Quick Answer
The correct answer is built-in high availability with a standby replica, which is the default high availability feature for a General Purpose Azure SQL Database. This feature ensures your database remains available during planned patching events by automatically maintaining a standby replica on a different compute node within the same datacenter, using locally redundant storage to synchronize data. On the Microsoft Azure Database Administrator Associate DP-300 exam, this concept tests your understanding of service tier defaults versus optional configurations—a common trap is confusing the General Purpose tier’s built-in local HA with zone redundancy (which must be explicitly enabled) or geo-replication (which requires manual setup). Remember that General Purpose gives you a free, automatic standby replica for infrastructure updates, while Business Critical offers a higher SLA with more replicas. A helpful memory tip: “General Purpose gives you a local spare, not a geo-pair.”
This DP-300 practice question tests your understanding of plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment. 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 have an Azure SQL Database in the General Purpose service tier. The database must be available during a planned patching event that updates the underlying infrastructure. What high availability feature is provided by default?
Active geo-replication
Why wrong: Not default; must be configured.
Zone-redundant availability
Why wrong: Not default; requires selection.
Built-in high availability with a standby replica
General Purpose provides local HA via compute failover.
Business Critical service tier
Why wrong: Different tier, not default for General Purpose.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Built-in high availability with a standby replica
Option B is correct because the General Purpose service tier uses local redundancy with built-in high availability through a standby replica on a different node. Option A is wrong because zone redundancy is not default for General Purpose. Option C is wrong because geo-replication requires manual setup. Option D is wrong because Business Critical is a different tier.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Active geo-replication
Why it's wrong here
Not default; must be configured.
Zone-redundant availability
Why it's wrong here
Not default; requires selection.
Built-in high availability with a standby replica
Why this is correct
General Purpose provides local HA via compute failover.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
Business Critical service tier
Why it's wrong here
Different tier, not default for General Purpose.
Common exam traps
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DP-300 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment — This question tests Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
The correct answer is: Built-in high availability with a standby replica — Option B is correct because the General Purpose service tier uses local redundancy with built-in high availability through a standby replica on a different node. Option A is wrong because zone redundancy is not default for General Purpose. Option C is wrong because geo-replication requires manual setup. Option D is wrong because Business Critical is a different tier.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DP-300 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Last reviewed: Jun 21, 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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