DP-300 Configure and manage automation of tasks Practice Question
You are designing an automated backup strategy for Azure SQL Managed Instance. The solution must ensure point-in-time restore (PITR) within 2 hours for the last 7 days and long-term retention (LTR) for 5 years. Which configuration should you use?
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
✓
Set PITR retention to 7 days (default) and configure LTR backup policy with yearly backups for 5 years.
Azure SQL Managed Instance supports point-in-time restore (PITR) with a configurable retention period from 1 to 35 days; the default is 7 days, which satisfies the requirement to restore within 2 hours for the last 7 days (the 2-hour target is a recovery point objective, not retention). For long-term retention (LTR) of 5 years, Managed Instance supports LTR backup policies with yearly backups that can retain backups for up to 10 years. Therefore, setting PITR retention to 7 days (default) and configuring an LTR policy with yearly backups for 5 years meets both requirements. Option A is wrong because Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure VM is for SQL Server on Azure VMs, not for Managed Instance. Option B is wrong because "geo-redundant backup storage for LTR" is a storage redundancy option, not an LTR retention policy; LTR requires explicit backup frequency and retention configuration. Option C is wrong because PITR retention cannot be set to 2 hours (minimum is 1 day) and custom backup jobs using Elastic Database Jobs are unnecessary; Managed Instance automates backups natively.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure VM to back up the managed instance.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure VM targets SQL Server running on IaaS virtual machines, and cannot attach to a managed instance's native automated backups. Managed instance PITR and LTR are configured through its own backup retention settings, which this approach bypasses entirely.
- ✗
Set PITR retention to 7 days and use geo-redundant backup storage for LTR.
Why it's wrong here
Geo-redundant backup storage only changes replication of the backup copies; it does not create the separate long-term retention policy that keeps backups for five years. LTR requires configuring a retention policy on the managed instance, not selecting a storage redundancy tier.
- ✗
Set PITR retention to 2 hours and configure a custom backup job using Elastic Database Jobs.
Why it's wrong here
A two-hour PITR window cannot satisfy seven days of point-in-time restore, and Elastic Database Jobs run T-SQL against databases rather than managing native backup retention. Managed instance PITR and LTR are set through its built-in backup retention configuration, not custom job scheduling.
- ✓
Set PITR retention to 7 days (default) and configure LTR backup policy with yearly backups for 5 years.
Why this is correct
PITR retention governs the point-in-time restore window, so 7 days meets the 2-hour PITR requirement for the last week. LTR policies separately retain yearly backups for 5 years, satisfying the stem's long-term retention constraint without extending PITR.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Deploying and Configuring SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines
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 Database Backup
Azure SQL Database Backup is a fully managed, automated service that creates and stores copies of your SQL database data and transaction logs in Azure storage, enabling point-in-time recovery and long-term retention for data protection and business continuity.
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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.