A company runs large-scale analytics workloads using Apache Hadoop and Spark. They need a cloud storage solution that is fully compatible with the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) and provides unlimited storage with high throughput for parallel processing. They also want to take advantage of tiered storage to reduce costs for older data. Which Azure data service should they use?
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.
Distractor review
Azure Blob Storage
Blob Storage is object storage but does not provide native HDFS compatibility. While it can be used with Hadoop via the WASB driver, it lacks the hierarchical namespace and performance optimizations of ADLS Gen2.
Best answer
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2
ADLS Gen2 combines Blob Storage with a hierarchical namespace and HDFS-compatible APIs, offering unlimited storage, high throughput, and lifecycle tiering for cost optimization.
Distractor review
Azure Files
Azure Files is a fully managed file share for SMB and NFS protocols, not designed for big data analytics or HDFS workloads.
Distractor review
Azure Disk Storage
Azure Disk Storage provides block-level storage for VMs, but it has capacity limits and is not suitable for large-scale distributed data processing.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
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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?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 — Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 (ADLS Gen2) is built on Azure Blob Storage but provides a hierarchical namespace and HDFS compatibility, making it ideal for big data analytics. It supports unlimited storage, high throughput, and lifecycle management to tier data to Cool or Archive. Blob Storage alone lacks the HDFS driver layer. Azure Files is for file shares, and Azure Disk Storage is for VM disks, not for large-scale analytics.
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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