Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company runs a critical application on Azure VMs in a single region. The application writes data to Azure SQL Database (PaaS) and Azure Blob Storage. The company needs a disaster recovery plan with an RPO of less than 5 minutes for the database and less than 15 minutes for the blob storage, and an RTO of less than 1 hour for the entire solution. What should they recommend?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Use Azure Site Recovery for VMs, geo-replication for Azure SQL Database, and geo-redundant storage (GRS) for Blob Storage.
GRS provides geo-redundant storage but does not offer read access in the secondary region without failover, which could delay recovery. Also, geo-replication for SQL DB is not the standard name; active geo-replication is needed for low RPO.
B
Distractor review
Use Azure Backup for VMs, geo-redundant storage for SQL Database backups, and geo-redundant storage for Blob Storage.
Azure Backup is designed for backup, not rapid disaster recovery with RTO of less than 1 hour. Backup RTO is typically higher, and it does not provide continuous replication.
C
Best answer
Use Azure Site Recovery for VMs, active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database, and read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS) for Blob Storage.
ASR replicates VMs with minutes RPO. Active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database provides a readable secondary with RPO seconds. RA-GRS provides a readable copy in the secondary region with ~15 minute RPO, meeting the blob requirement.
D
Distractor review
Use Azure Front Door with multi-region deployment of VMs and Azure Cosmos DB for the database.
This would require redesigning the application to use Cosmos DB, which is not the current database. The question specifies Azure SQL Database and Blob Storage, so this is not applicable.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A company is designing hub-and-spoke networking. Spoke VNets must use a central Azure Firewall for outbound internet traffic. Which two configurations are required?
Question 2
A company is designing private access to a PaaS database from workloads in a VNet. The database should not be reachable over its public endpoint. What should be recommended?
Question 3
A data platform must support analytical queries over petabytes of files in a data lake, while preserving hierarchical namespaces and fine-grained ACLs. Which storage service should you design around?
Question 4
A database workload has an RPO of 15 minutes and an RTO of 4 hours. Cost is more important than near-zero data loss. Which design is usually more appropriate than synchronous multi-region replication?
Question 5
A hub-and-spoke Azure network must centralize outbound inspection and still allow spokes to resolve private endpoint DNS names. Which two components are commonly required? (Choose 2.)
Question 6
A multinational company uses Microsoft Entra ID and several Azure subscriptions. Security administrators need to review privileged role assignments every month and require justification for continued access. Which design should be recommended?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-305 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Azure Site Recovery for VMs, active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database, and read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS) for Blob Storage. — Azure Site Recovery (ASR) provides disaster recovery for VMs with an RPO of minutes. For Azure SQL Database, active geo-replication allows failover to a secondary region with an RPO of seconds. For Blob Storage, read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS) provides asynchronous replication to a paired region with an RPO of about 15 minutes, meeting the requirement. Option C combines these correctly. Option A uses geo-replication for Blob but without read-access for immediate failover. Option B uses Azure Backup which is not suitable for regional failover with low RTO. Option D uses Cosmos DB, which is not the existing database.
What should I do if I get this AZ-305 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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