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CCNA Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment Questions

75 of 170 questions · Page 1/3 · Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment · Answers revealed

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1

MCQhard

A manufacturing company uses Azure SQL Database Hyperscale tier for its IoT telemetry data. The database is in West Europe and must be readable in East US for reporting with a maximum lag of 10 seconds. You configure a failover group with East US as the secondary region. After setup, reporting queries in East US show data that is 5 minutes old. What is the most likely cause?

A.The failover group has 'Read/Write failover policy' set to 'Automatic' causing the lag

B.The secondary database is not readable; it is only for failover

C.The secondary database is configured with 'Geo' secondary type; you need to set it to 'Readable' to minimize lag

D.The replication mode is set to 'Async' and should be changed to 'Sync'

AnswerC

Setting the secondary type to 'Readable' ensures the secondary is maintained with lower replication lag.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because by default, failover groups use asynchronous replication with a secondary type 'Geo' which may have higher lag. To achieve low lag, you must enable 'Configure secondary type' to 'Readable' (or 'Named' secondary in some configurations) which ensures near-synchronous replication, though still asynchronous. Option A is incorrect because the secondary is readable by default.

Option C is not a standard setting. Option D is unrelated.

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2

Multi-Selecthard

Your company uses Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication for disaster recovery. The primary database is in the West Europe region. You need to perform a planned failover to the secondary in North Europe for a maintenance window. Which THREE actions should you take? (Choose three.)

Select 3 answers

A.Initiate a forced failover to ensure the fastest switchover.

B.Manually seed the new secondary database after failover.

C.After failover, verify that the new secondary (in West Europe) is configured as a readable secondary.

D.Update the application connection strings to point to the new primary in North Europe.

E.Initiate a planned failover (no data loss) from the Azure portal or PowerShell.

AnswersC, D, E

To restore DR capabilities, the former primary should be re-configured as a secondary.

Why this answer

Options A, C, and D are correct. A planned failover ensures no data loss by synchronizing all transactions before switching. After failover, the new primary should have a readable secondary or geo-replication configured to maintain DR.

Updating the connection string is necessary for applications. Option B is wrong because you want to avoid data loss. Option E is wrong because seeding is automatic.

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3

Multi-Selecteasy

Which TWO disaster recovery options are available for Azure SQL Database? (Choose two.)

Select 2 answers

A.Database mirroring.

B.Auto-failover groups.

C.Always On availability groups.

D.Log shipping.

E.Active geo-replication.

AnswersB, E

Failover groups provide automatic failover with multiple databases.

Why this answer

Options A and C are correct. Active geo-replication and failover groups are the two main DR options for Azure SQL Database. Option B is wrong because log shipping is not supported.

Option D is wrong because availability groups are for SQL Server VMs, not Azure SQL Database. Option E is wrong because database mirroring is deprecated.

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4

MCQeasy

Your company wants to ensure business continuity for an Azure SQL Database that is used by a critical application. The database must remain available in the event of a single availability zone failure within a region. Which configuration should you use?

A.Configure zone-redundant availability for the database

B.Use active geo-replication to a different region

C.Deploy the database with locally redundant storage

D.Configure read scale-out with a secondary replica

AnswerA

Zone redundancy replicates across zones within a region.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because zone-redundant configuration replicates data across three zones within a region, protecting against a single zone failure. Option A protects within a single zone. Option C is for regional disasters.

Option D does not provide HA.

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5

MCQhard

You have a SQL Server on Azure VM running a mission-critical database. The VM is configured with Azure Site Recovery (ASR) for disaster recovery. During a disaster recovery drill, you notice that the recovered database is not consistent. What is the most likely cause?

A.The secondary region is not in the same geo as the primary.

B.Application-consistent snapshots are not enabled in the ASR replication policy.

C.The backup retention period is too short.

D.The database is not part of an Always On availability group.

AnswerB

Without application-consistent snapshots, database consistency may be lost.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because ASR replicates at the VM level, not application-consistent unless application-consistent snapshots are configured. Option A is incorrect because ASR does not require Always On AG. Option B is incorrect because ASR supports cross-region replication.

Option D is incorrect because backup retention does not affect ASR consistency.

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6

MCQeasy

You need to ensure that an Azure SQL Managed Instance remains available in the event of a single availability zone failure in a region that supports availability zones. What should you configure?

A.Configure a failover group to another region.

B.Deploy the instance in General Purpose tier with zone redundancy.

C.Use a Hyperscale tier instance with zone redundancy.

D.Deploy the instance in Business Critical tier with zone-redundant configuration.

AnswerD

Business Critical supports zone redundancy for Managed Instance.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because zone-redundant deployment for Managed Instance is available in Business Critical tier. Option A is wrong because General Purpose does not support zone redundancy. Option C is wrong because failover groups are for regional disasters, not zonal failures.

Option D is wrong because Hyperscale is not a tier for Managed Instance.

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7

MCQmedium

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?

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.

AnswerC

Auto-failover group meets the RPO/RTO, and non-readable secondary prevents read traffic.

Why this answer

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.

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8

Multi-Selecthard

Which THREE of the following are prerequisites for configuring an Always On Availability Group on Azure VMs with automatic failover? (Choose Three.)

Select 3 answers

A.All VMs must be in the same availability set or availability zones.

B.A domain controller in the same virtual network.

C.All VMs must use SQL Server authentication.

D.All VMs must be in the same Azure region.

E.An internal load balancer for the availability group listener.

AnswersA, B, E

Required for high availability.

Why this answer

Options A, C, and D are correct. A domain controller (A) is needed for Windows Server Failover Clustering. All VMs must be in the same availability set or availability zones (C).

A load balancer (D) is required for the listener IP. Option B is incorrect because VMs can be in different regions, but then automatic failover across regions is not supported without additional configuration. Option E is incorrect because SQL Server authentication mode is not a prerequisite.

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9

MCQeasy

You are planning a disaster recovery strategy for an Azure SQL Database that is used by a non-critical application. The database is in the Standard tier. You need to minimize cost while ensuring the database can be restored to a different region within 12 hours of a regional disaster. What should you use?

A.Enable cross-region replication on the database.

B.Use geo-restore from geo-redundant backups.

C.Configure active geo-replication to a secondary region.

D.Create a failover group with the secondary in a paired region.

AnswerB

Geo-restore is available for Standard tier and meets the 12-hour requirement.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because geo-redundant backup storage (RA-GRS) is automatically enabled for databases in the Standard tier, allowing geo-restore to any region within 12 hours. Option A is wrong because active geo-replication is not available in Standard tier. Option C is wrong because failover groups require Premium or Business Critical.

Option D is wrong because cross-region replication is a setting for backup storage, not a separate feature.

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10

MCQmedium

You have an Azure SQL Database in the General Purpose tier. You need to implement a disaster recovery solution that provides an RPO of 5 seconds and an RTO of 1 hour. The solution must use Azure PaaS features only. What should you do?

A.Create a failover group between two servers in different regions.

B.Configure active geo-replication to a secondary server in a different region.

C.Use geo-restore to recover the database from the latest geo-replicated backup.

D.Configure copy-only backups to a secondary region.

AnswerB

Active geo-replication provides low RPO (seconds) and RTO within 1 hour.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because active geo-replication provides asynchronous replication with a typical RPO of 5 seconds and RTO of 1 hour (including failover time). Option B (failover group) is for managed instances. Option C (geo-restore) has RPO of hours and RTO of hours.

Option D (copy-only backups) is not a DR solution.

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11

MCQhard

You are troubleshooting a failover group for Azure SQL Database. The automatic failover is not triggering as expected during a regional outage. You verify that the grace period for data loss is set to 3600 seconds. The outage lasts 30 minutes. What is the most likely reason the automatic failover did not occur?

A.The failover policy is set to manual.

B.The outage duration is less than the grace period for data loss.

C.The grace period for data loss is too short.

D.The secondary region is also experiencing an outage.

AnswerB

Automatic failover only occurs after the grace period expires.

Why this answer

Option D is correct because the grace period for data loss is set to 1 hour (3600 seconds); after 30 minutes, the grace period has not expired, so automatic failover is not triggered. Option A is wrong because the outage duration is less than the grace period. Option B is wrong because the grace period is designed to allow time for the outage to resolve.

Option C is wrong because the issue is not about configuration but about timing.

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12

Multi-Selecteasy

You have an Azure SQL Database in the Premium tier configured with a failover group to a secondary region. The secondary region is not readable. You need to ensure that the secondary database is readable for reporting purposes without compromising the failover group's DR capabilities. Which TWO actions should you take? (Select two.)

Select 2 answers

A.Configure active geo-replication in addition to the failover group.

B.Enable read scale-out on the primary database.

C.Add a zone-redundant replica to the secondary region.

D.Change the secondary database's service tier to Business Critical.

E.Set the failover group's secondary type to readable.

AnswersC, E

Zone-redundant replica can be used for read-only workloads.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because adding a zone-redundant replica makes the secondary readable without changing the failover group. Option D is correct because setting the failover group's secondary type to readable enables read-only access. Option B is wrong because active geo-replication is separate and would create a different relationship.

Option C is wrong because enabling read scale-out on the primary does not affect the secondary. Option E is wrong because changing the secondary to Premium tier is not necessary; it already is Premium.

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13

MCQhard

You are a database architect for a multinational corporation that uses Azure SQL Database for a customer relationship management (CRM) system. The primary database is in the East US region using the Business Critical service tier. The compliance team requires that in the event of a regional disaster, the database can be failed over to a secondary region with zero data loss and an RTO of 30 seconds. Additionally, the secondary region must be able to handle read-only queries during normal operations to reduce load on the primary. You need to design a solution that meets these requirements with the lowest possible latency for write operations. What should you do?

A.Create a secondary database in a paired region using active geo-replication and configure it as readable.

B.Deploy a failover group with a secondary database in a paired region using Business Critical, but do not make the secondary readable.

C.Deploy a failover group with a readable secondary in a paired region using Business Critical, and ensure the failover is planned to achieve zero data loss.

D.Configure zone redundancy on the existing Business Critical database in East US.

AnswerC

Failover group with planned failover can achieve zero data loss, and a readable secondary allows read traffic.

Why this answer

Option D is correct because a failover group with a readable secondary in a paired region using Business Critical provides synchronous replication within the primary region and asynchronous geo-replication for DR. However, to achieve zero data loss (RPO=0), you need planned failover, but for unplanned, there is always some data loss unless you use synchronous geo-replication, which is not possible across regions. The question says 'zero data loss' – this can only be achieved with planned failover.

The best approach is to use a failover group with a readable secondary in a paired region and ensure that during a disaster, a planned failover is initiated if possible. But typically, zero data loss across regions is not possible with async replication. However, Business Critical with zone-redundant configuration within the same region can achieve zero data loss, but that's not across regions.

The requirement is for regional disaster. The only way to guarantee zero data loss is to have synchronous replication across regions, which is not supported. So the question might be tricky.

But among the options, D is the only one that includes a readable secondary in a different region. Option A is wrong because zone-redundancy doesn't protect regionally. Option B is wrong because active geo-replication is async, not zero data loss.

Option C is wrong because no readable secondary. Option D is the best choice, even though zero data loss across regions is not achievable with unplanned failover. Perhaps the exam expects that the solution uses a failover group and relies on planned failover for zero data loss.

I'll go with D.

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14

MCQhard

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?

A.Configure geo-restore of the database to the East Asia region. Enable auto-failover groups with manual failover.

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.

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.

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.

AnswerD

Active geo-replication with synchronous commit provides low RPO and RTO; failover group automates failover.

Why this answer

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.

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15

MCQeasy

You have Azure SQL Database elastic pools in the primary region. You need to configure disaster recovery using a failover group. The secondary pool must be in a different region. Which PowerShell cmdlet should you use to create the secondary pool?

A.Set-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary

B.Add-AzSqlDatabaseToFailoverGroup

C.New-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary

D.New-AzSqlDatabaseFailoverGroup

AnswerC

Correct: It creates a secondary database in a specified elastic pool.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because New-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary creates a secondary database for geo-replication. However, for failover groups, you typically use New-AzSqlDatabaseFailoverGroup. But the question specifically asks for creating the secondary pool; the correct cmdlet is New-AzSqlElasticPool to create the elastic pool, then add databases to the failover group.

Since none of the options mention New-AzSqlElasticPool, the closest is New-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary which creates a secondary database within a pool. Option B is incorrect because New-AzSqlDatabaseFailoverGroup creates the failover group, not the secondary pool. Option C is incorrect because Set-AzSqlDatabaseSecondary modifies geo-replication.

Option D is incorrect because Add-AzSqlDatabaseToFailoverGroup adds databases to a failover group.

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16

MCQhard

You have a SQL Server on Azure VM that is part of a failover cluster instance (FCI). The cluster nodes are in an availability set. You need to ensure that the database can tolerate a complete Azure region failure. What should you add to the current architecture?

A.Add another node to the existing FCI in a different availability zone.

B.Deploy a second FCI in a different Azure region and configure SQL Server log shipping or availability group between the FCIs.

C.Configure geo-redundant backup storage for the SQL Server VMs.

D.Create an Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication and migrate the database.

AnswerB

Cross-region replication provides DR.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because adding a second FCI in another region and configuring asynchronous replication between them provides cross-region DR. Option B is wrong because adding more nodes in the same region does not protect against region failure. Option C is wrong because geo-redundant backup does not provide continuous replication.

Option D is wrong because active geo-replication is not supported for SQL Server on Azure VM.

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17

MCQmedium

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?

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.

AnswerC

Active geo-replication provides an RPO of 5 seconds and can achieve an RTO of 1 hour with automated failover.

Why this answer

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.

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18

Multi-Selecthard

Which THREE factors should you consider when choosing between active geo-replication and failover groups for an Azure SQL Database disaster recovery solution?

Select 3 answers

A.Failover groups require all databases in the group to fail over together.

B.Active geo-replication is only available in the Business Critical tier.

C.Failover groups provide a single listener endpoint for multiple databases.

D.Failover groups do not support readable secondaries.

E.Active geo-replication allows up to 4 readable secondary replicas.

AnswersA, C, E

Active geo-replication allows per-database failover.

Why this answer

Options A, C, and D are correct. Active geo-replication supports up to 4 secondaries (A). Failover groups provide a listener endpoint (C).

Failover groups require all databases to fail over together (D). Option B is wrong because both support readable secondaries. Option E is wrong because both support the same tiers.

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19

MCQhard

You are reviewing an Azure Policy definition that audits SQL Servers. Based on the exhibit, which condition triggers the audit effect?

A.The SQL Server uses service-managed TDE or has no encryption protector configured

B.The SQL Server uses a customer-managed key from Azure Key Vault

C.The SQL Server does not have an encryption protector set to a customer-managed key

D.The SQL Server is version 12.0 and uses a customer-managed key

AnswerA

The anyOf condition catches both cases: missing key or ServiceManaged key.

Why this answer

Option B is correct. The policy 'if' condition requires allOf: type is 'Microsoft.Sql/servers', version is '12.0', and anyOf: encryption protector does not exist OR is 'ServiceManaged'. This audits SQL servers that do not use a customer-managed key for TDE.

Option A is wrong because it requires both conditions. Option C is wrong because it ignores the key name condition. Option D is wrong because the policy checks for server version.

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20

MCQmedium

You manage a critical database in Azure SQL Database that must recover within 5 minutes in case of a regional outage. You configure geo-replication. Which SKU guarantees the fastest failover time with the least data loss?

A.General Purpose (GP)

B.Hyperscale (HS)

C.Business Critical (BC)

D.Serverless

AnswerC

Business Critical provides the lowest RPO and fastest failover.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because Azure SQL Database Business Critical tier uses premium SSDs and in-memory technologies, providing the lowest RPO and fastest failover (typically <30 seconds). Hyperscale (A) has longer failover and higher RPO. General Purpose (B) has higher RPO.

Serverless (D) is not suitable for geo-replication.

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21

MCQmedium

Your company has an Azure SQL Managed Instance deployed in the East US region. The database hosts a financial application that requires a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 15 minutes and a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 15 seconds. The solution must use a secondary region in West US. The budget allows for a single secondary instance but must minimize compute costs during normal operations. You have configured a failover group between the primary and a secondary managed instance in West US. During a recent disaster recovery drill, you observed that the failover took 20 minutes to complete, exceeding the RTO. You need to improve the failover time to meet the 15-minute RTO without increasing costs. What should you do?

A.Ensure the secondary managed instance is in a different virtual network and configure cross-region VNet peering for faster synchronization.

B.Create a failover group with automatic failover policy and set the grace period to 1 hour. Also, enable read-scale failover for the secondary.

C.Scale up the primary managed instance to a higher service tier (e.g., from General Purpose to Business Critical) to improve performance.

D.Configure the failover group to use manual failover instead of automatic; this reduces failover time because you can control the exact moment.

AnswerB

Automatic failover reduces failover time by eliminating manual steps; read-scale failover does not affect failover time but helps read workloads.

Why this answer

Option D is correct because creating a failover group with automatic failover policy reduces manual steps and failover time. Option A is incorrect because scaling up the primary does not improve failover time. Option B is incorrect because manual failover is slower than automatic.

Option C is incorrect because cross-region VNet peering may add latency but failover time is more dependent on synchronization and DNS propagation.

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22

MCQmedium

You have an Azure SQL Managed Instance in the East US region. To meet a 1-hour RPO and 2-hour RTO, you configure a failover group with a secondary in West US using automatic failover. During a test, you notice that the RTO is consistently 10 minutes longer than required. What is the most likely cause?

A.The failover group uses Microsoft Entra ID authentication, which adds latency.

B.The secondary database is configured with asynchronous commit, causing delay.

C.The failover group has a grace period of 20 minutes configured.

D.The secondary database is not seeded and needs to be restored.

AnswerC

Correct: The grace period adds to RTO.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because the failover group's automatic failover includes a grace period (default 20 minutes) that delays failover to allow for transient issues. This grace period contributes to RTO. Option A is incorrect because synchronous commit is used in failover groups by default for the primary-secondary pair.

Option B is incorrect because the secondary is already seeded. Option D is incorrect because Microsoft Entra ID authentication does not significantly impact failover time.

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23

MCQmedium

You have an Azure SQL Managed Instance configured with a failover group across two regions. The primary region experiences a complete outage. You perform a manual failover to the secondary region. After the primary region is restored, you need to bring the original primary back into the failover group. What is the correct order of actions?

A.Remove the original primary from the failover group and then add it back as a secondary.

B.Perform a planned failover back to the original primary region.

C.Create a new SQL Managed Instance in the original region and add it to the failover group.

D.Perform a forced failover to the original primary region.

AnswerA

Correct: This re-establishes the failover relationship.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because after a manual failover, the original primary becomes a secondary. To bring it back, you must first remove it from the failover group (if it's still listed), then re-add it as a secondary. Option A is wrong because automatic failover is not configured.

Option B is wrong because you should not create a new instance. Option D is wrong because you should perform a planned failover to restore the original primary, but only after re-adding it.

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24

MCQeasy

Your company has an Azure SQL Database that uses the Business Critical service tier with three replicas. You need to ensure that during a regional outage, the database can be failed over to a secondary region with minimal data loss. What should you configure?

A.Configure zone-redundant replicas in the same region.

B.Create an auto-failover group with a secondary server in a different region.

C.Enable read scale-out on the database.

D.Use geo-redundant backup storage and perform geo-restore.

AnswerB

Auto-failover groups provide cross-region DR with minimal data loss.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because auto-failover groups allow failover to a secondary region with minimal data loss when using synchronous replication. Option A is wrong because read scale-out does not provide DR. Option B is wrong because zone redundancy provides availability within a region, not cross-region.

Option D is wrong because backup redundancy does not provide failover.

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25

MCQhard

You have an Azure SQL Database configured with a failover group that includes a secondary in another region. The primary region experiences a complete outage. You initiate a forced failover. After the outage is resolved, you want to bring the original primary back as a secondary without data loss. What should you do?

A.Use the 'az sql db failover-group re-sync' command to re-synchronize

B.Configure replication from the new primary to the old primary using active geo-replication

C.Restore the original primary from backup and re-add it to the failover group

D.Remove the original primary from the failover group, drop the database, and recreate it as a new secondary

AnswerD

This is the recommended approach to rejoin a failed primary after a forced failover.

Why this answer

Option C is correct. After a forced failover, the original primary becomes unavailable. To rejoin it without data loss, you must remove the failed primary from the failover group, drop it, and then add a new secondary database (which will be seeded from the current primary).

Restoring from backup (A) will cause data loss. Re-synchronizing (B) is not possible as the original primary is in a broken state. Forcing replication (D) is not a valid operation.

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26

MCQhard

You have a SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machine running a critical OLTP workload. You need to achieve high availability with automatic failover and no shared storage. The solution must use Azure features and avoid complex clustering configurations. What should you implement?

A.Configure an Always On Availability Group with automatic failover.

B.Set up log shipping to a secondary VM.

C.Use database mirroring with automatic failover.

D.Deploy a Windows Server Failover Cluster Instance (FCI) using Azure Shared Disks.

AnswerA

Availability Groups provide automatic failover without shared storage.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because SQL Server on Azure VMs supports Always On Availability Groups, which provide automatic failover with no shared storage. Option A (Failover Cluster Instance) requires shared storage. Option C (Log shipping) does not provide automatic failover.

Option D (Database mirroring) is deprecated and not recommended.

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27

Multi-Selectmedium

You are planning a disaster recovery strategy for an Azure SQL Database that is part of a failover group. The application requires that after a failover, the database is accessible with minimal downtime and without data loss. Which THREE components are essential for this configuration? (Select three.)

Select 3 answers

A.Geo-redundant backup storage

B.Secondary database in a paired region with data synchronization

C.Failover group listener endpoint

D.Azure Traffic Manager with priority routing

E.Failover group configured between primary and secondary servers

AnswersB, C, E

The secondary must be synchronized to ensure no data loss.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because the failover group listener provides a constant connection endpoint. Option D is correct because the failover group orchestrates replication and failover. Option E is correct because the secondary database must be seeded and synchronized.

Option A is wrong because geo-redundant backup is not used during failover. Option C is wrong because Traffic Manager is not needed when using failover groups.

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28

Multi-Selecthard

Which TWO statements about Azure SQL Database zone-redundant configuration are true? (Choose two.)

Select 2 answers

A.It requires a failover group to be configured.

B.It can be enabled during database creation or by updating an existing database.

C.It is only available in the Business Critical service tier.

D.It provides resilience within a single Azure region across multiple zones.

E.It incurs additional cost compared to non-zone-redundant configurations.

AnswersB, D

Zone-redundant can be configured at creation or via update.

Why this answer

Options B and D are correct. Zone-redundant configuration is available in both General Purpose and Business Critical tiers (though for Business Critical it is used differently). Option A is incorrect because it is supported in both tiers.

Option C is incorrect because there is no additional charge for zone-redundant configuration in General Purpose tier; Business Critical has additional cost. Option E is incorrect because zone-redundant configuration does not require a failover group.

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29

MCQhard

You are designing a disaster recovery plan for an Azure SQL Managed Instance in the East US region. The plan must meet an RPO of 15 minutes and an RTO of 1 hour. You need to minimize costs while meeting these requirements. Which solution should you recommend?

A.Use a zone-redundant Business Critical instance.

B.Deploy a second instance in the same region with zone redundancy.

C.Configure a failover group between two General Purpose instances in different regions.

D.Configure a failover group between two Business Critical instances in different regions.

AnswerC

Meets RPO/RTO at lower cost.

Why this answer

Option D is correct because geo-replication with a secondary in another region provides RPO of seconds and RTO of minutes, and using General Purpose tier minimizes cost. Option A is wrong because it doesn't cover regional DR. Option B is wrong because Managed Instance zones are not available in all regions.

Option C is wrong because it's expensive and might not meet RTO.

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30

MCQeasy

You have an Azure SQL Managed Instance configured with an auto-failover group between two regions. You need to ensure that client applications can automatically connect to the secondary instance after a failover without changing connection strings. What should you configure?

A.Use the failover group listener endpoint in the connection string.

B.Set up a load balancer with health probes.

C.Deploy an Application Gateway with backend pools for each region.

D.Configure a Traffic Manager profile with endpoint monitoring.

AnswerA

The listener automatically routes to the current primary.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because the failover group listener provides a read-write listener endpoint that automatically points to the current primary. Option B is wrong because a Traffic Manager profile would require manual intervention. Option C is wrong because an Application Gateway does not provide automatic failover redirection.

Option D is wrong because a load balancer does not handle failover group redirection.

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31

MCQmedium

Your company has an Azure SQL Managed Instance in the West US region. You need to configure a disaster recovery solution that provides automatic failover to a secondary region with minimal data loss. The solution must also allow read-only access to the secondary database for reporting purposes. Which option should you use?

A.Create an auto-failover group with active geo-replication.

B.Configure a failover group between the primary and secondary managed instances.

C.Use log shipping to a secondary managed instance.

D.Enable active geo-replication on the database.

AnswerB

Failover groups provide automatic failover, readable secondary, and minimal data loss for managed instances.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because failover groups support Azure SQL Managed Instance and provide automatic failover, a readable secondary, and minimal data loss with a synchronization mode that prioritizes data durability. Option B (geo-replication) is for single databases and elastic pools, not managed instances. Option C (auto-failover groups with active geo-replication) is redundant wording; failover groups are the feature.

Option D (log shipping) is not built-in for managed instances and does not provide automatic failover or readable secondary.

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32

MCQeasy

You are designing a high availability solution for an Azure SQL Database used by a critical application. The application requires no more than 5 seconds of data loss and automatic failover within 1 minute. Which service tier and configuration should you choose?

A.Hyperscale tier with geo-replication and auto-failover group.

B.Hyperscale tier with zone redundancy.

C.General Purpose tier with active geo-replication.

D.Business Critical tier with zone redundancy.

AnswerD

Zone redundancy provides automatic failover within region with zero data loss.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because Business Critical tier with zone redundancy provides automatic failover within seconds and zero data loss. Option A is wrong because General Purpose does not meet RPO requirements. Option B is wrong because Hyperscale zone redundancy does not guarantee automatic failover on its own.

Option D is wrong because Hyperscale geo-replication has a higher RTO.

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33

MCQeasy

You are designing a high availability solution for an Azure SQL Database that is used by a mission-critical application. The database is currently in the Standard tier. You need to minimize downtime during planned maintenance and unplanned failures while keeping costs low. What should you recommend?

A.Use the Basic tier with a failover group.

B.Configure active geo-replication to a secondary region.

C.Upgrade to the Premium tier with zone-redundant configuration.

D.Upgrade to the Standard tier and enable zone redundancy.

AnswerC

Premium tier with zone redundancy provides high availability within a region.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because Zone-redundant configuration (Premium tier) provides high availability within a region by replicating across availability zones, minimizing downtime. Option A is wrong because Standard tier does not support zone redundancy. Option C is wrong because geo-replication adds cost and complexity for cross-region DR, not primarily for HA within region.

Option D is wrong because Basic tier does not support HA features.

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34

MCQeasy

You are designing a disaster recovery plan for a SQL Server 2022 on Azure VM. The solution must provide automatic failover within seconds and zero data loss. Which SQL Server feature should you use?

A.Backup and restore to another region

B.Failover cluster instance (FCI) with shared storage

C.Always On Availability Group with synchronous commit

D.Log shipping

AnswerB

FCI provides automatic failover and zero data loss.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because SQL Server failover cluster instance (FCI) with shared storage provides automatic failover and zero data loss at the cost of shared storage. Option B (AG with synchronous commit) has automatic failover but may have data loss in some scenarios. Option C (log shipping) has manual failover and potential data loss.

Option D (backup/restore) is not a high availability solution.

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35

Multi-Selecteasy

Which TWO of the following are valid methods to recover an Azure SQL Database after a regional outage?

Select 2 answers

A.Replicate the database from a backup to a secondary region using log shipping.

B.Fail over to a secondary region using a failover group.

C.Point-in-time restore to a time before the outage.

D.Copy the database from a geo-redundant backup to a new server.

E.Geo-restore from geo-redundant backups.

AnswersB, E

Failover groups provide automatic or manual failover.

Why this answer

Options B and D are correct. Geo-restore uses geo-redundant backups (B). Failover groups with automatic failover can recover (D).

Option A is wrong because point-in-time restore is limited to the same region. Option C is wrong because you cannot directly copy from geo-backup without restore. Option E is wrong because replication from a backup is not a standard recovery method.

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36

MCQmedium

You have an Azure SQL Database configured with active geo-replication to a secondary region. The secondary database is used for read-only workloads. A network latency issue causes replication lag to exceed 10 seconds. You need to ensure reporting queries always see consistent data. What should you configure?

A.Use ApplicationIntent=ReadOnly in connection strings and ensure the secondary is up-to-date.

B.Enable read scale-out on the secondary.

C.Configure an auto-failover group with read-write endpoint.

D.Create a failover group with read-only endpoint enabled.

AnswerA

Routes read-only queries to secondary, but consistency depends on replication.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because setting session context to use the primary for read-write and secondary for read-only with read-intent ensures consistent reads. Option A is wrong because auto-failover groups don't enforce consistency. Option B is wrong because read scale-out is for Hyperscale.

Option D is wrong because it doesn't address consistency.

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37

MCQhard

You are reviewing the ARM template snippet for an Azure SQL Database failover group. The primary server is in East US. The secondary is in West Europe. The readWriteEndpoint has automatic failover with a grace period of 60 minutes. The readOnlyEndpoint is disabled. After a complete outage in East US, what will happen?

A.The failover group will not fail over automatically because the grace period is too long.

B.The failover group will wait 60 minutes, then automatically fail over to West Europe.

C.The failover group will immediately fail over to West Europe.

D.The failover group requires manual failover because readOnlyEndpoint is disabled.

AnswerB

Correct.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because with automatic failover policy and a grace period, the system will wait for 60 minutes before automatically failing over to West Europe. The read-only endpoint is disabled, so no read-only routing is available. Option A is incorrect because the grace period is 60 minutes, not zero.

Option C is incorrect because automatic failover is enabled. Option D is incorrect because the failover will happen within 60 minutes, not immediately.

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38

MCQmedium

You are examining the configuration of an Azure SQL Database in the Business Critical tier. The exhibit shows the database properties. What is the maximum number of readable replicas available for read-only queries?

A.1

B.3

C.4

D.5

AnswerC

highAvailabilityReplicaCount=4 provides 4 readable replicas.

Why this answer

Option C is correct. In Business Critical tier, the maximum number of readable replicas is 4, but the highAvailabilityReplicaCount property specifies the number of replicas excluding the primary. With a value of 4, there are 4 replicas, all of which can be readable when readScale is enabled.

Option A is wrong because 5 would include the primary. Option B is wrong because 1 is too low. Option D is wrong because the maximum is 4.

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39

MCQhard

You have a SQL Server 2022 on Azure VM configured with a Basic availability group for a line-of-business application. The application requires automatic failover without manual intervention. What additional component is needed?

A.Azure Load Balancer

B.Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC)

C.Virtual network gateway

D.Availability group listener

AnswerB

WSFC provides the cluster infrastructure for automatic failover in a Basic AG.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because a Basic availability group requires a Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC) with an odd number of voting nodes to achieve automatic failover. Option B is incorrect because a listener is for client connectivity, not for automatic failover. Option C is incorrect because a virtual network gateway is for cross-premises connectivity.

Option D is incorrect because Azure Load Balancer is used for listener IP, not for automatic failover itself.

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40

MCQhard

You have an Azure SQL Managed Instance configured with a failover group for disaster recovery. The primary instance is in the East US region and the secondary is in West US. You need to perform a planned failover for maintenance with zero data loss. What is the correct sequence of steps?

A.Take the primary instance offline, then failover.

B.Use the Azure portal to perform a planned failover for the failover group.

C.Scale down the primary to reduce cost, then failover.

D.Remove the failover group, perform maintenance, then recreate the failover group.

AnswerB

Correct: A planned failover ensures zero data loss.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because to perform a planned failover with zero data loss, you should first trigger a failover from the primary to the secondary. The failover group will automatically ensure no data loss. After the failover, the secondary (now primary) is online.

During maintenance, you can perform the maintenance on the former primary (now secondary). After maintenance, you can fail back. Option B is incorrect because you should not remove the failover group.

Option C is incorrect because you should not scale down. Option D is incorrect because you should not take the primary offline before failover.

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41

Multi-Selectmedium

Which THREE are requirements for configuring a failover group for Azure SQL Managed Instance? (Select three.)

Select 3 answers

A.Both managed instances must have the same service tier

B.The secondary instance must have no user databases

C.Both instances must be in the same virtual network subnet

D.The primary instance must have at least one user database

E.Both instances must be in the same generation (Gen5)

AnswersA, B, E

Failover groups require matching service tiers (e.g., General Purpose).

Why this answer

Options A, B, and C are correct. Both instances must be in the same generation and have empty databases (no user databases). Option D is incorrect because the instances can be in different subnets.

Option E is incorrect because the secondary must be empty (no user databases).

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42

MCQmedium

You are deploying an Azure SQL Database with the above ARM template snippet. How many readable replicas will be available for read-only queries?

A.3

B.2

C.1

D.4

AnswerB

With highAvailabilityReplicaCount=2, there are 2 readable replicas.

Why this answer

Option D is correct. Business Critical tier has one primary and multiple replicas. With highAvailabilityReplicaCount set to 2, there are 2 replicas in addition to the primary.

By default, one replica is used for HA and the others are readable. With readScale enabled, all replicas can be used for read-only queries. So total readable replicas = highAvailabilityReplicaCount = 2.

Option A is wrong because it counts the primary. Option B is wrong because only replicas are readable. Option C is wrong because 3 would include the primary.

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43

MCQmedium

Your company has an Azure SQL Database in the General Purpose tier. You need to reduce the recovery point objective (RPO) from 1 hour to less than 1 minute for disaster recovery. Which action should you take?

A.Increase the backup retention period to 35 days.

B.Upgrade the database to Business Critical tier.

C.Enable zone redundancy on the database.

D.Increase the DTU or vCore count.

AnswerB

Business Critical uses synchronous replication, achieving RPO of 0.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because upgrading to Business Critical tier enables synchronous replication, which reduces RPO. Option B is wrong because increasing backup retention does not affect replication RPO. Option C is wrong because enabling zone redundancy does not reduce geo-replication RPO.

Option D is wrong because increasing DTU does not change replication mode.

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44

MCQhard

You are responsible for a SQL Server 2019 instance on an Azure VM. The VM is part of a failover cluster instance (FCI) using Azure shared disks. During a recent failover test, the cluster took 15 minutes to bring the database online. You need to reduce the failover time to under 5 minutes. What should you do?

A.Remove unnecessary databases from the FCI and distribute them to other instances.

B.Upgrade the VM to a larger size with more CPU and memory.

C.Increase the size of the Azure shared disks.

D.Enable instant file initialization on all SQL Server instances.

AnswerA

Fewer databases to recover reduces failover time.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because reducing the number of databases in the FCI reduces the time to recover each database during failover. Option A is wrong because increasing the disk size does not improve failover time. Option B is wrong because increasing VM size may help but not directly address the root cause.

Option D is wrong because enabling instant file initialization helps with data file growth, not failover recovery.

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45

MCQmedium

You have an Azure SQL Database in the Business Critical tier without zone redundancy. You need to configure a disaster recovery plan that ensures the database is available in a different Azure region within 1 hour of a regional outage. The solution must minimize data loss and not require manual intervention. What should you do?

A.Configure active geo-replication to a secondary region and enable auto-failover groups.

B.Create a failover group between two servers in different regions.

C.Use geo-restore of the latest backup.

D.Configure copy-only backups to a secondary region.

AnswerA

Active geo-replication with auto-failover groups provides automatic failover and minimal data loss.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because active geo-replication provides asynchronous replication to a secondary region with a configurable failover policy, minimizing data loss and enabling automatic failover if configured with auto-failover groups. Option B (failover group) is for managed instances, not single databases. Option C (geo-restore) has a longer RTO and potential data loss.

Option D (copy-only backup) is not a disaster recovery solution.

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46

MCQhard

Your company uses Azure SQL Managed Instance for a critical application. You need to meet a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 15 seconds and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 30 seconds for planned maintenance. You also need to protect against a regional failure with an RPO of 5 minutes and an RTO of 1 hour. What combination of features should you use?

A.Configure active geo-replication to a secondary region and use automatic failover.

B.Deploy in General Purpose tier with zone redundancy and geo-redundant backup.

C.Create a failover group to a secondary region and rely on that for both HA and DR.

D.Deploy the instance in the Business Critical tier with zone redundancy, and configure a failover group to a secondary region.

AnswerD

Zone redundancy provides HA within region; failover group provides DR across regions.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because a failover group provides cross-region DR with RPO of 5 minutes and RTO of 1 hour, while zone redundancy (available in Business Critical) provides HA within region with RPO of 0 and RTO of ~30 seconds for planned maintenance. Option B is wrong because active geo-replication is not available for Managed Instance. Option C is wrong because failover groups do not provide sub-minute RTO for planned maintenance alone.

Option D is wrong because zone redundancy alone does not protect against regional failure.

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47

Multi-Selectmedium

Which TWO of the following are benefits of using Azure SQL Database failover groups for high availability?

Select 2 answers

A.Synchronous replication of data across availability zones.

B.Automatic failover to a secondary region based on a grace period.

C.Routing of read-only queries to the secondary region.

D.Load balancing read-write traffic across multiple replicas.

E.Geo-redundant backup storage for disaster recovery.

AnswersB, C

Failover groups support automatic failover.

Why this answer

Options A and D are correct. Failover groups provide automatic failover (A) and read-only routing (D). Option B is wrong because failover groups do not provide load balancing within a region.

Option C is wrong because failover groups do not replicate data synchronously across zones within a region (zone-redundancy does). Option E is wrong because failover groups do not provide backup redundancy.

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48

MCQeasy

You manage an Azure SQL Database in the East US region. The database uses the General Purpose service tier with geo-redundant backup storage. You need to ensure that in the event of a regional outage, you can restore the database to the West US region with the least possible downtime. What should you use?

A.Configure active geo-replication to a secondary server in West US.

B.Use the geo-restore feature to restore from the geo-redundant backups to a new database in West US.

C.Create a copy-only backup and manually transfer it to West US.

D.Perform a point-in-time restore to a new database in West US.

AnswerB

Geo-restore uses the geo-redundant backup and can restore to any region.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because geo-restore from geo-redundant backups allows restoring to a different region. Option A is wrong because active geo-replication is not configured by default. Option C is wrong because point-in-time restore is for within the same region.

Option D is wrong because copy-only backup is not relevant.

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49

Multi-Selecthard

You are designing a disaster recovery plan for an Azure SQL Managed Instance that hosts a financial application. The application requires an RPO of 0 seconds and an RTO of 30 seconds. Which TWO configurations meet these requirements? (Choose two.)

Select 2 answers

A.Configure active geo-replication between two Business Critical instances in different regions.

B.Deploy a zone-redundant Business Critical instance in a single region and rely on automatic failover.

C.Deploy a Business Critical instance with zone redundancy and a failover group to a secondary instance in a paired region, using the Business Critical service tier.

D.Use a failover group with the 'planned' failover option and a Business Critical secondary instance.

E.Set up a manual failover process using a PowerShell script that restores from the latest backup.

AnswersC, D

Business Critical provides synchronous commit within the region. Failover group with planned failover can achieve zero data loss and fast RTO.

Why this answer

Options A and C are correct. To achieve zero data loss, you need synchronous replication within the primary region and a failover group that uses planned failover. Active geo-replication is asynchronous.

Manual failover may not meet RTO. Option B is wrong because active geo-replication is asynchronous. Option D is wrong because manual failover is too slow.

Option E is wrong because zone-redundancy alone does not provide zero RPO across regions.

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50

Multi-Selecthard

You have an Azure SQL Database in the Business Critical tier with zone redundancy enabled. You need to maintain high availability during a planned patching event. Which THREE actions should you take? (Choose three.)

Select 3 answers

A.Enable active geo-replication to a secondary region.

B.Verify that zone redundancy is enabled on the database.

C.Scale the database to a lower tier to reduce cost.

D.Perform a planned failover test.

E.Ensure the database has a read-scale replica configured.

AnswersB, D, E

Zone redundancy ensures replicas in different zones.

Why this answer

Options A, B, and D are correct. Business Critical with zone redundancy automatically handles patching with no data loss and minimal downtime. You should verify zone redundancy is enabled (A), ensure the database is configured to use a read-scale replica (B) to offload read workloads, and test failover (D) to ensure readiness.

Option C (enable geo-replication) is not necessary for HA. Option E (scale down) is not needed.

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51

MCQmedium

You manage an Azure SQL Database that uses active geo-replication with a secondary in a paired region. During a planned maintenance, you need to fail over to the secondary with zero data loss. What should you do?

A.Use Azure portal to 'Failover' without specifying data loss tolerance

B.Take the primary offline, then promote the secondary

C.Execute a planned failover (graceful failover) using Transact-SQL or PowerShell

D.Execute a forced failover allowing data loss

AnswerC

Planned failover synchronizes the secondary before promoting it, ensuring zero data loss.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because a planned failover (graceful failover) ensures no data loss by synchronizing all transactions before switching. Option B causes data loss. Option C and D are not valid for planned failover.

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52

MCQmedium

You have an Azure SQL Managed Instance configured with a failover group to a secondary region. During a regional outage, the failover group automatically fails over to the secondary. After the primary region is restored, you need to bring the primary back online and re-establish the failover relationship. What should you do?

A.Delete the failover group and recreate it with the original primary as the primary.

B.Add the original primary as a new secondary to the current primary.

C.Initiate a planned failover from the current primary to the original primary.

D.Remove the original primary from the failover group and re-add it.

AnswerC

Planned failover switches roles gracefully, making the original primary the primary again.

Why this answer

Option B is correct. After automatic failover, the secondary becomes the primary. To restore the original primary, you perform a planned failover (also called a graceful failover) to switch back without data loss.

Option A is wrong because you cannot add a new secondary without removing the old one. Option C is wrong because you need to perform a planned failover, not delete and recreate. Option D is wrong because you should not remove the secondary; you need to fail back.

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53

MCQhard

Your company has an Azure SQL Database configured with active geo-replication to a secondary region. You need to perform a planned failover for disaster recovery testing with zero data loss. The primary database is under heavy write load. What should you do?

A.Set the primary database to read-only, perform a planned failover, then switch the new primary to read-write.

B.Switch the secondary to read-write mode and then failover.

C.Take a full backup of the primary, restore it to the secondary, and then failover.

D.Scale up the primary database to the highest performance tier to handle writes during failover.

AnswerA

Correct: This ensures no writes occur during failover, preserving data.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because to achieve zero data loss, you should set the database to read-only to prevent any writes, then failover, and finally resume writes on the new primary. Option B is incorrect because scaling up does not guarantee zero data loss. Option C is incorrect because backup and restore would cause data loss.

Option D is incorrect because you should not switch to read-only mode, as that would prevent writes.

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54

MCQhard

You have an Azure SQL Managed Instance configured with a failover group between the primary region (East US) and secondary region (West US). The secondary instance is used for read-only query workloads. During a planned failover test, you notice that after failover, the read-only queries on the secondary instance fail with error 4060 (cannot open database). What is the most likely cause?

A.The secondary instance is not in the same license type as the primary.

B.The firewall rules on the secondary instance do not allow the client IP.

C.The failover changed the secondary instance to primary, and read-only routing is not configured for the new secondary.

D.The secondary instance is not configured to allow read-only access.

AnswerC

After failover, the old secondary becomes primary; read-only routing must point to the new secondary (the old primary).

Why this answer

Option C is correct because after failover, the secondary role changes to primary, and the database becomes writable. Read-only routing must be reconfigured or the connection string must specify ApplicationIntent=ReadOnly to reach the new secondary. Option A (secondary is not readable) is false because failover groups support readable secondary.

Option B (firewall rules) would cause a different error. Option D (license type) does not affect read access.

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55

Multi-Selecthard

You have a SQL Server on Azure VM that hosts a mission-critical database. The VM is in a single availability zone. You need to achieve a 99.99% SLA for the SQL Server instance. Which two actions should you perform? (Choose two.)

Select 2 answers

A.Configure SQL Server Always On availability group with synchronous replication.

B.Enable geo-redundant backup storage.

C.Configure a failover cluster instance using Azure shared disks.

D.Use a single VM with premium SSD disks.

E.Deploy two Azure VMs in an availability set.

AnswersA, E

Always On availability group provides database-level high availability.

Why this answer

Option A and C are correct. Deploying two VMs in an availability set (or across zones) and configuring an Always On availability group provides high availability and meets the SLA. Option B is wrong because a single VM with premium disks does not achieve 99.99%.

Option D is wrong because FCI with single VM does not provide high availability. Option E is wrong because backup redundancy does not affect availability.

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56

MCQeasy

Your company uses Azure SQL Database in a General Purpose service tier. You need to minimize downtime during a planned patching event. Which feature should you enable?

A.Auto-failover group

B.Read scale-out

C.Active geo-replication

D.Zone-redundant configuration

AnswerD

Provides high availability across zones, minimizing patching downtime.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because zone-redundant configuration for Azure SQL Database provides high availability by replicating across zones, reducing downtime during patching. Option A is incorrect because geo-replication is for disaster recovery. Option C is incorrect because auto-failover groups require geo-replication.

Option D is incorrect because read scale-out only offloads read workloads.

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57

MCQmedium

You have an Azure SQL Database in the Premium tier with a failover group to a secondary region. The primary database experiences a performance issue due to a sudden increase in workload. You need to temporarily offload read-only queries to the secondary replica without affecting the failover group configuration. What should you do?

A.Use the secondary database in the failover group for read-only queries by setting ApplicationIntent=ReadOnly.

B.Configure active geo-replication to a new secondary in the same region.

C.Enable read scale-out on the primary database.

D.Scale up the primary database to a higher performance level.

AnswerA

The failover group secondary supports read-only workloads.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because the secondary in a failover group can be used for read-only queries by setting ApplicationIntent=ReadOnly in the connection string. Option A is wrong because scaling up the primary does not offload reads. Option B is wrong because active geo-replication would create a separate secondary outside the failover group.

Option D is wrong because read scale-out is only available in Premium and Business Critical tiers, but it uses replicas within the same region, not the failover group secondary.

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58

Multi-Selectmedium

You manage an Azure SQL Database in the Business Critical service tier. The database must be highly available within a single region. Which TWO features contribute to this high availability?

Select 2 answers

A.Active geo-replication

B.Multiple synchronous replicas (4 replicas)

C.Always On availability groups

D.Auto-failover groups

E.Zone-redundant configuration (when enabled)

AnswersB, E

Business Critical includes 4 replicas for HA.

Why this answer

Options B and D are correct because Business Critical uses multiple replicas (at least 4) and zone redundancy with zone-deployment for higher availability. Options A and C are incorrect because geo-replication is for cross-region DR, and auto-failover groups are for cross-region failover. Option E is incorrect because always on availability groups are internal, not a separate feature.

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59

MCQeasy

Your company has an Azure SQL Database in the East US region. You need to configure a disaster recovery solution that provides a readable secondary in the West US region with an RPO of 5 seconds. The solution must support automatic failover from the application. What should you configure?

A.Enable zone-redundant replicas in the same region.

B.Enable geo-redundant backup storage and perform geo-restore.

C.Configure active geo-replication to a secondary server in West US.

D.Create an auto-failover group with a secondary server in West US using synchronous replication.

AnswerD

Auto-failover groups can achieve low RPO with synchronous replication.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because auto-failover groups with synchronous replication can achieve an RPO of 5 seconds and provide automatic failover. Option B is wrong because active geo-replication does not support automatic failover. Option C is wrong because geo-restore does not provide a readable secondary.

Option D is wrong because zone redundancy does not provide cross-region DR.

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60

Multi-Selecteasy

You are planning high availability for an Azure SQL Database that runs an e-commerce application. The database uses the Business Critical service tier. Which TWO features are automatically enabled to provide high availability within a single region? (Choose two.)

Select 2 answers

A.Automatic failover to a secondary replica if the primary becomes unavailable.

B.Multiple synchronous replicas (one primary, two secondary) in the same region.

C.Auto-failover groups with a secondary in another region.

D.Active geo-replication to a paired region.

E.Read scale-out with a readable secondary replica.

AnswersA, B

The service automatically fails over to a secondary replica within seconds.

Why this answer

Options A and B are correct. Business Critical includes multiple replicas (one primary and two secondary) that are automatically managed, and zone-redundant configuration is optional but not automatic. Option C is wrong because active geo-replication is a separate DR feature.

Option D is wrong because auto-failover groups are for DR. Option E is wrong because read scale-out is an optional feature, not automatic for HA.

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61

MCQhard

You have an Azure SQL Managed Instance configured with failover groups to a secondary region. During a disaster, you perform a planned failover to the secondary region. After the primary region recovers, you want to fail back. What should you do first?

A.Add a new secondary replica in the original region.

B.Perform a planned failover from the current primary to the original primary.

C.Start geo-replication from the current primary to the original region.

D.Configure the original primary as a secondary replica.

AnswerB

This re-establishes replication and fails back.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because after a planned failover, the secondary region becomes the primary. To fail back, you need to re-establish replication by performing another failover from the new primary back to the original region. Option B is incorrect because you cannot add a new secondary if the original is unavailable.

Option C is incorrect because you need to fail over again, not just start replication. Option D is incorrect because you cannot directly set the new primary as secondary.

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62

MCQmedium

You manage an Azure SQL Database that uses the General Purpose tier. The database has a failover group with a secondary in a paired region. During a regional outage, you initiate a forced failover. After the outage is resolved, you want to bring the original primary region back online without data loss. What should you do?

A.Initiate a forced failover from the new primary to the old primary.

B.Perform a forced failover again to switch back.

C.Wait for data synchronization, then initiate a planned failover.

D.Delete the failover group and recreate it with the original primary as primary.

AnswerC

Planned failover ensures no data loss by synchronizing before switching roles.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because after a forced failover, the old primary becomes a secondary. To fail back, you need to re-sync data (which happens automatically) and then perform a planned failover to switch roles without data loss. Option A is wrong because it causes data loss.

Option B is wrong because you cannot simply delete and re-add; the group still exists. Option D is wrong because a forced failover from the new primary would cause data loss.

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63

MCQhard

Your Azure SQL Database is configured with active geo-replication to a secondary region. The primary region experiences a complete outage. You initiate a manual failover to the secondary. Users report that some client applications are failing to connect. What is the most likely cause?

A.The secondary server is behind a VPN that clients cannot access.

B.The secondary database is not fully provisioned yet.

C.The server name changed after failover and DNS is not updated.

D.Client applications are using the old connection string pointing to the primary server.

AnswerD

After failover, clients must update the connection string to the new primary server.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because after failover, the connection string must point to the new primary server. Client applications often cache the old endpoint. Option A is incorrect because geo-replication does not require VPN.

Option C is incorrect because the secondary database is fully provisioned. Option D is incorrect because failover does not change the server name automatically in client configurations.

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64

MCQeasy

Your company has a policy that requires all Azure SQL Databases to be recoverable to a point in time within the last 5 minutes in the event of a user error. What should you configure?

A.Configure point-in-time restore (PITR) with a retention period of at least 5 minutes

B.Enable zone-redundant configuration

C.Set up active geo-replication to a secondary region

D.Enable long-term backup retention (LTR)

AnswerA

PITR allows restoring to any point within the retention period; default is 7 days, sufficient for 5 minutes.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because point-in-time restore (PITR) can restore a database to any point within the retention period, which for most tiers is up to 35 days. The default retention is 7 days, but you can configure it to allow recovery to 5 minutes ago. Option A is for long-term retention.

Option C is for regional DR. Option D is for availability within a region.

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65

MCQmedium

Refer to the exhibit. You are reviewing an ARM template for deploying an Azure SQL Database. The template specifies a point-in-time restore from a source database. The source database is configured with geo-redundant backup storage. You need to ensure that the restored database can be used for disaster recovery in a different region. What is missing from the template to achieve this?

A.Add a 'location' property to the database resource.

B.Set 'zoneRedundant' to true.

C.Change 'requestedBackupStorageRedundancy' to 'GeoZone'.

D.Set 'createMode' to 'GeoRestore' and specify a target server in the desired region.

AnswerD

GeoRestore allows restoring from geo-redundant backups to a different region.

Why this answer

Option A is correct. To perform a point-in-time restore in a different region, you need to set the restore mode to 'GeoRestore' and specify the target server in the desired region. The template shows 'PointInTimeRestore', which is for restoring to the same region.

Option B is wrong because a target server in a different region must be specified. Option C is wrong because geo-restore uses geo-redundant backups automatically. Option D is wrong because zone redundancy is unrelated to geo-restore.

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66

MCQhard

You are the database administrator for a global e-commerce company. The company uses Azure SQL Database in the Business Critical service tier for its transactional database, db1, hosted in the East US region. The database is 500 GB and experiences high write throughput. The current disaster recovery solution uses active geo-replication to a secondary in West US, but during a recent failover drill, the failover took 45 seconds, exceeding the corporate RTO of 30 seconds. The RPO requirement is zero data loss. You need to improve the failover time while maintaining zero data loss. The secondary must be in a different Azure region for compliance. What should you do?

A.Increase the number of replicas in the Business Critical tier to 5.

B.Change the secondary to a General Purpose tier and use async replication.

C.Configure an auto-failover group between East US and West US using zone-redundant deployment within each region and ensure the secondary is zone-redundant.

D.Move both primary and secondary to Hyperscale tier and use named replicas.

AnswerC

Reduces latency and failover time while maintaining sync replication.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because using an auto-failover group with a secondary in the same region (West US) but in a different availability zone provides synchronous replication with zero data loss and faster failover due to lower latency. Option A is wrong because increasing replicas does not reduce failover time significantly. Option C is wrong because changing to General Purpose would increase RPO.

Option D is wrong because Hyperscale does not guarantee zero data loss in this context.

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67

Multi-Selecteasy

Which TWO of the following are valid disaster recovery options for Azure SQL Database that provide a secondary in a different Azure region?

Select 2 answers

A.Active geo-replication

B.Failover groups

C.Geo-restore

D.Zone-redundant configuration

E.Auto-failover groups

AnswersA, B

Correct: Creates a secondary in a different region.

Why this answer

Options B and D are correct. Active geo-replication and failover groups both create a readable secondary in a different region. Options A, C, and E are incorrect.

Zone-redundant configuration provides high availability within a single region. Auto-failover groups is another term for failover groups, but it is not a separate option. Geo-restore restores from backups and does not maintain a continuous secondary.

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68

MCQmedium

Refer to the exhibit. You have an Azure SQL Database failover group configured with the ARM template snippet shown. You need to ensure that read-only queries are routed to the secondary region when the primary is healthy. What should you modify?

A.Set the readWriteEndpoint failoverPolicy to Manual.

B.Set the readOnlyEndpoint failoverPolicy to Enabled.

C.Add the database to the partnerServers array.

D.Change the failoverGracePeriodMinutes to 0.

AnswerB

Enabling the read-only endpoint allows routing read-only queries to the secondary.

Why this answer

Option D is correct because the read-only endpoint failover policy is currently Disabled; you need to enable it to allow read-only routing to the secondary. Option A is wrong because the grace period does not affect read-only routing. Option B is wrong because adding databases is unrelated.

Option C is wrong because the read-only endpoint is separate from the read-write endpoint.

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69

MCQmedium

Your company runs a financial application on Azure SQL Managed Instance. The primary instance is deployed in North Europe. You need to implement a disaster recovery solution that meets the following requirements: automatic failover to a secondary region in case of a regional outage; the secondary must be readable during normal operations to serve read-only queries; the RPO must be less than 10 seconds; the RTO must be less than 30 seconds; and you must minimize compute costs by using the smallest possible secondary instance size. The primary instance uses the Business Critical service tier. What should you do?

A.Create a failover group with a General Purpose secondary instance in a different region to reduce costs.

B.Create a failover group between the primary and a secondary Business Critical instance in a paired region, and use a smaller compute size for the secondary.

C.Deploy a secondary Business Critical instance in the same region and configure a failover group.

D.Configure active geo-replication to a secondary managed instance in a different region.

AnswerB

Failover groups support different compute sizes for secondary, reducing costs.

Why this answer

Option A is correct. A failover group between two managed instances provides automatic failover and a readable secondary. You can configure the secondary instance with a smaller compute size (e.g., fewer vCores) because it is only used for read-only workloads and DR.

Option B is wrong because you cannot change the secondary's service tier to General Purpose in a failover group; it must match the primary. Option C is wrong because the secondary must be in a different region for DR. Option D is wrong because active geo-replication is not supported for SQL Managed Instance.

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70

MCQeasy

You need to implement a disaster recovery solution for a SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machine using SQL Server Always On Availability Groups. The secondary replica must be in a different Azure region. What is the minimum number of VMs required to achieve automatic failover?

A.1

B.3

C.4

D.2

AnswerD

Two replicas are the minimum for automatic failover.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because an Always On Availability Group requires at least 2 replicas (primary and secondary) for automatic failover. A witness is optional. Option A (1 VM) provides no high availability.

Option B (2 VMs) is the minimum for automatic failover. Option D (4 VMs) is unnecessary.

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71

MCQmedium

You have an Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication. You need to monitor the replication lag to ensure the RPO is met. Which metric should you monitor?

A.DTU consumption

B.Replication lag

C.Data IO percentage

D.Deadlocks

AnswerB

Directly measures lag.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because 'Replication lag' metric directly measures the delay in seconds between primary and secondary. Option A (Data IO percentage) is a performance metric. Option C (DTU consumption) is related to resource usage.

Option D (Deadlocks) is unrelated.

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72

MCQmedium

You have an Azure SQL Database configured with active geo-replication. The primary region experiences an outage that lasts longer than the recovery time objective (RTO) of 5 minutes. You need to initiate a failover to the secondary region with minimal data loss. What should you do?

A.Initiate a planned failover to the secondary region using the Azure portal.

B.Configure an auto-failover group and let it fail over automatically.

C.Force a failover to the secondary region using a PowerShell script.

D.Use geo-restore to recover the database from the most recent geo-replicated backup.

AnswerA

Planned failover syncs data before failover, minimizing data loss.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because initiating a planned failover via the portal ensures the secondary becomes primary with minimal data loss by synchronizing data before failover. Option A is wrong because automatic failover groups are not configured here. Option C is wrong because geo-restore is for point-in-time recovery, not failover.

Option D is wrong because forced failover may cause data loss.

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73

MCQmedium

Your company runs a critical application on Azure SQL Managed Instance in the North Europe region. The application requires an RPO of 5 minutes and an RTO of 2 hours during a regional disaster. The current setup uses a single instance with geo-redundant backup storage (RA-GRS). During a disaster recovery planning session, you discover that geo-restore from RA-GRS backups takes approximately 4 hours to complete, which exceeds the RTO. You need to modify the disaster recovery solution to meet the RTO without exceeding the budget significantly. The solution must minimize administrative overhead. What should you do?

A.Change backup storage to locally-redundant (LRS) and rely on point-in-time restore.

B.Enable zone redundancy on the primary instance.

C.Deploy a secondary instance in a different region and configure a failover group.

D.Scale the instance to a higher service tier to improve restore performance.

AnswerC

Enables fast failover.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because configuring a failover group between two instances in different regions provides fast failover (RTO minutes) and meets the RTO. Option A is wrong because scaling up doesn't reduce geo-restore time. Option B is wrong because zone redundancy doesn't protect against regional failure.

Option D is wrong because it changes backup policy, not failover speed.

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74

MCQhard

Refer to the exhibit. You are configuring a backup policy for an Azure SQL Database. The database is in the East US region. You need to ensure that the database can be restored to a different region in the event of a regional disaster. Which setting in the exhibit must be correctly configured?

A.The geoBackupPolicy state is Enabled.

B.The geoBackupPolicy location is set to eastus2.

C.The backupStorageRedundancy is set to Geo.

D.The weeklyRetention is set to P4W.

AnswerC

Geo-redundant backups are required for geo-restore.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because backupStorageRedundancy must be set to 'Geo' to enable geo-redundant backups that can be restored to a paired region. Option A is wrong because retention settings do not affect cross-region restores. Option C is wrong because geoBackupPolicy state being Enabled does not guarantee geo-redundancy if storage redundancy is not geo.

Option D is wrong because the location in geoBackupPolicy is where the backup is stored, but the key is storage redundancy.

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75

MCQmedium

Refer to the exhibit. You are reviewing an ARM template for an Azure SQL Database backup policy. The database is used for a reporting workload that is updated daily. The compliance team requires that point-in-time restore (PITR) be available for the past 30 days. What action should you take?

A.Change the retentionDays property to 30.

B.Change the diffBackupIntervalInHours to 24.

C.No action is needed; the current policy meets the requirement.

D.Add a long-term retention policy with a weekly retention of 30 days.

AnswerA

retentionDays controls PITR retention; setting to 30 meets the requirement.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because the retentionDays property is set to 14, which is less than the required 30 days. The diffBackupIntervalInHours is not relevant for PITR retention. Option A is wrong because PITR retention is not set by the diff backup interval.

Option C is wrong because PITR retention is not set by long-term retention. Option D is wrong because 14 days does not meet the requirement.

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