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CCNA Ha Disaster Recovery Questions

21 questions · Ha Disaster Recovery topic · All types, answers revealed

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1
MCQmedium

You are the database administrator for a SQL Server 2019 instance on Azure Virtual Machines. The instance hosts a database that must be available during a planned operating system update that requires a restart of the virtual machine. You need to ensure that the database remains online with minimal downtime. What should you do?

A.Enable Azure Site Recovery for the virtual machine.
B.Configure an Always On availability group with a synchronous secondary replica on a second VM.
C.Use the SQL Server IaaS Agent extension to apply the update without restarting.
D.Create a database snapshot and restore it after the update.
AnswerB

An Always On availability group with a synchronous secondary replica allows you to perform a manual failover to the secondary before restarting the primary VM. The database remains online on the secondary, and after the primary VM restarts, you can fail back. This provides minimal downtime during the planned OS update, meeting the requirement.

Why this answer

To keep the database online during a planned OS update that requires a VM restart, you should use an Always On availability group with a synchronous secondary replica. Before restarting the primary VM, you manually fail over to the secondary, which becomes the new primary and keeps the database online. After the update, you can fail back.

Other options either cause downtime or are not suitable for this scenario.

Exam trap

The trap here is assuming that Azure Site Recovery or IaaS extension patching can avoid downtime, when only a high-availability solution like an availability group can keep the database online during a VM restart.

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2
MCQhard

You manage an Azure SQL Database named SalesDB in the East US region. The database is in the Business Critical service tier. You need to implement a disaster recovery strategy that provides a recovery point objective (RPO) of less than 5 seconds and a recovery time objective (RTO) of less than 30 seconds during a regional outage. You configure an auto-failover group with a secondary server in the West US region. Which action should you take to meet the RPO and RTO requirements?

A.Enable geo-replication for SalesDB to the secondary server.
B.Set the secondary database to read-only mode.
C.Increase the backup retention period for SalesDB.
D.Configure the failover group to use automatic failover policy.
AnswerD

An auto-failover group with automatic failover policy enables Azure to automatically fail over to the secondary region if the primary region becomes unavailable. This provides a low RTO because failover is automatic and typically completes within 30 seconds. The RPO is also low because the secondary is continuously synchronized. This is the correct action to meet the RPO and RTO requirements.

Why this answer

To achieve an RPO of less than 5 seconds and an RTO of less than 30 seconds during a regional outage, the auto-failover group must be configured with an automatic failover policy. This enables Azure to automatically promote the secondary to primary, minimizing downtime. Geo-replication requires manual failover and may not meet the RTO, while read-only mode and backup retention do not affect failover performance.

Exam trap

The trap here is confusing geo-replication with auto-failover groups; geo-replication does not provide automatic failover and may not meet strict RTO requirements.

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3
Drag & Dropmedium

Drag and drop the steps to configure a SQL Server Agent job in Azure SQL Managed Instance to run a maintenance task in the correct order.

Drag or tap steps into the slots.

Steps
Order
1Step 1
2Step 2
3Step 3
4Step 4

Why this order

Connect to the instance, create a job, define steps, schedule, then enable and start.

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4
MCQeasy

A company uses Azure SQL Managed Instance in the East US region. They need to configure a disaster recovery strategy that provides a readable secondary in a paired region and supports manual failover. The solution must minimize administrative overhead and use built-in Azure capabilities. What should they implement?

A.Use Azure SQL Managed Instance built-in backups and restore to the paired region during an outage.
B.Create a geo-secondary by using transactional replication to a managed instance in the paired region.
C.Configure an auto-failover group with a managed instance in the paired region.
D.Deploy a SQL Server Always On availability group on Azure VMs in the paired region and replicate from the managed instance.
AnswerC

Auto-failover groups for Azure SQL Managed Instance support a readable secondary in a paired region and allow manual or automatic failover. They provide a listener endpoint and built-in replication, minimizing administrative overhead. This is the native DR feature for managed instances and meets the requirement for a readable secondary and manual failover capability.

Why this answer

Auto-failover groups are the built-in DR feature for Azure SQL Managed Instance that provide cross-region replication, a readable secondary, and a listener endpoint. They support both manual and automatic failover and require minimal administration compared to custom replication or backup/restore. This makes them the correct choice for the stated requirements.

Exam trap

The trap here is assuming that managed instance backups or transactional replication provide a continuously readable secondary with failover capabilities, when only auto-failover groups offer that built-in functionality.

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5
MCQeasy

You are the database administrator for a company that uses Azure SQL Database. The company wants to ensure that the database remains available even if the entire Azure region experiences an outage. The solution must provide a read-write endpoint that automatically redirects connections after a failover. What should you configure?

A.Active geo-replication with a readable secondary.
B.Long-term retention backup and restore.
C.Auto-failover group.
D.Zone-redundant configuration.
AnswerC

An auto-failover group provides a read-write listener endpoint that automatically redirects connections to the secondary server after a failover. It supports automatic failover based on a policy, ensuring that the application can reconnect without manual intervention. This directly satisfies the requirement for continued availability during a regional outage with automatic redirection. It also allows for readable secondaries and can include multiple databases.

Why this answer

An auto-failover group is the correct solution because it provides a read-write listener that automatically redirects connections to the secondary server in another region after a failover. It supports automatic failover policies, ensuring minimal downtime. Active geo-replication lacks automatic redirection, zone redundancy only covers a single region, and long-term retention backups are for restore, not failover.

Exam trap

The trap here is assuming that active geo-replication provides the same automatic failover and connection redirection as an auto-failover group, when it actually requires manual failover and connection string changes.

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6
Matchingmedium

Match each Azure SQL Database security feature to its purpose.

Drag a concept onto its matching description — or click a concept then click the description.

Concepts
Matches

Encrypts data at rest

Encrypts sensitive data in transit and at rest

Limits exposure of sensitive data by masking it to non-privileged users

Restricts access to rows based on user characteristics

Why these pairings

TDE protects data at rest by encrypting the database files. Always Encrypted protects data in use by encrypting on the client side. Dynamic Data Masking hides sensitive data in query results from unauthorized users.

Common confusions involve mixing up TDE and Always Encrypted.

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7
MCQhard

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?

A.The automatic failover policy requires a quorum that is not met.
B.The listener is not configured correctly for SQL2.
C.The secondary replica SQL2 has an incompatible database version.
D.The network connection between SQL1 and SQL2 is still down after the outage.
AnswerD

A persistent network partition prevents SQL2 from exchanging heartbeat messages with the primary replica, so the availability group reports DISCONNECTED and NOT_HEALTHY. Without connectivity, the secondary cannot synchronise or confirm its state, directly matching the stem's post-outage symptom of a replica that recovered but remains unreachable.

Why this answer

The most likely cause is that the network connection between SQL1 and SQL2 is still down after the outage. In an Always On availability group, a secondary replica showing NOT_HEALTHY and DISCONNECTED typically indicates a connectivity issue between the primary and secondary. Since the outage occurred, it's plausible that network connectivity was not fully restored.

Exam trap

The trap is that candidates might focus on quorum or listener issues, but the specific combination of NOT_HEALTHY and DISCONNECTED on one secondary points directly to a network connectivity problem.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because a quorum issue would affect the availability group's ability to failover, but it would not cause a specific secondary to be DISCONNECTED; other replicas might also be affected. Option B is wrong because a misconfigured listener would affect client connectivity, not the health state of the secondary replica. Option C is wrong because an incompatible database version would prevent the secondary from joining the availability group in the first place, not cause a sudden disconnection after an outage.

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8
Drag & Dropmedium

Drag and drop the steps to configure automatic tuning for an Azure SQL Database in the correct order.

Drag or tap steps into the slots.

Steps
Order
1Step 1
2Step 2
3Step 3
4Step 4

Why this order

Automatic tuning is configured via the portal by selecting the database, navigating to automatic tuning, enabling options, and saving.

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9
MCQmedium

You administer an Azure SQL Database that must remain available if the primary region becomes unavailable. The business requires a secondary region with read-only access for reporting, and during a failover the application connection string must not change. You configure an auto-failover group. Which feature of the auto-failover group satisfies the requirement that the application connection string remains unchanged after failover?

A.The geo-secondary database's server-level firewall rules.
B.The transparent data encryption (TDE) protector stored in Azure Key Vault.
C.The automatic backup retention policy of the primary database.
D.The read-write listener endpoint of the failover group.
AnswerD

The read-write listener endpoint is a stable DNS name that always points to the current primary database. Applications connect to this listener instead of the server name, so after a geo-failover the same connection string continues to work without modification. This directly satisfies the requirement that the application connection string must not change during a regional failover.

Why this answer

An auto-failover group creates listener endpoints with stable DNS names. The read-write listener always resolves to the current primary, so applications using that listener do not need to change their connection strings after a geo-failover. Firewall rules, backup retention, and TDE protectors are important for security and recoverability but do not provide a stable connection endpoint.

Exam trap

The trap here is assuming that any failover group configuration automatically preserves the application connection string, when only the listener endpoint provides that stability.

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10
MCQmedium

You are deploying SQL Server on an Azure Virtual Machine. You need to configure a high availability solution that provides automatic failover and does not require a shared storage solution. The solution must support multiple databases and allow for readable secondary replicas. What should you implement?

A.Configure a failover cluster instance (FCI) with a premium file share.
B.Use Azure Site Recovery to replicate the VM to another region.
C.Configure log shipping to a secondary SQL Server instance.
D.Implement an Always On availability group with multiple replicas.
AnswerD

Always On availability groups support automatic failover without shared storage and allow for readable secondary replicas. They can protect multiple databases and are the recommended high availability solution for SQL Server on Azure VMs when shared storage is not desired. This meets all the stated requirements.

Why this answer

Always On availability groups provide automatic failover without shared storage and support readable secondary replicas. They can protect multiple databases and are the standard high availability solution for SQL Server on Azure VMs. Failover cluster instances require shared storage, while log shipping and Azure Site Recovery do not provide automatic failover or readable secondaries.

Exam trap

The trap here is confusing disaster recovery solutions like Azure Site Recovery with high availability solutions that provide automatic failover and readable secondaries.

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11
MCQhard

You manage a business-critical Azure SQL Database named OrdersDB in the Business Critical service tier. The database is in the East US region. The company requires a secondary readable copy in West US that provides a recovery point objective (RPO) of 5 seconds and a recovery time objective (RTO) of 30 seconds during a regional outage. You need to implement the solution with the least administrative effort. What should you do?

A.Enable zone redundancy for the database and rely on Azure to fail over to a secondary zone.
B.Create a failover group with the West US server as the secondary and configure automatic failover policy.
C.Configure a long-term retention policy and restore the database to a West US server during an outage.
D.Configure active geo-replication to a West US server and create an Azure Automation runbook to fail over.
AnswerB

A failover group with automatic failover policy provides a readable secondary, automatic failover within the RTO, and stable listener endpoints. For Business Critical databases, replication uses local redundant storage and the RPO is typically less than 5 seconds. This meets the RPO, RTO, and least administrative effort requirements.

Why this answer

A failover group with automatic failover policy provides the needed readable secondary, automatic failover, and stable endpoints. For Business Critical, replication is synchronous within the region and asynchronous across regions with an RPO typically under 5 seconds. Zone redundancy and long-term retention do not address cross-region DR, and active geo-replication requires manual failover or custom automation.

Exam trap

The trap here is confusing zone redundancy, which only protects against a datacenter failure within a region, with cross-region disaster recovery.

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12
MCQhard

You have an Azure SQL Managed Instance named MI1 in the East US region. The company requires a disaster recovery solution that provides a readable secondary in the West US region and automatic failover. You need to configure the solution with the least administrative effort. What should you do?

A.Use Azure Site Recovery to replicate MI1 to West US.
B.Create a failover group with MI1 as the primary and a secondary managed instance in West US.
C.Configure active geo-replication from MI1 to a managed instance in West US.
D.Set up transactional replication from MI1 to a managed instance in West US.
AnswerB

Failover groups are supported for Azure SQL Managed Instance and provide automatic failover, readable secondary, and stable listener endpoints. They require minimal administrative effort because they handle replication and failover configuration. This meets all requirements for the scenario.

Why this answer

Failover groups are the only option that provides automatic failover and a readable secondary for Azure SQL Managed Instance. Active geo-replication is not supported for Managed Instance, transactional replication requires manual failover, and Azure Site Recovery is for VMs. Failover groups also provide stable listener endpoints, reducing administrative effort.

Exam trap

The trap here is assuming that active geo-replication, which works for Azure SQL Database, also works for Azure SQL Managed Instance.

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13
Multi-Selecteasy

Which TWO options are required to configure a SQL Server Always On Availability Group on Azure Virtual Machines?

Select 2 answers
A.Internal Load Balancer
B.Azure Files share for witness
C.Windows Server Failover Cluster
D.Azure SQL Database
E.VPN gateway between regions
AnswersA, C

An internal load balancer is required so clients and listeners reach the availability group's listener IP across the cluster nodes, since Azure networking does not support the floating IP that a WSFC listener normally uses. It distributes listener traffic to the current primary replica.

Why this answer

Option A (Internal Load Balancer) is required because in Azure, the availability group listener needs an Azure Internal Load Balancer to route client connections to the current primary replica, since Azure networking does not support the traditional floating IP/ARP method used on-premises. Option C (Windows Server Failover Cluster) is required because Always On Availability Groups are built on top of a WSFC, which provides the cluster quorum, health detection, and failover orchestration for the SQL Server replicas on the Azure VMs. Option B is not required because a cloud witness (an Azure Storage account blob) is the typical witness for a WSFC in Azure, not an Azure Files share.

Option D is incorrect because Azure SQL Database is a separate PaaS offering and cannot host the SQL Server instances that form an Always On Availability Group on VMs. Option E is not required because a VPN gateway is only needed for cross-region or hybrid connectivity, not for the core configuration of an availability group within Azure.

Exam trap

The trap here is that candidates often think a VPN gateway is required for cross-region AGs, but the question asks for required options to configure the AG, and the ILB and WSFC are the only mandatory components; the VPN gateway is optional and only relevant for specific network topologies.

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14
MCQmedium

You manage an Azure SQL Database named OrdersDB in the East US region. The business requires that OrdersDB be readable from a secondary region during a planned regional failover, and that the failover be initiated manually by a database administrator. You create a failover group and add OrdersDB as a member. Which read-write listener endpoint should applications use to connect to OrdersDB after a manual failover to the secondary region?

A.The original server name of OrdersDB in the East US region.
B.The read-only listener endpoint of the failover group.
C.The read-write listener endpoint of the failover group.
D.The private endpoint IP address of OrdersDB in the East US region.
AnswerC

The failover group exposes a read-write listener endpoint that always points to the current primary database. After a manual failover, the listener is updated to route connections to the secondary region, allowing applications to reconnect without changing connection strings. This endpoint is the correct choice for read-write access that must survive a regional failover.

Why this answer

A failover group provides a read-write listener endpoint that automatically redirects connections to the current primary database after a failover. Applications use this listener rather than server-specific names or region-specific endpoints, so connectivity is maintained without connection string changes. The read-only listener is only for read-only workloads, and private endpoint IPs are region-bound and unsuitable for cross-region failover.

Exam trap

The trap here is assuming that the original server name or a private endpoint IP will continue to work after a regional failover, when only the failover group listener is designed to redirect clients.

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15
MCQmedium

You are the database administrator for a company that uses Azure SQL Managed Instance named MI1 in the East US region. The company requires a disaster recovery plan that ensures the instance can be failed over to a secondary region with minimal data loss and minimal downtime. The solution must support read-only workloads on the secondary. You need to configure the disaster recovery solution. What should you do?

A.Configure an auto-failover group with a secondary managed instance in West US.
B.Set up geo-redundant backups for MI1.
C.Use Azure Site Recovery to replicate the managed instance to West US.
D.Create a transactional replication subscriber in West US.
AnswerA

Auto-failover groups for Azure SQL Managed Instance support cross-region replication with a readable secondary. They provide minimal data loss (RPO typically <5 seconds) and minimal downtime (RTO <30 seconds) when configured for automatic failover. The secondary can handle read-only workloads. This meets all the requirements.

Why this answer

The requirement is for a disaster recovery solution that provides minimal data loss and downtime, and supports read-only workloads on the secondary. Auto-failover groups for Azure SQL Managed Instance are designed for this purpose, offering a readable secondary, automatic failover, and low RPO/RTO. The other options either do not provide a readable secondary, require manual failover, or are not applicable to managed instance.

Exam trap

The trap here is assuming that geo-redundant backups provide a readable secondary and fast failover, when they only allow restore to a new instance with significant downtime.

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16
MCQhard

A company runs SQL Server 2019 on Azure Virtual Machines in an availability set. They need to achieve high availability for a critical database with automatic failover and no shared storage. The solution must minimize downtime during planned maintenance. What should they implement?

A.Configure Log Shipping to a secondary VM
B.Deploy a Failover Cluster Instance using Azure Shared Disks
C.Create an Always On Availability Group with an availability group listener
D.Use Database Mirroring with automatic failover
AnswerC

An Always On Availability Group with a listener provides automatic failover across separate nodes without shared storage, satisfying the no-shared-storage constraint, while planned maintenance triggers a manual failover to the secondary replica, minimising downtime for the critical database.

Why this answer

An Always On Availability Group (AG) with a listener provides high availability with automatic failover at the database level without requiring shared storage. This solution meets the requirement for automatic failover and minimizes downtime during planned maintenance by allowing manual failover to a synchronized secondary replica with minimal disruption.

Exam trap

The trap here is that candidates often confuse Failover Cluster Instances (which require shared storage) with Always On Availability Groups (which do not), or they overlook that Database Mirroring is deprecated and lacks the listener feature for seamless client redirection.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because Log Shipping provides only manual failover and does not support automatic failover; it also typically results in longer downtime during failover. Option B is wrong because a Failover Cluster Instance using Azure Shared Disks requires shared storage, which is explicitly not allowed by the requirement for no shared storage. Option D is wrong because Database Mirroring with automatic failover requires a witness server and is deprecated in SQL Server 2019; it also does not support an availability group listener for client redirection, making it less suitable for minimizing downtime during planned maintenance.

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17
MCQmedium

You are the database administrator for a global e-commerce company. The company runs its production SQL Server on an Azure Virtual Machine (IaaS) in the West US region. The database is mission-critical and requires a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 5 minutes and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 30 minutes in the event of a regional disaster. The VM uses premium SSDs and is backed up daily to a Recovery Services vault with geo-redundant storage. The current backup policy takes full backups weekly, differential backups daily, and transaction log backups every 15 minutes. The VM is in an availability set for high availability within the region. During a recent regional outage simulation, the database was unavailable for 4 hours because the backups needed to be restored to a different region, and the restore process took longer than expected. You need to recommend a solution to meet the RPO and RTO requirements. What should you do?

A.Implement Azure Site Recovery to replicate the VM to a secondary region.
B.Set up log shipping to a secondary SQL Server in a different region and perform manual failover.
C.Configure a SQL Server Always On availability group with a synchronous-commit replica in a secondary Azure region.
D.Increase the frequency of transaction log backups to every 5 minutes and use geo-restore.
AnswerC

An Always On availability group with a synchronous-commit replica in a secondary Azure region replicates every transaction to the secondary before committing, so the RPO is effectively 0 within the failover policy, and automatic failover can bring the listener online in minutes. This is the only option that satisfies both a 30-minute RTO and near-zero data loss, because failover is orchestrated and scripted rather than manual and does not require restoring backups. In Azure, you must place the VMs in the same cloud service or use a load balancer to route traffic to the listener to enable seamless application redirection.

Why this answer

A SQL Server Always On availability group with a synchronous-commit replica in a secondary Azure region provides automatic failover with zero data loss (RPO of 0 seconds) and can meet the 30-minute RTO by enabling fast, automated failover to the secondary region. This solution eliminates the need for manual restore processes and ensures continuous data synchronization, directly addressing the 4-hour outage caused by slow geo-restore.

Exam trap

The trap here is that candidates confuse Azure Site Recovery (VM-level replication) with database-level replication, assuming it provides SQL Server transaction consistency, when in fact it only offers crash-consistent or app-consistent snapshots that may not meet strict RPO/RTO for SQL Server.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because Azure Site Recovery replicates the entire VM at the hypervisor level, not the SQL Server database level, which can cause data inconsistency and does not guarantee SQL Server transaction-consistent failover, nor does it meet the 5-minute RPO without additional log shipping. Option B is wrong because log shipping requires manual failover and has a built-in delay (typically 15-60 minutes) between log backup and restore, making it impossible to achieve a 5-minute RPO, and manual failover cannot meet the 30-minute RTO reliably. Option D is wrong because increasing transaction log backup frequency to every 5 minutes still relies on geo-restore from a Recovery Services vault, which involves restoring from geo-redundant storage (GRS) that can take hours due to large data volumes and network latency, failing the 30-minute RTO.

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18
MCQhard

You manage a SQL Server 2019 availability group on Azure Virtual Machines. The availability group has three replicas: one primary and two synchronous secondary replicas in the same region. A fourth asynchronous replica is in a different Azure region for disaster recovery. During a planned maintenance window, you need to perform a manual failover to one of the synchronous secondary replicas without data loss. Which Transact-SQL command should you run on the target secondary replica?

A.ALTER AVAILABILITY GROUP [AG1] MODIFY REPLICA ON 'SQL2' WITH (FAILOVER_MODE = MANUAL);
B.ALTER AVAILABILITY GROUP [AG1] FAILOVER;
C.ALTER AVAILABILITY GROUP [AG1] SET (ROLE = SECONDARY);
D.ALTER AVAILABILITY GROUP [AG1] FORCE_FAILOVER_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS;
AnswerB

The ALTER AVAILABILITY GROUP ... FAILOVER command performs a manual failover without data loss when the target secondary is synchronized. It is the correct command to use on the secondary replica that you want to become the new primary, ensuring no data loss because the secondary is synchronous and up to date. This meets the requirement for a planned failover without data loss.

Why this answer

To perform a planned manual failover without data loss in an availability group, you run ALTER AVAILABILITY GROUP ... FAILOVER on the target secondary replica. This command requires the secondary to be synchronized with the primary and ensures no data loss.

The FORCE_FAILOVER_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS option is for unplanned failover with potential data loss, while the other options are configuration commands that do not initiate a failover.

Exam trap

The trap here is confusing the command for a planned failover with the one for a forced failover that allows data loss.

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19
MCQmedium

You manage an Azure SQL Database named SalesDB in the East US region, Business Critical tier. The database has a long-term retention policy that stores weekly full backups in a geo-redundant storage account. During a compliance audit, you need to prove that you can recover SalesDB to a point in time in the event of a complete East US regional outage. You must perform a geo-restore to the West US region. What is the maximum retention period for point-in-time restore that you can expect when performing this geo-restore?

A.The most recent geo-replicated backup, which is typically within one hour of the current time.
B.Up to 35 days, because geo-restore uses the same retention period as standard point-in-time restore.
C.Up to 14 days, because the long-term retention policy retains weekly full backups that can be used for geo-restore.
D.Up to 7 days, because geo-replicated backups are retained for 7 days by default.
AnswerA

Geo-restore uses the latest geo-replicated backup, which is typically no older than one hour. You cannot choose an arbitrary point in time; you restore to the most recent available geo-replicated backup. This is a key limitation for disaster recovery when using geo-restore for Azure SQL Database, as opposed to point-in-time restore within the same region.

Why this answer

Geo-restore for Azure SQL Database uses the most recent geo-replicated backup, which is typically within one hour. Unlike point-in-time restore, which allows restoring to any point within the retention period (up to 35 days), geo-restore does not provide a point-in-time capability; it restores to the latest geo-replicated backup. This is an important distinction when planning for disaster recovery across regions.

Exam trap

The trap here is assuming that geo-restore provides the same point-in-time restore window as standard point-in-time restore.

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20
MCQmedium

You manage an Azure SQL Database in the Business Critical service tier. The database has a zone-redundant configuration. During a planned maintenance event, you need to ensure that the database remains online with no data loss and minimal downtime. What should you configure?

A.Enable auto-failover groups with a secondary database in a different region.
B.Configure active geo-replication to a secondary database in the same region.
C.Ensure the database is configured with zone redundancy and rely on the built-in high availability architecture.
D.Create a long-term retention policy and restore the database from backup after maintenance.
AnswerC

In the Business Critical tier, zone redundancy replicates compute and storage across multiple availability zones. During planned maintenance, Azure performs a rolling upgrade, and the built-in high availability architecture automatically fails over to a healthy replica with no data loss and minimal downtime. This is the correct configuration to meet the stated requirements.

Why this answer

Zone redundancy in the Business Critical tier replicates both compute and storage across availability zones, enabling automatic failover during planned maintenance with no data loss and minimal downtime. Cross-region solutions like failover groups or geo-replication address disaster recovery, not local high availability. Backup and restore is not a high availability mechanism.

Exam trap

The trap here is confusing cross-region disaster recovery features with local high availability during maintenance.

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21
MCQhard

You manage a SQL Server 2019 Always On availability group on Azure Virtual Machines. The availability group has two synchronous replicas in an availability set and one asynchronous replica in a different Azure region. During a planned maintenance window, you need to patch the operating system on the primary replica with minimal downtime and no data loss. What should you do first?

A.Take the primary replica offline and patch it, then bring it back online.
B.Fail over to the asynchronous replica in the remote region.
C.Perform a manual failover of the availability group to the synchronous secondary replica.
D.Set the availability group to asynchronous commit mode and then patch the primary.
AnswerC

Performing a manual failover to a synchronous secondary ensures no data loss because the secondary is synchronized, and it moves the primary role away from the node being patched. This allows you to patch the former primary while the availability group remains online and the application continues to use the listener. It is the standard first step for patching with minimal downtime and no data loss.

Why this answer

To patch the primary replica with no data loss and minimal downtime, you must first move the primary role to a synchronous secondary replica using a manual failover. Because the secondary is synchronized, the failover is seamless and lossless. After the failover, the former primary becomes a secondary and can be patched while the availability group remains online and accessible through the listener.

Exam trap

The trap here is assuming that patching the primary in place or failing over to an asynchronous replica is acceptable, when only a manual failover to a synchronous secondary guarantees no data loss and minimal downtime.

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