Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment →easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
DP-300 Practice Question: Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment
You have an Azure SQL Database that uses the General Purpose service tier. The database is critical and you need to protect against a regional outage with an RPO of 1 hour and an RTO of 12 hours. What is the most cost-effective solution?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often choose active geo-replication or auto-failover groups because they provide faster RPO/RTO, but they overlook that geo-restore is free and meets the specified RPO/RTO at no additional cost.
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 geo-restore with the default backup retention.
Geo-restore uses automated backups stored in geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS) at no additional cost beyond backup storage. With default backup retention (7 days), geo-restore typically achieves an RPO of 1 hour and an RTO of 12 hours, meeting the requirements cost-effectively. Option B (active geo-replication) and Option C (auto-failover group) both incur extra compute and storage costs for the secondary replica, making them more expensive. Option D (zone-redundant) protects against zonal failures within a region, not regional outages.
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 geo-restore with the default backup retention.
Why this is correct
Geo-restore is included with backups and meets the RPO/RTO requirements.
- ✗
Enable active geo-replication.
Why it's wrong here
Active geo-replication provides lower RPO but is more expensive than needed.
- ✗
Configure auto-failover group with a secondary in a different region.
Why it's wrong here
Auto-failover groups require a secondary database, increasing cost.
- ✗
Deploy a zone-redundant configuration.
Why it's wrong here
Zone redundancy does not protect against regional outage.
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.
About these practice questions
This DP-300 question is part of Courseiva's 906-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
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.