DP-300 Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Your company has an Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication to a secondary region. During a regional outage, the secondary database becomes the primary. After the outage is resolved, you need to bring the original primary back online with minimal data loss and without creating a new secondary. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Re-establish geo-replication from the new primary to the original primary.. Option A is correct because after a failover, the original primary becomes a secondary. You can safely re-establish geo-replication by failing back to the original primary or simply adding it as a secondary. Option B is wrong because geo-replication is not automatically re-established. Option C is wrong because the original primary is still available as a secondary. Option D is wrong because you should not delete the original primary.

Answer

Automatically re-establish geo-replication by waiting for the outage resolution.

Answer

Restore the original primary from a backup and then re-establish geo-replication.

Answer

Delete the original primary database and create a new secondary from the new primary.

Question 2

You have an Azure SQL Managed Instance configured with a failover group across two regions. The primary region experiences a complete outage. You perform a manual failover to the secondary region. After the primary region is restored, you need to bring the original primary back into the failover group. What is the correct order of actions?

Accepted Answer

Remove the original primary from the failover group and then add it back as a secondary.. Option C is correct because after a manual failover, the original primary becomes a secondary. To bring it back, you must first remove it from the failover group (if it's still listed), then re-add it as a secondary. Option A is wrong because automatic failover is not configured. Option B is wrong because you should not create a new instance. Option D is wrong because you should perform a planned failover to restore the original primary, but only after re-adding it.

Answer

Perform a planned failover back to the original primary region.

Answer

Create a new SQL Managed Instance in the original region and add it to the failover group.

Answer

Perform a forced failover to the original primary region.

Question 3

Your company uses Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication. You need to ensure that in the event of a regional disaster, the failover to the secondary region occurs automatically with minimal downtime. The secondary region must be in a different Azure geography for compliance. What should you configure?

Accepted Answer

Create a failover group with automatic failover policy.. Option B is correct because Azure SQL Database failover groups support automatic failover when paired with auto-failover policy. Active geo-replication alone does not provide automatic failover. Option A is incorrect because active geo-replication requires manual failover. Option C is incorrect because always failover groups are not a feature. Option D is incorrect because auto-failover groups do not support cross-geography failover automatically without manual setup.

Answer

Create an auto-failover group using Azure CLI and set cross-geography replication.

Answer

Configure active geo-replication and set auto-failover policy.

Answer

Configure an always failover group with Microsoft Entra ID authentication.

Question 4

You are designing a disaster recovery plan for an Azure SQL Database that stores critical financial data. The RPO must be 5 seconds, and the RTO must be 30 seconds. Which solution should you recommend?

Accepted Answer

Failover groups with automatic failover policy.. Option A is correct because failover groups with automatic failover can achieve RPO of 5 seconds and RTO of 30 seconds. Option B is incorrect because active geo-replication has a higher RPO (typically 5 seconds as well) but requires manual failover, increasing RTO. Option C is incorrect because automated backups have much higher RPO and RTO. Option D is incorrect because zone-redundant configuration only protects within a region.

Answer

Zone-redundant configuration within the primary region.

Answer

Active geo-replication with manual failover.

Answer

Automated backups with geo-restore.

Question 5

You have an Azure SQL Managed Instance in the East US region. To meet a 1-hour RPO and 2-hour RTO, you configure a failover group with a secondary in West US using automatic failover. During a test, you notice that the RTO is consistently 10 minutes longer than required. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The failover group has a grace period of 20 minutes configured.. Option C is correct because the failover group's automatic failover includes a grace period (default 20 minutes) that delays failover to allow for transient issues. This grace period contributes to RTO. Option A is incorrect because synchronous commit is used in failover groups by default for the primary-secondary pair. Option B is incorrect because the secondary is already seeded. Option D is incorrect because Microsoft Entra ID authentication does not significantly impact failover time.

Answer

The failover group uses Microsoft Entra ID authentication, which adds latency.

Answer

The secondary database is configured with asynchronous commit, causing delay.

Answer

The secondary database is not seeded and needs to be restored.

Question 6

Your company has an Azure SQL Database configured with active geo-replication to a secondary region. You need to perform a planned failover for disaster recovery testing with zero data loss. The primary database is under heavy write load. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Set the primary database to read-only, perform a planned failover, then switch the new primary to read-write.. Option A is correct because to achieve zero data loss, you should set the database to read-only to prevent any writes, then failover, and finally resume writes on the new primary. Option B is incorrect because scaling up does not guarantee zero data loss. Option C is incorrect because backup and restore would cause data loss. Option D is incorrect because you should not switch to read-only mode, as that would prevent writes.

Answer

Switch the secondary to read-write mode and then failover.

Answer

Take a full backup of the primary, restore it to the secondary, and then failover.

Answer

Scale up the primary database to the highest performance tier to handle writes during failover.

Question 7

You have Azure SQL Database elastic pools in the primary region. You need to configure disaster recovery using a failover group. The secondary pool must be in a different region. Which PowerShell cmdlet should you use to create the secondary pool?

Accepted Answer

New-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary. Option A is correct because New-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary creates a secondary database for geo-replication. However, for failover groups, you typically use New-AzSqlDatabaseFailoverGroup. But the question specifically asks for creating the secondary pool; the correct cmdlet is New-AzSqlElasticPool to create the elastic pool, then add databases to the failover group. Since none of the options mention New-AzSqlElasticPool, the closest is New-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary which creates a secondary database within a pool. Option B is incorrect because New-AzSqlDatabaseFailoverGroup creates the failover group, not the secondary pool. Option C is incorrect because Set-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary modifies geo-replication. Option D is incorrect because Add-AzSqlDatabaseToFailoverGroup adds databases to a failover group.

Answer

Set-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary

Answer

Add-AzSqlDatabaseToFailoverGroup

Answer

New-AzSqlDatabaseFailoverGroup

Question 8

Your Azure SQL Database is configured with a failover group between two regions. The primary database experiences a catastrophic failure that prevents any connectivity. You need to initiate a failover to the secondary region. However, the failover group status shows 'Primary is down'. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Run a forced failover accepting potential data loss.. Option C is correct because when the primary is completely unavailable, you must perform a forced failover with data loss, which is allowed even if the primary is down. Option A is incorrect because a planned failover requires the primary to be accessible. Option B is incorrect because you cannot remove the primary if it is down. Option D is incorrect because you should not wait indefinitely.

Answer

Run a planned failover to ensure zero data loss.

Answer

Wait for the primary to come back online and then failover.

Answer

Remove the primary database from the failover group and then failover.

Question 9

You have an Azure SQL Managed Instance configured with a failover group for disaster recovery. The primary instance is in the East US region and the secondary is in West US. You need to perform a planned failover for maintenance with zero data loss. What is the correct sequence of steps?

Accepted Answer

Use the Azure portal to perform a planned failover for the failover group.. Option A is correct because to perform a planned failover with zero data loss, you should first trigger a failover from the primary to the secondary. The failover group will automatically ensure no data loss. After the failover, the secondary (now primary) is online. During maintenance, you can perform the maintenance on the former primary (now secondary). After maintenance, you can fail back. Option B is incorrect because you should not remove the failover group. Option C is incorrect because you should not scale down. Option D is incorrect because you should not take the primary offline before failover.

Answer

Take the primary instance offline, then failover.

Answer

Scale down the primary to reduce cost, then failover.

Answer

Remove the failover group, perform maintenance, then recreate the failover group.

Question 10

Which TWO of the following are benefits of using Azure SQL Database failover groups compared to active geo-replication alone?

Accepted Answer

Failover of multiple databases in a single group.. Failover groups extend active geo-replication by allowing you to manage failover for a group of databases as a single unit. This simplifies the failover process when you have multiple databases that must be failed over together to maintain application consistency. Option B is correct because failover groups support the coordinated failover of multiple databases, which active geo-replication alone does not.

Answer

Support for manual failover.

Answer

Readable secondary replicas for read-scale workloads.

Answer

Synchronous data replication to the secondary.

Question 11

Which THREE of the following are required considerations when configuring a failover group for Azure SQL Managed Instance?

Accepted Answer

Both instances must be in the same partner region pair.. Options A, B, and D are correct. Both instances must be in the same partner region pair (e.g., East US and West US). The secondary instance must be in a different region. The databases must be in the same resource group. Option C is incorrect because the secondary instance can have different service tiers. Option E is incorrect because failover groups support automatic failover, but the question asks for considerations; automatic failover is a feature, not a requirement.

Answer

Both instances must have the same service tier.

Answer

Automatic failover must be enabled.

Question 12

Which TWO of the following are valid disaster recovery options for Azure SQL Database that provide a secondary in a different Azure region?

Accepted Answer

Active geo-replication. Options B and D are correct. Active geo-replication and failover groups both create a readable secondary in a different region. Options A, C, and E are incorrect. Zone-redundant configuration provides high availability within a single region. Auto-failover groups is another term for failover groups, but it is not a separate option. Geo-restore restores from backups and does not maintain a continuous secondary.

Answer

Geo-restore

Answer

Zone-redundant configuration

Answer

Auto-failover groups

Question 13

Your company has an Azure SQL Managed Instance in the West US region. You need to configure a disaster recovery solution that provides automatic failover to a secondary region with minimal data loss. The solution must also allow read-only access to the secondary database for reporting purposes. Which option should you use?

Accepted Answer

Configure a failover group between the primary and secondary managed instances.. Option A is correct because failover groups support Azure SQL Managed Instance and provide automatic failover, a readable secondary, and minimal data loss with a synchronization mode that prioritizes data durability. Option B (geo-replication) is for single databases and elastic pools, not managed instances. Option C (auto-failover groups with active geo-replication) is redundant wording; failover groups are the feature. Option D (log shipping) is not built-in for managed instances and does not provide automatic failover or readable secondary.

Answer

Create an auto-failover group with active geo-replication.

Answer

Use log shipping to a secondary managed instance.

Answer

Enable active geo-replication on the database.

Question 14

You have an Azure SQL Database configured with active geo-replication to a secondary region. A regional outage occurs in the primary region. You need to manually fail over to the secondary database with the least amount of data loss. Which PowerShell cmdlet should you run?

Accepted Answer

Set-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary -ResourceGroupName ... -ServerName ... -DatabaseName ... -PartnerResourceGroupName ... -Failover. Option B is correct because Set-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary with -Failover initiates a planned failover that synchronizes data before failing over, minimizing data loss. Option A (Start-AzSqlDatabaseFailover) is for failing over a single database within the same region, not geo-failover. Option C (Invoke-AzSqlDatabaseFailover) does not exist. Option D (Switch-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary) is not a valid cmdlet.

Answer

Start-AzSqlDatabaseFailover -ResourceGroupName ... -ServerName ... -DatabaseName ...

Answer

Invoke-AzSqlDatabaseFailover -ResourceGroupName ... -ServerName ... -DatabaseName ... -Secondary

Answer

Switch-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary -ResourceGroupName ... -ServerName ... -DatabaseName ...

Question 15

You are designing a high availability solution for a mission-critical Azure SQL Database. The database must have an uptime SLA of 99.995% and automatically recover from zone-level failures without data loss. Which service tier and redundancy option should you choose?

Accepted Answer

Business Critical tier with zone redundancy. Option C is correct because the Business Critical tier with zone redundancy provides an SLA of 99.995% and automatic recovery from zone failures. Option A (General Purpose with zone redundancy) has a lower SLA (99.99%). Option B (Hyperscale with zone redundancy) offers 99.95% SLA for zone-redundant configuration. Option D (Basic tier) does not support zone redundancy and has a lower SLA.

Answer

Basic tier with zone redundancy

Answer

General Purpose tier with zone redundancy

Answer

Hyperscale tier with zone redundancy