The correct answer is to configure active geo-replication to a secondary region in the same Azure geography. This is because active geo-replication continuously replicates transactions to a readable secondary database, achieving a recovery point objective (RPO) of less than one minute and a recovery time objective (RTO) of under one hour through automatic or manual failover, which meets the strict requirements for a high-transaction, 500 GB database. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your ability to match disaster recovery features to specific RPO and RTO thresholds, often contrasting active geo-replication with slower options like geo-restore (RTO in hours) or backup exports. A common trap is choosing geo-restore for its lower cost, forgetting its RTO far exceeds one hour. Remember the mnemonic “GEO for GO” — active geo-replication gets you up and running in under an hour, while geo-restore takes all day.
AZ-305 Design infrastructure solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design infrastructure 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.
You are designing a backup and disaster recovery strategy for an Azure SQL Database instance that runs a critical business application. The database is 500 GB and experiences high transaction rates. The recovery point objective (RPO) is 1 minute and recovery time objective (RTO) is 1 hour. What should you recommend?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure active geo-replication to a secondary region in the same Azure geography.
Option D is correct because active geo-replication provides RPO < 1 minute and RTO < 1 hour with automatic failover. Option A (auto backup with LRS) has RPO > 1 minute. Option B (geo-restore) has RTO > 1 hour. Option C (export to blob) has high RTO.
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.
✗
Enable geo-redundant backup storage and use geo-restore in the secondary region.
Why it's wrong here
Geo-restore has RTO typically measured in hours.
✗
Configure automated backups with locally-redundant storage (LRS) and enable point-in-time restore.
Why it's wrong here
Backups have RPO of 5-10 minutes and restore time depends on size, often >1 hour.
✓
Configure active geo-replication to a secondary region in the same Azure geography.
Why this is correct
Active geo-replication provides RPO of seconds and RTO of minutes with automatic failover.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Export the database to a bacpac file daily and store it in Azure Blob Storage.
Why it's wrong here
Daily export does not meet the 1-minute RPO and restore time is high.
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.
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 infrastructure solutions — This question tests Design infrastructure solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure active geo-replication to a secondary region in the same Azure geography. — Option D is correct because active geo-replication provides RPO < 1 minute and RTO < 1 hour with automatic failover. Option A (auto backup with LRS) has RPO > 1 minute. Option B (geo-restore) has RTO > 1 hour. Option C (export to blob) has high RTO.
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.
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Question Discussion
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