Azure Solutions Architect Expert · 23% of the exam

Design data storage solutions: free practice questions

5 sample questions from our 15-question bank for this domain — answers and explanations included. These are the same scenario-based style as the real Azure exam.

1. An architect must recommend a storage solution for unstructured video files that balances high durability, internet-accessible delivery, and cost efficiency for petabyte-scale content. Which is the BEST fit?

  • A. Azure Blob Storage with appropriate access tiers and redundancy✓ Correct
  • B. Azure SQL Database
  • C. Azure Table Storage
  • D. Azure Cache for Redis
Explanation

Blob storage is Azure's object store for large-scale unstructured content, with durability options, tiering for cost, and HTTP access (often paired with a CDN). SQL Database (B) and Table Storage (C) aren't built for petabyte media files, and Redis (D) is an in-memory cache.

2. A design must protect an Azure SQL Database against accidental data corruption or deletion by allowing restoration to any point within the last several weeks. Which capability provides this?

  • A. Point-in-time restore from automated backups✓ Correct
  • B. Zone-redundant storage
  • C. A read replica in another region
  • D. A resource lock
Explanation

Azure SQL Database automated backups enable point-in-time restore to any moment within the retention period, recovering from corruption or accidental changes. Zone redundancy (B) and read replicas (C) address availability/scale, not point-in-time recovery, and a resource lock (D) prevents deletion of the resource, not data-level recovery.

3. An application requires a relational database but experiences unpredictable, spiky usage with long idle periods, and the team wants to minimize cost during idle time. Which Azure SQL Database option should the architect recommend?

  • A. Serverless compute tier (auto-pause during inactivity)✓ Correct
  • B. A large provisioned Business Critical instance running 24/7
  • C. SQL Server on a dedicated VM
  • D. Azure Blob Storage
Explanation

The Azure SQL Database serverless compute tier auto-scales and can auto-pause during idle periods, billing only for what's used — ideal for spiky, intermittent workloads. A large 24/7 provisioned instance (B) or dedicated VM (C) pays during idle time, and Blob storage (D) isn't relational.

4. An architect must design a solution to orchestrate ingesting, transforming, and loading data from many on-premises and cloud sources into an analytics store on a schedule. Which Azure service fits BEST?

  • A. Azure Data Factory✓ Correct
  • B. Azure Key Vault
  • C. Azure Front Door
  • D. Azure Bastion
Explanation

Azure Data Factory is the managed data-integration/ETL/ELT service for orchestrating ingestion and transformation pipelines across diverse sources. Key Vault (B) stores secrets, Front Door (C) is global HTTP load balancing/CDN, and Bastion (D) provides secure VM access — none is a data-integration orchestrator.

5. A new cloud-native application needs a managed relational database with automatic scaling, high availability, and minimal administration, and does not require SQL Server instance-level features. Which Azure service should the architect recommend?

  • A. Azure SQL Database✓ Correct
  • B. SQL Server on an Azure VM
  • C. Azure Table Storage
  • D. Azure Blob Storage
Explanation

Azure SQL Database (PaaS) provides a managed, highly available relational database with elastic scaling and minimal admin — ideal for cloud-native apps not needing instance features. SQL on a VM (B) is IaaS with OS management, and Table/Blob storage (C, D) are non-relational.

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