DP-203 Design and implement data storage Practice Question
A healthcare company stores patient records in Azure Blob Storage. The compliance team requires that all data be encrypted at rest using customer-managed keys (CMK) stored in Azure Key Vault. Additionally, the storage account must be accessible only from a specific virtual network (VNet) and must support versioning to protect against accidental deletion. The storage account is currently using Microsoft-managed keys and has public network access enabled. You need to implement the required changes with minimal downtime. Which course of action should you take?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume infrastructure encryption can be enabled on an existing storage account, but it is a creation-time-only setting, making a new account the only viable path to meet the compliance requirement with minimal downtime.
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
✓
Create a new storage account in the same region with infrastructure encryption enabled and customer-managed keys configured. Enable versioning and VNet access. Use AzCopy to copy data from the old account to the new one. Update applications to use the new storage account. Delete the old account.
Creating a new storage account with infrastructure encryption and customer-managed keys (CMK) is the only way to enable infrastructure encryption, which cannot be enabled on an existing account. Using AzCopy ensures minimal downtime by copying data in the background while applications continue to use the old account until the cutover. Enabling versioning and VNet access on the new account meets all compliance requirements without disrupting the existing environment.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create a new storage account in the same region with infrastructure encryption enabled and customer-managed keys configured. Enable versioning and VNet access. Use AzCopy to copy data from the old account to the new one. Update applications to use the new storage account. Delete the old account.
Why this is correct
This meets all requirements. The new account is created with CMK support, versioning, and VNet access. Data is migrated with AzCopy, and applications are updated.
- ✗
Modify the existing storage account to use customer-managed keys by updating the encryption settings in the Azure portal. Then, enable versioning and configure firewall rules to allow access from the VNet.
Why it's wrong here
Existing storage accounts cannot be switched to customer-managed keys if they were not originally provisioned with infrastructure encryption. A new account is required.
- ✗
Delete the existing storage account and recreate it with the same name, enabling customer-managed keys, versioning, and VNet access. Restore data from backups.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting the account causes full data loss if backups are not available or current. Restoring from backups may not capture recent changes and causes significant downtime.
- ✗
Create a new storage account with the same name in a different region. Enable infrastructure encryption and customer-managed keys. Use Azure Data Factory to copy data from the old account to the new one. Then, delete the old account and update applications to point to the new account.
Why it's wrong here
Changing the region is unnecessary and adds latency. The account name can be reused after deletion, but this approach causes more downtime than necessary.
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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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DP-203 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 DP-203 exam.