- A
Configure HANA System Replication (async) between the primary and secondary site, and use a Pacemaker cluster with Azure Load Balancer to enable automated failover
HANA System Replication with asynchronous mode provides near-zero RPO. Combined with Pacemaker and Azure Load Balancer, you can achieve automatic failover within the required RTO. This is the recommended approach for SAP HANA DR on Azure.
- B
Use Azure Site Recovery to replicate the HANA large instance VMs with a replication frequency of 30 seconds and enable auto-failover
Why wrong: Azure Site Recovery can replicate VMs but does not ensure HANA application consistency at the database transaction level. It may cause data loss or corruption because it captures VM-level state, not HANA-consistent checkpoints. RPO near zero cannot be achieved with VM replication.
- C
Schedule HANA database backups every 5 minutes to Azure Blob Storage with geo-redundant storage (GRS), and restore in the secondary region on demand
Why wrong: Backups every 5 minutes give an RPO of 5 minutes, not near zero. Manual restore cannot meet a 30-minute RTO as it requires provisioning and data loading. No automated failover.
- D
Set up HANA System Replication with synchronous mode to the secondary region
Why wrong: Synchronous replication over long distances (West US to East US) can cause high latency and impact production performance. Asynchronous replication is recommended for cross-region scenarios.
Quick Answer
The correct design is to configure HANA System Replication in asynchronous mode between the primary West US and secondary East US sites, paired with a Pacemaker cluster and Azure Load Balancer for automated failover. This combination meets the near-zero RPO requirement because asynchronous replication continuously ships log changes to the secondary region with only seconds of potential data loss, while the Pacemaker cluster orchestrates the failover process to stay within the 30-minute RTO. On the Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your understanding that Azure Site Recovery does not support HANA Large Instances, and that synchronous replication is impractical over the geographic distance between West US and East US due to latency. A common trap is choosing synchronous replication or Azure Site Recovery, both of which fail for HLI workloads. Memory tip: think "Async for distance, Pacemaker for pace" — asynchronous replication handles the long-distance RPO, and Pacemaker keeps the failover fast.
AZ-305 Design business continuity solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design business continuity 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 runs an SAP HANA database on Azure large instances (HLI) in the West US region. The database is critical for business operations. They need a disaster recovery solution with a recovery point objective (RPO) of near zero (seconds) and a recovery time objective (RTO) of less than 30 minutes in the event of a region-wide outage. The solution must automatically replicate data to a secondary region (East US) and support automated failover. Which design should they implement?
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
Configure HANA System Replication (async) between the primary and secondary site, and use a Pacemaker cluster with Azure Load Balancer to enable automated failover
Option A is correct because HANA System Replication (async) provides near-zero RPO by continuously replicating log changes to the secondary region, while a Pacemaker cluster with Azure Load Balancer enables automated failover within the required 30-minute RTO. This combination meets the strict RPO/RTO requirements for SAP HANA on Azure Large Instances, as Azure Site Recovery does not support HLI and synchronous replication would introduce unacceptable latency over the West US to East US distance.
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.
- ✓
Configure HANA System Replication (async) between the primary and secondary site, and use a Pacemaker cluster with Azure Load Balancer to enable automated failover
Why this is correct
HANA System Replication with asynchronous mode provides near-zero RPO. Combined with Pacemaker and Azure Load Balancer, you can achieve automatic failover within the required RTO. This is the recommended approach for SAP HANA DR on Azure.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use Azure Site Recovery to replicate the HANA large instance VMs with a replication frequency of 30 seconds and enable auto-failover
Why it's wrong here
Azure Site Recovery can replicate VMs but does not ensure HANA application consistency at the database transaction level. It may cause data loss or corruption because it captures VM-level state, not HANA-consistent checkpoints. RPO near zero cannot be achieved with VM replication.
- ✗
Schedule HANA database backups every 5 minutes to Azure Blob Storage with geo-redundant storage (GRS), and restore in the secondary region on demand
Why it's wrong here
Backups every 5 minutes give an RPO of 5 minutes, not near zero. Manual restore cannot meet a 30-minute RTO as it requires provisioning and data loading. No automated failover.
- ✗
Set up HANA System Replication with synchronous mode to the secondary region
Why it's wrong here
Synchronous replication over long distances (West US to East US) can cause high latency and impact production performance. Asynchronous replication is recommended for cross-region scenarios.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse Azure Site Recovery as a viable option for HLI, not realizing it only supports standard Azure VMs, or they assume synchronous replication is always better without considering the latency penalty over inter-region distances.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Synchronous replication over long distances (West US to East US) can cause high latency and impact production performance. Asynchronous replication is recommended for cross-region scenarios.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
HANA System Replication uses log shipping: the primary writes redo log entries to a log buffer, which are then sent asynchronously to the secondary in async mode, ensuring minimal impact on primary transaction throughput. Pacemaker orchestrates failover by monitoring the primary via STONITH fencing and reconfiguring the Azure Load Balancer to direct traffic to the secondary upon failure. In practice, async replication over ~50ms latency between West US and East US can achieve sub-second RPO, while synchronous mode would force every transaction to wait for network round-trip, often causing timeouts or severe throughput degradation.
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.
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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: Configure HANA System Replication (async) between the primary and secondary site, and use a Pacemaker cluster with Azure Load Balancer to enable automated failover — Option A is correct because HANA System Replication (async) provides near-zero RPO by continuously replicating log changes to the secondary region, while a Pacemaker cluster with Azure Load Balancer enables automated failover within the required 30-minute RTO. This combination meets the strict RPO/RTO requirements for SAP HANA on Azure Large Instances, as Azure Site Recovery does not support HLI and synchronous replication would introduce unacceptable latency over the West US to East US distance.
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.
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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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