- A
Use active geo-replication with a readable secondary in another Azure region
Correct. Active geo-replication offers an RPO of up to 5 seconds and an RTO of around 30 seconds, matching the requirements precisely. It creates a readable secondary in a different Azure region for disaster recovery.
- B
Use a failover group with a secondary in a paired region
Why wrong: Incorrect. Failover groups provide an RPO of about 5 seconds but an RTO of approximately 1 hour, which exceeds the 30-second RTO. Also, they require a secondary in a paired region and do not guarantee the low RTO needed.
- C
Deploy the database with zone-redundant configuration in the primary region
Why wrong: Incorrect. Zone-redundant configuration provides high availability within a single region by replicating across availability zones. It does not provide disaster recovery across regions, so it cannot protect against a regional outage.
- D
Deploy the database with an auto-failover group to a secondary region
Why wrong: Incorrect. An auto-failover group is essentially a failover group with automatic failover policies. The RTO is still around 1 hour, not meeting the 30-second requirement.
DP-300 Plan and implement data platform resources Practice Question
This DP-300 practice question tests your understanding of plan and implement data platform resources. 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.
You are designing a disaster recovery strategy for an Azure SQL Database in the West US region. The database is used by a mission-critical application with an RPO of 5 seconds and an RTO of 30 seconds. Which deployment option should you choose?
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 active geo-replication with a readable secondary in another Azure region
Active geo-replication provides an asynchronous replica in a secondary region with an RPO of up to 5 seconds and supports manual failover with an RTO of approximately 30 seconds, meeting the strict RPO and RTO requirements for disaster recovery. Zone-redundant configuration (Option C) offers high availability within a single region but does not protect against regional outages, so it is not a disaster recovery solution. Failover groups (Option B and D) have an RTO of about 1 hour, exceeding the 30-second requirement. Therefore, Option A is correct.
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.
- ✓
Use active geo-replication with a readable secondary in another Azure region
Why this is correct
Correct. Active geo-replication offers an RPO of up to 5 seconds and an RTO of around 30 seconds, matching the requirements precisely. It creates a readable secondary in a different Azure region for disaster recovery.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use a failover group with a secondary in a paired region
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Failover groups provide an RPO of about 5 seconds but an RTO of approximately 1 hour, which exceeds the 30-second RTO. Also, they require a secondary in a paired region and do not guarantee the low RTO needed.
- ✗
Deploy the database with zone-redundant configuration in the primary region
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Zone-redundant configuration provides high availability within a single region by replicating across availability zones. It does not provide disaster recovery across regions, so it cannot protect against a regional outage.
- ✗
Deploy the database with an auto-failover group to a secondary region
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. An auto-failover group is essentially a failover group with automatic failover policies. The RTO is still around 1 hour, not meeting the 30-second requirement.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Candidates often mistake high availability within a region for disaster recovery. While zone redundancy protects against zonal failures, it does not provide cross-region resilience. For true disaster recovery with very low RPO/RTO, active geo-replication is the appropriate choice.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Zone-redundant configuration uses Azure SQL Database's built-in high availability model, which leverages Always On Availability Groups across three zones within a region, ensuring synchronous data replication with zero data loss (RPO=0) and automatic failover within seconds. This is distinct from geo-replication, which uses asynchronous replication and introduces a replication lag that can exceed 5 seconds under load, making it unsuitable for the given RPO/RTO targets. In a real-world scenario, if the primary region experiences a full outage, zone-redundant configuration would still fail because all zones are in the same region, but the question's RPO/RTO requirements are so low that only intra-region zone redundancy can satisfy them.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Plan and implement data platform resources — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Plan and implement data platform resources practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All DP-300 questions
963 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
Related DP-300 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment practice questions
Practise DP-300 questions linked to Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment.
Plan and implement data platform resources practice questions
Practise DP-300 questions linked to Plan and implement data platform resources.
Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources practice questions
Practise DP-300 questions linked to Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources.
Configure and manage automation of tasks practice questions
Practise DP-300 questions linked to Configure and manage automation of tasks.
Plan and configure high availability and disaster recovery practice questions
Practise DP-300 questions linked to Plan and configure high availability and disaster recovery.
Implement a secure environment practice questions
Practise DP-300 questions linked to Implement a secure environment.
DP-300 fundamentals practice questions
Practise DP-300 questions linked to DP-300 fundamentals.
DP-300 scenario practice questions
Practise DP-300 questions linked to DP-300 scenario.
DP-300 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise DP-300 questions linked to DP-300 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free DP-300 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DP-300 question test?
Plan and implement data platform resources — This question tests Plan and implement data platform resources — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use active geo-replication with a readable secondary in another Azure region — Active geo-replication provides an asynchronous replica in a secondary region with an RPO of up to 5 seconds and supports manual failover with an RTO of approximately 30 seconds, meeting the strict RPO and RTO requirements for disaster recovery. Zone-redundant configuration (Option C) offers high availability within a single region but does not protect against regional outages, so it is not a disaster recovery solution. Failover groups (Option B and D) have an RTO of about 1 hour, exceeding the 30-second requirement. Therefore, Option A is correct.
What should I do if I get this DP-300 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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 →
Keep practising
More DP-300 practice questions
- A DBA needs to create a new Azure SQL Database and wants to ensure that the database automatically fails over to a secon…
- A company uses Azure SQL Managed Instance for its line-of-business applications. They need to ensure that backups are re…
- Refer to the exhibit. A DBA is creating an Azure SQL Managed Instance using the ARM template snippet shown. The DBA need…
- A company is planning to migrate their on-premises SQL Server databases to Azure SQL Managed Instance. They have a datab…
- A company has an Azure SQL Database with a large table that is frequently updated. They notice performance degradation d…
- Which THREE of the following are valid options for migrating an on-premises SQL Server database to Azure SQL Database?
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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.