The correct answer is to enable Cross-region restore (CRR) for the Recovery Services vault. This feature is specifically designed for Azure Backup cross-region restore disaster recovery scenarios, allowing you to restore backup data in a paired Azure region if the entire primary region fails. While Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS) replicates data to a paired region for durability, CRR is the active feature that actually grants you the ability to initiate a restore from that replicated copy during a regional outage. On the AZ-305 exam, this question tests your understanding of the distinction between storage redundancy options and the operational restore features that leverage them—a common trap is confusing GRS (a storage property) with CRR (a configurable restore capability). Remember the memory tip: "GRS stores it, CRR restores it."
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 uses Azure Backup to protect on-premises Windows servers. The backup data is stored in a Recovery Services vault. They want to ensure that backup data is protected even if the entire Azure region fails. What should they configure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable Cross-region restore (CRR) for the Recovery Services vault.
Cross-region restore (CRR) enables restoring backup data in a paired region if the primary region fails. Option A is incorrect because GRS is the storage redundancy, but CRR is the feature that enables restore. Option C is incorrect because zone-redundant storage protects only within a region. Option D is incorrect because replication across vaults is not a built-in feature.
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 backup replication across two Recovery Services vaults in different regions.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Backup does not support replication across vaults natively.
✗
Enable geo-redundant storage (GRS) for the Recovery Services vault.
Why it's wrong here
GRS stores data in a paired region but does not automatically enable restore; Cross-region restore must be enabled.
✗
Use zone-redundant storage (ZRS) for the Recovery Services vault.
Why it's wrong here
ZRS protects against zone failure within a region, not region failure.
✓
Enable Cross-region restore (CRR) for the Recovery Services vault.
Why this is correct
Cross-region restore allows restoring backup data in a paired region during a regional outage.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
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.
Detailed technical explanation
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.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-305 question in full detail.
Identify which AZ-305 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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: Enable Cross-region restore (CRR) for the Recovery Services vault. — Cross-region restore (CRR) enables restoring backup data in a paired region if the primary region fails. Option A is incorrect because GRS is the storage redundancy, but CRR is the feature that enables restore. Option C is incorrect because zone-redundant storage protects only within a region. Option D is incorrect because replication across vaults is not a built-in feature.
What should I do if I get this AZ-305 question wrong?
Identify which AZ-305 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Your company uses Azure Backup to protect on-premises file servers and Azure VMs. The compliance team requires that backup data be stored in a secondary region to protect against regional disasters. Which Azure Backup feature should you enable?
easy
✓ A.Enable geo-redundant storage (GRS) for the Recovery Services vault
B.Use Azure Site Recovery to replicate the backup data
C.Configure backup policies to back up directly to the secondary region
D.Use a Recovery Services vault in the secondary region
Why A: Option B is correct because Azure Backup allows configuring a Recovery Services vault with geo-redundant storage (GRS) to replicate backup data to a paired region. Option A is wrong because Recovery Services vault is the container, not the replication feature. Option C is wrong because Back up to a secondary region is not supported directly. Option D is wrong because Azure Site Recovery is for replication, not backup.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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