The correct answer is to create an auto-failover group with a secondary server in West US using synchronous replication. This configuration meets the requirement for an RPO of 5 seconds because synchronous replication commits transactions on both the primary and readable secondary before acknowledging success, ensuring zero data loss within that tight window, while the auto-failover group provides the automatic failover from the application. On the DP-300 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between disaster recovery options: active geo-replication offers readable secondaries but lacks automatic failover, making it a common trap, whereas geo-restore and zone redundancy fail to provide a cross-region readable secondary. Remember the key differentiator: auto-failover groups handle both replication and failover orchestration, while active geo-replication requires manual or custom scripting for failover. A helpful memory tip is “Group for automatic, Geo for manual”—if you need automatic failover, always choose the auto-failover group.
DP-300 Practice Question: Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment
This DP-300 practice question tests your understanding of plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Your company has an Azure SQL Database in the East US region. You need to configure a disaster recovery solution that provides a readable secondary in the West US region with an RPO of 5 seconds. The solution must support automatic failover from the application. What should you configure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create an auto-failover group with a secondary server in West US using synchronous replication.
Option A is correct because auto-failover groups with synchronous replication can achieve an RPO of 5 seconds and provide automatic failover. Option B is wrong because active geo-replication does not support automatic failover. Option C is wrong because geo-restore does not provide a readable secondary. Option D is wrong because zone redundancy does not provide cross-region DR.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Enable zone-redundant replicas in the same region.
Why it's wrong here
Zone redundancy does not provide cross-region DR.
✗
Enable geo-redundant backup storage and perform geo-restore.
Why it's wrong here
Geo-restore has higher RPO and RTO.
✗
Configure active geo-replication to a secondary server in West US.
Why it's wrong here
Active geo-replication requires application-level failover logic.
✓
Create an auto-failover group with a secondary server in West US using synchronous replication.
Why this is correct
Auto-failover groups can achieve low RPO with synchronous replication.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this DP-300 question in full detail.
Identify which DP-300 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment — This question tests Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create an auto-failover group with a secondary server in West US using synchronous replication. — Option A is correct because auto-failover groups with synchronous replication can achieve an RPO of 5 seconds and provide automatic failover. Option B is wrong because active geo-replication does not support automatic failover. Option C is wrong because geo-restore does not provide a readable secondary. Option D is wrong because zone redundancy does not provide cross-region DR.
What should I do if I get this DP-300 question wrong?
Identify which DP-300 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Your company has an Azure SQL Database with a failover group configured to a secondary region. The primary region experiences a temporary network issue. The failover group is set to automatic failover with a grace period of 1 hour. What will happen?
easy
A.Automatic failover will happen immediately.
B.You must manually initiate failover.
✓ C.Automatic failover will start after 1 hour if the primary is still unreachable.
D.The secondary database will be deleted and re-created.
Why C: Option A is correct because automatic failover occurs only after the grace period expires and the primary is unreachable. Option B is incorrect because the grace period allows time for the primary to recover. Option C is incorrect because the secondary is already provisioned. Option D is incorrect because you cannot manually failover during the grace period if automatic failover is enabled.
Variation 2. Your company runs a mission-critical Azure SQL Database in the East US region. To meet an RPO of 5 seconds and an RTO of 30 minutes in the event of a regional outage, which deployment option should you choose?
easy
✓ A.Failover groups with auto-failover policy
B.Zone-redundant configuration
C.Point-in-time restore
D.Active geo-replication with manual failover
Why A: Option A is correct because failover groups with auto-failover policy provide automatic failover with an RPO of 5 seconds (default) and RTO of 30 minutes. Active geo-replication requires manual failover, which does not meet the RTO. Zone-redundant configuration only protects within a region. Backup restore has much higher RPO/RTO.
Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
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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.
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