Quick Answer
The answer is Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication and a failover group. This deployment option meets the 99.995% SLA and automatic cross-region failover requirement by asynchronously replicating your database to a secondary region, with the failover group orchestrating a seamless, automatic transition during a regional outage. On the Microsoft Azure Database Administrator Associate DP-300 exam, this question tests your understanding of the critical distinction between high availability within a single region—handled by zone-redundant configurations offering up to 99.995%—and disaster recovery across regions, which requires active geo-replication. A common trap is confusing the 99.99% SLA of a zone-redundant database with the 99.995% offered only when you add cross-region failover; the failover group is the key enabler for the automatic, not manual, failover. Memory tip: think “Geo + Group = 5 nines” to recall that active geo-replication paired with a failover group pushes the SLA to 99.995%.
This DP-300 practice question tests your understanding of plan and implement data platform resources. 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.
You need to provision an Azure SQL Database that supports a high-availability SLA of 99.995% and provides automatic failover to a secondary region in case of a regional outage. Which deployment option should you choose?
Azure SQL Database in Hyperscale tier
Why wrong: Hyperscale SLA is 99.95%.
Azure SQL Database with zone-redundant configuration
Why wrong: Zone redundancy protects within a region, not across regions.
Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication and failover group
This combination provides up to 99.995% SLA and cross-region failover.
Azure SQL Managed Instance with failover group
Why wrong: Managed Instance SLA is 99.99%.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication and failover group
Active geo-replication with a failover group provides an SLA of 99.995% by replicating data asynchronously to a secondary region and enabling automatic failover during a regional outage. This is the only option that meets both the high-availability SLA and cross-region disaster recovery requirement.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Azure SQL Database in Hyperscale tier
Why it's wrong here
Hyperscale SLA is 99.95%.
Azure SQL Database with zone-redundant configuration
Why it's wrong here
Zone redundancy protects within a region, not across regions.
Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication and failover group
Why this is correct
This combination provides up to 99.995% SLA and cross-region failover.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Azure SQL Managed Instance with failover group
Why it's wrong here
Managed Instance SLA is 99.99%.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse zone-redundant configuration (which only protects within a region) with cross-region disaster recovery, or assume that any high-SLA tier automatically includes cross-region failover.
Detailed technical explanation
Active geo-replication uses asynchronous replication with a recovery point objective (RPO) of up to 5 seconds, while failover groups orchestrate automatic failover for multiple databases with a single endpoint. The 99.995% SLA is achieved by combining a primary zone-redundant deployment with a secondary in a paired region, ensuring availability even if an entire Azure region fails.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Plan and implement data platform resources — This question tests Plan and implement data platform resources — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication and failover group — Active geo-replication with a failover group provides an SLA of 99.995% by replicating data asynchronously to a secondary region and enabling automatic failover during a regional outage. This is the only option that meets both the high-availability SLA and cross-region disaster recovery requirement.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This DP-300 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-300 exam.
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