Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company runs SQL Server on Azure VMs using SQL Server Standard Edition. They need a disaster recovery solution that replicates the database to a secondary Azure region with a recovery point objective (RPO) of 15 minutes and a recovery time objective (RTO) of 2 hours. They cannot use Always On Availability Groups due to licensing constraints. They also need to perform non-disruptive disaster recovery drills. Which Azure service 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
Distractor review
Azure Backup for SQL Server
Azure Backup is designed for backup and restore, not for disaster recovery with fast failover. RTO would typically be longer than 2 hours due to restore time, and drills are not as seamless.
B
Best answer
Azure Site Recovery
ASR replicates VMs continuously and provides app-consistent recovery points. It supports test failover for non-disruptive drills and can achieve an RPO of 15 minutes and RTO of 2 hours.
C
Distractor review
SQL Server Log Shipping to an Azure VM
Log shipping requires manual setup and management. It can achieve low RPO but RTO depends on the log shipping interval and recovery process. It does not provide built-in drill support without manual steps.
D
Distractor review
Geo-replication for Azure SQL Database
Geo-replication is only available for Azure SQL Database (PaaS), not for SQL Server running on Azure VMs (IaaS).
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 Site Recovery — Azure Site Recovery (ASR) can replicate Azure VMs (including those running SQL Server) to a secondary region. It offers app-consistent snapshots with a minimum RPO of 15 minutes and can meet an RTO of 2 hours. ASR supports test failover to perform drills without impacting production. SQL Server Standard Edition's Always On features are limited, but ASR works at the VM level and does not require SQL Server features. Azure Backup provides backup, not full replication with fast failover. Log shipping is manual and does not support easy drills. Azure SQL Database geo-replication is for Azure SQL Database, not SQL on VMs.
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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