- A
Configure geo-restore of the database to the East Asia region. Enable auto-failover groups with manual failover.
Why wrong: Geo-restore has high RPO and RTO, not suitable for 5-second RPO and 30-second RTO.
- B
Deploy the database as a zone-redundant configuration within West US. Use Azure Traffic Manager to redirect traffic to a secondary database in East Asia.
Why wrong: Zone redundancy only protects within a region, not cross-region DR.
- C
Configure auto-failover groups with read-scale failover. Deploy a readable secondary in East Asia using the Business Critical tier. Set the failover policy to automatic.
Why wrong: Read-scale failover does not guarantee synchronous commit across regions, potentially increasing RPO.
- D
Create a failover group with an active geo-replication secondary in East Asia. Set the failover policy to automatic with a grace period of 1 hour. Ensure the secondary is configured for synchronous commit.
Active geo-replication with synchronous commit provides low RPO and RTO; failover group automates failover.
Quick Answer
The answer is to create a failover group with an active geo-replication secondary in East Asia, configure automatic failover with a 1-hour grace period, and set the secondary for synchronous commit. This configuration meets the stringent Azure SQL Database cross-region DR with low RPO/RTO requirements because synchronous commit ensures zero data loss across regions, achieving an RPO of effectively 0 seconds, while the auto-failover group delivers the sub-30-second RTO by automatically redirecting connections to the readable secondary. On the DP-300 exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between active geo-replication and auto-failover groups, with the key trap being that zone redundancy only covers intra-region HA, not cross-region DR. Remember that for cross-region synchronous commit, you must use a failover group with a readable secondary, as standalone geo-replication lacks automatic failover. A helpful memory tip: “Sync across regions, auto-failover for seconds.”
DP-300 Practice Question: Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment
This DP-300 practice question tests your understanding of plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment. 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.
You are the database administrator for a global e-commerce company that runs its critical order processing system on Azure SQL Database. The database is currently deployed as a single database in the West US region using the Business Critical service tier (4 vCores, 320 GB storage). The application requires a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of no more than 5 seconds and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of no more than 30 seconds in the event of a regional outage. The secondary region must be in East Asia. The solution must also handle planned failovers for maintenance without data loss. You need to configure high availability and disaster recovery to meet these requirements with the lowest possible latency for writes. What should you do?
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 failover group with an active geo-replication secondary in East Asia. Set the failover policy to automatic with a grace period of 1 hour. Ensure the secondary is configured for synchronous commit.
Option B is correct because a failover group with active geo-replication and automatic failover policy meets the RPO of 5 seconds and RTO of 30 seconds, as the secondary is readable and synchronous commit is used for zero data loss. Option A is incorrect because geo-restore has an RPO of 1 hour and RTO of several hours. Option C is incorrect because auto-failover groups with read-scale failover are for readable secondaries but do not guarantee synchronous commit across regions. Option D is incorrect because zone redundancy provides HA within a region, not DR across regions.
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-restore of the database to the East Asia region. Enable auto-failover groups with manual failover.
Why it's wrong here
Geo-restore has high RPO and RTO, not suitable for 5-second RPO and 30-second RTO.
- ✗
Deploy the database as a zone-redundant configuration within West US. Use Azure Traffic Manager to redirect traffic to a secondary database in East Asia.
Why it's wrong here
Zone redundancy only protects within a region, not cross-region DR.
- ✗
Configure auto-failover groups with read-scale failover. Deploy a readable secondary in East Asia using the Business Critical tier. Set the failover policy to automatic.
Why it's wrong here
Read-scale failover does not guarantee synchronous commit across regions, potentially increasing RPO.
- ✓
Create a failover group with an active geo-replication secondary in East Asia. Set the failover policy to automatic with a grace period of 1 hour. Ensure the secondary is configured for synchronous commit.
Why this is correct
Active geo-replication with synchronous commit provides low RPO and RTO; failover group automates failover.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which DP-300 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.
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Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DP-300 question test?
Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment — This question tests Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a failover group with an active geo-replication secondary in East Asia. Set the failover policy to automatic with a grace period of 1 hour. Ensure the secondary is configured for synchronous commit. — Option B is correct because a failover group with active geo-replication and automatic failover policy meets the RPO of 5 seconds and RTO of 30 seconds, as the secondary is readable and synchronous commit is used for zero data loss. Option A is incorrect because geo-restore has an RPO of 1 hour and RTO of several hours. Option C is incorrect because auto-failover groups with read-scale failover are for readable secondaries but do not guarantee synchronous commit across regions. Option D is incorrect because zone redundancy provides HA within a region, not DR across regions.
What should I do if I get this DP-300 question wrong?
Identify which DP-300 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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
4 more ways this is tested on DP-300
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. You are a database administrator for a global e-commerce company. The company uses Azure SQL Database for its product catalog, which is a mission-critical OLTP workload. The database is currently deployed in the West US region using the Business Critical service tier with zone redundancy enabled. The database size is 200 GB and grows at 10 GB per month. The company has a disaster recovery requirement: in the event of a regional outage, the database must be failed over to a secondary region with an RPO of less than 5 seconds and an RTO of less than 1 minute. Additionally, the secondary database must be readable to support read-heavy reporting workloads. The solution must minimize additional compute costs. You need to recommend a configuration. Which option should you choose?
hard- ✓ A.Configure active geo-replication to a secondary database in a paired region using Business Critical tier with a readable secondary.
- B.Create a failover group within the same region using Business Critical tier with a readable secondary.
- C.Add a second zone-redundant replica in the same region and configure a failover group.
- D.Upgrade to Hyperscale tier with zone redundancy and configure a named replica in a secondary region.
Why A: Option B is correct. Business Critical with zone redundancy already provides high availability within the region. To achieve an RPO of less than 5 seconds and a readable secondary in another region, you need active geo-replication with a readable secondary. Option A is wrong because adding another zone-redundant replica does not provide cross-region DR. Option C is wrong because a failover group in the same region does not help with regional outage. Option D is wrong because Hyperscale may be overkill and more expensive, and zone redundancy in Hyperscale does not provide cross-region DR.
Variation 2. You are the database administrator for a global e-commerce company that uses Azure SQL Database for its product catalog. The database is currently deployed in the East US region using the General Purpose service tier. The company is expanding to Europe and wants to improve disaster recovery posture. The new requirements are: RPO of 5 seconds, RTO of 1 hour, and the ability to serve read traffic from the secondary region during normal operations. The budget is limited, so you must minimize cost while meeting these requirements. The application connection strings can be updated to a listener endpoint. What should you recommend?
hard- A.Keep the primary as General Purpose, create a readable secondary in the same region, and configure active geo-replication to a secondary in West Europe.
- ✓ B.Upgrade the primary to Business Critical, configure a failover group with a readable secondary in West Europe using Business Critical, and use the listener endpoint for application connections.
- C.Deploy a zone-redundant Business Critical database in East US and use auto-failover groups to a secondary in West Europe with General Purpose.
- D.Upgrade the primary database to Business Critical, create a readable secondary in the same region, and use geo-restore for DR.
Why B: Option D is correct because it uses Business Critical in the primary region for low RPO and readable secondary in the secondary region for read traffic, while using a failover group for automated failover. Option A is wrong because General Purpose cannot meet 5-second RPO. Option B is wrong because a readable secondary in the same region doesn't serve read traffic from Europe. Option C is wrong because zone-redundancy doesn't protect regionally.
Variation 3. You are a database administrator for a healthcare company that uses Azure SQL Database for its electronic health records (EHR) system. The database is in the West Europe region using the General Purpose service tier. The company is expanding to the United States and wants to set up disaster recovery with the secondary in East US. The requirements are: RPO of 5 minutes and RTO of 1 hour. The application should automatically failover without manual intervention. Additionally, you must ensure that the secondary database is not used for read traffic to avoid any performance impact on the primary. What should you configure?
medium- A.Configure active geo-replication to a secondary database in East US and set up a custom monitoring script to trigger failover.
- B.Create a failover group with a readable secondary in East US and enable auto-failover.
- ✓ C.Create a failover group with a non-readable secondary in East US and enable auto-failover.
- D.Deploy a zone-redundant General Purpose database in West Europe and use geo-restore to East US.
Why C: Option C is correct because a failover group with auto-failover and a non-readable secondary meets all requirements: RPO of 5 minutes can be achieved with async replication, RTO of 1 hour with automatic failover, and no read traffic. Option A is wrong because active geo-replication alone does not provide automatic failover. Option B is wrong because a readable secondary would be used for read traffic. Option D is wrong because zone-redundancy doesn't protect regionally.
Variation 4. You manage a critical application that uses Azure SQL Database in the West US region. The application requires an RPO of 5 seconds and an RTO of 1 hour in the event of a regional outage. You need to recommend a high availability solution that meets these requirements with minimal cost. What should you recommend?
medium- A.Configure an auto-failover group with a secondary in a different availability zone within West US.
- B.Enable geo-restore for the database with a backup retention of 35 days.
- ✓ C.Create a failover group with a secondary replica in a paired region using active geo-replication.
- D.Deploy a zone-redundant Azure SQL Database in the West US region.
Why C: Option D is correct because failover groups with active geo-replication provide the lowest RPO (typically 5 seconds or less) and can meet an RTO of 1 hour with automated failover. Option A is wrong because zone-redundant configuration protects only within a region, not against regional failure. Option B is wrong because auto-failover groups without geo-replication also protect only within a region. Option C is wrong because geo-restore has a much higher RPO and RTO.
Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
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