- A
Enable multi-VM consistency groups and use recovery plans with manual ordering.
Why wrong: Multi-VM consistency groups increase complexity and costs; manual ordering does not automate the startup sequence or scripts.
- B
Enable app-consistent replication and use deployment plans with pre- and post-actions.
Why wrong: App-consistent replication adds overhead and may cause unnecessary costs for high-change databases; deployment plans are not an ASR feature.
- C
Enable replication with high churn protection and use recovery plans with availability groups.
Why wrong: High churn protection is not an ASR feature; availability groups are for SQL Server, not for VM startup ordering.
- D
Enable crash-consistent replication and use recovery plans with pre- and post-actions.
Crash-consistent replication meets the RPO and reduces costs. Recovery plans support pre-actions to control VM startup order and post-actions to run scripts after failover.
Quick Answer
The answer is to enable crash-consistent replication and use recovery plans with pre- and post-actions. This is the correct choice because crash-consistent replication is the most cost-effective option for Azure Site Recovery when dealing with a high data change rate, as it captures only the disk state at the point of the snapshot without requiring application-level quiescing, thereby minimizing replication costs while still meeting a 15-minute RPO and 2-hour RTO. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of balancing cost against consistency requirements in disaster recovery design; a common trap is assuming that app-consistent replication is always necessary, but crash-consistent replication suffices for high-change-rate workloads where the RPO is not sub-minute. The recovery plan’s pre- and post-actions handle the startup order of database VMs before application VMs and the DNS update script after failover. Memory tip: think “Crash for Cash” — crash-consistent saves money when data changes fast, and pre/post actions control the order.
AZ-305 Design business continuity solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design business continuity solutions. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. A key principle to apply: crash-consistent replication captures the disk state without application awareness.. 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 runs a critical application on Azure VMs in a single region. They need to implement disaster recovery using Azure Site Recovery (ASR) with a recovery point objective (RPO) of 15 minutes and a recovery time objective (RTO) of 2 hours. The database VMs have a very high data change rate, and the company wants to minimize replication costs. They also need to ensure that in the recovery plan, database VMs start before application VMs, and a script updates DNS records after failover. Which combination of ASR configurations should they use?
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
Enable crash-consistent replication and use recovery plans with pre- and post-actions.
Option D is correct because crash-consistent replication is the most cost-effective ASR option for VMs with high data change rates, as it replicates only the data that has changed since the last snapshot without requiring application-level consistency. The RPO of 15 minutes and RTO of 2 hours can be met with crash-consistent replication, and recovery plans with pre- and post-actions allow you to specify that database VMs start before application VMs and run a script to update DNS records after failover.
Key principle: Crash-consistent replication captures the disk state without application awareness.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable multi-VM consistency groups and use recovery plans with manual ordering.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-VM consistency groups increase complexity and costs; manual ordering does not automate the startup sequence or scripts.
- ✗
Enable app-consistent replication and use deployment plans with pre- and post-actions.
Why it's wrong here
App-consistent replication adds overhead and may cause unnecessary costs for high-change databases; deployment plans are not an ASR feature.
- ✗
Enable replication with high churn protection and use recovery plans with availability groups.
Why it's wrong here
High churn protection is not an ASR feature; availability groups are for SQL Server, not for VM startup ordering.
- ✓
Enable crash-consistent replication and use recovery plans with pre- and post-actions.
Why this is correct
Crash-consistent replication meets the RPO and reduces costs. Recovery plans support pre-actions to control VM startup order and post-actions to run scripts after failover.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Crash-consistent replication captures the disk state without application awareness.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume app-consistent replication is always required for database VMs, but the question explicitly prioritizes minimizing replication costs and only requires a 15-minute RPO, making crash-consistent replication the correct choice despite the high data change rate.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Crash-consistent replication in ASR uses the last known state of the VM at the time of the snapshot, similar to a power failure, which is sufficient for many workloads when RPO is 15 minutes. For high-churn VMs, app-consistent replication would require frequent VSS snapshots, causing performance degradation and higher storage costs. Recovery plans in ASR support pre-actions (run before failover) and post-actions (run after failover), enabling custom scripts for DNS updates and startup ordering without manual intervention.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Crash-consistent replication captures the disk state without application awareness.
- Crash-consistent replication is less resource-intensive and cheaper than app-consistent.
- ASR Recovery Plans orchestrate VM failover and startup order.
- Recovery Plans support pre-actions and post-actions for automation.
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
Crash-consistent replication captures the disk state without application awareness.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review crash-consistent replication captures the disk state without application awareness., then practise related AZ-305 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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Design business continuity solutions — study guide chapter
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Design business continuity solutions practice questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-305 question test?
Design business continuity solutions — This question tests Design business continuity solutions — Crash-consistent replication captures the disk state without application awareness..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable crash-consistent replication and use recovery plans with pre- and post-actions. — Option D is correct because crash-consistent replication is the most cost-effective ASR option for VMs with high data change rates, as it replicates only the data that has changed since the last snapshot without requiring application-level consistency. The RPO of 15 minutes and RTO of 2 hours can be met with crash-consistent replication, and recovery plans with pre- and post-actions allow you to specify that database VMs start before application VMs and run a script to update DNS records after failover.
What should I do if I get this AZ-305 question wrong?
Review crash-consistent replication captures the disk state without application awareness., then practise related AZ-305 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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?
Crash-consistent replication captures the disk state without application awareness.
About these practice questions
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Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on AZ-305
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company runs a critical application on Azure VMs in the West US region. They need to protect against a regional disaster using Azure Site Recovery. The VMs use unmanaged disks. The recovery point objective (RPO) must be 15 minutes and the recovery time objective (RTO) must be 1 hour. Additionally, they must be able to perform quarterly disaster recovery drills that do not affect the production environment. Which configuration should they use in Azure Site Recovery?
medium- ✓ A.Set up replication with a 15-minute snapshot frequency and perform test failover for drills.
- B.Use Azure Backup for VM replication and perform restore drills.
- C.Configure a recovery plan with a pre-script to take a snapshot every 15 minutes.
- D.Enable multi-VM consistency group with a 15-minute consistency frequency.
Why A: Option A is correct because Azure Site Recovery supports replication of Azure VMs with unmanaged disks, and a 15-minute snapshot frequency meets the RPO requirement. Test failover allows quarterly disaster recovery drills without impacting the production environment, as it creates isolated copies of VMs in a separate network for validation.
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.
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