DP-300 Practice Question: Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment
You manage an Azure SQL Managed Instance that hosts a mission-critical database. The instance is in the East US 2 region. You need to configure a disaster recovery solution that meets the following requirements: (1) provide a readable secondary in a different Azure region, (2) support automatic failover, and (3) minimize administrative effort. Which two actions should you perform? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse Azure SQL Database features with Azure SQL Managed Instance capabilities; active geo-replication and portal-based geo-replication are not available for managed instance, and zone redundancy only provides local high availability.
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
✓
Create a failover group and add the managed instance to it.
For Azure SQL Managed Instance, cross-region disaster recovery with a readable secondary and automatic failover is achieved by using failover groups. You must deploy a secondary managed instance in a different region and then add both instances to a failover group. Active geo-replication and zone redundancy do not meet the requirements for a cross-region readable secondary with automatic failover. The failover group provides the listener endpoint and automates the failover process.
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 and add the managed instance to it.
Why this is correct
A failover group for Azure SQL Managed Instance provides a read-write listener endpoint and supports automatic failover to a secondary instance in another region. It meets the requirement for a readable secondary and automatic failover. It also minimizes administrative effort because the failover group manages the replication and endpoint configuration, and you can initiate failover with a single action.
- ✗
Create a geo-secondary using the Azure portal by selecting the managed instance and choosing 'Geo-Replication'.
Why it's wrong here
The Azure portal does not provide a 'Geo-Replication' option for Azure SQL Managed Instance. Geo-replication is a feature of Azure SQL Database, not managed instance. For managed instance, you configure disaster recovery by creating a failover group. This option is based on a misunderstanding of the available features and would not work for the stated scenario.
- ✗
Enable zone redundancy on the primary managed instance.
Why it's wrong here
Zone redundancy provides high availability within a single region by spreading replicas across availability zones, but it does not provide a readable secondary in a different region and does not protect against a regional outage. The requirement explicitly asks for a secondary in a different region and automatic failover across regions. Zone redundancy alone does not satisfy the disaster recovery requirements.
- ✓
Deploy a secondary managed instance in a different region and add it to the failover group.
Why this is correct
To use a failover group with Azure SQL Managed Instance, you must first deploy a secondary managed instance in a different region. The secondary instance must be in the same subscription and have the same service tier and compute size. Once deployed, you add it to the failover group. This action is necessary to provide the cross-region readable secondary and enable automatic failover.
- ✗
Configure active geo-replication for the managed instance.
Why it's wrong here
Active geo-replication is not supported for Azure SQL Managed Instance. While it works for Azure SQL Database, managed instances use failover groups for cross-region replication. Attempting to configure active geo-replication on a managed instance will fail because the feature is not available. Therefore, this action does not meet the requirements and is not a valid step.
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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.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
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.