Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
DP-300 Practice Question: Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment
Your company has a SQL Server on Azure VM hosting a critical database. You need to ensure high availability with automatic failover and no data loss during a planned patching event. The solution must minimize cost. 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
✓
Deploy two Azure VMs in an availability set, configure SQL Server Always On availability group with synchronous commit and automatic failover.
Deploying two Azure VMs in an availability set and configuring SQL Server Always On availability group with synchronous commit and automatic failover meets the requirements of high availability with automatic failover and no data loss during planned patching (by performing a manual failover). This solution minimizes cost compared to Azure SQL Database Managed Instance or geo-replication. Option A is incorrect because migrating to Azure SQL Database Managed Instance is a different platform, not SQL Server on Azure VM, and geo-replication is for disaster recovery, not planned patching. Option B is incorrect because log shipping is not automatic and can result in data loss. Option C is incorrect because a single VM with FCI using Storage Spaces Direct does not provide automatic failover for planned patching; it requires a secondary node.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Migrate to Azure SQL Database Managed Instance and configure geo-replication.
Why it's wrong here
The requirement specifies SQL Server on Azure VM, not Managed Instance.
- ✗
Configure log shipping with a secondary VM in another region.
Why it's wrong here
Log shipping requires manual failover and does not provide automatic failover.
- ✗
Use a single VM with a failover cluster instance (FCI) using Storage Spaces Direct.
Why it's wrong here
FCI does not provide automatic failover for planned patching; manual failover is needed.
- ✓
Deploy two Azure VMs in an availability set, configure SQL Server Always On availability group with synchronous commit and automatic failover.
Why this is correct
Synchronous replication ensures zero data loss; automatic failover works for planned patching.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Overview of Azure Data Platform Options
Key term
SQL Server on Azure VM
SQL Server on Azure VM is a cloud service that lets you run Microsoft SQL Server software inside a virtual machine in Microsoft Azure, giving you full control over the database environment just like you would have on your own physical server.
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.