- A
Active geo-replication
Why wrong: Active geo-replication is asynchronous; during a failover, some data loss may occur, and it does not provide automatic failover with the specified RTO.
- B
Auto-failover groups with read-scale enabled
This feature uses synchronous replication (in the Business Critical or Premium tier) to ensure zero data loss, automatic failover within 30 seconds, and allows read-only queries on the secondary.
- C
Zone-redundant database
Why wrong: Zone redundancy protects against a single datacenter failure within the same region but does not protect against a full regional outage.
- D
Point-in-time restore
Why wrong: Point-in-time restore is used to recover from accidental data deletion or corruption, not for disaster recovery from a regional outage.
AZ-305 Design business continuity solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design business continuity solutions. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 runs a critical Azure SQL Database in a single region. They need to ensure availability if an entire Azure datacenter fails. They require automatic failover with zero data loss and an RTO of 30 seconds. They also want to use the secondary database for read-only query offloading during normal operations. Which Azure SQL Database feature should they enable?
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
Auto-failover groups with read-scale enabled
Auto-failover groups with read-scale enabled meet all requirements: they provide automatic failover across regions with zero data loss when configured with the 'graceful' data loss policy (ensuring all committed transactions are replicated), an RTO of 30 seconds or less, and the ability to offload read-only queries to the secondary replica via the read-scale listener endpoint. This feature uses a secondary readable replica in a paired region, supporting both high availability and read workload distribution.
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.
- ✗
Active geo-replication
Why it's wrong here
Active geo-replication is asynchronous; during a failover, some data loss may occur, and it does not provide automatic failover with the specified RTO.
- ✓
Auto-failover groups with read-scale enabled
Why this is correct
This feature uses synchronous replication (in the Business Critical or Premium tier) to ensure zero data loss, automatic failover within 30 seconds, and allows read-only queries on the secondary.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Zone-redundant database
Why it's wrong here
Zone redundancy protects against a single datacenter failure within the same region but does not protect against a full regional outage.
- ✗
Point-in-time restore
Why it's wrong here
Point-in-time restore is used to recover from accidental data deletion or corruption, not for disaster recovery from a regional outage.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Active geo-replication with auto-failover groups, assuming both support automatic failover, but only auto-failover groups provide automatic failover and a read-scale listener for read-only offloading.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Auto-failover groups use the Availability Zones concept at the region level, leveraging synchronous replication within the primary region and asynchronous replication to the secondary region, but with the 'graceful' policy, all committed transactions are synchronously replicated to the secondary before acknowledgment, ensuring zero data loss. The read-scale listener (e.g., `<server>.secondary.database.windows.net`) routes read-only connections to the secondary replica without impacting the primary's performance, and the failover group can include multiple databases for coordinated failover. In a real-world scenario, if the primary datacenter fails, the failover group automatically promotes the secondary to primary within 30 seconds, and applications using the failover group listener (e.g., `<server>.database.windows.net`) reconnect transparently.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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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 — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Auto-failover groups with read-scale enabled — Auto-failover groups with read-scale enabled meet all requirements: they provide automatic failover across regions with zero data loss when configured with the 'graceful' data loss policy (ensuring all committed transactions are replicated), an RTO of 30 seconds or less, and the ability to offload read-only queries to the secondary replica via the read-scale listener endpoint. This feature uses a secondary readable replica in a paired region, supporting both high availability and read workload distribution.
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.
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
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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