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

Question 1

You have an Azure SQL Database in the Business Critical tier with zone redundancy enabled. The database experiences a brief outage due to a zone failure. How does the platform automatically recover?

Accepted Answer

A replica in another availability zone is automatically promoted to primary.. When zone redundancy is enabled in Business Critical, Azure SQL Database maintains replicas across multiple availability zones. If a zone fails, the platform automatically detects the failure and promotes a replica from a surviving zone to primary, typically within seconds to a minute, with no manual intervention. This is built-in HA, not disaster recovery.

Answer

You must perform a manual failover to a secondary replica.

Answer

The database is restored from the latest backup.

Answer

The database becomes read-only until the zone is restored.

Question 2

You are planning a disaster recovery strategy for an Azure SQL Database that is part of a failover group. The application requires that after a failover, the database is accessible with minimal downtime and without data loss. Which THREE components are essential for this configuration? (Select three.)

Accepted Answer

Secondary database in a paired region with data synchronization. Option B is correct because a failover group requires a secondary database in a paired Azure region that continuously synchronizes data from the primary, which enables minimal-downtime failover with no data loss (RPO near zero). Option C is correct because the failover group listener endpoint provides a stable read-write connection string that automatically redirects clients to the current primary after failover, so applications avoid reconfiguration and downtime is minimized. Option E is correct because the failover group itself must be configured between the primary and secondary servers, defining the databases, replication topology, and automatic/manual failover policies that make the DR strategy work. Option A is not essential here because geo-redundant backup storage supports backup/restore recovery, not the low-RTO, no-data-loss failover provided by failover groups. Option D is not essential because Azure Traffic Manager is a DNS-based global traffic routing service and does not manage Azure SQL Database replication or failover; the failover group listener already handles client redirection.

Answer

Geo-redundant backup storage

Answer

Azure Traffic Manager with priority routing

Question 3

You manage a SQL Managed Instance in the East US region. The instance must be recoverable within 1 hour in the event of a regional disaster. You need to configure a secondary replica in a paired region with automatic failover. Which solution meets the requirement?

Accepted Answer

Create an auto-failover group with a secondary replica in West US.. An auto-failover group in Azure SQL Managed Instance provides a secondary replica in a paired region with automatic failover, meeting the requirement for recovery within 1 hour. It uses asynchronous replication and allows a single connection string to fail over automatically, ensuring business continuity during a regional disaster.

Answer

Configure log shipping to a secondary instance in West US.

Answer

Enable geo-redundant backup storage and use geo-restore.

Answer

Deploy an Always On availability group with a synchronous secondary in West US.

Question 4

Your company runs a global e-commerce application using Azure SQL Database in the West Europe region. You need to implement a solution that provides automatic failover and allows the secondary region to be used for read-only queries during normal operations. The secondary must be in a different region. Which configuration meets these requirements?

Accepted Answer

Create an auto-failover group with a secondary in West US and use the secondary as readable.. An auto-failover group in Azure SQL Database provides automatic failover to a secondary region and allows the secondary database to be used for read-only queries when configured as readable. It also provides a read-write and read-only listener endpoint, so applications can connect without changing connection strings after failover. This meets both the automatic failover and read-only query requirements.

Answer

Enable read scale-out on the primary database.

Answer

Configure active geo-replication to a secondary server in West US and implement application-level failover logic.

Answer

Configure geo-restore with a recovery point objective of 1 hour.

Question 5

You are responsible for a SQL Server 2019 instance on an Azure VM. The VM is part of a failover cluster instance (FCI) using Azure shared disks. During a recent failover test, the cluster took 15 minutes to bring the database online. You need to reduce the failover time to under 5 minutes. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Remove unnecessary databases from the FCI and distribute them to other instances.. Removing unnecessary databases from the FCI reduces the number of databases that need to be recovered during failover, thereby decreasing the overall failover time. Option A is correct. Option B is incorrect because upgrading the VM does not directly reduce the number of databases to recover. Option C is incorrect because increasing disk size does not improve failover time. Option D is incorrect because instant file initialization helps with file growth, not failover recovery.

Answer

Upgrade the VM to a larger size with more CPU and memory.

Answer

Increase the size of the Azure shared disks.

Answer

Enable instant file initialization on all SQL Server instances.

Question 6

You manage an Azure SQL Database in the East US region. The database uses the General Purpose service tier with geo-redundant backup storage. You need to ensure that in the event of a regional outage, you can restore the database to the West US region with the least possible downtime. What should you use?

Accepted Answer

Configure active geo-replication to a secondary server in West US.. Active geo-replication to a secondary server in West US is the correct choice because it maintains a continuously synchronized secondary database in the target region, enabling a fast failover with minimal downtime if the primary region fails. Geo-restore can restore to West US from geo-redundant backups, but it has a much longer recovery time than failing over to an already synchronized secondary. Creating a copy-only backup and manually transferring it is slow and not automated. Point-in-time restore is limited to the same region and cannot restore directly to West US.

Answer

Use the geo-restore feature to restore from the geo-redundant backups to a new database in West US.

Answer

Create a copy-only backup and manually transfer it to West US.

Answer

Perform a point-in-time restore to a new database in West US.

Question 7

Your company has an Azure SQL Database that uses the Business Critical service tier with three replicas. You need to ensure that during a regional outage, the database can be failed over to a secondary region with minimal data loss. What should you configure?

Accepted Answer

Create an auto-failover group with a secondary server in a different region.. An auto-failover group in Azure SQL Database lets you group databases on a primary server and configure a secondary server in a different Azure region, with automatic or manual failover and read-write listener endpoints. It provides cross-region disaster recovery with minimal data loss (RPO typically seconds) and is the correct configuration for regional outage failover.

Answer

Configure zone-redundant replicas in the same region.

Answer

Enable read scale-out on the database.

Answer

Use geo-redundant backup storage and perform geo-restore.

Question 8

Your company has a compliance requirement to keep database backups for 10 years. You are using Azure SQL Database. Which backup retention feature should you use?

Accepted Answer

Long-term retention (LTR) policy. Long-term retention (LTR) policy is the correct feature for keeping database backups for 10 years, as it supports retention of full backups for up to 10 years. Point-in-time restore (PITR) is limited to a maximum of 35 days and cannot meet the 10-year requirement. Geo-redundant storage (GRS) provides geographic redundancy for backups but does not extend the retention period. Automated backups are retained for a maximum of 35 days by default and cannot be configured for 10-year retention.

Answer

Geo-redundant storage (GRS)

Answer

Automated backups

Answer

Point-in-time restore (PITR)

Question 9

You have an Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication. You need to monitor the replication lag to ensure the RPO is met. Which metric should you monitor?

Accepted Answer

Replication lag. Active geo-replication in Azure SQL Database continuously ships transaction log records from the primary to the secondary. The 'Replication lag' metric specifically measures the delay between the primary and secondary, which directly maps to your Recovery Point Objective (RPO). Monitoring this metric lets you verify that the secondary is keeping up and that you won't lose more than the acceptable amount of data in a failover.

Answer

DTU consumption

Answer

Data IO percentage

Answer

Deadlocks

Question 10

You need to configure a backup policy for Azure SQL Database that allows restoring to any point within the last 7 days. What is the minimum point-in-time restore retention period you should set?

Accepted Answer

7 days. Azure SQL Database supports point-in-time restore (PITR) with a configurable retention period between 1 and 35 days, with a default of 7 days. To allow restoring to any point within the last 7 days, the minimum retention period that satisfies the requirement is exactly 7 days. Setting a shorter period (1 or 3 days) would not meet the stated requirement, and 14 days exceeds the minimum needed.

Answer

1 day

Answer

14 days

Answer

3 days

Question 11

Which TWO of the following are benefits of using Azure SQL Database failover groups compared to active geo-replication? (Choose Two.)

Accepted Answer

Failover groups allow you to fail over multiple databases simultaneously.. Option A is correct because a failover group is a container that groups several Azure SQL databases on a logical server, so a single failover operation moves all member databases together, whereas active geo-replication requires failing over each database individually. Option B is correct because failover groups expose read-write and read-only listener endpoints (e.g., <fg-name>.database.windows.net) that stay constant, so applications keep using the same connection string after a failover instead of updating the server name. Option C is not a distinguishing benefit: failover groups support automatic failover policies, but active geo-replication also allows automatic failover, so it is not unique to failover groups. Option D is not correct as a differentiator because active geo-replication also provides readable secondary replicas for read-only workloads. Option E is incorrect because failover groups still rely on geo-replicated storage/backups; they do not remove the need for geo-redundant storage.

Answer

Failover groups automatically fail over without any manual intervention.

Answer

Failover groups provide a readable secondary replica for read-only workloads.

Answer

Failover groups eliminate the need for geo-redundant storage.

Question 12

You are reviewing the ARM template snippet for an Azure SQL Database failover group. The primary server is in East US. The secondary is in West Europe. The readWriteEndpoint has automatic failover with a grace period of 60 minutes. The readOnlyEndpoint is disabled. After a complete outage in East US, what will happen?

Accepted Answer

The failover group will wait 60 minutes, then automatically fail over to West Europe.. With automatic failover enabled on the read/write endpoint and a 60-minute grace period, Azure SQL failover groups wait the full grace period after detecting the primary outage before promoting the secondary. Only after that window elapses does the geo-secondary in West Europe become the new primary. The readOnlyEndpoint setting is irrelevant to read/write failover behavior.

Answer

The failover group will not fail over automatically because the grace period is too long.

Answer

The failover group will immediately fail over to West Europe.

Answer

The failover group requires manual failover because readOnlyEndpoint is disabled.

Question 13

You query the sys.dm_geo_replication_link_status dynamic management view for an Azure SQL Database configured with active geo-replication. The exhibit shows the output. What does this indicate about the replication health?

Accepted Answer

The secondary is fully synchronized with minimal lag.. The replicationLag of 5 seconds is minimal and normal for active geo-replication, indicating the secondary is nearly synchronized. The replicationState 'CATCH_UP' confirms that the secondary is fully caught up with the primary. Options B, C, and D are incorrect: B is wrong because a secondary role is expected in geo-replication; C is wrong because 5 seconds lag is not a problem; D is wrong because the state is CATCH_UP, not SEEDING.

Answer

The secondary role indicates a failover has occurred.

Answer

The secondary is 5 seconds behind, indicating a problem.

Answer

The replication is in the seeding phase.

Question 14

You are preparing a disaster recovery runbook. You plan to use the PowerShell command shown in the exhibit to restore a database to a different region. What must be true for this command to succeed?

Accepted Answer

The source database must have geo-redundant backup storage configured.. The Restore-AzSqlDatabase cmdlet with the -FromGeoBackup parameter requires the source database to have geo-redundant backup storage (also known as geo-redundant storage) enabled. This allows restoration from geographically replicated backups. Option B is incorrect because point-in-time restore is not required for a geo-restore; geo-restore uses the geo-redundant backup independently. Option C is incorrect because the source database does not need to be online at the time of restoration; geo-backups are stored in Azure storage and are available even if the source database is offline. Option D is incorrect because the purpose of geo-restore is to restore to a different region; therefore, the target server can be in a different region than the source.

Answer

The source database must have point-in-time restore enabled.

Answer

The source database must be online at the time of restoration.

Answer

The target server must be in the same region as the source server.

Question 15

Your company runs a mission-critical Azure SQL Database in the East US region. To meet an RPO of 5 seconds and an RTO of 30 minutes in the event of a regional outage, which deployment option should you choose?

Accepted Answer

Failover groups with auto-failover policy. Failover groups with auto-failover policy provide automatic failover with an RPO of 5 seconds (default) and RTO of 30 minutes. Active geo-replication requires manual failover, which does not meet the RTO. Zone-redundant configuration only protects within a region. Backup restore has much higher RPO/RTO.

Answer

Zone-redundant configuration

Answer

Point-in-time restore

Answer

Active geo-replication with manual failover