- A
Use Azure Site Recovery for VMs, geo-replication for Azure SQL Database, and geo-redundant storage (GRS) for Blob Storage.
Why wrong: GRS provides geo-redundant storage but does not offer read access in the secondary region without failover, which could delay recovery. Also, geo-replication for SQL DB is not the standard name; active geo-replication is needed for low RPO.
- B
Use Azure Backup for VMs, geo-redundant storage for SQL Database backups, and geo-redundant storage for Blob Storage.
Why wrong: Azure Backup is designed for backup, not rapid disaster recovery with RTO of less than 1 hour. Backup RTO is typically higher, and it does not provide continuous replication.
- C
Use Azure Site Recovery for VMs, active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database, and read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS) for Blob Storage.
ASR replicates VMs with minutes RPO. Active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database provides a readable secondary with RPO seconds. RA-GRS provides a readable copy in the secondary region with ~15 minute RPO, meeting the blob requirement.
- D
Use Azure Front Door with multi-region deployment of VMs and Azure Cosmos DB for the database.
Why wrong: This would require redesigning the application to use Cosmos DB, which is not the current database. The question specifies Azure SQL Database and Blob Storage, so this is not applicable.
Quick Answer
The correct recommendation is to use Azure Site Recovery for VMs, active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database, and read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS) for Blob Storage. This combination meets the strict RPO and RTO requirements because active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database supports a configurable RPO as low as 5 seconds, easily satisfying the sub-5-minute database requirement, while RA-GRS for Blob Storage provides read access to a secondary region with an RPO typically under 15 minutes. Azure Site Recovery handles VM replication with a recovery time objective under one hour, ensuring the entire solution can fail over within the required RTO. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your ability to match specific PaaS and IaaS disaster recovery services to granular RPO/RTO targets—a common trap is confusing standard geo-redundant storage (GRS) with RA-GRS, which is needed for immediate read access. Memory tip: think “RPO race” where SQL active geo-replication wins in seconds, Blob RA-GRS wins in minutes, and Site Recovery wins the VM hour.
AZ-305 Design business continuity solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design business continuity 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 critical application on Azure VMs in a single region. The application writes data to Azure SQL Database (PaaS) and Azure Blob Storage. The company needs a disaster recovery plan with an RPO of less than 5 minutes for the database and less than 15 minutes for the blob storage, and an RTO of less than 1 hour for the entire solution. What should they recommend?
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
Use Azure Site Recovery for VMs, active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database, and read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS) for Blob Storage.
Option C is correct because Azure Site Recovery provides the VM replication needed to meet the RTO of under 1 hour, active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database offers a configurable RPO of as low as 5 seconds (well under the 5-minute requirement), and RA-GRS for Blob Storage provides read-access to a secondary region with an RPO typically under 15 minutes, enabling fast failover and read access during a disaster.
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.
- ✗
Use Azure Site Recovery for VMs, geo-replication for Azure SQL Database, and geo-redundant storage (GRS) for Blob Storage.
Why it's wrong here
GRS provides geo-redundant storage but does not offer read access in the secondary region without failover, which could delay recovery. Also, geo-replication for SQL DB is not the standard name; active geo-replication is needed for low RPO.
- ✗
Use Azure Backup for VMs, geo-redundant storage for SQL Database backups, and geo-redundant storage for Blob Storage.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Backup is designed for backup, not rapid disaster recovery with RTO of less than 1 hour. Backup RTO is typically higher, and it does not provide continuous replication.
- ✓
Use Azure Site Recovery for VMs, active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database, and read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS) for Blob Storage.
Why this is correct
ASR replicates VMs with minutes RPO. Active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database provides a readable secondary with RPO seconds. RA-GRS provides a readable copy in the secondary region with ~15 minute RPO, meeting the blob requirement.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use Azure Front Door with multi-region deployment of VMs and Azure Cosmos DB for the database.
Why it's wrong here
This would require redesigning the application to use Cosmos DB, which is not the current database. The question specifies Azure SQL Database and Blob Storage, so this is not applicable.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse geo-redundant storage (GRS) with read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS), not realizing that GRS requires a storage account failover to access the secondary region, which can take up to an hour and thus fails the RTO requirement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database creates a readable secondary replica in a paired region with automatic, asynchronous replication; the RPO is typically 5 seconds or less, and failover can be initiated manually or via a planned failover with zero data loss. RA-GRS for Blob Storage replicates data to a secondary region asynchronously, with an RPO of usually under 15 minutes, and allows read access to the secondary region even without a failover, which is critical for meeting the RTO. Azure Site Recovery orchestrates VM replication with a recovery time objective (RTO) that can be as low as 30 minutes for Azure-to-Azure scenarios, depending on the replication policy and network bandwidth.
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.
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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: Use Azure Site Recovery for VMs, active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database, and read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS) for Blob Storage. — Option C is correct because Azure Site Recovery provides the VM replication needed to meet the RTO of under 1 hour, active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database offers a configurable RPO of as low as 5 seconds (well under the 5-minute requirement), and RA-GRS for Blob Storage provides read-access to a secondary region with an RPO typically under 15 minutes, enabling fast failover and read access during a disaster.
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.
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
1 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. A company runs a critical application on Azure VMs in a single region. The application uses Azure SQL Database as its data store. The company needs a disaster recovery solution that can fail over the entire application stack (VMs and database) to another region with a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 5 minutes and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 1 hour. The solution must be automated and minimize manual steps. Which combination of Azure services should they implement?
medium- ✓ A.Azure Site Recovery for VMs and active geo-replication with auto-failover groups for Azure SQL Database
- B.Azure Backup for VMs and Azure SQL Database backup to another region
- C.Azure Site Recovery for VMs and Azure DNS for database failover
- D.Azure Load Balancer for VMs and Azure SQL Database failover groups
Why A: Azure Site Recovery (ASR) orchestrates replication and automated failover of Azure VMs to a secondary region, meeting the RTO of 1 hour. Active geo-replication with auto-failover groups for Azure SQL Database provides a readable secondary replica in another region with an RPO of 5 seconds (well under the 5-minute requirement) and enables automatic failover without manual intervention. Together, they automate the entire application stack failover, minimizing manual steps.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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