The correct answer is to enable geo-redundant storage and soft delete for managed instance backups. Geo-redundant storage replicates your backup data to a paired Azure region, ensuring that even if a regional disaster occurs, your backups remain accessible for recovery. Soft delete provides an additional safety net by retaining deleted backups for a configurable retention period, protecting against accidental or malicious deletion. On the AZ-500 exam, this question tests your understanding of the shared responsibility model for database backups, where Azure secures the infrastructure but you must configure these specific protections. A common trap is confusing Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with backup security—TDE encrypts data at rest, but backups are automatically encrypted if TDE is enabled, so it is not an additional action. Remember the mnemonic “GRaD” for Geo-Redundant and soft Delete to recall the two key actions for securing SQL Managed Instance backups.
AZ-500 Secure compute, storage, and databases Practice Question
This AZ-500 practice question tests your understanding of secure compute, storage, and databases. 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.
Which TWO actions should you take to secure managed database backups in Azure SQL Managed Instance?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure geo-redundant backup storage (RA-GRS)
Option B (geo-redundant storage) ensures backups are replicated to another region for disaster recovery. Option D (soft delete) protects backups from accidental or malicious deletion. Option A is incorrect because TDE encrypts data at rest, but backups are automatically encrypted if TDE is enabled. Option C is incorrect because retention policies do not provide cross-region redundancy. Option E is incorrect because auditing does not protect backups directly.
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 backup storage (RA-GRS)
Why this is correct
Replicates backups to a paired region for disaster recovery.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)
Why it's wrong here
TDE encrypts the database and backups, but this is often already enabled; it does not provide geo-redundancy or immutability.
✗
Configure auditing for the managed instance
Why it's wrong here
Auditing tracks database events but does not secure backups themselves.
✓
Enable soft delete for managed instance backups
Why this is correct
Protects backups from accidental deletion by retaining them for a retention period.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Set a long-term retention policy for backups
Why it's wrong here
Long-term retention keeps backups for years but does not provide geo-redundancy.
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-500 question in full detail.
Identify which AZ-500 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.
Secure compute, storage, and databases — This question tests Secure compute, storage, and databases — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure geo-redundant backup storage (RA-GRS) — Option B (geo-redundant storage) ensures backups are replicated to another region for disaster recovery. Option D (soft delete) protects backups from accidental or malicious deletion. Option A is incorrect because TDE encrypts data at rest, but backups are automatically encrypted if TDE is enabled. Option C is incorrect because retention policies do not provide cross-region redundancy. Option E is incorrect because auditing does not protect backups directly.
What should I do if I get this AZ-500 question wrong?
Identify which AZ-500 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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