AZ-304 Azure Data Storage Architecture 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which Azure Storage redundancy option replicates data synchronously across three availability zones within a single region?
- Locally Redundant Storage (LRS)
- Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) (Correct answer)
- Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS)
- Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage (RA-GRS)
Correct answer: Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS)
ZRS synchronously replicates data across three Azure availability zones in the same region, providing high availability even if an entire zone fails.
Question 2: A workload requires low-latency SQL queries and automatic scaling of both compute and storage independently. Which Azure database service best fits this requirement?
- Azure SQL Database Hyperscale (Correct answer)
- Azure SQL Managed Instance
- Azure Database for PostgreSQL Single Server
- Azure Cosmos DB SQL API
Correct answer: Azure SQL Database Hyperscale
Azure SQL Database Hyperscale decouples compute and storage scaling, supports databases up to 100 TB, and provides near-instant backups and rapid scale-out.
Question 3: Which Azure Blob Storage access tier is most cost-effective for data that is accessed less than once per month and requires a 30-day minimum storage duration?
- Hot
- Cool
- Cold (Correct answer)
- Archive
Correct answer: Cold
The Cold tier offers lower storage costs than Cool with a 90-day minimum retention, but Cool (30-day minimum) is more cost-effective for data accessed less than once a month versus Hot.
Question 4: You need to store relational data that requires multi-region writes with low latency. Which Azure service should you choose?
- Azure SQL Database with geo-replication
- Azure Cosmos DB with multi-region writes (Correct answer)
- Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server
- Azure Synapse Analytics
Correct answer: Azure Cosmos DB with multi-region writes
Azure Cosmos DB natively supports multi-region writes, enabling active-active architectures with configurable consistency levels and guaranteed low latency globally.
Question 5: Which Azure SQL Database feature automatically tunes query performance by identifying and applying index recommendations?
- Query Store
- Automatic Tuning (Correct answer)
- Elastic Pools
- Active Geo-Replication
Correct answer: Automatic Tuning
Automatic Tuning in Azure SQL Database uses AI to monitor query performance, create or drop indexes, and force good query plans without manual intervention.
Question 6: A solution architect needs to design archival storage for compliance data that will not be accessed for at least one year but must be retrievable within hours. Which storage tier should be used?
- Cool
- Cold
- Archive with High Priority rehydration
- Archive with Standard Priority rehydration (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Archive with Standard Priority rehydration
Archive tier with Standard priority rehydration is appropriate for data that is rarely accessed; Standard rehydration can take 1–15 hours, suitable when same-day retrieval is acceptable.
AZ-304 Azure Data Storage Architecture 1
Which Azure Storage redundancy option replicates data synchronously across three availability zones within a single region?