- A
Deploy VMs across Azure availability zones in West US, use Azure SQL Database geo-restore to East US, and deploy a second Azure Cache for Redis instance in East US.
Why wrong: Geo-restore has RPO of 1 hour, causing significant data loss.
- B
Deploy VMs in an availability set in West US, use Azure Site Recovery to replicate to East US, and configure Azure SQL Database failover group with manual failover.
Why wrong: Manual failover increases RTO beyond 5 minutes.
- C
Deploy VMs in an Azure Site Recovery recovery plan to East US, use Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with auto-failover group, and deploy Azure Cache for Redis Standard tier in East US.
Why wrong: Standard tier does not support geo-replication; cache data would be lost.
- D
Deploy VMs in an Azure Site Recovery recovery plan to East US, use Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with auto-failover group, and use Azure Cache for Redis with geo-replication enabled.
Active geo-replication provides RPO ≤ 5 sec, auto-failover RTO ≤ 1 min; cache geo-replication ensures cache data survives region failover.
Quick Answer
The correct solution is to deploy VMs in an Azure Site Recovery recovery plan to East US, use Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with an auto-failover group, and enable geo-replication on Azure Cache for Redis. This design meets the 5-minute RTO and minimizes data loss because active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database provides an RPO of under 5 seconds and an automatic RTO of about 1 minute, while Redis geo-replication continuously synchronizes cache data across regions with sub-second failover. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your ability to pair regionally resilient data services with compute failover, often appearing as a multi-tier disaster recovery question where the trap is choosing geo-restore (which has a 1-hour RPO) or a lower Redis tier that lacks geo-replication. Remember the memory tip: “SQL active + Redis geo = five-minute RTO and near-zero RPO.”
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. 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 multinational company runs a mission-critical application on Azure VMs in the West US region. The application uses Azure SQL Database (Business Critical tier) and Azure Cache for Redis. The company needs to ensure the application can fail over to a secondary region within 5 minutes during a regional outage. The design must minimize data loss. Which solution should you recommend?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"minimum / minimize"Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
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
Deploy VMs in an Azure Site Recovery recovery plan to East US, use Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with auto-failover group, and use Azure Cache for Redis with geo-replication enabled.
Option C is correct because it uses Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with a failover group for automatic failover (RPO ≤ 5 seconds, RTO ≤ 1 minute) and Azure Cache for Redis with geo-replication for cross-region replication. Option A has longer RTO for SQL failover. Option B uses Azure SQL Database with geo-restore which has RPO of 1 hour. Option D uses cache replication that is not available in Standard tier.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Deploy VMs across Azure availability zones in West US, use Azure SQL Database geo-restore to East US, and deploy a second Azure Cache for Redis instance in East US.
Why it's wrong here
Geo-restore has RPO of 1 hour, causing significant data loss.
- ✗
Deploy VMs in an availability set in West US, use Azure Site Recovery to replicate to East US, and configure Azure SQL Database failover group with manual failover.
Why it's wrong here
Manual failover increases RTO beyond 5 minutes.
- ✗
Deploy VMs in an Azure Site Recovery recovery plan to East US, use Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with auto-failover group, and deploy Azure Cache for Redis Standard tier in East US.
Why it's wrong here
Standard tier does not support geo-replication; cache data would be lost.
- ✓
Deploy VMs in an Azure Site Recovery recovery plan to East US, use Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with auto-failover group, and use Azure Cache for Redis with geo-replication enabled.
Why this is correct
Active geo-replication provides RPO ≤ 5 sec, auto-failover RTO ≤ 1 min; cache geo-replication ensures cache data survives region failover.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
Common exam traps
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.
Detailed technical explanation
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.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related AZ-305 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
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Design business continuity solutions — study guide chapter
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Design business continuity solutions practice questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-305 question test?
Design business continuity solutions — This question tests Design business continuity solutions — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Deploy VMs in an Azure Site Recovery recovery plan to East US, use Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with auto-failover group, and use Azure Cache for Redis with geo-replication enabled. — Option C is correct because it uses Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with a failover group for automatic failover (RPO ≤ 5 seconds, RTO ≤ 1 minute) and Azure Cache for Redis with geo-replication for cross-region replication. Option A has longer RTO for SQL failover. Option B uses Azure SQL Database with geo-restore which has RPO of 1 hour. Option D uses cache replication that is not available in Standard tier.
What should I do if I get this AZ-305 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related AZ-305 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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