The answer is to configure active geo-replication to a secondary database in a paired region. This solution directly meets the requirement for a cost-effective disaster recovery approach because active geo-replication provides a readable secondary replica in a different Azure region, allowing you to initiate a manual failover within one hour while keeping data loss to a minimum through continuous asynchronous replication. For the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your ability to balance recovery objectives with cost, especially in a development environment where premium features like auto-failover groups may be unnecessary overhead. A common trap is assuming auto-failover groups are always better, but for dev workloads, active geo-replication alone is the leaner, more budget-conscious choice that still satisfies the RPO and RTO. Remember the mnemonic: "Dev needs a lift, not a group shift"—active geo-replication lifts data to a paired region without the extra orchestration of failover groups.
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.
You are designing a disaster recovery solution for an Azure SQL Database. The database is in the West US region. You need to ensure that if the entire West US region becomes unavailable, the database can be failed over to another region within 1 hour with minimal data loss. The solution must be cost-effective for a development environment. What should you recommend?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure active geo-replication to a secondary database in a paired region
Active geo-replication provides a readable secondary in a paired region with a configurable failover. For a dev environment, cost is a concern; active geo-replication is the most cost-effective option that meets the RPO/RTO. Option B (auto-failover groups) is a higher-level abstraction but still uses geo-replication; however, for dev, it may be overkill. Option C (backup to another region) has longer RTO. Option D (always on availability groups) is for IaaS, not PaaS.
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 active geo-replication to a secondary database in a paired region
Why this is correct
Provides low RPO and RTO with failover within minutes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Configure auto-failover groups with a secondary in a paired region
Why it's wrong here
Also works but includes additional management overhead; active geo-replication is sufficient for dev.
✗
Deploy an Always On availability group across two regions using Azure VMs
Why it's wrong here
More expensive and complex, not cost-effective for dev.
✗
Take daily backups and store them in a different region
Why it's wrong here
RTO would be >1 hour due to restore time.
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.
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 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: Configure active geo-replication to a secondary database in a paired region — Active geo-replication provides a readable secondary in a paired region with a configurable failover. For a dev environment, cost is a concern; active geo-replication is the most cost-effective option that meets the RPO/RTO. Option B (auto-failover groups) is a higher-level abstraction but still uses geo-replication; however, for dev, it may be overkill. Option C (backup to another region) has longer RTO. Option D (always on availability groups) is for IaaS, not PaaS.
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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