- A
Azure Load Balancer
Why wrong: Azure Load Balancer operates at layer-4 (TCP/UDP) and does not support SSL termination, URL-based routing, or session persistence based on application cookies.
- B
Azure Application Gateway
Application Gateway is a layer-7 load balancer that supports SSL termination, cookie-based session affinity, and URL path-based routing to multiple backend pools.
- C
Azure Front Door
Why wrong: Front Door is a global layer-7 load balancer and CDN. While it supports SSL offload and session affinity, it is designed for multi-region distribution and may introduce unnecessary latency for single-region use. It is not the optimized choice for a single-region scenario.
- D
Azure Traffic Manager
Why wrong: Traffic Manager is a DNS-based traffic routing service that directs traffic based on endpoint health and routing methods. It does not perform SSL termination, URL routing, or session persistence.
AZ-305 Design infrastructure solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design infrastructure solutions. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company deploys a web application on multiple Azure virtual machines (VMs) in a single region. The application receives HTTP and HTTPS traffic. They need to distribute the traffic across the VMs, offload SSL/TLS termination, and ensure that client requests from the same user session are always sent to the same backend VM (session persistence). Additionally, they need to route requests based on URL paths (e.g., /api/* to one pool, /images/* to another). Which Azure load balancing solution should they use?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"always"Why it matters: Absolute qualifier. An answer using 'always' is only correct if there are genuinely no exceptions — absolute statements are often wrong in networking.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Azure Application Gateway
Azure Application Gateway is the correct choice because it is a layer-7 load balancer that supports SSL/TLS termination, URL path-based routing, and session persistence (sticky sessions) via cookies. These features directly match the requirements for distributing HTTP/HTTPS traffic, offloading SSL, routing requests based on URL paths, and maintaining user session affinity to the same backend VM.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Azure Load Balancer
Why it's wrong here
Azure Load Balancer operates at layer-4 (TCP/UDP) and does not support SSL termination, URL-based routing, or session persistence based on application cookies.
- ✓
Azure Application Gateway
Why this is correct
Application Gateway is a layer-7 load balancer that supports SSL termination, cookie-based session affinity, and URL path-based routing to multiple backend pools.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "always" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Azure Front Door
Why it's wrong here
Front Door is a global layer-7 load balancer and CDN. While it supports SSL offload and session affinity, it is designed for multi-region distribution and may introduce unnecessary latency for single-region use. It is not the optimized choice for a single-region scenario.
- ✗
Azure Traffic Manager
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Load Balancer (layer 4) with Application Gateway (layer 7), assuming any load balancer can handle SSL termination and URL routing, but only layer-7 solutions like Application Gateway provide these application-level features.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Front Door is a global layer-7 load balancer and CDN. While it supports SSL offload and session affinity, it is designed for multi-region distribution and may introduce unnecessary latency for single-region use. It is not the optimized choice for a single-region scenario.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Application Gateway uses a web application firewall (WAF) for security and supports cookie-based session affinity by setting an Application Gateway Affinity cookie in the client's browser. Under the hood, it uses a set of rules and listeners to inspect HTTP/HTTPS headers and route traffic to backend pools based on URL path patterns, such as /api/* or /images/*, which is essential for microservices architectures. A real-world scenario is an e-commerce site where /api/* routes to a compute-intensive pool and /images/* routes to a static content pool, with sticky sessions ensuring cart data persists for the same user.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Design infrastructure solutions — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Design infrastructure solutions practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All AZ-305 questions
999 questions across all exam domains
- →
Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
AZ-305 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related AZ-305 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions practice questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions.
Design data storage solutions practice questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to Design data storage solutions.
Design business continuity solutions practice questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to Design business continuity solutions.
Design infrastructure solutions practice questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to Design infrastructure solutions.
SAA-C03 VPC practice questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC.
SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions.
SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions.
SAA-C03 IAM policy practice questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 IAM policy.
SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions.
SAA-C03 CloudFront practice questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 CloudFront.
SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions.
SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions.
Practice this exam
Start a free AZ-305 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-305 question test?
Design infrastructure solutions — This question tests Design infrastructure solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Application Gateway — Azure Application Gateway is the correct choice because it is a layer-7 load balancer that supports SSL/TLS termination, URL path-based routing, and session persistence (sticky sessions) via cookies. These features directly match the requirements for distributing HTTP/HTTPS traffic, offloading SSL, routing requests based on URL paths, and maintaining user session affinity to the same backend VM.
What should I do if I get this AZ-305 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "always". Absolute qualifier. An answer using 'always' is only correct if there are genuinely no exceptions — absolute statements are often wrong in networking.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This AZ-305 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-305 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.