, so the solution must be cost-effective. What should you recommend?

Accepted Answer

Create a failover group with a secondary database in a different region using the General Purpose tier.. Option A is correct because a failover group with a secondary in another region provides automatic failover, and General Purpose tier is cost-effective. Option B is wrong because zone redundancy is within region. Option C is wrong because Hyperscale is more expensive. Option D is wrong because geo-restore has higher RTO (hours).

Answer

Enable zone redundancy on the existing database.

Answer

Use geo-restore from geo-redundant backups.

Answer

Upgrade to Business Critical tier and configure geo-replication.

Question 4

You manage a critical application that uses Azure SQL Database in the West US region. The application requires an RPO of 5 seconds and an RTO of 1 hour in the event of a regional outage. You need to recommend a high availability solution that meets these requirements with minimal cost. What should you recommend?

Accepted Answer

Create a failover group with a secondary replica in a paired region using active geo-replication.. Option D is correct because failover groups with active geo-replication provide the lowest RPO (typically 5 seconds or less) and can meet an RTO of 1 hour with automated failover. Option A is wrong because zone-redundant configuration protects only within a region, not against regional failure. Option B is wrong because auto-failover groups without geo-replication also protect only within a region. Option C is wrong because geo-restore has a much higher RPO and RTO.

Answer

Configure an auto-failover group with a secondary in a different availability zone within West US.

Answer

Enable geo-restore for the database with a backup retention of 35 days.

Answer

Deploy a zone-redundant Azure SQL Database in the West US region.

Question 5

Your company runs a mission-critical database on Azure SQL Managed Instance in the East US region. To comply with a new regulatory requirement, you must ensure that the database can be recovered within 15 minutes in the event of a regional disaster, with a maximum data loss of 10 seconds. You also need to minimize compute costs during normal operations. What should you configure?

Accepted Answer

Deploy the primary instance as Business Critical with a zone-redundant secondary replica, and configure a failover group to a secondary instance in a paired region using Business Critical with a non-readable secondary.. Option A is correct because a failover group with a geo-secondary instance using the Business Critical service tier and a secondary replica that is not readable (no read scale-out) provides synchronous commit within the primary region and asynchronous geo-replication, meeting the RPO of 10 seconds and RTO of 15 minutes while minimizing cost by not using a readable secondary for read workloads. Option B is wrong because a readable secondary increases cost without benefit. Option C is wrong because General Purpose does not offer synchronous replication within the region, leading to higher data loss. Option D is wrong because zone-redundancy does not protect against regional failure.

Answer

Use a General Purpose instance with a failover group to a secondary instance in a paired region.

Answer

Configure a zone-redundant Business Critical instance in East US only, without a geo-secondary.

Answer

Deploy the primary instance as Business Critical with a readable secondary replica, and configure a failover group to a secondary instance in a paired region using General Purpose.

Question 6

You have an Azure SQL Database that uses the General Purpose service tier. The database is critical and you need to protect against a regional outage with an RPO of 1 hour and an RTO of 12 hours. What is the most cost-effective solution?

Accepted Answer

Use geo-restore with the default backup retention.. Option C is correct because geo-restore meets an RPO of 1 hour and RTO of 12 hours at no extra cost beyond backup storage. Option A is wrong because it is more expensive than needed. Option B is wrong because it also incurs extra cost. Option D is wrong because it does not protect against regional failure.

Answer

Enable active geo-replication.

Answer

Configure auto-failover group with a secondary in a different region.

Answer

Deploy a zone-redundant configuration.

Question 7

Refer to the exhibit. You are reviewing an ARM template for an Azure SQL Database backup policy. The database is used for a reporting workload that is updated daily. The compliance team requires that point-in-time restore (PITR) be available for the past 30 days. What action should you take?

Accepted Answer

Change the retentionDays property to 30.. Option B is correct because the retentionDays property is set to 14, which is less than the required 30 days. The diffBackupIntervalInHours is not relevant for PITR retention. Option A is wrong because PITR retention is not set by the diff backup interval. Option C is wrong because PITR retention is not set by long-term retention. Option D is wrong because 14 days does not meet the requirement.

Answer

Change the diffBackupIntervalInHours to 24.

Answer

No action is needed; the current policy meets the requirement.

Answer

Add a long-term retention policy with a weekly retention of 30 days.

Question 8

You are designing a disaster recovery plan for an Azure SQL Managed Instance that hosts an OLTP application. The application requires an RPO of 15 seconds and an RTO of 5 minutes. You need to choose a configuration that meets these requirements. Which TWO options should you consider? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Configure a failover group with a secondary instance in a paired region, both using Business Critical service tier.. Options B and C are correct. Failover groups with active geo-replication between Business Critical instances provide synchronous commit within the primary region and asynchronous geo-replication, achieving RPO of ~5 seconds and RTO of ~1 minute for automated failover. Zone-redundant configuration alone does not protect against regional failure. General Purpose does not guarantee low RPO. Option A is wrong because zone-redundancy does not protect regionally. Option D is wrong because General Purpose cannot meet the RPO. Option E is correct.

Answer

Deploy a zone-redundant Business Critical instance in a single region.

Answer

Deploy a General Purpose instance with a failover group to a secondary in another region.

Answer

Ensure the secondary instance has at least one readable secondary replica.

Question 9

Your company uses Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication for disaster recovery. The primary database is in the West Europe region. You need to perform a planned failover to the secondary in North Europe for a maintenance window. Which THREE actions should you take? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

After failover, verify that the new secondary (in West Europe) is configured as a readable secondary.. Options A, C, and D are correct. A planned failover ensures no data loss by synchronizing all transactions before switching. After failover, the new primary should have a readable secondary or geo-replication configured to maintain DR. Updating the connection string is necessary for applications. Option B is wrong because you want to avoid data loss. Option E is wrong because seeding is automatic.

Answer

Initiate a forced failover to ensure the fastest switchover.

Answer

Manually seed the new secondary database after failover.

Question 10

You are planning high availability for an Azure SQL Database that runs an e-commerce application. The database uses the Business Critical service tier. Which TWO features are automatically enabled to provide high availability within a single region? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Automatic failover to a secondary replica if the primary becomes unavailable.. Options A and B are correct. Business Critical includes multiple replicas (one primary and two secondary) that are automatically managed, and zone-redundant configuration is optional but not automatic. Option C is wrong because active geo-replication is a separate DR feature. Option D is wrong because auto-failover groups are for DR. Option E is wrong because read scale-out is an optional feature, not automatic for HA.

Answer

Auto-failover groups with a secondary in another region.

Answer

Active geo-replication to a paired region.

Answer

Read scale-out with a readable secondary replica.

Question 11

You have an Azure SQL Database that uses active geo-replication between two regions. You need to ensure minimal data loss during an unplanned failover while maintaining the current configuration. Which THREE settings should you verify? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

The replication mode is 'async' (asynchronous) with a low RPO target.. Options A, C, and D are correct. The seed type determines initial synchronization. The secondary type (readable/non-readable) affects performance but not data loss. The failover group name is for management. Option B is wrong because secondary type does not affect data loss. Option E is wrong because it's part of the failover group name.

Answer

The secondary database is configured as 'readable' to avoid lag.

Answer

The failover group is named with a 'forced' failover policy.

Question 12

You are designing a disaster recovery plan for an Azure SQL Managed Instance that hosts a financial application. The application requires an RPO of 0 seconds and an RTO of 30 seconds. Which TWO configurations meet these requirements? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Deploy a Business Critical instance with zone redundancy and a failover group to a secondary instance in a paired region, using the Business Critical service tier.. Options A and C are correct. To achieve zero data loss, you need synchronous replication within the primary region and a failover group that uses planned failover. Active geo-replication is asynchronous. Manual failover may not meet RTO. Option B is wrong because active geo-replication is asynchronous. Option D is wrong because manual failover is too slow. Option E is wrong because zone-redundancy alone does not provide zero RPO across regions.

Answer

Configure active geo-replication between two Business Critical instances in different regions.

Answer

Deploy a zone-redundant Business Critical instance in a single region and rely on automatic failover.

Answer

Set up a manual failover process using a PowerShell script that restores from the latest backup.

Question 13

You are the database administrator for a global e-commerce company that uses Azure SQL Database for its product catalog. The database is currently deployed in the East US region using the General Purpose service tier. The company is expanding to Europe and wants to improve disaster recovery posture. The new requirements are: RPO of 5 seconds, RTO of 1 hour, and the ability to serve read traffic from the secondary region during normal operations. The budget is limited, so you must minimize cost while meeting these requirements. The application connection strings can be updated to a listener endpoint. What should you recommend?

Accepted Answer

Upgrade the primary to Business Critical, configure a failover group with a readable secondary in West Europe using Business Critical, and use the listener endpoint for application connections.. Option D is correct because it uses Business Critical in the primary region for low RPO and readable secondary in the secondary region for read traffic, while using a failover group for automated failover. Option A is wrong because General Purpose cannot meet 5-second RPO. Option B is wrong because a readable secondary in the same region doesn't serve read traffic from Europe. Option C is wrong because zone-redundancy doesn't protect regionally.

Answer

Keep the primary as General Purpose, create a readable secondary in the same region, and configure active geo-replication to a secondary in West Europe.

Answer

Deploy a zone-redundant Business Critical database in East US and use auto-failover groups to a secondary in West Europe with General Purpose.

Answer

Upgrade the primary database to Business Critical, create a readable secondary in the same region, and use geo-restore for DR.

Question 14

You manage an Azure SQL Managed Instance that hosts a line-of-business application. The instance is currently deployed in the UK South region using the General Purpose service tier. The business has a new requirement for disaster recovery with an RPO of 30 minutes and an RTO of 2 hours. You need to implement a solution that minimizes ongoing costs. The secondary region should be UK West. The application can tolerate a brief outage during failover. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Deploy a secondary General Purpose instance in UK West and configure a failover group.. Option B is correct because a failover group with General Purpose instances meets the RPO/RTO at minimal cost. Option A is wrong because zone-redundancy doesn't protect regionally. Option C is wrong because Business Critical is more expensive than needed. Option D is wrong because manual restore cannot meet RTO.

Answer

Deploy a zone-redundant General Purpose instance in UK South only.

Answer

Keep the current instance and rely on geo-restore to UK West.

Answer

Upgrade both instances to Business Critical and configure a failover group.

Question 15

You are a database administrator for a startup that uses Azure SQL Database for its main application. The database is currently in the West US region using the General Purpose service tier. The company expects rapid growth and wants to ensure high availability within the region. They want to minimize downtime during planned maintenance. The application uses read-heavy workloads, and they want to offload read traffic to a secondary replica. The budget is flexible but should be justified. What should you recommend?

Accepted Answer

Upgrade the database to the Business Critical service tier and enable read scale-out.. Option D is correct because upgrading to Business Critical provides multiple replicas, automatic failover, and the ability to enable read scale-out to offload read traffic. Option A is wrong because General Purpose has only one readable replica (if configured) but does not provide automatic HA failover. Option B is wrong because zone-redundancy adds cost but does not provide read scale-out. Option C is wrong because active geo-replication is overkill for intra-region HA.

Answer

Enable zone redundancy on the current General Purpose database.

Answer

Configure a readable secondary on the current General Purpose database.

Answer

Create a secondary database in a different region and use active geo-replication.