The answer is Azure SQL Managed Instance in the Business Critical tier. This deployment option meets the requirements for high availability with automatic failover and readable secondaries because it natively uses Always On Availability Groups under the hood, providing a built-in, synchronous replica that can serve read-only traffic without any manual configuration. For the DP-300 exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between PaaS and IaaS solutions: the trap is choosing SQL Server on Azure VMs, which also supports readable secondaries but requires you to manually configure and manage the Availability Group, patching, and backups—creating far more administrative overhead. The Business Critical tier handles all of that automatically, supports databases up to 4 TB, and delivers a 99.99% SLA. Memory tip: think “Business Critical = Built-in Business Continuity” to remember that the managed service handles failover and readable secondaries for you.
DP-300 Plan and implement data platform resources Practice Question
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.
A company plans to deploy a new application on Azure VMs that requires a highly available SQL Server database with automatic failover and readable secondaries. The database size is 1 TB. Which deployment option meets these requirements with the least administrative overhead?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "least"
Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Azure SQL Managed Instance in the Business Critical tier.
Azure SQL Managed Instance in the Business Critical tier provides built-in high availability with automatic failover and readable secondaries via Always On Availability Groups, while requiring minimal administrative overhead. The 1 TB database size is supported in the Business Critical tier (up to 4 TB), and the managed platform handles patching, backups, and failover orchestration automatically, unlike IaaS-based solutions.
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.
✗
Azure SQL Database in the General Purpose tier.
Why it's wrong here
General Purpose does not offer readable secondaries; failover is automatic but no read-scale.
✗
SQL Server on Azure VMs with Always On Availability Groups.
Why it's wrong here
Requires manual setup and maintenance of VMs, load balancers, and AGs.
✓
Azure SQL Managed Instance in the Business Critical tier.
Why this is correct
Built-in high availability with automatic failover and readable secondaries; minimal admin overhead.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Azure SQL Database in the Hyperscale tier.
Why it's wrong here
Hyperscale provides high availability but readable secondaries are not available in all regions and require additional configuration.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose SQL Server on Azure VMs (Option B) thinking they need full control for high availability, but they overlook the 'least administrative overhead' requirement, which favors a fully managed PaaS offering like Azure SQL Managed Instance Business Critical.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure SQL Managed Instance Business Critical tier implements a four-node cluster with three synchronous replicas and one primary, using Always On Availability Groups under the hood, ensuring zero data loss on failover. Readable secondaries can be used for read-only query offloading, and the failover is automatic within seconds, with no manual intervention required. In contrast, SQL Server on Azure VMs requires manual setup of the cluster, quorum, and listener, and ongoing patching and health monitoring, which adds significant operational burden.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this DP-300 question in full detail.
Plan and implement data platform resources — This question tests Plan and implement data platform resources — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure SQL Managed Instance in the Business Critical tier. — Azure SQL Managed Instance in the Business Critical tier provides built-in high availability with automatic failover and readable secondaries via Always On Availability Groups, while requiring minimal administrative overhead. The 1 TB database size is supported in the Business Critical tier (up to 4 TB), and the managed platform handles patching, backups, and failover orchestration automatically, unlike IaaS-based solutions.
What should I do if I get this DP-300 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: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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