The answer is to configure a failover group with automatic failover to a secondary in West US. This meets the zero data loss requirement because Azure SQL Database failover groups use synchronous replication for all committed transactions before acknowledgment, ensuring an RPO of zero, while the automatic failover policy triggers within minutes, easily satisfying the 1-hour RTO. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of disaster recovery design for PaaS databases, specifically distinguishing between active geo-replication (asynchronous, potential data loss) and failover groups (synchronous, zero data loss). A common trap is choosing active geo-replication with manual failover, which risks data loss and slower recovery. Remember the key distinction: failover groups guarantee zero data loss across regions because they commit transactions synchronously before the secondary acknowledges, whereas geo-replication does not. For a quick memory tip, think “Failover groups = zero loss; geo-replication = near-zero loss.”
AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design data storage 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.
You need to design a disaster recovery strategy for Azure SQL Database. The primary region is East US. The database must be available within 1 hour of a regional outage with no data loss. Which solution meets the requirements?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure a failover group with automatic failover to a secondary in West US
A failover group with automatic failover to a secondary in West US meets the 1-hour RTO and zero data loss (RPO=0) requirement because Azure SQL Database failover groups use synchronous replication within the same region or asynchronous replication across regions. For a regional outage, the secondary must be in a paired region (West US) and configured with automatic failover policy; the database will be available within minutes, well under 1 hour, and with no data loss because all committed transactions are replicated synchronously before acknowledgment.
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 a failover group with automatic failover to a secondary in West US
Why this is correct
Failover groups provide zero data loss and automatic failover within 1 hour.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Perform regular backups to Azure Blob Storage in a secondary region
Why it's wrong here
Backups are for point-in-time restore, not automatic DR.
✗
Configure active geo-replication and manually initiate failover
Why it's wrong here
Manual failover may exceed 1 hour RTO.
✗
Use geo-restore from geo-redundant backups
Why it's wrong here
Geo-restore has RPO of hours and RTO of days, not meeting requirements.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse active geo-replication (which requires manual failover) with failover groups (which support automatic failover), and they overlook the strict RPO=0 requirement that eliminates any backup-based solution (B and D) because backups always have a non-zero RPO.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure SQL Database failover groups use a listener endpoint (e.g., `server.database.windows.net`) that automatically redirects connections to the secondary after failover. The replication mode is asynchronous for cross-region failover groups, but the RPO is still zero because the secondary is kept up-to-date with all committed transactions before the primary acknowledges them—this is achieved by using a quorum-based commit protocol that ensures no data loss even if the primary fails. In practice, the actual failover time depends on the size of the transaction log that needs to be replayed, but for most workloads it completes within 30 seconds to a few minutes.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-305 question in full detail.
Design data storage solutions — This question tests Design data storage solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure a failover group with automatic failover to a secondary in West US — A failover group with automatic failover to a secondary in West US meets the 1-hour RTO and zero data loss (RPO=0) requirement because Azure SQL Database failover groups use synchronous replication within the same region or asynchronous replication across regions. For a regional outage, the secondary must be in a paired region (West US) and configured with automatic failover policy; the database will be available within minutes, well under 1 hour, and with no data loss because all committed transactions are replicated synchronously before acknowledgment.
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: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
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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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. You need to design a disaster recovery strategy for an Azure SQL Database that supports a critical financial application. The recovery point objective (RPO) is 5 seconds and recovery time objective (RTO) is 30 seconds. Which option should you choose?
medium
A.Use failover groups with manual failover.
B.Use long-term retention (LTR) backups.
✓ C.Configure active geo-replication with auto-failover groups.
D.Enable geo-restore (geo-redundant backup).
Why C: Option C is correct because Azure SQL Database active geo-replication provides continuous data synchronization with an RPO of 5 seconds and automatic failover with an RTO of 30 seconds when configured with failover groups. Option A is wrong because geo-restore has an RPO of 1 hour. Option B is wrong because long-term retention does not provide near-real-time RPO. Option D is wrong because auto-failover groups with manual failover have higher RTO.
Variation 2. Your organization is migrating on-premises SQL Server databases to Azure. The databases are mission-critical and require the highest level of availability with automatic failover to a secondary region. Which Azure SQL deployment option should you recommend?
easy
✓ A.Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication
B.Azure Database for PostgreSQL
C.SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines with Always On availability groups
D.Azure SQL Managed Instance with failover groups
Why A: Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication provides the highest level of availability with automatic failover to a secondary region by continuously replicating transactions from the primary to a readable secondary database in a different Azure region. This supports an RPO of 5 seconds and an RTO of 1 hour (or lower with forced failover), making it ideal for mission-critical workloads requiring cross-region disaster recovery.
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Question Discussion
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