AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Question
A company needs to store immutable audit logs for regulatory compliance. The logs must be stored in a write-once, read-many (WORM) state for 7 years. Which Azure storage feature should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse soft delete or change feed with immutable storage, not realizing that only immutable storage enforces a true WORM state that prevents both deletion and overwriting, which is required for regulatory compliance.
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 Blob Storage immutable storage with time-based retention
Azure Blob Storage immutable storage with time-based retention enforces a WORM (Write Once, Read Many) state, preventing logs from being modified or deleted for a specified retention period. This directly meets the regulatory requirement to store audit logs immutably for 7 years, as the policy locks the data at the container or blob level and cannot be removed until the retention interval expires.
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 Blob Storage immutable storage with time-based retention
Why this is correct
Azure Blob Storage immutable storage with time-based retention enforces a Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) policy at the container level, preventing any blob from being modified or deleted during a user-defined retention interval. This satisfies regulatory audit-log requirements such as SEC 17a-4(f) because even the storage account owner cannot alter or purge the data until the period expires, and it can optionally be combined with legal holds for indefinite preservation.
- ✗
Azure SQL Database temporal tables
Why it's wrong here
Azure SQL Database temporal tables automatically maintain full history of row changes in a separate history table, enabling point-in-time analysis of data evolution. However, they do not enforce WORM immutability because users with appropriate database permissions can directly update or delete rows in both the current and history tables, making them unsuitable for regulatory requirements that demand tamper-proof, unalterable audit logs.
- ✗
Azure Blob Storage change feed
Why it's wrong here
The Azure Blob Storage change feed provides an append-only transaction log that records create, update, and delete events for blobs, allowing you to track when and how data changed. While this is useful for auditing and incremental processing, the change feed does not block or prevent the underlying blobs from being modified or deleted, so it cannot guarantee immutability of the audit log content itself.
- ✗
Azure Blob Storage soft delete
Why it's wrong here
Azure Blob Storage soft delete is a data protection feature that retains deleted blobs for a configurable period, allowing you to recover them after accidental deletion. However, it does not make blobs immutable because blobs can still be overwritten or modified during their life, and the soft-deleted copies are eventually purged when the retention period ends, so it cannot enforce WORM compliance for regulatory audit logs.
Quick reference
Azure Blob Storage Tier Comparison
| Tier | Storage Cost | Retrieval Cost | Latency | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot | Highest | Lowest | Immediate | Active data, frequent reads |
| Cool | Lower | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / month |
| Cold | Lower still | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / quarter |
| Archive | Lowest | Highest + rehydration delay | Hours | Long-term compliance retention |
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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