- A
Configure Azure Site Recovery for the VMs with Premium SSD v2 disks and configure active geo-replication with auto-failover groups for Azure SQL Database.
ASR supports Premium SSD v2 disks; Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with auto-failover groups meets the RPO/RTO.
- B
Use Azure Backup for the VMs and configure long-term retention for the Azure SQL Database backups.
Why wrong: Azure Backup does not provide the low RPO/RTO required; it is for backup, not disaster recovery replication.
- C
Configure Azure Site Recovery for the VMs and also for the Azure SQL Database by adding it to the replication group.
Why wrong: Azure Site Recovery does not support replicating Azure SQL Database; ASR only covers IaaS VMs.
- D
Deploy the application across two Azure regions using Azure Front Door and active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database.
Why wrong: This does not include VM replication; the VMs would not be automatically failed over.
Quick Answer
The correct choice is to configure Azure Site Recovery for the VMs with Premium SSD v2 disks and configure active geo-replication with auto-failover groups for Azure SQL Database. This works because Azure Site Recovery fully supports replicating Premium SSD v2 managed disks to meet the 15-minute RPO and 1-hour RTO for the VMs, while active geo-replication with auto-failover groups handles the Azure SQL Database separately, achieving an RPO as low as 5 seconds and an RTO within one hour. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your understanding that Azure Site Recovery does not replicate PaaS databases like Azure SQL Database; you must pair it with native database disaster recovery features. A common trap is assuming ASR covers everything, but it only handles IaaS VMs and their disks. Remember the memory tip: “ASR for VMs, geo-replication for DBs” — each service owns its layer of the recovery stack.
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.
Contoso Ltd. runs a mission-critical application on Azure VMs in the West US region. They require an RPO of 15 minutes and an RTO of 1 hour in case of a regional disaster. They plan to use Azure Site Recovery. The application stores data on managed disks and uses a Premium SSD v2 disk for the database. The application also uses Azure SQL Database for some transactional data. What should Contoso do to meet the recovery objectives for the entire solution?
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
Configure Azure Site Recovery for the VMs with Premium SSD v2 disks and configure active geo-replication with auto-failover groups for Azure SQL Database.
Option D is correct because Azure Site Recovery supports Premium SSD v2 disks for replication, and for Azure SQL Database, active geo-replication with a failover group can achieve RPO of 5 seconds and RTO of 1 hour. Option A is wrong because Azure SQL Database replication is not part of ASR; ASR does not replicate Azure SQL Database. Option B is wrong because Azure Backup is for data backup, not replication with the required RPO/RTO. Option C is wrong because the application requires both VM and database recovery; only focusing on one component fails the overall solution.
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 for the VMs with Premium SSD v2 disks and configure active geo-replication with auto-failover groups for Azure SQL Database.
Why this is correct
ASR supports Premium SSD v2 disks; Azure SQL Database active geo-replication with auto-failover groups meets the RPO/RTO.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use Azure Backup for the VMs and configure long-term retention for the Azure SQL Database backups.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Backup does not provide the low RPO/RTO required; it is for backup, not disaster recovery replication.
- ✗
Configure Azure Site Recovery for the VMs and also for the Azure SQL Database by adding it to the replication group.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Site Recovery does not support replicating Azure SQL Database; ASR only covers IaaS VMs.
- ✗
Deploy the application across two Azure regions using Azure Front Door and active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database.
Why it's wrong here
This does not include VM replication; the VMs would not be automatically failed over.
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
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 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.
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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: Configure Azure Site Recovery for the VMs with Premium SSD v2 disks and configure active geo-replication with auto-failover groups for Azure SQL Database. — Option D is correct because Azure Site Recovery supports Premium SSD v2 disks for replication, and for Azure SQL Database, active geo-replication with a failover group can achieve RPO of 5 seconds and RTO of 1 hour. Option A is wrong because Azure SQL Database replication is not part of ASR; ASR does not replicate Azure SQL Database. Option B is wrong because Azure Backup is for data backup, not replication with the required RPO/RTO. Option C is wrong because the application requires both VM and database recovery; only focusing on one component fails the overall solution.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on AZ-305
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Your organization has a critical application deployed on Azure VMs in the West US region. The application uses a Standard_D8s_v3 VM with two data disks (512 GB each) and a separate log disk (256 GB). The application writes data continuously to the data disks and logs. The business continuity requirements are: RPO of 15 minutes, RTO of 2 hours, and the ability to recover to a specific point in time within the last 7 days. You need to design a disaster recovery solution that replicates the VMs and disks to the East US region. The solution must also support failback to West US after a disaster. What should you do?
medium- ✓ A.Use Azure Site Recovery to replicate the VMs to East US with a recovery plan that includes the VM and disks, and configure failback using reprotection
- B.Use Azure Migrate to migrate the VMs to East US and then set up replication back to West US
- C.Configure Azure Backup for the VMs with a backup policy that has a 15-minute frequency and replicate backups to the East US region using geo-redundant storage
- D.Use Azure Storage geo-redundant storage (GRS) for the managed disks and manually attach the disks to a new VM in East US during a disaster
Why A: Option C is correct because Azure Site Recovery can replicate Azure VMs to a secondary region with continuous replication meeting RPO of 15 minutes. It supports failback by reprotecting and failing back. Option A is wrong because Azure Backup has RPO of 1 hour for Azure VMs and does not support failback. Option B is wrong because geo-redundant storage (GRS) for managed disks does not provide VM replication or failback. Option D is wrong because Azure Migrate is for migration, not disaster recovery.
Variation 2. Your organization has a critical application running on Azure Virtual Machines. You need to design a backup and disaster recovery strategy. Which TWO options should you include in your design to meet a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 15 minutes and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 1 hour? (Choose two.)
medium- A.Store data in Azure Files and use Azure File Sync for replication.
- ✓ B.Implement Azure Site Recovery with replication to a secondary region.
- C.Use Azure Traffic Manager to distribute traffic between regions.
- D.Configure Azure Backup for daily backups with geo-redundant storage.
- ✓ E.Enable application-consistent snapshots for the VMs within the replication policy.
Why B: Option B and Option D are correct. Azure Site Recovery can replicate VMs with an RPO as low as 15 minutes and an RTO of minutes to hours. Azure Backup can be used for additional long-term retention, but to meet the RPO/RTO requirements, Site Recovery is necessary. Option A is wrong because Azure Backup has a default RPO of 1 hour for VMs. Option C is wrong because Traffic Manager does not provide RPO/RTO guarantees. Option E is wrong because Azure Files is not a VM backup solution.
Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
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