Question 1hardmultiple choice
Full question →hardmultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company runs a critical application using Azure SQL Database in the West US region. They need a disaster recovery solution that automatically fails over to a secondary region (East US) with a recovery point objective (RPO) of 5 seconds and a recovery time objective (RTO) of 1 minute. The secondary region must also be able to serve read-only queries for reporting purposes. Which Azure SQL Database feature should they implement?
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
Best answer
Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with auto-failover group
Active geo-replication replicates data asynchronously with an RPO of 5 seconds. The auto-failover group enables automatic failover with an RTO of 1 minute, and the secondary can be used for read-only access.
B
Distractor review
Azure SQL Database geo-restore
Geo-restore is used to recover a database from a geo-redundant backup, which has a much higher RPO (hours) and RTO (hours), not suitable for the required RPO/RTO.
C
Distractor review
Azure SQL Database copy
Creating a copy of the database is a manual one-time operation that does not provide continuous replication or automatic failover.
D
Distractor review
Azure SQL Managed Instance failover group
Failover groups are available for SQL Managed Instance, but the scenario specifies Azure SQL Database, not Managed Instance.
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: Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with auto-failover group — Azure SQL Database active geo-replication combined with failover groups provides automatic failover to a secondary region with an RPO of 5 seconds (asynchronous replication) and an RTO of 1 minute when using a failover group. The secondary database can be used for read-only queries, making it suitable for reporting. Auto-failover groups automate the failover process. Geo-restore is for point-in-time restore, not continuous replication. Copy database is a one-time operation. Failover group for Managed Instance would not apply to single databases.
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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