DP-300 Plan and implement data platform resources Practice Question
This DP-300 practice question tests your understanding of plan and implement data platform resources. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You are designing a disaster recovery strategy for an Azure SQL Database that uses the Business Critical tier. The primary region is East US, and you need to ensure automatic failover with zero data loss in case of a regional outage. The secondary region must be West US. You also need to minimize latency for read-only workloads in the secondary region. What should you implement?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a failover group with the primary in East US and a readable secondary in West US.
A failover group with a readable secondary in the Business Critical tier provides automatic failover with zero data loss because it uses synchronous replication. The readable secondary in West US minimizes latency for read-only workloads by allowing direct connections to the secondary replica. This meets all requirements: automatic failover, zero data loss, and low-latency reads in the secondary region.
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.
✓
Create a failover group with the primary in East US and a readable secondary in West US.
Why this is correct
Failover group provides automatic failover and readable secondary with synchronous replication for zero data loss.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "primary", "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create a failover group with the primary in East US and a non-readable secondary in West US using Basic tier.
Why it's wrong here
Basic tier does not support readable secondaries and may cause data loss.
✗
Configure active geo-replication with a readable secondary in West US.
Why it's wrong here
Active geo-replication requires manual failover, not automatic.
✗
Configure active geo-replication with a readable secondary in West US using Standard tier.
Why it's wrong here
Standard tier uses asynchronous replication, risking data loss.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse active geo-replication (asynchronous, manual failover) with failover groups (synchronous for Business Critical, automatic failover), and assume any readable secondary guarantees zero data loss regardless of replication mode.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Failover groups leverage the underlying availability groups technology in SQL Database, using synchronous replication for the Business Critical tier to ensure zero data loss (RPO=0) during automatic failover. The readable secondary in the failover group is a full replica that can serve read-only queries using ApplicationIntent=ReadOnly, offloading read traffic from the primary. In a regional outage, the failover group automatically promotes the secondary to primary with no data loss, and the DNS connection string is updated transparently.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this DP-300 question in full detail.
Plan and implement data platform resources — This question tests Plan and implement data platform resources — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a failover group with the primary in East US and a readable secondary in West US. — A failover group with a readable secondary in the Business Critical tier provides automatic failover with zero data loss because it uses synchronous replication. The readable secondary in West US minimizes latency for read-only workloads by allowing direct connections to the secondary replica. This meets all requirements: automatic failover, zero data loss, and low-latency reads in the secondary region.
What should I do if I get this DP-300 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "primary", "minimum / minimize". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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