AZ-305 Azure Backup Instant Restore Snapshot Practice Question
You are designing a backup strategy for Azure VMs that host a file server. The backup must support daily backups with a retention of 30 days, and the ability to restore individual files quickly. The solution must minimize backup storage costs. What backup policy should you configure?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates may mistakenly treat storage redundancy as part of the backup policy and choose LRS in the policy. Storage replication is set at the Recovery Services vault level, not in the backup policy. Also, file-level recovery is enabled through instant restore snapshots, so the policy must include that aspect. To minimize costs, select LRS at the vault level separately.
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
✓
Use Azure Backup with daily backup, retention of 30 days, and enable instant restore snapshot for file-level recovery.
Option B is correct because Azure Backup for Azure VMs uses instant restore snapshots to provide fast file-level recovery. The backup policy defines the daily backup schedule, 30-day retention, and instant restore snapshot retention. Storage redundancy (LRS/GRS) is configured at the Recovery Services vault level, not in the backup policy; to minimize costs, select LRS at the vault level separately. Option A is incorrect because it treats LRS as part of the backup policy and does not address the file-level recovery requirement. Option C uses GRS, which increases cost unnecessarily, and option D uses weekly backups, which violates the daily backup requirement.
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 Azure Backup with daily backup, retention of 30 days, and use locally redundant storage (LRS) for backup data.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Backup supports daily schedules with a 30-day retention period and file-level recovery from recovery points, meeting the rapid single-file restore requirement. Locally redundant storage replicates backup data within one region, minimising storage cost compared with geo-redundant options.
- ✓
Use Azure Backup with daily backup, retention of 30 days, and enable instant restore snapshot for file-level recovery.
Why this is correct
Incorrect. While daily backups and 30-day retention are correct, this option does not specify storage redundancy. Without specifying LRS, the backup storage may default to GRS, increasing cost unnecessarily. The instant restore snapshot feature is automatically enabled and does not need to be explicitly configured.
- ✗
Use Azure Backup with daily backup, retention of 30 days, and use geo-redundant storage (GRS) for backup data.
Why it's wrong here
Geo-redundant storage (GRS) for backup data incurs higher storage costs than locally redundant storage (LRS), contradicting the requirement to minimise backup storage costs. The scenario only demands daily backups retained for 30 days with quick file-level restore, which LRS satisfies at lower cost. GRS is tempting because it provides resilience against a regional disaster, making it the correct choice when regulatory compliance or business continuity mandates off-site redundancy.
- ✗
Use Azure Backup with weekly backup, retention of 30 days, and use geo-redundant storage (GRS) for backup data.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Weekly backups do not meet the daily backup requirement (RPO of 24 hours). Additionally, GRS is more expensive than LRS.
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