The correct configuration is to deploy VMs across multiple availability zones and use a load balancer, because Azure Site Recovery is a disaster recovery tool designed for cross-region failover, not for achieving high availability within a single region. For intra-region high availability, availability zones provide physically separate datacenters within the same region, and combining them with a load balancer ensures traffic is distributed even if one zone fails. On the AZ-305 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between high availability and disaster recovery—a common trap is assuming Site Recovery works for both, but it only replicates across regions, not within them. Remember, Site Recovery is your safety net for region-wide outages, while availability zones handle local failures. A useful memory tip: think of zones as your “local lifeline” and Site Recovery as your “remote rescue.”
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 runs a critical application on Azure VMs. They want to ensure high availability within a region using Azure Site Recovery. What is the correct configuration?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Deploy VMs across multiple availability zones and use a load balancer
Option B is correct because Azure Site Recovery is designed for disaster recovery across regions, not within a region. For intra-region high availability, availability zones should be used. Option A is wrong because Site Recovery does not support intra-region replication to availability zones directly. Option C is wrong because Site Recovery cannot replicate across availability sets. Option D is wrong because Site Recovery can replicate across zones but is not the best practice for intra-region HA.
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 Azure Site Recovery to replicate VMs to a paired region
Why it's wrong here
This is for cross-region DR, not intra-region HA.
✓
Deploy VMs across multiple availability zones and use a load balancer
Why this is correct
Availability zones provide intra-region high availability.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use Azure Site Recovery to replicate VMs across availability sets
Why it's wrong here
Site Recovery does not replicate across availability sets; availability sets provide fault tolerance within a datacenter.
✗
Configure Azure Site Recovery to replicate VMs to different availability zones within the same region
Why it's wrong here
Site Recovery is not designed for intra-region replication; it is for cross-region DR.
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: Deploy VMs across multiple availability zones and use a load balancer — Option B is correct because Azure Site Recovery is designed for disaster recovery across regions, not within a region. For intra-region high availability, availability zones should be used. Option A is wrong because Site Recovery does not support intra-region replication to availability zones directly. Option C is wrong because Site Recovery cannot replicate across availability sets. Option D is wrong because Site Recovery can replicate across zones but is not the best practice for intra-region HA.
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.
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Question Discussion
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