- A
Azure Backup for SQL Server
Why wrong: Azure Backup is designed for backup and restore, not for disaster recovery with fast failover. RTO would typically be longer than 2 hours due to restore time, and drills are not as seamless.
- B
Azure Site Recovery
ASR replicates VMs continuously and provides app-consistent recovery points. It supports test failover for non-disruptive drills and can achieve an RPO of 15 minutes and RTO of 2 hours.
- C
SQL Server Log Shipping to an Azure VM
Why wrong: Log shipping requires manual setup and management. It can achieve low RPO but RTO depends on the log shipping interval and recovery process. It does not provide built-in drill support without manual steps.
- D
Geo-replication for Azure SQL Database
Why wrong: Geo-replication is only available for Azure SQL Database (PaaS), not for SQL Server running on Azure VMs (IaaS).
Quick Answer
The answer is Azure Site Recovery. This service is the correct choice because it replicates the entire SQL Server VM—including the database and operating system—to a secondary Azure region, meeting the required 15-minute RPO and 2-hour RTO while supporting non-disruptive disaster recovery drills through isolated test failovers. Unlike Always On Availability Groups, which require SQL Server Enterprise Edition for advanced replication, Azure Site Recovery works seamlessly with SQL Server Standard Edition and avoids any licensing constraints. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between native SQL high-availability features and platform-level disaster recovery services, often appearing as a trap where candidates mistakenly choose Always On or database-level replication. The key memory tip is “ASR for the VM, not the DB”—Azure Site Recovery protects the whole machine, making it ideal when licensing or edition limitations prevent database-level solutions.
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 SQL Server on Azure VMs using SQL Server Standard Edition. They need a disaster recovery solution that replicates the database to a secondary Azure region with a recovery point objective (RPO) of 15 minutes and a recovery time objective (RTO) of 2 hours. They cannot use Always On Availability Groups due to licensing constraints. They also need to perform non-disruptive disaster recovery drills. Which Azure service should they implement?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
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 choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Azure Site Recovery
Azure Site Recovery (ASR) replicates entire SQL Server VMs (including their databases) to a secondary Azure region, supporting RPOs as low as 30 seconds and RTOs of 2 hours or less. It allows non-disruptive disaster recovery drills by performing test failovers in an isolated network without affecting the production environment. This solution avoids the licensing constraints of Always On Availability Groups and works with SQL Server Standard Edition.
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 Backup for SQL Server
Why it's wrong here
Azure Backup is designed for backup and restore, not for disaster recovery with fast failover. RTO would typically be longer than 2 hours due to restore time, and drills are not as seamless.
- ✓
Azure Site Recovery
Why this is correct
ASR replicates VMs continuously and provides app-consistent recovery points. It supports test failover for non-disruptive drills and can achieve an RPO of 15 minutes and RTO of 2 hours.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "always" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
SQL Server Log Shipping to an Azure VM
Why it's wrong here
Log shipping requires manual setup and management. It can achieve low RPO but RTO depends on the log shipping interval and recovery process. It does not provide built-in drill support without manual steps.
- ✗
Geo-replication for Azure SQL Database
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Site Recovery (VM-level replication) with Azure Backup (file/volume-level backup) or assume that log shipping can meet the drill requirement, but ASR is the only option that provides automated, non-disruptive test failovers for IaaS SQL Server VMs.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Site Recovery uses continuous replication at the VM level via the Azure Site Recovery Mobility service, which captures disk writes and asynchronously replicates them to the target region. During a test failover, ASR creates a replica VM in an isolated test network, allowing validation of the DR plan without impacting the production VM or its replication. The RPO is typically under 15 minutes for most workloads, and the RTO depends on the time to start the VM and any post-failover scripts.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Design business continuity solutions — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-305 question test?
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: Azure Site Recovery — Azure Site Recovery (ASR) replicates entire SQL Server VMs (including their databases) to a secondary Azure region, supporting RPOs as low as 30 seconds and RTOs of 2 hours or less. It allows non-disruptive disaster recovery drills by performing test failovers in an isolated network without affecting the production environment. This solution avoids the licensing constraints of Always On Availability Groups and works with SQL Server Standard Edition.
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: "always". Absolute qualifier. An answer using 'always' is only correct if there are genuinely no exceptions — absolute statements are often wrong in networking.
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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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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