AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Question
Your company uses Azure SQL Database and needs to retain backups for 7 years for compliance. Which backup retention policy should you configure?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse the maximum retention for automated backups (35 days) with the ability to extend it arbitrarily, or they mistakenly think point-in-time restore retention can be configured for years, when in reality only long-term retention (LTR) supports multi-year archival.
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
✓
Configure long-term retention (LTR) backup policy.
Azure SQL Database's automated backup retention is limited to a maximum of 35 days, which is insufficient for a 7-year compliance requirement. Long-term retention (LTR) allows you to retain full database backups for up to 10 years by storing them in separate Azure Blob Storage containers. Therefore, configuring an LTR backup policy is the correct solution for meeting a 7-year retention mandate.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase automated backup retention to 7 years.
Why it's wrong here
Automated backup retention in Azure SQL Database is configurable only up to 35 days, regardless of service tier (Basic, Standard, General Purpose, Premium, or Business Critical). Attempting to set it to 7 years is not supported because the platform caps the recovery window for point-in-time restore and automated backups. To retain backups for 7 years, you must use long-term retention (LTR), which stores separate full backups beyond the automated backup period.
- ✗
Configure point-in-time restore backup retention for 7 years.
Why it's wrong here
Point-in-time restore (PITR) retention is the same as automated backup retention, with a maximum of 35 days. PITR enables restoring to any second within that configured retention window, but it cannot exceed the 35-day cap. Therefore, configuring PITR retention for 7 years is impossible and would not satisfy the compliance requirement; you need a separate long-term retention policy to keep backups for years.
- ✗
Enable geo-redundant backups.
Why it's wrong here
Geo-redundant backups replicate automated backups to a paired Azure region using read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS), which protects against regional outages and provides disaster recovery. However, geo-redundancy does not extend the retention period—backups are still deleted after the default 7- or 35-day automated retention period. Thus, enabling geo-redundant backups alone cannot achieve 7-year retention; long-term retention policies are required for extended archival.
- ✓
Configure long-term retention (LTR) backup policy.
Why this is correct
Configuring a long-term retention (LTR) backup policy is the correct approach for retaining backups beyond 35 days. LTR allows you to define separate retention periods for weekly, monthly, and yearly full backups, with a maximum retention of 10 years. These backups are stored in Azure Blob storage (geo-redundant by default) and are independent of automated backup and PITR retention limits. For a 7-year retention requirement, you can specify a yearly LTR policy with a 7-year retention period.
Quick reference
Azure Blob Storage Tier Comparison
| Tier | Storage Cost | Retrieval Cost | Latency | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot | Highest | Lowest | Immediate | Active data, frequent reads |
| Cool | Lower | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / month |
| Cold | Lower still | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / quarter |
| Archive | Lowest | Highest + rehydration delay | Hours | Long-term compliance retention |
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