The answer is Azure Premium File Shares, which are the correct recommendation for a high IOPS SMB file share with active-active access across multiple VMs. This solution leverages the SMB 3.0 protocol to deliver low-latency, high-throughput performance while supporting simultaneous read/write access from both Linux and Windows VMs, meeting the application’s need for high availability and scalability. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your ability to differentiate Azure file storage tiers, particularly contrasting Premium File Shares (optimized for IOPS-intensive workloads) with Standard File Shares or Azure NetApp Files. A common trap is selecting Azure NetApp Files for its performance, but Premium File Shares are the fully managed, cost-effective choice when SMB protocol and cross-platform mounting are required. Memory tip: think “Premium for Performance, SMB for Sharing” — if the requirement says “SMB” and “active-active,” Premium File Shares are your go-to.
AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design data storage 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 runs a line-of-business application on Azure VMs that requires a highly available, low-latency SMB file share with support for active-active access from multiple VMs. The application requires high IOPS and throughput, and the file share must be mountable on both Linux and Windows VMs. Which Azure file storage solution should they recommend?
Why wrong: Azure Files (standard) provides SMB file shares but its IOPS and throughput performance may be insufficient for high-performance workloads.
B
B
Azure NetApp Files is a high-performance, enterprise-grade file storage service that supports SMB (both Windows and Linux) and can deliver thousands of IOPS with low latency.
C
C
Why wrong: Azure Blob Storage is accessed via REST API and is not designed for SMB file sharing or low-latency shared access required by the application.
D
D
Why wrong: Azure Disk Storage can be attached to a single VM and cannot be mounted by multiple VMs simultaneously for active-active sharing.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
B
Azure Premium File Shares (using SMB 3.0 protocol) provide a fully managed, highly available SMB file share with low latency and high IOPS/throughput. They support active-active access from multiple VMs and can be mounted on both Linux and Windows VMs, meeting all the requirements.
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.
✗
A
Why it's wrong here
Azure Files (standard) provides SMB file shares but its IOPS and throughput performance may be insufficient for high-performance workloads.
✓
B
Why this is correct
Azure NetApp Files is a high-performance, enterprise-grade file storage service that supports SMB (both Windows and Linux) and can deliver thousands of IOPS with low latency.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
C
Why it's wrong here
Azure Blob Storage is accessed via REST API and is not designed for SMB file sharing or low-latency shared access required by the application.
✗
D
Why it's wrong here
Azure Disk Storage can be attached to a single VM and cannot be mounted by multiple VMs simultaneously for active-active sharing.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Blob Storage (which is object storage) with file shares, or incorrectly assume that Azure Disk Shared Disks provide an SMB mountable share, when in fact they are block-level and require cluster-aware applications.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Premium File Shares leverage SSD-backed storage and SMB 3.0 with multichannel support, enabling high throughput and low latency for I/O-intensive workloads. They support continuous availability (active-active) via SMB Transparent Failover, and can be mounted on Linux using the cifs-utils package with SMB 3.0 encryption. A real-world scenario is a SQL Server cluster or a file-based application requiring shared storage across multiple VMs without a separate file server.
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 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.
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 data storage solutions — This question tests Design data storage solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: B — Azure Premium File Shares (using SMB 3.0 protocol) provide a fully managed, highly available SMB file share with low latency and high IOPS/throughput. They support active-active access from multiple VMs and can be mounted on both Linux and Windows VMs, meeting all the requirements.
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.
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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