The answer is failover groups, active geo-replication, and geo-restore (point-in-time restore to another region). These three are the built-in disaster recovery methods for Azure SQL Database because they provide region-level redundancy and automated failover capabilities, ensuring business continuity during a regional outage. On the Microsoft Azure Database Administrator Associate DP-300 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between native PaaS disaster recovery features and options meant for SQL Server on VMs or backup retention policies—a common trap is confusing backup retention settings with actual DR methods. To remember, think of the three Gs: Groups (failover groups), Geo-replication (active), and Geo-restore—all start with G and are region-aware, while backup retention is about time, not location.
DP-300 Practice Question: Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment
This DP-300 practice question tests your understanding of plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which THREE are valid methods to implement disaster recovery for Azure SQL Database? (Select three.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Failover groups
Options A, B, and D are correct. Failover groups, active geo-replication, and geo-restore (point-in-time restore to another region) are built-in DR methods. Option C is for SQL Server on VMs. Option E is not a DR feature; backup retention is for retention, not disaster recovery.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Failover groups
Why this is correct
Failover groups provide automatic failover and a readable secondary.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Always On availability groups
Why it's wrong here
Availability groups are a feature of SQL Server, not Azure SQL Database.
✓
Active geo-replication
Why this is correct
Active geo-replication allows up to 4 readable secondaries in different regions, with manual failover.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Long-term backup retention
Why it's wrong here
Long-term retention is for archival, not immediate disaster recovery.
✓
Geo-restore (point-in-time restore)
Why this is correct
You can restore a database to any region from geo-redundant backups.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this DP-300 question in full detail.
Identify which DP-300 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment — This question tests Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Failover groups — Options A, B, and D are correct. Failover groups, active geo-replication, and geo-restore (point-in-time restore to another region) are built-in DR methods. Option C is for SQL Server on VMs. Option E is not a DR feature; backup retention is for retention, not disaster recovery.
What should I do if I get this DP-300 question wrong?
Identify which DP-300 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Which THREE factors should you consider when choosing between active geo-replication and failover groups for an Azure SQL Database disaster recovery solution?
hard
✓ 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.
Why A: 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.
Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
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