- A
Azure Application Gateway for web tier, Azure Load Balancer (internal) for application tier, and Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication
Application Gateway handles SSL termination and probes; internal Load Balancer keeps app tier private; SQL Database active geo-replication provides HA.
- B
Azure Front Door for web tier, Azure Load Balancer for database tier, and SQL Server on Azure VMs with Always On
Why wrong: Front Door is global and not needed for a single-region web tier; Load Balancer is for network traffic, not database tier; SQL Server on VMs adds overhead.
- C
Azure Traffic Manager for web tier, Azure Application Gateway for database tier, and Azure SQL Database with failover groups
Why wrong: Traffic Manager is DNS-based and doesn't provide SSL termination; Application Gateway is not a database load balancer.
- D
Azure Application Gateway for web tier, Azure Load Balancer (internal) for application tier, and Azure SQL Database with geo-restore
Why wrong: Geo-restore is for point-in-time recovery from a backup, not for high availability with automatic failover.
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 plans to deploy a multi-tier application on Azure. The web tier requires SSL termination and health probes. The application tier must be isolated from the internet. The database tier requires high availability. They want to minimize administrative overhead and use Azure native services. Which architecture should they recommend?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"minimum / minimize"Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
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 for web tier, Azure Load Balancer (internal) for application tier, and Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication
Option A is correct because Azure Application Gateway provides SSL termination and health probes for the web tier, an internal Azure Load Balancer isolates the application tier from the internet, and Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication offers high availability with automatic failover, minimizing administrative overhead by using PaaS services.
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 Application Gateway for web tier, Azure Load Balancer (internal) for application tier, and Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication
Why this is correct
Application Gateway handles SSL termination and probes; internal Load Balancer keeps app tier private; SQL Database active geo-replication provides HA.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Azure Front Door for web tier, Azure Load Balancer for database tier, and SQL Server on Azure VMs with Always On
Why it's wrong here
Front Door is global and not needed for a single-region web tier; Load Balancer is for network traffic, not database tier; SQL Server on VMs adds overhead.
- ✗
Azure Traffic Manager for web tier, Azure Application Gateway for database tier, and Azure SQL Database with failover groups
Why it's wrong here
Traffic Manager is DNS-based and doesn't provide SSL termination; Application Gateway is not a database load balancer.
- ✗
Azure Application Gateway for web tier, Azure Load Balancer (internal) for application tier, and Azure SQL Database with geo-restore
Why it's wrong here
Geo-restore is for point-in-time recovery from a backup, not for high availability with automatic failover.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Front Door or Traffic Manager with Application Gateway for SSL termination and health probes, or assume that geo-restore provides the same automatic high availability as active geo-replication, leading them to choose options that either lack required features or increase administrative overhead.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Application Gateway operates at Layer 7, allowing it to terminate SSL and route traffic based on URL paths, while the internal Azure Load Balancer works at Layer 4, ensuring the application tier is only reachable from the web tier within the virtual network. Active geo-replication in Azure SQL Database uses asynchronous replication to create readable secondary databases in paired regions, with automatic failover in case of a regional outage, providing an RPO of seconds and RTO of minutes without manual intervention.
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
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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.
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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 for web tier, Azure Load Balancer (internal) for application tier, and Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication — Option A is correct because Azure Application Gateway provides SSL termination and health probes for the web tier, an internal Azure Load Balancer isolates the application tier from the internet, and Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication offers high availability with automatic failover, minimizing administrative overhead by using PaaS services.
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: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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