AZ-305 Question 153
Single answerA retail company plans to deploy a Windows-based inventory management system on Azure that must handle consistent CPU workloads and have the flexibility to scale out easily as demand grows. They need to ensure availability during maintenance or hardware failures, keep costs in check, and balance user traffic across multiple instances. The application does not require specialized GPU features or high-performance computing. Which Azure virtual machine-based approach should you recommend?
- A
Deploy a single Windows VM (Standard DS1 v2) in a single resource group without using an Availability Set or Scale Set.
- B
Deploy two Windows VMs (Standard DS1 v2) in an Availability Set behind a load balancer.
- C
Deploy a Windows VM Scale Set (Standard DS1 v2) integrated with Azure Load Balancer and autoscaling rules.
- D
Deploy multiple Windows VMs (Standard DS1 v2) in different Availability Zones, each behind an Azure Load Balancer without a scale-out mechanism.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Using a VM Scale Set with Azure Load Balancer allows for automatic scaling based on demand and distributes traffic to maintain performance. It also offers fault tolerance by placing instances across fault and update domains. For more details on VM Scale Sets and recommended configurations, refer to Microsoft documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/virtual-machine-scale-sets/overview.
- A. Incorrect.
Option A: Deploy a single Windows VM (Standard DS1 v2) in a single resource group without using an Availability Set or Scale Set. - INCORRECT. This setup provides no redundancy for maintenance or hardware failures and lacks the ability to scale out automatically. It also poses a single point of failure.
- B. Incorrect.
Option B: Deploy two Windows VMs (Standard DS1 v2) in an Availability Set behind a load balancer. - INCORRECT. While this setup improves availability and can distribute traffic, it requires manual scaling. The company wants easy horizontal scalability, which is better served by a scale set with autoscaling rules.
- C. Correct.
Option C: Deploy a Windows VM Scale Set (Standard DS1 v2) integrated with Azure Load Balancer and autoscaling rules. - CORRECT. This approach simplifies horizontal scaling and provides built-in load balancing. VM Scale Sets also offer high availability by distributing instances across fault and update domains. This meets the company's needs for consistent CPU performance, automatic scaling, and reduced downtime.
- D. Incorrect.
Option D: Deploy multiple Windows VMs (Standard DS1 v2) in different Availability Zones, each behind an Azure Load Balancer without a scale-out mechanism. - INCORRECT. Although using different Availability Zones increases availability, it does not meet the requirement for easy scale out. Without a scale set or autoscaling, you must manually manage additional VMs, adding complexity.