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.
Which TWO Azure services can be used together to provide a disaster recovery solution for an on-premises SQL Server database with an RPO of 5 minutes and an RTO of 30 minutes? (Select TWO.)
Azure SQL Database failover groups
Provides automatic geo-replication and failover.
Azure Backup for SQL Server
Why wrong: Backup has higher RPO.
Azure SQL Managed Instance failover groups
Provides geo-replication with automatic failover.
SQL Server Log Shipping to Azure
Why wrong: Log Shipping is on-premises, not a managed Azure service.
Azure Site Recovery
Why wrong: ASR replicates VMs, not databases directly.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Azure SQL Database failover groups
Options A and D are correct. Azure SQL Managed Instance has a failover group feature that can replicate the database to a secondary region with automatic failover, meeting RPO/RTO. Alternatively, SQL Server Stretch Database is outdated; the correct answer is Azure SQL Database Managed Instance failover groups. Option B is wrong because Azure Site Recovery replicates VMs, not databases directly. Option C is wrong because Azure Backup has a higher RPO. Option E is wrong because Log Shipping is an on-premises feature.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Azure SQL Database failover groups
Why this is correct
Provides automatic geo-replication and failover.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
Azure Backup for SQL Server
Why it's wrong here
Backup has higher RPO.
Azure SQL Managed Instance failover groups
Why this is correct
Provides geo-replication with automatic failover.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
SQL Server Log Shipping to Azure
Why it's wrong here
Log Shipping is on-premises, not a managed Azure service.
Azure Site Recovery
Why it's wrong here
ASR replicates VMs, not databases directly.
Common exam traps
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related AZ-305 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Design business continuity solutions — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Design business continuity solutions practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All AZ-305 questions
999 questions across all exam domains
Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
AZ-305 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions.
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to Design data storage solutions.
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to Design business continuity solutions.
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to Design infrastructure solutions.
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC.
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions.
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions.
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 IAM policy.
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions.
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 CloudFront.
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions.
Practise AZ-305 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Design business continuity solutions — This question tests Design business continuity solutions — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
The correct answer is: Azure SQL Database failover groups — Options A and D are correct. Azure SQL Managed Instance has a failover group feature that can replicate the database to a secondary region with automatic failover, meeting RPO/RTO. Alternatively, SQL Server Stretch Database is outdated; the correct answer is Azure SQL Database Managed Instance failover groups. Option B is wrong because Azure Site Recovery replicates VMs, not databases directly. Option C is wrong because Azure Backup has a higher RPO. Option E is wrong because Log Shipping is an on-premises feature.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related AZ-305 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.