Quick Answer
The answer is auto-failover groups with active geo-replication, as this combination is the only Azure SQL Database disaster recovery solution capable of achieving an RPO under 5 seconds and an RTO under 1 minute during a regional outage. Active geo-replication continuously replicates transactions to a secondary region with near-zero latency, while the failover group automates the orchestrated switch, meeting the strictest recovery objectives. On the DP-300 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between intra-region high availability (zone redundancy) and cross-region disaster recovery, with a common trap being to select auto-failover groups alone—without geo-replication, those groups only handle within-region failover. Long-term retention backups are for archival, not rapid recovery. A useful memory tip: think of “Geo for Geo-disaster”—if you need to survive a regional outage, you must replicate across geography, not just zones.
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 requires that all production databases in Azure SQL Database have an RPO of less than 5 seconds and an RTO of less than 1 minute during a regional outage. You need to recommend a high availability and disaster recovery solution. Which feature should you use?
Zone-redundant configuration (Hyperscale service tier)
Why wrong: Only protects within a region, not across regions.
Auto-failover groups with active geo-replication
Provides low RPO and RTO across regions.
Long-term retention (LTR) backups
Why wrong: LTR is for archival, not for fast DR.
Geo-restore from geo-redundant backups
Why wrong: RPO is typically 1 hour, and RTO is hours.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Auto-failover groups with active geo-replication
Option C is correct because failover groups with active geo-replication provide the lowest RPO and RTO for regional outages. Option A is wrong because zone-redundant configuration protects only within a region. Option B is wrong because auto-failover groups without geo-replication are for within-region. Option D is wrong because long-term retention backup is for archival, not DR.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Zone-redundant configuration (Hyperscale service tier)
Why it's wrong here
Only protects within a region, not across regions.
Auto-failover groups with active geo-replication
Why this is correct
Provides low RPO and RTO across regions.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Long-term retention (LTR) backups
Why it's wrong here
LTR is for archival, not for fast DR.
Geo-restore from geo-redundant backups
Why it's wrong here
RPO is typically 1 hour, and RTO is hours.
Common exam traps
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
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.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
What to study next
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 — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All DP-300 questions
953 questions across all exam domains
Microsoft Azure Database Administrator Associate DP-300 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
DP-300 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise DP-300 questions linked to Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment.
Practise DP-300 questions linked to Plan and implement data platform resources.
Practise DP-300 questions linked to Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources.
Practise DP-300 questions linked to Configure and manage automation of tasks.
Practise DP-300 questions linked to Plan and configure high availability and disaster recovery.
Practise DP-300 questions linked to Implement a secure environment.
Practise DP-300 questions linked to DP-300 fundamentals.
Practise DP-300 questions linked to DP-300 scenario.
Practise DP-300 questions linked to DP-300 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
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..
The correct answer is: Auto-failover groups with active geo-replication — Option C is correct because failover groups with active geo-replication provide the lowest RPO and RTO for regional outages. Option A is wrong because zone-redundant configuration protects only within a region. Option B is wrong because auto-failover groups without geo-replication are for within-region. Option D is wrong because long-term retention backup is for archival, not DR.
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.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
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 in the General Purpose tier. You need to reduce the recovery point objective (RPO) from 1 hour to less than 1 minute for disaster recovery. Which action should you take?
mediumWhy B: Option A is correct because upgrading to Business Critical tier enables synchronous replication, which reduces RPO. Option B is wrong because increasing backup retention does not affect replication RPO. Option C is wrong because enabling zone redundancy does not reduce geo-replication RPO. Option D is wrong because increasing DTU does not change replication mode.
Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.