The answer is SQL Server Always On Availability Groups with synchronous commit and automatic failover. This configuration meets the stringent disaster recovery requirements of a 5-second RPO and 15-minute RTO because synchronous commit ensures every transaction is written to both the primary and secondary replicas before being acknowledged, guaranteeing zero data loss at the commit level, while automatic failover enables the secondary replica to become the primary within seconds, keeping the RTO well under 15 minutes. On the Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305 exam, this question tests your ability to match SQL Server availability options to specific RPO and RTO thresholds for Azure VMs, a common scenario in designing resilient multi-tier applications. A frequent trap is choosing Azure Site Recovery, which can achieve low RPO but often exceeds the 15-minute RTO due to VM boot and recovery overhead, or log shipping, which has a much higher RPO. Memory tip: think "sync for zero loss, auto for fast switch" to lock in the correct choice.
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.
You are designing a disaster recovery solution for a multi-tier application. The application consists of a web tier, an application tier, and a database tier running SQL Server on Azure VMs. The RPO must be 5 seconds, and the RTO must be 15 minutes. You need to recommend a SQL Server availability solution that meets these requirements. What should you use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
SQL Server Always On Availability Groups with synchronous commit and automatic failover
Option A is correct because SQL Server Always On Availability Groups with synchronous commit can achieve an RPO of 5 seconds and an RTO of minutes with automatic failover. Option B is wrong because log shipping has a higher RPO (minutes to hours). Option C is wrong because Azure SQL Database Managed Instance automatic backups have an RPO of up to 5 minutes. Option D is wrong because Azure Site Recovery replication for SQL Server can have an RPO of a few seconds but RTO may exceed 15 minutes due to recovery time.
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.
Automatic backups have an RPO of up to 5 minutes, not 5 seconds.
✗
Azure Site Recovery with replication of SQL Server VMs
Why it's wrong here
ASR can achieve low RPO but RTO often exceeds 15 minutes due to VM boot time and database consistency checks.
✗
SQL Server log shipping
Why it's wrong here
Log shipping has a typical RPO of minutes to hours due to backup/restore frequency, not 5 seconds.
✓
SQL Server Always On Availability Groups with synchronous commit and automatic failover
Why this is correct
Synchronous commit ensures zero data loss (RPO=0) and automatic failover can achieve RTO under 15 minutes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-305 question in full detail.
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 — 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: SQL Server Always On Availability Groups with synchronous commit and automatic failover — Option A is correct because SQL Server Always On Availability Groups with synchronous commit can achieve an RPO of 5 seconds and an RTO of minutes with automatic failover. Option B is wrong because log shipping has a higher RPO (minutes to hours). Option C is wrong because Azure SQL Database Managed Instance automatic backups have an RPO of up to 5 minutes. Option D is wrong because Azure Site Recovery replication for SQL Server can have an RPO of a few seconds but RTO may exceed 15 minutes due to recovery time.
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.
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Question Discussion
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