The correct configuration is synchronous commit mode with automatic failover, as this combination guarantees zero data loss and automated recovery during a regional disaster. Synchronous commit ensures that every transaction is written to both the primary and secondary replicas before being acknowledged, eliminating any possibility of data loss, while automatic failover allows the secondary replica to become the primary without manual intervention when the primary region fails. On the Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of high-availability and disaster recovery trade-offs, often appearing as a trap where candidates confuse synchronous commit with manual failover or mistakenly pair asynchronous commit with automatic failover, which risks data loss. A key memory tip is to remember that “synchronous equals safe” for zero data loss, and “automatic equals hands-off” for failover, so together they form the only pair that meets both requirements.
AZ-305 Design business continuity solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design business continuity solutions. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 financial services company runs a critical application on Azure VMs with SQL Server Always On availability groups. The primary region is East US, and the secondary region is West US. The business requires automatic failover with zero data loss in case of a regional disaster. Which configuration should you recommend for the availability group?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Clue: "always"
Why it matters: Absolute qualifier. An answer using 'always' is only correct if there are genuinely no exceptions — absolute statements are often wrong in networking.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use synchronous commit mode with automatic failover
Option D is correct because synchronous commit mode with automatic failover ensures zero data loss and automatic failover. Option A is wrong because asynchronous commit can have data loss. Option B is wrong because manual failover does not meet automatic requirement. Option C is wrong because asynchronous commit with automatic failover can cause data loss.
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.
✗
Use synchronous commit mode with manual failover
Why it's wrong here
Manual failover does not meet automatic requirement.
✗
Use asynchronous commit mode with automatic failover
Why it's wrong here
Asynchronous commit may cause data loss.
✓
Use synchronous commit mode with automatic failover
Why this is correct
Synchronous commit ensures zero data loss; automatic failover meets RTO.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "primary", "always" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use asynchronous commit mode with manual failover
Why it's wrong here
Asynchronous commit may cause data loss.
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
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.
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: Use synchronous commit mode with automatic failover — Option D is correct because synchronous commit mode with automatic failover ensures zero data loss and automatic failover. Option A is wrong because asynchronous commit can have data loss. Option B is wrong because manual failover does not meet automatic requirement. Option C is wrong because asynchronous commit with automatic failover can cause data loss.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "primary", "always". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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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. A company runs a critical application on Azure VMs in a single region. The database tier uses SQL Server on Azure VMs. They need to implement disaster recovery to a secondary region with an RPO of 30 seconds and an RTO of 10 minutes for the database, and an RPO of 5 minutes and RTO of 1 hour for the VMs. The solution must minimize data loss and be cost-effective. Which combination should they use?
hard
A.Azure Site Recovery for VMs and SQL Server Always On Availability Groups with synchronous commit
B.Azure Site Recovery for VMs and SQL Server log shipping
C.Azure Backup for VMs and SQL Server database mirroring
✓ D.Azure Site Recovery for VMs and SQL Server Always On Availability Groups with asynchronous commit
Why D: Option D is correct because Azure Site Recovery (ASR) provides VM replication to a secondary region with an RPO of 5 minutes and RTO of 1 hour, meeting the VM requirements. SQL Server Always On Availability Groups with asynchronous commit can achieve an RPO of 30 seconds (or less) while minimizing cost by avoiding synchronous replication overhead, and it supports automatic failover for the database tier, meeting the 10-minute RTO.
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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.
Question Discussion
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