- A
Configure geo-redundant storage (GRS) for the VM disks and manually attach them to new VMs in the secondary region.
Why wrong: GRS provides replication for storage accounts but does not provide automated VM failover or meet RTO/RPO requirements.
- B
Use Azure Front Door with a back-end pool containing VMs in both regions, and configure health probes to route traffic on failure.
Why wrong: Azure Front Door provides global load balancing and failover for web applications but does not replicate VM state or provide disaster recovery for the VMs themselves.
- C
Deploy Azure Site Recovery to replicate VMs to the secondary region with a replication policy that meets the RPO and RTO.
Azure Site Recovery offers continuous replication with RPO as low as 30 seconds and automated failover minutes, meeting both requirements cost-effectively.
- D
Use Azure Backup to back up VMs to a Recovery Services vault in the secondary region and perform restore during failover.
Why wrong: Azure Backup typically has RPO of 1-2 hours and RTO of several hours to days, exceeding the 15-minute RPO.
Quick Answer
The most cost-effective approach is to deploy Azure Site Recovery to replicate VMs to a secondary region with a replication policy that meets the 15-minute RPO and 4-hour RTO. Azure Site Recovery is purpose-built for disaster recovery of Azure IaaS workloads, offering continuous replication with an RPO as low as 30 seconds and automated failover within minutes, easily satisfying both requirements while minimizing ongoing costs compared to maintaining a full standby environment. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between native DR tools and adjacent services: common traps include choosing geo-redundant storage (which protects storage accounts, not VMs) or Azure Backup (which has a 1-2 hour RPO and slower RTO), while Azure Front Door handles traffic routing, not VM failover. Remember the memory tip: for VM DR, think “Site Recovery for the VM, Backup for the data”—if the question specifies VM-level RPO/RTO, Site Recovery is the answer.
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 an Azure IaaS workload. The application runs on Azure VMs in a single region and requires a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 15 minutes and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 4 hours. Which of the following is the most cost-effective approach to meet these requirements?
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 Azure Site Recovery to replicate VMs to the secondary region with a replication policy that meets the RPO and RTO.
Option C is correct because Azure Site Recovery provides replication with RPO as low as 30 seconds to another region, easily meeting 15 minutes, and automated failover within minutes, meeting 4-hour RTO. Option A is wrong because geo-redundant storage applies to storage accounts, not VMs, and doesn't provide automated failover. Option B is wrong because backing up to a secondary region via Azure Backup has an RPO of 1-2 hours and RTO of hours to days. Option D is wrong because Azure Front Door is for web traffic load balancing, not VM failover.
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.
- ✗
Configure geo-redundant storage (GRS) for the VM disks and manually attach them to new VMs in the secondary region.
Why it's wrong here
GRS provides replication for storage accounts but does not provide automated VM failover or meet RTO/RPO requirements.
- ✗
Use Azure Front Door with a back-end pool containing VMs in both regions, and configure health probes to route traffic on failure.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Front Door provides global load balancing and failover for web applications but does not replicate VM state or provide disaster recovery for the VMs themselves.
- ✓
Deploy Azure Site Recovery to replicate VMs to the secondary region with a replication policy that meets the RPO and RTO.
Why this is correct
Azure Site Recovery offers continuous replication with RPO as low as 30 seconds and automated failover minutes, meeting both requirements cost-effectively.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use Azure Backup to back up VMs to a Recovery Services vault in the secondary region and perform restore during failover.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Backup typically has RPO of 1-2 hours and RTO of several hours to days, exceeding the 15-minute RPO.
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.
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Design infrastructure solutions — study guide chapter
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Design infrastructure solutions practice questions
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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 Azure Site Recovery to replicate VMs to the secondary region with a replication policy that meets the RPO and RTO. — Option C is correct because Azure Site Recovery provides replication with RPO as low as 30 seconds to another region, easily meeting 15 minutes, and automated failover within minutes, meeting 4-hour RTO. Option A is wrong because geo-redundant storage applies to storage accounts, not VMs, and doesn't provide automated failover. Option B is wrong because backing up to a secondary region via Azure Backup has an RPO of 1-2 hours and RTO of hours to days. Option D is wrong because Azure Front Door is for web traffic load balancing, not VM failover.
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
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 →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on AZ-305
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. You are designing a disaster recovery solution for a critical application hosted in Azure VMs. The primary region is East US. The application requires a recovery time objective (RTO) of 30 minutes and a recovery point objective (RPO) of 15 minutes. Which Azure service should you use to replicate the VMs?
medium- A.Azure Front Door
- B.Azure Backup
- C.Azure Traffic Manager
- ✓ D.Azure Site Recovery
Why D: Option C is correct because Azure Site Recovery provides replication with RPO as low as 15 minutes and can meet the RTO with proper planning. Option A is wrong because Azure Backup has higher RPO. Option B is wrong because Azure Traffic Manager is for traffic routing, not replication. Option D is wrong because Azure Front Door is a global load balancer.
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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