- A
Auto-failover groups with synchronous replication
Auto-failover groups for Managed Instance support synchronous replication to a secondary region, ensuring zero data loss. RTO is under 1 hour, and the secondary can be used for read-only workloads.
- B
Active geo-replication
Why wrong: Active geo-replication is not supported for Azure SQL Managed Instance. It is available only for Azure SQL Database single databases and elastic pools.
- C
Geo-restore of backups
Why wrong: Geo-restore uses geo-replicated backups with typical RPO of 1 hour and RTO of several hours, not meeting the requirements for zero data loss and sub-1-hour RTO.
- D
Azure Site Recovery
Why wrong: Azure Site Recovery replicates Azure VMs, not Azure SQL Managed Instance. It does not provide database-level replication or read-only secondary.
Quick Answer
The answer is auto-failover groups with synchronous replication. This is the correct choice because Azure SQL Managed Instance failover groups with synchronous replication ensure zero data loss (RPO=0) by committing transactions to both the primary West US and secondary East US regions before acknowledging success, while the automatic failover mechanism meets the sub-1-hour RTO by handling region-level outages without manual intervention. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how failover groups differ from geo-replication—specifically, that only failover groups provide a built-in listener endpoint for read-only workload offloading to the secondary, a key requirement here. A common trap is confusing asynchronous geo-replication (which risks data loss) with synchronous replication; remember that synchronous mode is only available within paired regions and guarantees zero data loss. Memory tip: “Sync for zero, async for lag, failover groups for auto and read-only flag.”
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 SQL Managed Instance in the West US region. They need a disaster recovery solution that provides automatic failover to a secondary region (East US) with no data loss (synchronous replication) and a recovery time objective (RTO) of less than 1 hour. They also want to offload read-only workloads to the secondary during normal operations. Which Azure feature should they implement?
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
Auto-failover groups with synchronous replication
Auto-failover groups with synchronous replication is the correct choice because Azure SQL Managed Instance supports failover groups that can use synchronous replication to ensure zero data loss (RPO=0) when both regions are within the same paired region. The automatic failover capability meets the RTO of less than 1 hour, and the secondary region can be used for read-only query offloading by connecting to the secondary listener endpoint.
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.
- ✓
Auto-failover groups with synchronous replication
Why this is correct
Auto-failover groups for Managed Instance support synchronous replication to a secondary region, ensuring zero data loss. RTO is under 1 hour, and the secondary can be used for read-only workloads.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Active geo-replication
Why it's wrong here
Active geo-replication is not supported for Azure SQL Managed Instance. It is available only for Azure SQL Database single databases and elastic pools.
- ✗
Geo-restore of backups
Why it's wrong here
Geo-restore uses geo-replicated backups with typical RPO of 1 hour and RTO of several hours, not meeting the requirements for zero data loss and sub-1-hour RTO.
- ✗
Azure Site Recovery
Why it's wrong here
Azure Site Recovery replicates Azure VMs, not Azure SQL Managed Instance. It does not provide database-level replication or read-only secondary.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse active geo-replication (which supports readable secondaries but only asynchronous replication) with auto-failover groups (which support synchronous replication and automatic failover), leading them to choose active geo-replication despite the zero data loss requirement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Auto-failover groups use a distributed availability group (DAG) under the hood, leveraging Always On Availability Groups technology with synchronous commit mode between the primary and secondary managed instances. The secondary listener endpoint allows read-only routing by setting ApplicationIntent=ReadOnly in the connection string, which automatically directs queries to the readable secondary replica without additional configuration. Note that synchronous replication introduces latency overhead, so the paired regions must have low network latency (typically within 500 miles) to maintain performance.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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: Auto-failover groups with synchronous replication — Auto-failover groups with synchronous replication is the correct choice because Azure SQL Managed Instance supports failover groups that can use synchronous replication to ensure zero data loss (RPO=0) when both regions are within the same paired region. The automatic failover capability meets the RTO of less than 1 hour, and the secondary region can be used for read-only query offloading by connecting to the secondary listener endpoint.
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.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This AZ-305 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-305 exam.
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