Quick Answer
The answer is Azure Backup with a backup policy that specifies daily, weekly, and monthly retention. This is correct because Azure Backup’s built-in policy engine allows you to define multiple retention points in a single policy, enabling you to retain daily backups for 30 days, weekly backups for 12 weeks, and monthly backups for 3 years simultaneously. On the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect exam, this scenario tests your understanding of Azure Backup’s granular retention capabilities versus other services like Azure Site Recovery, which is designed for replication and failover, not long-term archival. A common trap is confusing Azure Backup with Azure Disk Backup, but Disk Backup only supports snapshot-based retention and lacks the multi-tiered retention schedule required here. Memory tip: think of the retention policy as a “three-layer cake” — daily, weekly, and monthly layers each with their own expiry, all baked into one Azure Backup policy.
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 that host a mission-critical application. The solution must support daily backups with a retention of 30 days for daily backups, weekly backups retained for 12 weeks, and monthly backups retained for 3 years. What should you use?
Azure Files backup with a custom script.
Why wrong: Not suitable for VM backup.
Azure Disk Backup with a snapshot schedule.
Why wrong: Disk Backup does not support weekly/monthly retention.
Azure Site Recovery with a recovery plan.
Why wrong: Site Recovery is for replication, not backup retention.
Azure Backup with a backup policy that specifies daily, weekly, and monthly retention.
Azure Backup policies support multi-tier retention.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Azure Backup with a backup policy that specifies daily, weekly, and monthly retention.
Option A is correct because Azure Backup allows you to define backup policies with multiple retention points (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly). Option B is incorrect because Azure Site Recovery is for disaster recovery, not long-term retention. Option C is incorrect because Azure Disk Backup is for disk-level backups and does not support complex retention. Option D is incorrect because Azure Files backup is for file shares.
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.
Azure Files backup with a custom script.
Why it's wrong here
Not suitable for VM backup.
Azure Disk Backup with a snapshot schedule.
Why it's wrong here
Disk Backup does not support weekly/monthly retention.
Azure Site Recovery with a recovery plan.
Why it's wrong here
Site Recovery is for replication, not backup retention.
Azure Backup with a backup policy that specifies daily, weekly, and monthly retention.
Why this is correct
Azure Backup policies support multi-tier retention.
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
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
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: Azure Backup with a backup policy that specifies daily, weekly, and monthly retention. — Option A is correct because Azure Backup allows you to define backup policies with multiple retention points (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly). Option B is incorrect because Azure Site Recovery is for disaster recovery, not long-term retention. Option C is incorrect because Azure Disk Backup is for disk-level backups and does not support complex retention. Option D is incorrect because Azure Files backup is for file shares.
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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