DP-900 Practice Question: Identify considerations for relational data on Azure
A company is migrating a large on-premises SQL Server database to Azure. They require high availability with automatic failover and read-scale for reporting workloads. Which Azure service should they 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
✓
Azure SQL Database Business Critical tier with failover groups
Azure SQL Database Business Critical tier with failover groups provides automatic failover and read-scale capabilities, meeting the requirements for high availability and read-scale for reporting. Option A is wrong because Hyperscale tier is designed for very large databases but does not provide read-scale for reporting workloads (it does have readable replicas but typically not for reporting scale-out). Option B is wrong because Azure Database for PostgreSQL is not a target for migrating a SQL Server database; it's a different database engine. Option C is wrong because SQL Server on Azure VMs with Always On availability groups requires significant manual configuration and management, which does not meet the automatic failover requirement as seamlessly as Azure SQL Database Business Critical tier.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Azure SQL Database Hyperscale tier
Why it's wrong here
Hyperscale is for large databases, not optimized for automatic failover with read-scale.
- ✗
Azure Database for PostgreSQL with geo-redundant backup
Why it's wrong here
Not a SQL Server migration target and does not provide read-scale.
- ✗
SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines with Always On availability groups
Why it's wrong here
Requires manual configuration and management, not a managed service.
- ✓
Azure SQL Database Business Critical tier with failover groups
Why this is correct
Business Critical provides built-in high availability and failover groups enable automatic failover with readable secondaries.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Azure SQL Services
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
Key term
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Database is a fully managed relational database-as-a-service (DBaaS) in Microsoft Azure, based on the SQL Server engine, that handles scaling, backups, patching, and high availability automatically.
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