AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design data storage 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 options can be used to automatically replicate Azure SQL Database to a secondary region for disaster recovery with no data loss in the event of a regional outage?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use auto-failover groups with data synchronization.
Auto-failover groups with data synchronization (Option A) and failover groups with automatic failover policy (Option E) are both correct because failover groups in Azure SQL Database provide automatic, synchronous replication of data to a secondary region, ensuring zero data loss during a regional outage. The automatic failover policy triggers a failover without manual intervention, and the synchronous commit mode guarantees that transactions are committed on both primary and secondary before acknowledging success, meeting the RPO=0 requirement.
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.
✓
Use auto-failover groups with data synchronization.
Why this is correct
Auto-failover groups replicate data synchronously and handle automatic failover.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable active geo-replication for the database.
Why it's wrong here
Active geo-replication alone requires manual failover; does not provide automatic failover.
✗
Set up log shipping to a secondary server.
Why it's wrong here
Log shipping is not a built-in feature for Azure SQL Database; it's for on-premises.
✗
Deploy Azure Site Recovery to replicate the SQL Server VM.
Why it's wrong here
Azure SQL Database is PaaS, not a VM; Site Recovery is not applicable.
✓
Configure failover groups with automatic failover policy.
Why this is correct
Failover groups automatically fail over to the secondary region with synchronous replication.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse active geo-replication with failover groups, assuming both provide zero data loss, but only failover groups with synchronous replication and automatic failover policy guarantee RPO=0, while active geo-replication is asynchronous and thus allows data loss.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Failover groups use the Availability Groups technology under the hood, with synchronous commit mode enforced between the primary and secondary databases in different Azure regions. The listener endpoint in the failover group provides a read-write listener URL that automatically redirects connections after failover, and the automatic failover policy uses a grace period (default 1 hour) to avoid flapping, but once triggered, the secondary becomes the new primary with no data loss. In contrast, active geo-replication uses asynchronous replication, which is suitable for scenarios where some data loss is acceptable (RPO of up to 5 seconds) but not for zero data loss requirements.
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
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-305 question in full detail.
Design data storage solutions — This question tests Design data storage solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use auto-failover groups with data synchronization. — Auto-failover groups with data synchronization (Option A) and failover groups with automatic failover policy (Option E) are both correct because failover groups in Azure SQL Database provide automatic, synchronous replication of data to a secondary region, ensuring zero data loss during a regional outage. The automatic failover policy triggers a failover without manual intervention, and the synchronous commit mode guarantees that transactions are committed on both primary and secondary before acknowledging success, meeting the RPO=0 requirement.
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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Question Discussion
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