AZ-305 Question 61
Single answerYou are designing a new SaaS inventory management solution that must store relational data while supporting frequent queries and moderate concurrency. You want to minimize administrative overhead for patching and maintenance. The solution requires T-SQL support for stored procedures and functions, but does not need advanced cross-database features or SQL Agent. The database size is expected to stay under 500 GB for the next two years, and you need high availability with built-in backups. Which Azure service should you recommend for storing this relational data?
- A
Azure SQL Database (Platform as a Service)
- B
Azure SQL Managed Instance
- C
Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server
- D
Azure Virtual Machine hosting SQL Server
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Azure SQL Database is typically recommended when you need a PaaS solution with minimal administrative overhead, automatic patching, easy scaling, and T-SQL compatibility. Azure SQL Managed Instance is better suited for scenarios that need near 100-percent SQL Server parity, including features like cross-database queries and SQL Agent. Documentation for Azure SQL offerings can be found at: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/azure-sql/
- A. Correct.
Azure SQL Database (Platform as a Service) is correct. It offers a fully managed environment with built-in high availability, automated patches, backups, and T-SQL compatibility. It is well-suited for moderate to large workloads (up to multiple TBs), and it does not require advanced server-level features such as cross-database queries or SQL Agent jobs that Managed Instance might provide.
- B. Incorrect.
Azure SQL Managed Instance provides nearly complete SQL Server compatibility but is more suited for scenarios requiring cross-database queries, SQL Agent, or other instance-level features. It also tends to be more expensive and more complex to configure than Azure SQL Database for workloads that do not need those advanced capabilities.
- C. Incorrect.
Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server is a managed PostgreSQL database service. It does not support T-SQL, making it inappropriate if the requirement is explicitly to use T-SQL stored procedures and functions.
- D. Incorrect.
Azure Virtual Machine hosting SQL Server offers full control over the database environment but requires manual patching, backups, and high availability configuration. This approach increases administrative overhead compared to a fully managed service and is unnecessary unless you need specific customizations at the OS or SQL Server instance level.