Microsoft AZ-305  Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions Exam Dumps and Practice Test Questions Set 2 Q21-40

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Question 21

A company needs to deploy a highly available application in Azure that can withstand both data center and zone failures. The application also requires persistent storage with automatic scaling. Which Azure architecture should they implement?

Answer

A) Virtual Machine Scale Sets with managed disks and zone-redundant configuration
B) Single virtual machine with unmanaged disks
C) Azure App Service without scaling
D) Blob storage with a single VM

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Virtual Machine Scale Sets with managed disks and zone-redundant configuration.

Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS) allow organizations to deploy and manage a set of identical VMs that can automatically scale out or scale in based on demand. This ensures that the application can handle unpredictable traffic spikes while maintaining high availability. By deploying VMSS across Availability Zones, organizations achieve fault tolerance at the zone level, which protects against data center-level outages.

Managed disks provide persistent, durable storage for VMs. They are automatically replicated within the Azure region, ensuring data durability and resilience. Zone-redundant managed disks further enhance availability by replicating the disks across multiple availability zones, ensuring that if one zone fails, the application can continue to operate without data loss.

Option B) A single VM with unmanaged disks introduces a single point of failure and provides no automated scaling, making it unsuitable for high-availability, mission-critical applications.

Option C) Azure App Service without scaling can host web applications, but without auto-scaling and multiple zone deployment, it cannot handle traffic spikes or zone failures effectively.

Option D) Blob storage attached to a single VM provides persistent storage but does not inherently provide high availability or fault tolerance for compute workloads.

By combining VMSS, managed disks, and zone redundancy, organizations can build resilient and scalable applications. This architecture also integrates with Azure Load Balancer to distribute traffic evenly across VMs, ensuring that no single instance becomes a bottleneck. In addition, Azure Monitor and Log Analytics can be configured to track performance metrics, set alerts, and automatically trigger scaling actions.

Enterprises often use this architecture for mission-critical applications such as e-commerce platforms, financial services, or healthcare solutions, where downtime or data loss can have severe business impacts. Incorporating backup strategies, disaster recovery, and monitoring ensures not only high availability but also operational continuity and SLA compliance.

This approach also allows organizations to optimize costs by scaling compute resources dynamically, paying only for the instances needed while maintaining resiliency and performance. Overall, it represents a best-practice solution for deploying high-availability applications in Azure with minimal manual intervention and maximum reliability.

Question 22

A company wants to store large volumes of unstructured data in Azure and serve it globally with low-latency access. Which combination of services should they implement?

Answer

A) Azure Blob Storage with Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN)
B) Azure SQL Database with Virtual Network
C) Azure Cosmos DB with VPN Gateway
D) Azure Files with single VM access

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Blob Storage with Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN).

Azure Blob Storage is designed for massive-scale storage of unstructured data, such as images, videos, backups, logs, and other large files. It provides durable, highly available storage with multiple replication options, including Locally Redundant Storage (LRS), Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS), and Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS). These options ensure that data remains available even during hardware failures or region-level outages.

Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN) caches Blob Storage content at edge locations worldwide, minimizing latency for end-users. CDN reduces load on the origin storage account and ensures faster access to frequently requested files, which is critical for applications with global audiences.

Option B) Azure SQL Database is a relational database suitable for structured data. Storing large unstructured objects like video or image files is inefficient and costly in SQL Database.

Option C) Azure Cosmos DB is optimized for globally distributed structured and semi-structured data with low-latency access. It is not ideal for storing large unstructured objects at a cost-effective scale. VPN Gateway provides secure connectivity but does not improve latency for global data access.

Option D) Azure Files is a managed file share service primarily for SMB or NFS access from VMs. It does not provide global edge caching or low-latency access for globally distributed users.

By combining Blob Storage and CDN, organizations achieve high availability, scalability, and low-latency access for unstructured data. Lifecycle management policies can be applied to automatically move data between hot, cool, and archive tiers based on access patterns, optimizing storage costs. Encryption at rest using Storage Service Encryption (SSE) and encryption in transit with HTTPS ensures that data is secure and compliant with industry regulations.

Additionally, integrating Azure Monitor and CDN analytics allows administrators to track access patterns, cache hits, and latency metrics, enabling performance optimization and cost control. This architecture is widely used for media streaming, global e-commerce catalogs, backups, and content distribution networks, demonstrating a best-practice approach to high-performance, globally available unstructured data storage.

Question 23

A company wants to deploy a serverless application in Azure that responds to HTTP requests and automatically scales based on demand. Which service should they implement for the compute tier?

Answer

A) Azure Functions
B) Azure Virtual Machines
C) Azure Kubernetes Service
D) Azure App Service Plan (Dedicated)

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Functions.

Azure Functions is a serverless compute service that allows developers to execute code without managing infrastructure. It automatically scales out based on incoming requests, providing elasticity and high availability. Serverless architecture reduces operational overhead, allowing teams to focus on application logic instead of managing VMs or clusters.

Key features include:

Event-Driven Execution: Functions can be triggered by HTTP requests, timers, queues, or other events, making them suitable for microservices, APIs, and background processing.

Automatic Scaling: The consumption plan automatically scales out to handle thousands of simultaneous requests, then scales in during idle periods, optimizing cost.

Integration with Azure Services: Functions integrates with Blob Storage, Cosmos DB, Event Hubs, Service Bus, and Key Vault, enabling complex workflows and secure access to secrets.

Pay-Per-Use Pricing: Organizations only pay for compute time consumed, reducing costs for applications with intermittent or unpredictable workloads.

Option B) Azure Virtual Machines require manual management and scaling, making them less suitable for event-driven workloads.

Option C) Azure Kubernetes Service provides container orchestration and scaling, but requires managing clusters, nodes, and orchestration, introducing operational complexity.

Option D) Azure App Service Plan (Dedicated) can host web applications with scaling but requires managing capacity and cannot provide true event-driven elasticity at the granular level of serverless functions.

By using Azure Functions, organizations achieve rapid deployment, automatic scaling, and reduced operational overhead, while integrating securely with other Azure services. Real-world use cases include IoT data ingestion, API backends, automated workflows, and real-time processing, all benefiting from serverless architecture’s scalability, low cost, and operational simplicity.

For enterprise-grade deployments, Functions can be combined with Azure API Management, Azure Key Vault, and Azure Monitor to provide secure, observable, and scalable serverless applications that adhere to best practices for cloud-native development.

Question 24

A company needs to implement a secure storage solution for application secrets, such as passwords, connection strings, and certificates. Developers must access these secrets programmatically without hardcoding credentials. Which Azure service should they use?

Answer

A) Azure Key Vault
B) Azure Storage Account
C) Azure App Service Configuration
D) Azure Active Directory

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Key Vault.

Azure Key Vault provides centralized, secure storage for secrets, encryption keys, and certificates. It is designed for secure secret management, enabling developers to access sensitive data programmatically without hardcoding credentials in code or configuration files.

Key capabilities include:

Managed Identities Integration: Applications can authenticate securely using Azure Managed Identities, eliminating the need to store credentials.

Secret Versioning: Key Vault maintains versions of secrets, allowing safe rotation and rollback when necessary.

Auditing and Logging: Azure Monitor integration allows administrators to track who accessed secrets and when, supporting compliance requirements.

Hardware Security Module (HSM) Support: For highly sensitive keys, Key Vault supports FIPS 140-2 Level 2 validated HSMs, ensuring the highest security standards.

Access Policies: Fine-grained access control ensures that only authorized users or applications can retrieve or update secrets.

Option B) Azure Storage Account provides durable data storage but is not designed for secure, programmatic secret management.

Option C) App Service Configuration allows storing settings for apps but lacks advanced security, auditing, and secret rotation capabilities.

Option D) Azure Active Directory handles authentication and identity management but cannot securely store application secrets for programmatic use.

Using Azure Key Vault ensures secure, compliant, and centralized management of application secrets. Organizations can implement automatic secret rotation policies, integration with CI/CD pipelines, and logging for audit compliance. This architecture is widely used for enterprise applications, multi-tier applications, and microservices, where securing secrets is critical for security and regulatory adherence.

Combining Key Vault with Azure Managed Identities, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), and Azure Policy creates a comprehensive security posture, minimizing risk while providing developers seamless access to required secrets.

Question 25

A company plans to deploy a multi-tier application in Azure with requirements for high availability, secure secret management, and automatic scaling. Which architecture is most suitable?

Answer

A) Azure App Service for web tier, Azure Key Vault for secrets, and Azure SQL Database with zone-redundant configuration
B) Azure Virtual Machines for web tier, Azure Storage for secrets, SQL Server on VM
C) Azure Kubernetes Service for web tier, Azure App Configuration for secrets, PostgreSQL single instance
D) Azure Functions for web tier, Azure Storage Account for secrets, Cosmos DB

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure App Service for web tier, Azure Key Vault for secrets, and Azure SQL Database with zone-redundant configuration.

Web Tier: Azure App Service provides fully managed hosting with automatic scaling, high availability, integrated monitoring, and zero-downtime deployment via staging slots. Developers can focus on code rather than infrastructure.

Application Tier: Azure Key Vault securely manages API keys, connection strings, and certificates, enabling programmatic access without hardcoding credentials. Using managed identities allows seamless, secure secret retrieval. Key Vault also provides auditing, versioning, and compliance support.

Database Tier: Azure SQL Database with zone-redundant configuration ensures high availability and automatic failover across Availability Zones. It handles patching, backups, and replication, reducing operational overhead while maintaining SLA-backed uptime.

Option B) VMs for web tier and SQL Server on VM increase management overhead and complexity. Using Azure Storage for secrets does not provide enterprise-grade secret security.

Option C) AKS introduces container management complexity. PostgreSQL single instance lacks multi-zone high availability, and App Configuration is less secure than Key Vault for secrets.

Option D) Functions is serverless, but Cosmos DB is NoSQL and may require redesign for relational workloads. Storage Account is not suitable for secrets management.

This architecture ensures scalability, high availability, and security, aligning with best practices for multi-tier enterprise applications in Azure. Integrating monitoring, backup, and disaster recovery completes a robust, resilient, and compliant deployment.

Question 26

A company needs to deploy an application in Azure that can handle millions of concurrent connections and requires low-latency data access globally. Which combination of services is most appropriate?

Answer

A) Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Front Door
B) Azure SQL Database and Azure Load Balancer
C) Azure Blob Storage and VPN Gateway
D) Azure Virtual Machines with ExpressRoute

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Front Door.

Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed, multi-model NoSQL database that supports low-latency reads and writes at the 99th percentile. It allows multi-region writes, enabling users to simultaneously write data to different regions without conflicts. Cosmos DB automatically replicates data across regions, providing high availability and disaster resilience. Its multiple consistency models, from strong to eventual consistency, allow organizations to balance data integrity and performance according to application requirements.

Azure Front Door is a global HTTP load balancer that provides fast, secure routing of client requests to the nearest Azure region hosting the application. Front Door integrates with SSL/TLS, WAF (Web Application Firewall), caching, and edge routing, ensuring both performance and security. By caching frequently accessed content at the edge, Front Door reduces latency and decreases load on the origin services.

Option B) Azure SQL Database with Load Balancer can handle relational workloads but does not natively provide global low-latency multi-region writes. Load Balancer distributes traffic within a region, so it is unsuitable for globally distributed applications.

Option C) Blob Storage is designed for unstructured data storage and does not provide transactional or low-latency read/write operations for high-concurrency applications. VPN Gateway secures connectivity but does not improve performance for global user access.

Option D) VMs with ExpressRoute can handle compute workloads, but managing multi-region low-latency data distribution and high concurrency manually introduces operational complexity. This approach is less efficient than Cosmos DB + Front Door.

Using Cosmos DB with Front Door ensures high scalability, high availability, and low latency for applications with millions of concurrent connections, such as gaming platforms, IoT telemetry, or social networks. Cosmos DB handles the database tier’s consistency and performance, while Front Door ensures users are connected to the nearest region for optimal experience. This combination provides an end-to-end architecture for global applications requiring resilient, low-latency access.

Additionally, organizations can integrate Azure Monitor, Application Insights, and Traffic Analytics to track performance, detect anomalies, and optimize routing and database throughput. Using auto-scaling and dynamic throughput allocation in Cosmos DB ensures that workloads are cost-efficient while maintaining responsiveness. This architecture aligns with AZ-305 best practices for globally distributed, high-performance applications.

Question 27

A company needs to design a secure network architecture in Azure to connect on-premises datacenters with Azure virtual networks. They require private connectivity, low latency, and predictable bandwidth. Which solution should they implement?

Answer

A) ExpressRoute
B) VPN Gateway
C) Azure Bastion
D) Azure Application Gateway

Explanation

The correct answer is A) ExpressRoute.

ExpressRoute provides private, dedicated connectivity between on-premises networks and Azure, bypassing the public internet. It offers predictable performance, low latency, and high reliability, making it suitable for enterprise workloads that require secure and fast communication between cloud and on-premises systems. ExpressRoute supports bandwidth from 50 Mbps to 100 Gbps and can connect to multiple virtual networks across different regions.

Key benefits of ExpressRoute include redundancy with dual circuits, SLA-backed availability, and integration with Azure services like SQL Database, Storage, and Cosmos DB. ExpressRoute traffic is isolated from internet traffic, reducing exposure to potential threats and providing consistent network performance.

Option B) VPN Gateway secures traffic over the public internet using IPsec encryption. While it is secure and cost-effective, performance is variable due to internet congestion, making it less suitable for mission-critical workloads.

Option C) Azure Bastion allows secure RDP/SSH access to VMs without exposing them to the public internet but does not provide connectivity between on-premises networks and Azure virtual networks.

Option D) Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 web traffic load balancer with SSL termination and WAF capabilities but does not provide private connectivity to on-premises networks.

Using ExpressRoute ensures that hybrid applications, databases, and storage can communicate efficiently with low latency. For example, an organization running SAP HANA in Azure with on-premises ERP systems can use ExpressRoute to ensure near real-time replication and disaster recovery readiness. ExpressRoute also integrates with Network Security Groups (NSGs) and Azure Firewall, providing a secure, high-performance hybrid network architecture.

For enterprises, ExpressRoute enables multi-region high availability, predictable performance for critical workloads, and compliance with security standards. Organizations can combine it with VPN Gateway for failover scenarios, ensuring continuity if the dedicated circuit fails. This approach aligns with AZ-305 objectives for designing secure and reliable network architectures in hybrid cloud environments.

Question 28

A company wants to implement highly available relational databases in Azure with automatic backups, scaling, and minimal management overhead. Which service should they use?

Answer

A) Azure SQL Database
B) SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines
C) Azure Cosmos DB
D) Azure Database for MySQL single instance

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure SQL Database.

Azure SQL Database is a fully managed Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) relational database offering built-in high availability, automatic backups, scaling, patching, and maintenance. It eliminates the operational burden of managing VMs, storage, or database software while ensuring SLA-backed uptime. Key features include:

Automatic High Availability: Zone-redundant configurations replicate databases across multiple Availability Zones, protecting against hardware or zone failures.

Scaling Options: Elastic pools and serverless compute tiers allow automatic scaling based on workload demand, optimizing performance and cost.

Automatic Backups and Point-in-Time Restore: SQL Database automatically backs up data, supporting point-in-time recovery without manual intervention.

Security and Compliance: Transparent data encryption, auditing, Advanced Threat Protection, and integration with Azure Active Directory ensure that databases meet regulatory compliance requirements.

Option B) SQL Server on Azure VMs provides flexibility but requires manual configuration for high availability, scaling, and backups, increasing operational overhead.

Option C) Cosmos DB is a NoSQL service optimized for globally distributed low-latency workloads, not relational SQL-based applications.

Option D) Azure Database for MySQL single instance is suitable for MySQL workloads but lacks multi-zone high availability in single-instance deployment.

Using Azure SQL Database allows organizations to deploy enterprise-grade relational workloads with minimal operational overhead. For example, online transaction processing systems, financial applications, and SaaS applications can leverage automatic scaling, high availability, and integrated security to reduce downtime risk. SQL Database also integrates with Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and Query Performance Insight for proactive performance monitoring and optimization.

Additionally, organizations can implement geo-replication for disaster recovery, enabling read-access from secondary regions and failover in case of regional outages. This setup ensures business continuity, SLA compliance, and cost-efficient resource usage, making Azure SQL Database a preferred solution for high-availability relational workloads, in line with AZ-305 exam objectives.

Question 29

A company wants to deploy a global web application with users in multiple continents. The application requires low-latency access, SSL offload, and protection from web attacks. Which services should they implement?

Answer

A) Azure Front Door and Azure Web Application Firewall
B) Azure Load Balancer and Azure Traffic Manager
C) Azure App Service Environment and VPN Gateway
D) Azure CDN and Azure Bastion

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Front Door and Azure Web Application Firewall.

Azure Front Door is a global HTTP/HTTPS load balancing and routing service that provides fast, secure, and reliable access to web applications. It uses edge locations worldwide to route user requests to the closest or healthiest application backend, minimizing latency. Front Door also supports SSL termination at the edge, reducing the processing burden on backend servers and improving performance.

Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) protects applications from common web attacks, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and other OWASP threats. WAF integrates with Front Door, providing centralized, global protection for web applications.

Option B) Load Balancer distributes traffic regionally but cannot provide global low-latency routing or SSL offload. Traffic Manager routes traffic globally but does not provide WAF or edge caching.

Option C) App Service Environment is a private deployment of App Service in a virtual network. While it provides security and isolation, it does not automatically provide global low-latency routing or WAF protection. VPN Gateway secures connectivity but is unrelated to web access optimization.

Option D) Azure CDN caches static content globally, improving performance, but does not provide dynamic routing, SSL offload, or WAF capabilities. Bastion secures VM access and does not handle web application traffic.

Combining Front Door with WAF ensures global high availability, low-latency delivery, SSL offloading, and robust security. Enterprises use this architecture for e-commerce platforms, SaaS applications, and globally distributed portals, ensuring optimal user experience and compliance with security standards. Front Door also integrates with Azure Monitor and Application Insights for observability, providing real-time metrics, alerting, and logging to proactively detect and respond to threats or performance issues.

Question 30

A company plans to migrate its on-premises virtual machines to Azure while minimizing downtime. They need to replicate the VMs continuously and perform planned or unplanned failover during outages. Which Azure service should they use?

Answer

A) Azure Site Recovery
B) Azure Backup
C) Azure Migrate
D) Azure Automation

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Site Recovery.

Azure Site Recovery (ASR) provides disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) by replicating virtual machines from on-premises or other clouds to Azure. It supports planned and unplanned failover, enabling organizations to recover workloads quickly during outages or disasters. Key features include:

Continuous Replication: ASR continuously replicates VMs, including Hyper-V, VMware, and physical servers, ensuring that up-to-date copies are available in Azure for failover.

Orchestrated Recovery Plans: Administrators can define recovery sequences, ensuring multi-tier applications start in the correct order during failover.

Automated Failback: Once the primary site is restored, workloads can fail back to on-premises without manual intervention, reducing downtime.

Testing Without Impact: ASR allows non-disruptive DR testing, enabling companies to validate recovery plans without affecting production workloads.

Option B) Azure Backup protects data against deletion or corruption but does not provide continuous replication or failover for live VMs.

Option C) Azure Migrate helps discover, assess, and migrate workloads to Azure, but it is not a disaster recovery solution and does not handle failover.

Option D) Azure Automation automates administrative tasks but does not provide replication or failover for disaster recovery.

By implementing Azure Site Recovery, companies ensure business continuity, meet RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and RPO (Recovery Point Objective) targets, and reduce operational risk. ASR integrates with Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and Alerting for end-to-end visibility, and can be combined with ExpressRoute for secure, high-speed replication. This solution is widely adopted by enterprises to migrate workloads to the cloud, ensure resiliency, and maintain compliance with disaster recovery requirements.

Question 31

A company wants to deploy a multi-region web application that automatically directs users to the nearest region to reduce latency. The company also requires automatic failover in case a region becomes unavailable. Which Azure service should they use?

Answer

A) Azure Traffic Manager
B) Azure Load Balancer
C) Azure Application Gateway
D) Azure Front Door

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Traffic Manager.

Azure Traffic Manager is a DNS-based global traffic routing service that directs client requests to the most appropriate endpoint based on configured routing methods. Traffic Manager supports priority, weighted, performance, and geographic routing, allowing organizations to optimize latency, load distribution, and disaster recovery.

For multi-region web applications, performance routing ensures that users are automatically connected to the closest endpoint, reducing latency. Traffic Manager also monitors endpoint health and can automatically failover to a secondary region if the primary becomes unavailable, ensuring high availability.

Option B) Azure Load Balancer distributes traffic within a single region and does not handle global failover or latency optimization.

Option C) Azure Application Gateway is an application-level (Layer 7) load balancer that can route traffic within a region and provide WAF capabilities but does not provide cross-region failover.

Option D) Azure Front Door provides global HTTP load balancing and low-latency delivery but differs from Traffic Manager in that it operates at the application layer with caching and edge routing. Traffic Manager’s DNS-based approach is more suitable when directing traffic between multiple backend regions for failover.

Using Traffic Manager enables companies to build globally resilient applications. It integrates with Azure Monitor to provide real-time monitoring of endpoint health, performance metrics, and alerts. Enterprises can combine Traffic Manager with regional Load Balancers or Application Gateways to handle intra-region traffic distribution, ensuring end-to-end high availability and performance optimization.

This architecture supports disaster recovery planning, geo-compliance requirements, and improves user experience by reducing latency. Organizations can implement Traffic Manager with multi-tier applications, ensuring that both web and API endpoints remain operational during region-wide outages.

Question 32

A company needs to deploy a hybrid cloud architecture where on-premises applications communicate securely with Azure resources. They require high bandwidth and predictable latency. Which solution is most appropriate?

Answer

A) ExpressRoute
B) VPN Gateway
C) Azure Bastion
D) Azure Firewall

Explanation

The correct answer is A) ExpressRoute.

ExpressRoute establishes private, dedicated connectivity between on-premises networks and Azure virtual networks. It bypasses the public internet, providing consistent bandwidth, low latency, and secure communication. ExpressRoute supports high-performance workloads such as database replication, SAP, or other enterprise-critical applications.

Option B) VPN Gateway uses IPsec over the public internet, which provides encryption but introduces variable latency and bandwidth constraints. It is suitable for temporary or backup connectivity rather than mission-critical hybrid workloads.

Option C) Azure Bastion provides secure RDP/SSH access to Azure VMs without exposing them to the public internet but does not enable hybrid network connectivity.

Option D) Azure Firewall secures traffic and applies policies but does not provide direct connectivity to on-premises networks.

By using ExpressRoute, companies can implement hub-and-spoke architectures, connecting multiple virtual networks and on-premises environments securely. It also integrates with Network Security Groups (NSGs) and Azure Firewall to enhance security. ExpressRoute can be combined with VPN Gateway for failover, ensuring continuous connectivity even during outages.

This architecture ensures secure, high-performance hybrid deployments, enabling enterprises to extend their on-premises workloads to Azure for disaster recovery, high availability, or cloud bursting scenarios. It aligns with AZ-305 best practices for designing secure hybrid cloud solutions.

Question 33

A company needs to store sensitive data in Azure while ensuring encryption at rest and in transit. Which combination of services should they implement?

Answer

A) Azure Storage Service Encryption and HTTPS
B) Azure Disk Encryption and Virtual Network
C) Azure Backup and Azure Monitor
D) Role-Based Access Control and Availability Zones

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Storage Service Encryption and HTTPS.

Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) automatically encrypts data at rest using AES-256 encryption, protecting against unauthorized access. SSE can use Microsoft-managed keys (MMK) or customer-managed keys (CMK) stored in Azure Key Vault. SSE is transparent to applications, requiring no manual encryption handling.

HTTPS ensures that data is encrypted in transit between clients and Azure Storage. This prevents eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle attacks, and data tampering. Azure Storage can enforce HTTPS connections, ensuring compliance with security policies.

Option B) Azure Disk Encryption encrypts VM disks but does not encrypt storage account data or data in transit. Virtual Network isolates network traffic but does not provide encryption.

Option C) Azure Backup provides backup capabilities but does not ensure encryption in transit. Azure Monitor provides observability but not encryption.

Option D) RBAC controls who can access resources but does not encrypt data. Availability Zones provide fault tolerance, not encryption.

Implementing SSE with HTTPS ensures comprehensive protection for sensitive data at rest and during transfer. Enterprises can combine this with network-level security, private endpoints, and firewalls to enforce access policies. Using CMK in Key Vault provides key rotation, auditing, and centralized management, improving governance.

This architecture supports regulatory compliance (HIPAA, GDPR, ISO 27001) and protects sensitive workloads such as financial, healthcare, and personal data. It also integrates with Azure Monitor and logging to track access patterns and detect anomalies.

Question 34

A company needs a globally distributed database for an application that requires low-latency reads and multi-region writes. Which service should they choose?

Answer

A) Azure Cosmos DB
B) Azure SQL Database
C) Azure Database for MySQL
D) Azure Table Storage

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Cosmos DB.

Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed NoSQL database that supports multi-master writes and ensures low-latency reads worldwide. It replicates data across multiple regions, providing high availability and disaster recovery. Cosmos DB offers five consistency models, allowing fine-grained control over the trade-off between performance and data integrity.

Option B) Azure SQL Database supports geo-replication but is single-master and requires additional mechanisms for multi-region writes.

Option C) Azure Database for MySQL supports read replicas but not multi-region writes natively.

Option D) Azure Table Storage is cost-effective for simple key-value storage but does not provide multi-region write capability or low-latency global access.

Using Cosmos DB allows enterprises to deploy IoT telemetry, gaming, and social platforms with global users, ensuring consistent performance and resiliency. Combining Cosmos DB with Azure Front Door optimizes request routing for lowest latency.

Additionally, Cosmos DB’s automatic indexing, backup, and scaling simplifies management while meeting enterprise SLA requirements. Security features include encryption at rest and in transit, RBAC, and integration with Key Vault. This solution aligns with AZ-305 objectives for globally distributed, highly available, and scalable database architectures.

Question 35

A company needs to deploy a web application with high availability across multiple Azure regions and automatically direct users to the healthiest endpoint. Which service should they use?

Answer

A) Azure Traffic Manager
B) Azure Load Balancer
C) Azure Application Gateway
D) Azure CDN

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Traffic Manager.

Traffic Manager provides DNS-based routing for distributing traffic across multiple Azure regions. It monitors endpoint health and automatically reroutes users to healthy regions, ensuring high availability during outages. Traffic Manager supports routing methods such as priority, weighted, performance, and geographic, enabling performance optimization and compliance with data residency requirements.

Option B) Azure Load Balancer is regional and cannot handle global traffic or failover.

Option C) Application Gateway handles Layer 7 traffic in a single region and does not provide global failover.

Option D) Azure CDN improves content delivery latency but does not handle failover for dynamic application endpoints.

By implementing Traffic Manager, organizations ensure continuous availability, global performance optimization, and automated failover. It can be combined with regional Load Balancers or Front Door for layered resilience, ensuring end-to-end high availability and performance. Traffic Manager also integrates with Azure Monitor for health monitoring and alerting, allowing proactive management of global applications.

Question 36

A company wants to deploy a multi-tier application in Azure with requirements for automatic scaling, high availability, and secure storage of secrets. Which architecture is most suitable?

Answer

A) Azure App Service for the web tier, Azure Key Vault for secrets, and Azure SQL Database with zone-redundant configuration
B) Azure Virtual Machines for the web tier, Azure Storage Account for secrets, SQL Server on VM
C) Azure Kubernetes Service for the web tier, Azure App Configuration for secrets, PostgreSQL single instance
D) Azure Functions for the web tier, Azure Storage Account for secrets, Cosmos DB

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure App Service for the web tier, Azure Key Vault for secrets, and Azure SQL Database with zone-redundant configuration.

Azure App Service provides a fully managed web hosting environment with automatic scaling based on traffic and integrated high availability. This reduces operational overhead as organizations do not need to manage underlying VMs, patching, or load balancing manually. It also supports staging slots for zero-downtime deployment, integrated monitoring, and CI/CD pipelines.

Azure Key Vault securely stores application secrets, certificates, and keys. Developers can access secrets programmatically using managed identities, eliminating the need for hardcoding credentials and improving security. Key Vault also supports versioning, auditing, and secret rotation, which aligns with enterprise compliance requirements.

Azure SQL Database with zone-redundant configuration ensures high availability across multiple availability zones, providing automatic failover in case of zone-level failures. It also handles automatic backups, patching, and monitoring, reducing operational complexity.

Option B) introduces higher management overhead and security risks because secrets are stored in a general Storage Account, and SQL Server on VMs requires manual maintenance and failover configuration.

Option C) Azure Kubernetes Service provides container orchestration but adds operational complexity, and PostgreSQL single instance does not support zone-redundancy by default.

Option D) Azure Functions is serverless and ideal for event-driven workloads but may not be suitable for complex multi-tier applications requiring persistent sessions or relational database support. Cosmos DB is NoSQL and may require schema redesign for relational data.

By implementing the architecture in option A, organizations can achieve a secure, highly available, and scalable multi-tier solution. Integrating monitoring with Azure Monitor and Application Insights ensures visibility into performance metrics, resource utilization, and operational alerts. Enterprises can also leverage Azure Policy and RBAC to enforce governance and least-privilege access across web and database tiers.

This design is aligned with AZ-305 best practices for multi-tier application deployment, providing enterprise-grade availability, security, and scalability with minimal operational overhead. It supports business-critical applications such as e-commerce platforms, SaaS solutions, and internal enterprise applications where uptime and security are essential.

Question 37

A company wants to migrate its on-premises applications and databases to Azure while ensuring minimal downtime and continuous replication. Which service should they implement?

Answer

A) Azure Site Recovery
B) Azure Backup
C) Azure Migrate
D) Azure Automation

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Site Recovery.

Azure Site Recovery (ASR) is a Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) solution that enables organizations to replicate on-premises virtual machines, physical servers, or workloads to Azure. ASR provides continuous replication, ensuring that the target environment in Azure remains updated with the latest data from the source systems.

ASR supports planned failover, where administrators can initiate a controlled failover to Azure with minimal downtime, as well as unplanned failover, triggered by an unexpected outage. Recovery plans can define the order in which multi-tier applications are started to maintain service consistency and integrity.

Option B) Azure Backup provides protection for data but does not support continuous replication or automated failover, making it unsuitable for real-time migration or disaster recovery scenarios requiring low RTO and RPO.

Option C) Azure Migrate helps assess, discover, and migrate workloads to Azure but does not provide continuous replication or disaster recovery functionality.

Option D) Azure Automation automates tasks such as patching or scripts but does not handle replication or failover.

Using ASR allows organizations to maintain business continuity during migration or disaster events. It integrates with Azure Monitor and Log Analytics, enabling visibility into replication status, failover readiness, and operational alerts. Enterprises can also combine ASR with ExpressRoute or VPN Gateway to ensure secure, high-performance connectivity during failover and testing.

This approach aligns with AZ-305 best practices for designing highly available, resilient, and minimally disruptive migration strategies. Companies can migrate critical workloads, such as ERP systems, databases, and web applications, with assured uptime, compliance adherence, and minimal operational risk.

Question 38

A company wants to deploy a serverless architecture in Azure to handle event-driven workloads. They need automatic scaling based on demand, minimal operational overhead, and integration with other Azure services. Which service is most suitable?

Answer

A) Azure Functions
B) Azure Virtual Machines
C) Azure Kubernetes Service
D) Azure App Service Plan (Dedicated)

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Functions.

Azure Functions is a serverless compute platform that executes code in response to events, such as HTTP requests, messages in queues, or changes in Blob storage. It automatically scales based on demand, ensuring the application can handle highly variable workloads without manual intervention.

Key features include:

Event-Driven Execution: Functions can respond to a variety of triggers, enabling efficient microservices and automation workflows.

Pay-Per-Use Model: Organizations pay only for the compute resources consumed, reducing costs for intermittent workloads.

Integration: Functions integrate natively with Azure Storage, Event Grid, Service Bus, Cosmos DB, and Key Vault, allowing secure and efficient processing of events and sensitive data.

Reduced Operational Overhead: No infrastructure management is required. Functions handle scaling, patching, and availability, enabling developers to focus entirely on business logic.

Option B) Azure VMs require manual management, patching, scaling, and monitoring, which adds operational complexity.

Option C) Azure Kubernetes Service enables container orchestration and scaling but requires managing clusters, nodes, and deployments, making it less suitable for lightweight event-driven scenarios.

Option D) App Service Plan (Dedicated) supports web apps and APIs but does not provide true serverless, event-driven elasticity at granular scale.

Using Azure Functions allows enterprises to build scalable, low-maintenance, and responsive architectures. Functions can be combined with Azure API Management for secure API endpoints and Application Insights for observability, providing a complete serverless solution for event-driven applications. This architecture aligns with AZ-305 objectives for designing cloud-native, cost-efficient, and highly available serverless solutions.

Question 39

A company needs a globally distributed NoSQL database with multi-region write support, low-latency reads, and automatic scaling. Which service is most suitable?

Answer

A) Azure Cosmos DB
B) Azure SQL Database
C) Azure Database for PostgreSQL
D) Azure Table Storage

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Cosmos DB.

Azure Cosmos DB is designed for globally distributed applications with requirements for low-latency, high-availability, and elastic scalability. It supports multi-master writes, enabling users to perform updates in multiple regions simultaneously while maintaining consistency. Cosmos DB replicates data automatically, ensuring fault tolerance and disaster recovery.

Option B) Azure SQL Database is a relational database service, and while it supports geo-replication, it does not natively provide multi-region write capability.

Option C) PostgreSQL is relational and supports read replicas, but it lacks multi-region write functionality and low-latency global replication.

Option D) Azure Table Storage is cost-effective for key-value data but does not offer multi-region write or low-latency reads at scale.

Cosmos DB is suitable for IoT, gaming, and social applications requiring responsive global access. It offers automatic indexing, throughput scaling, backup, and encryption, supporting enterprise requirements. Integrating Cosmos DB with Azure Front Door ensures user requests are routed to the closest region, optimizing latency. This aligns with AZ-305 best practices for designing globally distributed, highly available NoSQL database solutions.

Question 40

A company wants to deploy a highly available web application with automatic failover and global performance optimization. Which combination of Azure services should they implement?

Answer

A) Azure Front Door with Web Application Firewall
B) Azure Load Balancer with Traffic Manager
C) Azure Application Gateway with VPN Gateway
D) Azure CDN with Bastion

Explanation

The correct answer is A) Azure Front Door with Web Application Firewall.

Azure Front Door provides global HTTP/HTTPS load balancing, low-latency routing, and SSL offload. It directs users to the nearest healthy endpoint, ensuring high performance and availability. Front Door also supports caching, dynamic site acceleration, and edge routing, improving application responsiveness globally.

Web Application Firewall (WAF) protects against common web vulnerabilities, including SQL injection, XSS, and OWASP Top 10 attacks. Integrating WAF with Front Door ensures centralized, global security for web applications.

Option B) Load Balancer handles regional traffic but does not provide global failover or SSL offload. Traffic Manager provides DNS-based routing but lacks WAF and edge acceleration.

Option C) Application Gateway handles regional Layer 7 traffic and WAF but does not provide global failover or low-latency routing. VPN Gateway secures network traffic but is unrelated to global web application performance.

Option D) CDN optimizes static content delivery but does not provide dynamic routing, global failover, or WAF. Bastion is for secure VM access and unrelated to web application traffic.

Using Front Door with WAF enables high availability, global performance optimization, security, and scalability. Enterprises can monitor traffic, detect threats, and implement failover policies with Azure Monitor and Application Insights, ensuring resilient and secure global web applications. This aligns with AZ-305 objectives for designing highly available, secure, and globally optimized applications.