- A
Deploy VMs in an active-active configuration across two Azure regions using Traffic Manager and Azure Front Door.
Why wrong: Active-active is more expensive due to running resources in both regions simultaneously.
- B
Deploy VMs in an availability zone in the primary region and use Azure Site Recovery to replicate to a secondary region.
Active-passive with Site Recovery is cost-effective for stateless apps and provides region failover.
- C
Deploy VMs in an availability set in the primary region and use Azure Site Recovery to failover to a secondary region.
Why wrong: Availability sets protect against rack failures, not region failures.
- D
Deploy VMs in a single region using Virtual Machine Scale Sets with automatic scaling.
Why wrong: Single region does not protect against region failure.
Quick Answer
The answer is deploying VMs in an availability zone in the primary region and using Azure Site Recovery to replicate to a secondary region. This design is the most cost-effective because the application is stateless and scales horizontally, meaning you don’t need to run duplicate infrastructure in the secondary region until a failover occurs; Azure Site Recovery handles replication and spin-up only when needed, avoiding ongoing compute costs. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your ability to balance high availability with cost optimization for stateless workloads, often appearing as a trap where candidates choose expensive active-active models or overlook regional failure by relying solely on availability zones. A common memory tip is “stateless saves costs with Site Recovery” — since the app doesn’t maintain state, you can afford to keep the DR region idle, paying only for storage and replication until disaster strikes.
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.
Your company has a critical application running on Azure Virtual Machines that processes financial transactions. You need to ensure that the application remains available during an Azure region failure. The application is stateless and can scale horizontally. What is the most cost-effective design to meet the availability requirement?
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 VMs in an availability zone in the primary region and use Azure Site Recovery to replicate to a secondary region.
Option A is correct because deploying VMs across availability zones provides resilience within a region, but for region failure, you need a secondary region. Option B (active-passive with Azure Site Recovery) is cost-effective for stateless apps but incurs DR costs. Option C (active-active across regions) is more expensive. Option D (single region with scale sets) does not protect against region failure.
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.
- ✗
Deploy VMs in an active-active configuration across two Azure regions using Traffic Manager and Azure Front Door.
Why it's wrong here
Active-active is more expensive due to running resources in both regions simultaneously.
- ✓
Deploy VMs in an availability zone in the primary region and use Azure Site Recovery to replicate to a secondary region.
Why this is correct
Active-passive with Site Recovery is cost-effective for stateless apps and provides region failover.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Deploy VMs in an availability set in the primary region and use Azure Site Recovery to failover to a secondary region.
Why it's wrong here
Availability sets protect against rack failures, not region failures.
- ✗
Deploy VMs in a single region using Virtual Machine Scale Sets with automatic scaling.
Why it's wrong here
Single region does not protect against region failure.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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 — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Design infrastructure solutions practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-305 question test?
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: Deploy VMs in an availability zone in the primary region and use Azure Site Recovery to replicate to a secondary region. — Option A is correct because deploying VMs across availability zones provides resilience within a region, but for region failure, you need a secondary region. Option B (active-passive with Azure Site Recovery) is cost-effective for stateless apps but incurs DR costs. Option C (active-active across regions) is more expensive. Option D (single region with scale sets) does not protect against region failure.
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.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 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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