Azure SQL Database High Availability Strategies

Which TWO of the following are valid strategies for achieving high availability for Azure SQL Database?

Quick Answer

The correct answer is active geo-replication with a readable secondary in the same region and zone-redundant configuration. Active geo-replication provides readable secondaries and supports manual failover, ensuring high availability by maintaining a synchronized copy that can be promoted during an outage. Zone-redundant configuration protects against a full datacenter failure within a region by distributing replicas across availability zones. On the AZ-305 exam, this distinction tests your ability to separate high availability strategies from disaster recovery or scalability features—a common trap is confusing geo-replication for disaster recovery with zone redundancy for high availability. Remember that high availability focuses on resilience within a region, while disaster recovery spans regions. A useful memory tip: think of zone redundancy as your “local safety net” and geo-replication as your “regional escape plan.”

⚠ Common exam trap

A common mix-up: candidates confuse high availability (resilience within a region) with disaster recovery (resilience across regions), leading them to select cross-region options like auto-failover groups or backup replication as high-availability strategies.

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

✓

Deploy Azure SQL Database in a zone-redundant configuration within a single region.

Azure SQL Database's zone-redundant configuration automatically provisions a primary replica and multiple secondary replicas across different availability zones within the same region. This ensures that if one zone fails, the database automatically fails over to a secondary replica in another zone without data loss, providing an RPO of 0 and an RTO of typically under 60 seconds. Option C is correct because active geo-replication with a readable secondary in the same region creates a synchronous replica that can be used for both high availability and read-scale workloads, though it is more commonly used for cross-region scenarios; within the same region, it offers an additional layer of redundancy beyond the default local redundancy.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✓
Deploy Azure SQL Database in a zone-redundant configuration within a single region.
Why this is correct
Zone-redundant configuration replicates across availability zones for HA.
✗
Enable read scale-out to distribute read queries to a secondary replica.
Why it's wrong here
Read scale-out improves performance, not availability.
✓
Enable active geo-replication with a readable secondary in the same region.
Why this is correct
Active geo-replication within the same region provides HA with synchronous replication.
✗
Use Azure Backup to copy database backups to another region.
Why it's wrong here
Backup is for point-in-time restore, not HA.
✗
Configure auto-failover groups with a secondary in another region.
Why it's wrong here
This is a disaster recovery strategy, not high availability (HA). HA typically refers to within-region.

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Same concept, more angles

1 more way 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. Which TWO of the following are valid options to achieve high availability for Azure SQL Database? (Choose two.)

easy

A.Deploy a single database with locally redundant storage (LRS)
✓ B.Deploy a zone-redundant Azure SQL Database
C.Configure manual failover to a secondary replica in the same region
D.Configure SQL Server Always On availability groups
✓ E.Configure active geo-replication to a secondary database in a different region

Why B: Azure SQL Database offers zone-redundant configuration that automatically replicates databases across multiple Azure Availability Zones within the same region, providing an SLA of 99.995% uptime. This built-in high availability feature uses quorum-based commit and automatic failover without any manual intervention, ensuring data durability and business continuity during zone-level failures.

Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026

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