The answer is large data disks attached to the VMs, which cause significant replication latency and slow failover in Azure Site Recovery. When a VM has large managed disks, the initial synchronization and ongoing replication of changed blocks take considerably longer, directly impacting failover time during a disaster recovery drill. This scenario tests your understanding of ASR replication constraints for the AZ-305 exam, where you must identify that disk size—not network configuration or recovery plans—is the primary bottleneck for meeting a 30-minute RTO. A common trap is blaming network bandwidth, but ASR uses compression and optimized replication; the real issue is the sheer volume of data on large disks that must be written to the secondary region. Remember the memory tip: “Big disks, big delays—watch your disk size before your RTO expires.”
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.
Your company runs a mission-critical application on Azure VMs in a single region. The application requires an RPO of 5 minutes and an RTO of 30 minutes. You plan to use Azure Site Recovery (ASR) to replicate the VMs to a secondary region. The VMs use managed disks. However, during a disaster recovery drill, you discover that the failover takes longer than expected. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The VMs have large attached data disks that require significant time to synchronize.
Option B (large disk size) is a common cause of slow failover due to replication latency. Option A (network) is less likely if configured correctly. Option C (recovery plan) does not affect failover time. Option D (hybrid benefit) irrelevant.
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.
✗
The replication policy is set to 30 minutes.
Why it's wrong here
Replication frequency does not affect failover time.
✗
The Azure Hybrid Benefit is not applied to the VMs.
Why it's wrong here
Hybrid Benefit does not affect failover performance.
✗
The recovery plan includes too many manual steps.
Why it's wrong here
Manual steps affect RTO but failover itself is automated.
✓
The VMs have large attached data disks that require significant time to synchronize.
Why this is correct
Large disks increase failover time due to data synchronization.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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: The VMs have large attached data disks that require significant time to synchronize. — Option B (large disk size) is a common cause of slow failover due to replication latency. Option A (network) is less likely if configured correctly. Option C (recovery plan) does not affect failover time. Option D (hybrid benefit) irrelevant.
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: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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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