DP-300 Plan and implement data platform resources Practice Question
You are designing a new Azure SQL Database for a critical OLTP workload. The database will be used by a global application with users in North America, Europe, and Asia. The primary requirement is low-latency reads for all regions. You need to choose a deployment option that supports geo-distributed reads and provides a single write endpoint. Which option should you select?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume that a specialized tier such as Hyperscale is required for geo-distributed reads, or they confuse active geo-replication with failover groups. The key distinction is that failover groups provide a single read-write listener endpoint plus a read-only listener for geo-distributed reads, whereas active geo-replication requires connections to individual server endpoints and does not provide a single write endpoint.
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
✓
Azure SQL Database with failover groups
Azure SQL Database failover groups (Option C) is the correct choice. A failover group provides a single read-write listener endpoint that automatically directs writes to the current primary, while also exposing a read-only listener endpoint that load-balances connections across geo-replicated readable secondaries in other regions. This directly satisfies the requirements for a single write endpoint and low-latency geo-distributed reads. Active geo-replication (Option A) supports readable secondaries but does not provide a single write endpoint. Azure SQL Managed Instance failover groups (Option B) also provide these capabilities, but the scenario specifies Azure SQL Database, not Managed Instance. Hyperscale with geo-replication (Option D) is not required to meet these requirements; Hyperscale is primarily a scalability and performance tier, and geo-replication alone does not provide a single write endpoint.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication
Why it's wrong here
Active geo-replication fails to meet the low-latency read requirement for all regions because it does not automatically route read traffic to the nearest replica. While it provides readable secondaries and a single write endpoint, the application would still need to manage connections to specific regional replicas, or all reads would default to the primary. This option is tempting as it offers geo-distributed readable replicas and a single write endpoint, making it ideal for disaster recovery scenarios and offloading read-only reporting workloads from the primary database.
- ✗
Azure SQL Managed Instance with failover groups
Why it's wrong here
Failover groups for Managed Instance do not provide readable secondaries.
- ✓
Azure SQL Database with failover groups
Why this is correct
Failover groups only support one readable secondary region.
- ✗
Azure SQL Database Hyperscale with geo-replication
Why it's wrong here
Hyperscale geo-replication supports multiple readable secondaries across regions.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Deploying and Configuring Azure SQL Managed Instance
Key term
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Azure SQL Managed Instance is a fully managed cloud database service that gives you nearly all the features of Microsoft SQL Server on your own server, without you having to manage the hardware or operating system.
Key term
Azure SQL Performance Tuning
Azure SQL Performance Tuning is the process of optimizing the speed and efficiency of queries and database operations in Microsoft Azure SQL Database or SQL Managed Instance to reduce latency and improve throughput.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DP-300 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DP-300 exam.