Quick Answer
The answer is Cross-Region Restore, Archive Tier, and Immutable vault. Cross-Region Restore enables recovery in a paired Azure region during a regional outage, while Archive Tier provides cost-effective storage for backups retained up to 10 years, meeting compliance requirements. Immutable vault ensures backups cannot be deleted or modified before their retention period expires, adding a critical layer of security against ransomware or malicious deletion. On the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between backup retention features and disaster recovery tools—Azure Site Recovery is a common distractor because it handles replication, not long-term backup storage. A frequent trap is confusing soft delete with immutable vault; soft delete only offers temporary protection, whereas immutable vault enforces a write-once-read-many (WORM) state. Memory tip: think “CRI” for Cross-Region, Retention (Archive Tier), and Immutable—the three pillars of compliant, resilient backup design.
This SC-100 practice question tests your understanding of design security solutions for infrastructure. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 backup strategy for Azure virtual machines using Azure Backup. The solution must support cross-region restore and provide 10 years of retention for compliance. Which THREE features should you enable? (Choose THREE.)
Cross-Region Restore
Allows restoring backups in a paired Azure region.
Azure Site Recovery replication
Why wrong: Site Recovery is for DR, not for backup retention.
Soft Delete
Why wrong: Soft delete prevents accidental deletion but does not provide 10-year retention.
Immutable vault
Immutable vault protects backups from deletion, ensuring compliance.
Archive Tier
Archive Tier provides low-cost long-term retention for up to 10 years.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Cross-Region Restore
Options A, C, and E are correct. Cross-Region Restore (A) enables restoring to a paired region. Archive Tier (C) allows retention up to 10 years. Immutable vault (E) prevents deletion of backups. Option B is wrong because Azure Site Recovery is for disaster recovery, not backup retention. Option D is wrong because soft delete is for accidental deletion protection, not for long-term retention.
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.
Cross-Region Restore
Why this is correct
Allows restoring backups in a paired Azure region.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Azure Site Recovery replication
Why it's wrong here
Site Recovery is for DR, not for backup retention.
Soft Delete
Why it's wrong here
Soft delete prevents accidental deletion but does not provide 10-year retention.
Immutable vault
Why this is correct
Immutable vault protects backups from deletion, ensuring compliance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Archive Tier
Why this is correct
Archive Tier provides low-cost long-term retention for up to 10 years.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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 SC-100 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.
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FAQ
Design security solutions for infrastructure — This question tests Design security solutions for infrastructure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Cross-Region Restore — Options A, C, and E are correct. Cross-Region Restore (A) enables restoring to a paired region. Archive Tier (C) allows retention up to 10 years. Immutable vault (E) prevents deletion of backups. Option B is wrong because Azure Site Recovery is for disaster recovery, not backup retention. Option D is wrong because soft delete is for accidental deletion protection, not for long-term retention.
Identify which SC-100 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.
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Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
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