- A
Locally Redundant Storage (LRS)
Why wrong: LRS replicates data three times within a single datacenter in a single region. It does not provide any protection against an entire regional outage, as all copies are lost if the datacenter or region fails.
- B
Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS)
Why wrong: GRS replicates data to a paired secondary region, but read access to the secondary region is not available unless Microsoft performs a failover. This does not meet the requirement for immediate read access during an outage.
- C
Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage (RA-GRS)
RA-GRS replicates data to a secondary region and provides read-only access to the data in the secondary region at all times. This allows the company to continue reading data immediately during a regional outage, meeting both the availability and immediate read access requirements.
- D
Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS)
Why wrong: ZRS replicates data synchronously across three availability zones within a single region. It protects against datacenter failures but not against a full regional outage, as all zones are in the same region.
AZ-900 Describe Azure architecture and services Practice Question
This AZ-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe azure architecture and services. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.
A company stores critical financial data in Azure Blob Storage. The data must remain available even if an entire Azure region becomes unavailable. Additionally, the company needs the ability to read the data from the secondary region immediately during a regional outage, without waiting for Microsoft to initiate a failover. Which storage redundancy option should the company configure?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"immediately / without restart"Why it matters: Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.
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
Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage (RA-GRS)
Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage (RA-GRS) is the correct choice because it replicates data to a secondary region (geo-redundancy) and allows immediate read access to that secondary copy during a regional outage, without waiting for Microsoft to initiate a failover. This meets both the availability requirement and the need for instant read access from the secondary region.
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.
- ✗
Locally Redundant Storage (LRS)
Why it's wrong here
LRS replicates data three times within a single datacenter in a single region. It does not provide any protection against an entire regional outage, as all copies are lost if the datacenter or region fails.
- ✗
Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS)
Why it's wrong here
GRS replicates data to a paired secondary region, but read access to the secondary region is not available unless Microsoft performs a failover. This does not meet the requirement for immediate read access during an outage.
- ✓
Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage (RA-GRS)
Why this is correct
RA-GRS replicates data to a secondary region and provides read-only access to the data in the secondary region at all times. This allows the company to continue reading data immediately during a regional outage, meeting both the availability and immediate read access requirements.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "immediately / without restart" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS)
Why it's wrong here
ZRS replicates data synchronously across three availability zones within a single region. It protects against datacenter failures but not against a full regional outage, as all zones are in the same region.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse GRS with RA-GRS, assuming that geo-redundancy alone provides immediate read access, but GRS only allows reads after a Microsoft-initiated failover, not instantly during an outage.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
RA-GRS works by synchronously writing data to a primary region using LRS, then asynchronously replicating that data to a secondary region (paired region) using GRS. The key differentiator is that RA-GRS enables read access to the secondary endpoint (e.g., via a separate URL) at all times, even before any failover occurs, which is critical for business continuity scenarios where you need to serve reads from the secondary region immediately. Under the hood, Azure maintains a separate read-only endpoint for the secondary region, and data consistency is eventually consistent due to the asynchronous replication.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-900 question test?
Describe Azure architecture and services — This question tests Describe Azure architecture and services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage (RA-GRS) — Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage (RA-GRS) is the correct choice because it replicates data to a secondary region (geo-redundancy) and allows immediate read access to that secondary copy during a regional outage, without waiting for Microsoft to initiate a failover. This meets both the availability requirement and the need for instant read access from the secondary region.
What should I do if I get this AZ-900 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "immediately / without restart". Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This AZ-900 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-900 exam.
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