DP-300 Practice Question: Plan and configure high availability and disaster recovery
Exhibit
Availability group configuration: AG1 (Synchronous commit) - Primary replica: SQL1 (automatic failover) - Secondary replica: SQL2 (automatic failover, readable secondary) - Secondary replica: SQL3 (synchronous commit, manual failover, readable secondary) Listener: listener1, port 1433 Error log on SQL1: 2025-03-15 15:00:00.00 spid31s The availability group 'AG1' is being restarted due to a failure. Error: 35201. A connection timeout has occurred. 2025-03-15 15:00:05.00 spid31s The local availability replica of availability group 'AG1' has transitioned from resolving role to primary role. 2025-03-15 15:00:10.00 spid31s The availability group 'AG1' is online. Query on SQL1: SELECT replica_server_name, role_desc, synchronization_health_desc, connected_state_desc FROM sys.dm_hadr_availability_replica_states WHERE group_id = '...' Results: SQL1 | PRIMARY | HEALTHY | CONNECTED SQL2 | SECONDARY | NOT_HEALTHY | DISCONNECTED SQL3 | SECONDARY | HEALTHY | CONNECTED
Refer to the exhibit. After a brief outage, the availability group recovered. However, SQL2 shows NOT_HEALTHY and DISCONNECTED. What is the most likely cause?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The network connection between SQL1 and SQL2 is still down after the outage.
The error 35201 indicates a connection timeout. SQL2 is configured for automatic failover and synchronous commit. After the restart, SQL2 remains disconnected and not healthy. This is likely because the network connectivity between SQL1 and SQL2 is still interrupted or there is a persistent issue. Since SQL3 is connected and healthy, the issue is specific to SQL2.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The automatic failover policy requires a quorum that is not met.
Why it's wrong here
Quorum issues would affect all replicas, not just SQL2.
- ✗
The listener is not configured correctly for SQL2.
Why it's wrong here
Listener configuration does not affect replica synchronization.
- ✗
The secondary replica SQL2 has an incompatible database version.
Why it's wrong here
Version incompatibility would prevent the replica from joining, but the error indicates a connection timeout.
- ✓
The network connection between SQL1 and SQL2 is still down after the outage.
Why this is correct
The connection timeout error and the DISCONNECTED state suggest network issues.
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