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. A key principle to apply: provides application-consistent backups for SQL Server databases.. 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 SQL Server on an Azure virtual machine. They need to automate database backups with application-consistency and retain backups for 10 years to meet compliance. They also want to restore to any point in time within the last 35 days. Which Azure Backup solution should they use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure VM
Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure VM (Option A) is correct because it provides native application-consistent backups for SQL Server databases running on Azure VMs, supports long-term retention (LTR) up to 10 years using the backup vault's retention rules, and enables point-in-time restore (PITR) for the last 35 days by leveraging SQL Server transaction log backups. This solution is specifically designed for SQL Server workloads and meets both compliance and recovery requirements without additional infrastructure.
Key principle: Provides application-consistent backups for SQL Server databases.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure VM
Why this is correct
Correct. This solution provides application-consistent backups, long-term retention, and point-in-time restore.
Related concept
Provides application-consistent backups for SQL Server databases.
✗
Azure Backup for Azure VM
Why it's wrong here
VM-level backup provides crash-consistent or file-consistent backups, not application-consistent database backups.
✗
Azure Site Recovery
Why it's wrong here
Azure Site Recovery is designed for replication and failover/disaster recovery, not for long-term backup retention.
✗
SQL Server Always On Availability Groups
Why it's wrong here
Always On provides high availability and read-scale, not backup management or retention.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Backup for Azure VM (which provides crash-consistent backups) with Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure VM (which provides application-consistent backups with PITR), leading them to choose Option B for simplicity, but only Option A meets the specific SQL Server backup and compliance requirements.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure VM uses the Azure Backup extension to coordinate with SQL Server VSS writer for application-consistent backups, capturing both full/differential backups and transaction log backups every 5-15 minutes. The 35-day PITR window is achieved by retaining transaction log backups in the backup vault, while long-term retention (LTR) for 10 years is configured via backup policies that specify retention durations for full, differential, and log backup points. In a real-world scenario, if a compliance audit requires restoring a database to a specific second 8 years ago, Azure Backup's LTR allows restoring from a full backup point, though PITR granularity is limited to the last 35 days due to log backup retention constraints.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Provides application-consistent backups for SQL Server databases.
Supports point-in-time recovery for databases.
Offers long-term retention up to 99 years.
Integrates with SQL Server's VSS writer for data integrity.
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
Provides application-consistent backups for SQL Server databases.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-305 question in full detail.
Review provides application-consistent backups for SQL Server databases., then practise related AZ-305 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
Design business continuity solutions — This question tests Design business continuity solutions — Provides application-consistent backups for SQL Server databases..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure VM — Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure VM (Option A) is correct because it provides native application-consistent backups for SQL Server databases running on Azure VMs, supports long-term retention (LTR) up to 10 years using the backup vault's retention rules, and enables point-in-time restore (PITR) for the last 35 days by leveraging SQL Server transaction log backups. This solution is specifically designed for SQL Server workloads and meets both compliance and recovery requirements without additional infrastructure.
What should I do if I get this AZ-305 question wrong?
Review provides application-consistent backups for SQL Server databases., then practise related AZ-305 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Provides application-consistent backups for SQL Server databases.
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