The answer is auto-failover groups. This feature is the correct choice because it enables automatic, orchestrated failover of an Azure SQL Database from a primary region, such as West US, to a secondary region like East US during an outage, while meeting a Recovery Point Objective of less than 5 seconds through active geo-replication and a Recovery Time Objective of under 30 minutes. The secondary database also supports read-only queries, and the failover group ensures the entire group of databases fails over as a unit, preserving the same connection string. On the Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals DP-900 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of high-availability and disaster recovery options; a common trap is confusing failover groups with active geo-replication alone, but remember that failover groups add automatic failover and read-scale capabilities. Memory tip: think "group failover for zero-touch recovery" to distinguish it from manual geo-replication.
DP-900 Practice Question: Identify considerations for relational data on Azure
This DP-900 practice question tests your understanding of identify considerations for relational data on azure. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. A key principle to apply: auto-failover groups provide automatic failover for Azure SQL Databases.. 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.
A global e-commerce company uses Azure SQL Database for its product catalog. The database is hosted in the West US region. To ensure the catalog remains available if West US experiences an outage, the company wants to configure a secondary database in East US that can be used for reads and can be automatically promoted to primary during a disaster. They require a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of less than 5 seconds and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of less than 30 minutes. Which feature should they implement?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Why wrong: Active geo-replication creates readable secondaries, but failover is manual, not automatic, and does not provide an RTO of under 30 minutes in an automated manner.
B
Auto-failover groups
Auto-failover groups provide automatic failover to a secondary region, include a readable secondary, and meet the RPO of 5 seconds and RTO of 30 minutes.
C
Geo-restore
Why wrong: Geo-restore restores a database from a geo-replicated backup, but has a longer RTO (typically hours) and no automatic failover capability.
D
Transactional replication
Why wrong: Transactional replication is used to replicate data changes to other databases for distributed scenarios, not for automatic failover during a regional outage.
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
Auto-failover groups (Option B) are the correct choice because they provide automatic, orchestrated failover of a primary Azure SQL Database to a secondary region (East US) during an outage, meeting the RPO of less than 5 seconds (typically 5–10 seconds for active geo-replication) and RTO of less than 30 minutes (usually under 1 hour). The secondary database can be used for read-only queries, and the failover group ensures the entire group of databases fails over as a unit, maintaining the same connection string.
Key principle: Auto-failover groups provide automatic failover for Azure SQL Databases.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Active geo-replication
Why it's wrong here
Active geo-replication creates readable secondaries, but failover is manual, not automatic, and does not provide an RTO of under 30 minutes in an automated manner.
✓
Auto-failover groups
Why this is correct
Auto-failover groups provide automatic failover to a secondary region, include a readable secondary, and meet the RPO of 5 seconds and RTO of 30 minutes.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Auto-failover groups provide automatic failover for Azure SQL Databases.
✗
Geo-restore
Why it's wrong here
Geo-restore restores a database from a geo-replicated backup, but has a longer RTO (typically hours) and no automatic failover capability.
✗
Transactional replication
Why it's wrong here
Transactional replication is used to replicate data changes to other databases for distributed scenarios, not for automatic failover during a regional outage.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse active geo-replication with auto-failover groups, assuming both provide automatic failover, but only auto-failover groups offer the orchestrated, automatic promotion required for the specified RTO.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Transactional replication is used to replicate data changes to other databases for distributed scenarios, not for automatic failover during a regional outage.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Auto-failover groups build on active geo-replication by adding a listener endpoint that abstracts the primary database name, allowing applications to reconnect automatically after failover without changing connection strings. The RPO is typically 5–10 seconds for active geo-replication, but auto-failover groups can introduce additional latency due to the health probe interval (default 1 minute) and grace period (default 1 hour), though these can be tuned to meet the 30-minute RTO. In practice, for a global e-commerce catalog, the read-scale secondary in East US can offload read traffic, and during a disaster, the failover group automatically promotes it to primary, ensuring business continuity.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Auto-failover groups provide automatic failover for Azure SQL Databases.
They support cross-region disaster recovery with a readable secondary.
Auto-failover groups ensure an RPO of less than 5 seconds.
They deliver an RTO of less than 30 minutes through automated failover.
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
Auto-failover groups provide automatic failover for Azure SQL Databases.
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-900 question in full detail.
Review auto-failover groups provide automatic failover for Azure SQL Databases., then practise related DP-900 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
Identify considerations for relational data on Azure — This question tests Identify considerations for relational data on Azure — Auto-failover groups provide automatic failover for Azure SQL Databases..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Auto-failover groups — Auto-failover groups (Option B) are the correct choice because they provide automatic, orchestrated failover of a primary Azure SQL Database to a secondary region (East US) during an outage, meeting the RPO of less than 5 seconds (typically 5–10 seconds for active geo-replication) and RTO of less than 30 minutes (usually under 1 hour). The secondary database can be used for read-only queries, and the failover group ensures the entire group of databases fails over as a unit, maintaining the same connection string.
What should I do if I get this DP-900 question wrong?
Review auto-failover groups provide automatic failover for Azure SQL Databases., then practise related DP-900 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Auto-failover groups provide automatic failover for Azure SQL Databases.
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Variation 1. A company is designing a relational database solution on Azure for an e-commerce platform. They need to ensure high availability and automatic failover in case of a regional outage. Which Azure service should they use?
easy
✓ A.Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication
B.Azure SQL Managed Instance with local redundancy
C.Azure Database for PostgreSQL with read replicas
D.Azure SQL Database (single database)
Why A: Option C is correct because Azure SQL Database with active geo-replication provides automatic failover to a secondary region. Option A is wrong because Azure SQL Database single database does not automatically failover across regions. Option B is wrong because Azure Database for PostgreSQL with read replicas does not provide automatic failover. Option D is wrong because Azure SQL Managed Instance with local redundancy does not provide regional failover.
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