Question 1easymultiple choice
Full question →easymultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company wants to back up on-premises SQL Server databases to Azure and be able to restore them to an on-premises server in case of a disaster. The backup must be encrypted and retained for 7 years for compliance. Which Azure service should they use?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Best answer
Azure Backup with the MARS agent.
The MARS agent can back up on-premises SQL Server databases to a Recovery Services vault in Azure. It supports encryption with a user-provided passphrase and allows long-term retention (7 years is easily configurable). Restores can be done to the original or alternate on-premises server.
B
Distractor review
Azure Site Recovery.
Azure Site Recovery is a disaster recovery service that replicates entire VMs or servers to Azure for failover. It is not a backup solution for long-term retention and does not provide the file-level restore capabilities needed for a single database.
C
Distractor review
Azure Database Migration Service.
The Database Migration Service helps migrate databases from on-premises to Azure with minimal downtime. It is not designed for ongoing backups and does not support restoring to on-premises.
D
Distractor review
Azure Storage with incremental snapshots.
While you could manually take snapshots of VMs or disks, this is not a managed backup solution for SQL Server databases. It lacks application-consistent backup of SQL databases, integrated retention policies, and easy restore workflows.
Common exam trap
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.
Technical deep dive
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.
Related practice questions
Related AZ-305 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
SAA-C03 VPC practice questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC.
SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions.
SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions.
SAA-C03 IAM policy practice questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 IAM policy.
SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions.
SAA-C03 CloudFront practice questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 CloudFront.
SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions.
SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions.
SAA-C03 Auto Scaling practice questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 Auto Scaling.
SAA-C03 disaster recovery questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 disaster recovery questions.
SAA-C03 high availability questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 high availability questions.
SAA-C03 cost optimization questions
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 cost optimization questions.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A company is designing hub-and-spoke networking. Spoke VNets must use a central Azure Firewall for outbound internet traffic. Which two configurations are required?
Question 2
A company is designing private access to a PaaS database from workloads in a VNet. The database should not be reachable over its public endpoint. What should be recommended?
Question 3
A data platform must support analytical queries over petabytes of files in a data lake, while preserving hierarchical namespaces and fine-grained ACLs. Which storage service should you design around?
Question 4
A database workload has an RPO of 15 minutes and an RTO of 4 hours. Cost is more important than near-zero data loss. Which design is usually more appropriate than synchronous multi-region replication?
Question 5
A hub-and-spoke Azure network must centralize outbound inspection and still allow spokes to resolve private endpoint DNS names. Which two components are commonly required? (Choose 2.)
Question 6
A multinational company uses Microsoft Entra ID and several Azure subscriptions. Security administrators need to review privileged role assignments every month and require justification for continued access. Which design should be recommended?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-305 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Backup with the MARS agent. — Azure Backup using the Microsoft Azure Recovery Services (MARS) agent can back up on-premises SQL Server databases directly to Azure. It supports encryption with a passphrase, long-term retention (up to 99 years), and provides the ability to restore to an on-premises machine. Azure Site Recovery replicates entire workloads for DR, not backups. Azure Database Migration Service is for migrating databases, not backup. Azure Storage with incremental snapshots is a manual process and lacks integrated backup management.
What should I do if I get this AZ-305 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
Discussion
Loading comments…
Sign in to join the discussion.