AZ-305 Question 75
Select 2A company hosts a mission-critical Azure SQL Database with a high transaction volume. They want to protect against accidental deletions by being able to restore to any point in time for the last 14 days. They also must retain certain backups for up to 1 year to meet compliance requirements. The solution should minimize operational overhead and cost. Which two actions should you recommend?
- A
Configure Long-Term Retention (LTR) for the Azure SQL Database.
- B
Use Azure Backup for SQL in IaaS VMs to manage the database backups.
- C
Implement an active geo-replica and manage the backup retention shifted to the secondary.
- D
Enable a point-in-time restore by setting the database’s short-term backup retention to 14 days.
- E
Take regular snapshots of the underlying Managed Disk to meet the 1-year backup requirement.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answers: A, D
Explanation
By combining Long-Term Retention (LTR) for compliance backups and enabling point-in-time restore for short-term recovery within 14 days, this solution meets both the regulatory requirement and the need to recover from accidental deletions. Azure SQL Database automatically manages these backups, reducing overhead. Refer to Microsoft's documentation on Azure SQL Database automated backups and LTR (https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/azure-sql/database/automated-backups-overview) for details on configuring and optimizing backup strategies.
- A. Correct.
Option 1 (Correct): Long-Term Retention (LTR) allows you to keep full backups for extended periods (up to 10 years) for Azure SQL Databases. It directly addresses the 1-year compliance requirement with minimal management overhead.
- B. Incorrect.
Option 2 (Incorrect): Azure Backup for SQL in IaaS VMs targets SQL Server running on Virtual Machines, not PaaS-based Azure SQL Database. This would not satisfy the data protection needs for a platform-managed database.
- C. Incorrect.
Option 3 (Incorrect): Active geo-replication helps with business continuity and disaster recovery but does not automatically extend backup retention. It replicates the data but does not address compliance retention of backups for one year.
- D. Correct.
Option 4 (Correct): The built-in point-in-time restore feature uses automated backups for your Azure SQL Database. Setting the short-term backup retention to 14 days fulfills the requirement to recover quickly from accidental deletions in that timeframe.
- E. Incorrect.
Option 5 (Incorrect): Snapshots of Managed Disks are typically for VM-based workloads. Azure SQL Database is a fully managed service, so you cannot rely on disk snapshots to fulfill compliance or point-in-time restore needs.