Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
DP-300 Practice Question: Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment
You have an Azure SQL Database in the Premium tier with a failover group to a secondary region. The primary database experiences a performance issue due to a sudden increase in workload. You need to temporarily offload read-only queries to the secondary replica without affecting the failover group configuration. What should you do?
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
✓
Use the secondary database in the failover group for read-only queries by setting ApplicationIntent=ReadOnly.
The secondary database in a failover group for Premium-tier Azure SQL Database is readable. By setting ApplicationIntent=ReadOnly in the connection string, read-only queries are routed to this secondary replica, offloading read workloads without modifying the failover group configuration. Option B is incorrect because active geo-replication would create a separate secondary outside the failover group, which is unnecessary and adds complexity. Option C is incorrect because read scale-out uses local replicas within the same region, not the failover group secondary. Option D is incorrect because scaling up the primary does not offload read queries; it only increases resources for all workloads.
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 the secondary database in the failover group for read-only queries by setting ApplicationIntent=ReadOnly.
Why this is correct
The failover group secondary supports read-only workloads.
- ✗
Configure active geo-replication to a new secondary in the same region.
Why it's wrong here
Active geo-replication is separate from the failover group and adds cost.
- ✗
Enable read scale-out on the primary database.
Why it's wrong here
Read scale-out uses local replicas, not the failover group secondary.
- ✗
Scale up the primary database to a higher performance level.
Why it's wrong here
Scaling up does not offload read queries.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Overview of Azure Data Platform Options
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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