AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Question
A media company is designing a storage solution for its large video files (average 50 GB each) that are edited by multiple users simultaneously. The solution must support SMB protocol for compatibility with existing editing software and provide low-latency access. The files must be stored in a highly available configuration across multiple availability zones in a single region. Which Azure storage solution should the company recommend?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse Azure Blob Storage (which is object storage, not file storage) with Azure Files, or assume that geo-redundant storage (GRS) is required for high availability, when zone-redundant storage (ZRS) within a single region is sufficient and provides lower latency for real-time editing workloads.
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
✓
Azure Files Premium tier with zone-redundant storage (ZRS)
Azure Files Premium tier supports SMB protocol natively, which is required for compatibility with existing editing software. Zone-redundant storage (ZRS) replicates data synchronously across three availability zones within a single region, providing high availability and low-latency access for simultaneous editing of large video files.
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 Files Premium tier with zone-redundant storage (ZRS)
Why this is correct
Azure Files Premium tier provides fully managed SMB and NFS file shares backed by SSD storage, delivering the low-latency I/O required for media workloads. Zone-redundant storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three Azure availability zones within a region, ensuring high availability and resilience to zone failures without the cost of geo-replication. This combination offers native file sharing, strong performance, and simple integration, making it the most appropriate choice for a media company's scalable, low-latency storage.
- ✗
Azure Blob Storage Premium tier with geo-redundant storage (GRS)
Why it's wrong here
Azure Blob Storage Premium is object-based storage, not a file share; it does not expose SMB protocol, which is typically needed for concurrent file-level access by media production applications. While geo-redundant storage (GRS) provides asynchronous replication to a secondary region for disaster recovery, it does not compensate for the lack of SMB support or the NFS limitations that preclude use as a drop-in share for legacy workflows. For industrial media creation, users expect access to drive-letter-mapped or UNC paths, which Blob Storage cannot natively deliver.
- ✗
Azure Disk Storage with shared disks
Why it's wrong here
Azure managed disks are block-level volumes attached to a single virtual machine; shared disks allow a modest number of VMs to attach the same disk using SCSI persistent reservations, but offer none of the file-level operations (SMB/NFS, directory enumeration, opportunistic locking) that a real file share requires. This design supports clustered applications like SQL Server failover cluster installations, not multi-user media editing where hundreds of users need a common namespace and per-file locking. As a storage solution for large media files, shared disks impose tight VM coupling and fail to provide a dedicated, network-accessible shared file system.
- ✗
Azure NetApp Files Premium tier with cross-zone replication
Why it's wrong here
Azure NetApp Files Premium tier is a powerful, enterprise-grade, multi-protocol file service with cross-zone replication, giving excellent performance and disaster resilience, but it is significantly more expensive and operationally complex than Azure Files Premium for this scenario. NetApp Files introduces capacity pools with a minimum 4 TiB commitment, professional administration of throughput, and more moving parts, while cross-zone replication adds continuous replication overhead. For a media company that simply needs a low-latency, SMB-accessible share with zone-level redundancy, Azure Files Premium ZRS delivers the same essential capabilities at a fraction of the cost and complexity.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.