AZ-305 Design infrastructure solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design infrastructure 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 company has an Azure SQL Database that they need to access from an on-premises data center over ExpressRoute. They want to use a private IP address to connect to the database, ensuring traffic never traverses the public internet. Which Azure service should they use?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "never"
Why it matters: Absolute qualifier. True only if the statement has zero exceptions — be cautious of options that seem obvious but break down in edge cases.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Azure Private Link
Azure Private Link allows you to access Azure SQL Database over a private endpoint within your virtual network, using a private IP address. When combined with ExpressRoute, traffic from your on-premises data center to the database traverses the Microsoft backbone network and never touches the public internet, meeting the requirement for a private, secure connection.
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.
✓
Azure Private Link
Why this is correct
Correct. Private Link creates a private endpoint with a private IP, ensuring traffic stays within Microsoft's backbone.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "never" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Azure Service Endpoints
Why it's wrong here
Service Endpoints extend the virtual network to the public endpoint of Azure SQL, but the connection still uses the public endpoint's IP.
✗
Azure VPN Gateway
Why it's wrong here
VPNGateway connects on-premises to Azure over IPsec but does not provide a private IP for SQL Database.
✗
Azure Front Door
Why it's wrong here
Front Door is a global load balancer and application accelerator, not for private connectivity to databases.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing Azure Service Endpoints with Private Link: both keep traffic on the Azure backbone, but only Private Link provides a private IP address and removes exposure to the public endpoint, which is the key requirement in this scenario.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Private Link uses a private endpoint—a network interface with a private IP from your VNet—that maps to the Azure SQL Database resource. Traffic from on-premises to this private endpoint flows over ExpressRoute (or VPN) and then through the Microsoft backbone, bypassing the internet entirely. Under the hood, Private Link leverages Azure's internal DNS to resolve the database's FQDN to the private IP, and it supports network security groups (NSGs) and route tables at the subnet level for fine-grained control.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-305 question in full detail.
Design infrastructure solutions — This question tests Design infrastructure solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Private Link — Azure Private Link allows you to access Azure SQL Database over a private endpoint within your virtual network, using a private IP address. When combined with ExpressRoute, traffic from your on-premises data center to the database traverses the Microsoft backbone network and never touches the public internet, meeting the requirement for a private, secure connection.
What should I do if I get this AZ-305 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "never". Absolute qualifier. True only if the statement has zero exceptions — be cautious of options that seem obvious but break down in edge cases.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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