DP-300 Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment Practice Test 9 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You need to ensure high availability for an Azure SQL Database in the Business Critical service tier. Which feature provides the fastest failover within the same region?

Accepted Answer

Built-in Always On availability groups. The Business Critical service tier uses Always On availability groups with synchronous replication, providing automatic and fast failover within the same region. Option B (Zone-redundant configuration) adds zone resilience but does not provide faster failover within a zone. Option C (Read scale-out) is for read-only workloads and does not provide failover. Option D (Active geo-replication) is for cross-region failover and has a higher RTO.

Answer

Zone-redundant configuration

Answer

Read scale-out

Answer

Active geo-replication

Question 2

Your company has an Azure SQL Database with a failover group configured to a secondary region. The primary region experiences a temporary network issue. The failover group is set to automatic failover with a grace period of 1 hour. What will happen?

Accepted Answer

Automatic failover will start after 1 hour if the primary is still unreachable.. With automatic failover configured and a grace period of 1 hour, Azure SQL Database will wait for the grace period to expire before initiating failover. If the primary region remains unreachable after 1 hour, automatic failover occurs. Option A is incorrect because failover does not happen immediately; it waits for the grace period. Option B is incorrect because manual failover is possible but not required; automatic failover will proceed after the grace period. Option D is incorrect because the secondary database is not deleted or re-created; it is already provisioned and will become the primary upon failover.

Answer

Automatic failover will happen immediately.

Answer

You must manually initiate failover.

Answer

The secondary database will be deleted and re-created.

Question 3

You have a SQL Server on Azure VM running SQL Server 2022 with a Distributed availability group (DAG) for disaster recovery across two Azure regions. You need to ensure that the secondary replica can become the primary without data loss if the primary region fails. What setting must be configured?

Accepted Answer

Synchronous commit mode on the distributed AG. To ensure no data loss during a failover in a distributed availability group (AG), you must configure synchronous commit mode on the distributed AG. In this mode, a transaction is committed only after it has been hardened on both the primary replica and the primary forwarder (the primary of the local AG). This guarantees that all committed data is available on the secondary side. Option A is incorrect because backup preference does not affect data loss. Option B is incorrect because asynchronous commit can allow data loss if the primary fails before the data is replicated. Option D is incorrect because automatic seeding is only used for initial data synchronization, not for ongoing data protection.

Answer

Backup preference set to secondary

Answer

Asynchronous commit mode on the distributed AG

Answer

Automatic seeding enabled

Question 4

Which TWO actions should you take to achieve high availability for an Azure SQL Managed Instance with a 99.99% SLA? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Use Business Critical service tier.. To achieve the 99.99% SLA for Azure SQL Managed Instance, you must use the Business Critical service tier (which provides local redundancy) and deploy the instance as zone-redundant (which protects against zone failures). Option A (automated backups with long-term retention) is for data durability and recovery, not availability. Option D (geo-replication) is for disaster recovery, not high availability within a region. Option E (General Purpose) offers a lower SLA (99.99% only with zone redundancy, but still not the highest available; typically 99.99% is achieved with Business Critical and zone redundancy). Therefore, B and C are the correct choices.

Answer

Enable automated backups with long-term retention.

Answer

Configure geo-replication to a secondary region.

Answer

Use General Purpose service tier.

Question 5

Which THREE components are required to configure an auto-failover group for Azure SQL Database? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

A failover group name. The correct components required to configure an auto-failover group for Azure SQL Database are a failover group name (which acts as the logical container), a primary logical server, and a secondary logical server in a different region. Active geo-replication (Option A) is not required because the auto-failover group itself manages the replication process. An availability group listener (Option E) is not needed; the failover group automatically provides a read/write listener endpoint. Therefore, the correct choices are B, C, and D.

Answer

Active geo-replication

Answer

An availability group listener

Question 6

Which TWO statements about Azure SQL Database zone-redundant configuration are true? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

It can be enabled during database creation or by updating an existing database.. Options B and D are correct. Zone-redundant configuration can be enabled during database creation or by updating an existing database (B), and it provides resilience within a single Azure region across multiple availability zones (D). Option A is incorrect because zone-redundant configuration does not require a failover group; failover groups are used for geo-replication, not for zone redundancy. Option C is incorrect because zone-redundant configuration is available in both the General Purpose and Business Critical service tiers. Option E is incorrect because the cost impact varies by tier: General Purpose tier does not incur additional cost for zone redundancy, while Business Critical does; thus, the blanket statement that it always incurs additional cost is false.

Answer

It requires a failover group to be configured.

Answer

It is only available in the Business Critical service tier.

Answer

It incurs additional cost compared to non-zone-redundant configurations.

Question 7

You manage a mission-critical Azure SQL Database in the East US region. The database uses the Business Critical service tier with zone-redundant high availability enabled. You need to ensure that if an entire Azure region fails, the database can be failed over to a secondary region with minimal data loss. What should you implement?

Accepted Answer

Enable active geo-replication to a secondary server in a paired region.. Active geo-replication provides near-real-time asynchronous replication to a secondary region, and with Business Critical, you can configure a readable secondary that can be failed over manually or automatically with minimal data loss. Option A is wrong because failover groups are built on top of geo-replication but do not guarantee minimal data loss by themselves; they rely on the replication mode. Option B is wrong because auto-failover groups include geo-replication but the question asks for the specific feature to implement. Option D is wrong because zone redundancy protects against zonal failures within a region, not regional failures.

Answer

Enable auto-failover groups with read-write failover policy.

Answer

Configure a failover group with the secondary in a different Azure region.

Answer

Deploy zone-redundant configuration in East US 2.

Question 8

You are designing a disaster recovery plan for an Azure SQL Managed Instance that hosts a critical OLTP workload. The primary instance is deployed in West Europe. You need to ensure that failover to a secondary region occurs automatically when the primary becomes unavailable due to a regional outage, and that the secondary database is readable during normal operations. You also want to minimize storage costs. What should you configure?

Accepted Answer

Create a failover group between the primary and a secondary managed instance in a paired region.. Failover groups for Azure SQL Managed Instance provide automatic failover to a secondary instance in a paired region, and the secondary is readable for read-only workloads, meeting the requirements. Option B is incorrect because 'auto-failover groups' is a term used for Azure SQL Database, not SQL Managed Instance; SQL MI uses failover groups, which also provide automatic failover. Option A is incorrect because geo-zone-redundant storage is a storage redundancy option, not a disaster recovery configuration for SQL MI. Option C is incorrect because active geo-replication is available for Azure SQL Database, not for SQL Managed Instance.

Answer

Deploy a secondary instance using a Bicep template with geo-zone-redundant storage.

Answer

Implement auto-failover groups with a readable secondary in another region.

Answer

Configure active geo-replication between two managed instances.

Question 9

You have an Azure SQL Database that uses the General Purpose service tier. The database is critical and you need to ensure that it remains available during a planned patching event that updates the underlying hardware. What does Azure SQL Database provide to maintain availability during such events?

Accepted Answer

Automated failover to a built-in standby replica with minimal downtime.. The General Purpose tier includes built-in high availability with automated failover to a standby replica during planned patching events, minimizing downtime. Option A is incorrect because the database is not taken offline; it fails over seamlessly. Option B is incorrect because manual failover is not required—the process is automatic. Option C is incorrect because General Purpose does not provide zone-redundant replicas by default; that is a feature of the Business Critical or Hyperscale tiers.

Answer

The database is taken offline during patching and restored afterward.

Answer

You must manually fail over to a secondary database to avoid downtime.

Answer

Zone-redundant replicas that ensure zero downtime.

Question 10

Refer to the exhibit. You are reviewing an ARM template for deploying an Azure SQL Database. The template specifies a point-in-time restore from a source database. The source database is configured with geo-redundant backup storage. You need to ensure that the restored database can be used for disaster recovery in a different region. What is missing from the template to achieve this?

Accepted Answer

Set 'createMode' to 'GeoRestore' and specify a target server in the desired region.. To perform a point-in-time restore in a different region for disaster recovery, you must set 'createMode' to 'GeoRestore' and specify the target server in the desired region. The template currently uses 'PointInTimeRestore', which only restores to the same region. Option A is incorrect because adding a 'location' property alone does not enable cross-region restore—the restore mode must be changed. Option B is incorrect because 'zoneRedundant' refers to high availability within a single region, not disaster recovery across regions. Option C is incorrect because 'GeoZone' backup redundancy still does not support cross-region point-in-time restore; geo-restore uses geo-redundant backups automatically.

Answer

Add a 'location' property to the database resource.

Answer

Set 'zoneRedundant' to true.

Answer

Change 'requestedBackupStorageRedundancy' to 'GeoZone'.

Question 11

Your company uses Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication configured between two regions. The primary database in East US experiences a critical failure, and you initiate a manual failover to the secondary in West US. After the failover, you need to re-establish geo-replication to a new secondary database in a third region (Central US) to restore the DR capability. What is the correct sequence of actions?

Accepted Answer

Remove the geo-replication link to the old primary, then add a new secondary in Central US.. After a manual failover, the former secondary becomes the new primary. The old primary, if still available, becomes a secondary. To restore DR capability with a new secondary in Central US, you must first remove the existing geo-replication link between the current primary and the old primary (the orphaned secondary). Without removing this link, you cannot add another secondary. Once the link is removed, you can create a new geo-secondary in Central US from the current primary. Therefore, option D is correct. Option A is incorrect because deleting the old primary is unnecessary and could be destructive. Option B is incorrect because a new secondary cannot be added while a geo-replication link already exists to the old primary. Option C is incorrect because performing a planned failover back to the old primary would cause unnecessary downtime and does not facilitate adding a secondary in Central US.

Answer

Delete the old primary and create a new geo-secondary in Central US.

Answer

Add a new secondary in Central US on the current primary.

Answer

Perform a planned failover to the old primary, then configure geo-replication to Central US.

Question 12

You are planning a disaster recovery strategy for an Azure SQL Database that supports a critical application. The database is 500 GB in size and you need to recover it within 1 hour (RTO) with a maximum data loss of 5 minutes (RPO). Which Azure SQL Database feature should you use?

Accepted Answer

Active geo-replication to a secondary server in a paired region.. Active geo-replication provides asynchronous replication with an RPO of a few seconds to a few minutes, and failover can be initiated manually within minutes, meeting the RTO and RPO. Option A is wrong because point-in-time restore does not provide a separate secondary region. Option B is wrong because long-term retention is for archival, not DR. Option C is wrong because failover groups use geo-replication but the RPO is still asynchronous; the question asks for the feature, and geo-replication is the core.

Answer

Long-term retention (LTR) backups.

Answer

Point-in-time restore (PITR) with geo-redundant backup storage.

Answer

Auto-failover group with a secondary in a different region.

Question 13

You have an Azure SQL Managed Instance configured with a failover group to a secondary region. During a regional outage, the failover group automatically fails over to the secondary. After the primary region is restored, you need to bring the primary back online and re-establish the failover relationship. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Initiate a planned failover from the current primary to the original primary.. After an automatic failover, the secondary region becomes the primary. To restore the original primary and re-establish the failover relationship, you must perform a planned failover (also called a graceful failover) from the current primary (the former secondary) to the original primary. This switches roles back without data loss. Option A is incorrect because deleting and recreating the failover group is unnecessary and disruptive. Option B is incorrect because you cannot add the original primary as a new secondary if it is already part of the failover group—it must be removed first. Option D is incorrect because removing and re-adding the original primary would break the geo-replication and is not the correct procedure.

Answer

Delete the failover group and recreate it with the original primary as the primary.

Answer

Add the original primary as a new secondary to the current primary.

Answer

Remove the original primary from the failover group and re-add it.

Question 14

Refer to the exhibit. You are reviewing the configuration of an Azure SQL Database hyperscale service tier. The database 'SalesDB' has read scale enabled with 2 read replicas. You need to ensure that if the primary region fails, the database can be failed over to a secondary region with minimal data loss and that the read replicas in the secondary region are also available. What should you configure?

Accepted Answer

Create a named replica in a secondary region and configure it as a geo-secondary.. For Azure SQL Database Hyperscale, named replicas can be created in a secondary region. These replicas provide both read scale-out and can be promoted to primary during a regional failover, ensuring minimal data loss. Option A is incorrect because zone redundancy provides high availability within a single region, not disaster recovery across regions. Option C is incorrect because active geo-replication is not supported for Hyperscale; named replicas serve the geo-replication purpose. Option D is incorrect because failover groups are not supported for Hyperscale; named replicas are the mechanism for cross-region failover and read scaling.

Answer

Configure zone redundancy on the Hyperscale database.

Answer

Enable active geo-replication to a secondary server in a different region.

Answer

Create a failover group with a secondary Hyperscale database in another region.

Question 15

You have an Azure SQL Database that uses the Business Critical service tier with zone redundancy enabled. The database is deployed in a single region. You want to ensure that if a zone fails, the database remains available with minimal downtime. How does zone redundancy achieve this?

Accepted Answer

It maintains multiple synchronous replicas in different availability zones within the region.. Zone redundancy for Azure SQL Database Business Critical tier maintains multiple synchronous replicas in different availability zones within the same region. If one zone fails, another replica automatically becomes the primary, ensuring minimal downtime. Option B is incorrect because read-only replicas are not promoted to primary; all replicas are read/write capable and failover is automatic. Option C is incorrect as it describes geo-replication to a secondary region, not zone redundancy. Option D is incorrect because replicas are kept synchronous, not asynchronous.

Answer

It creates read-only replicas in other zones that can be promoted to primary.

Answer

It replicates data to a secondary region for failover.

Answer

It uses asynchronous replication to a standby replica in another zone.