AZ-305: Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert Exam

420 Questions and Answers

$19.99

The AZ-305: Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert Practice Exam is a comprehensive exam prep resource for experienced IT professionals and cloud architects who are preparing to design secure, scalable, and reliable solutions on Microsoft Azure. This practice exam reflects the current Microsoft certification blueprint, helping you evaluate your readiness to take on complex architectural responsibilities in Azure environments.

Designed to mirror real-world challenges, the exam features scenario-based and multiple-choice questions that test your ability to integrate computing, networking, storage, security, and DevOps into enterprise-grade solutions. Each question is accompanied by detailed explanations to reinforce core concepts and provide clarity on correct responses.

Key Topics Covered:

  • Designing identity, governance, and monitoring solutions

  • Architecting data storage and integration solutions

  • Designing business continuity strategies and disaster recovery

  • Creating secure, high-performance compute architectures

  • Planning for hybrid and cloud-native applications

  • Evaluating cost optimization and workload requirements

  • Integration of security controls and compliance standards

This practice exam is ideal for solution architects, cloud consultants, and IT leaders working toward the Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification. It ensures a deeper understanding of designing end-to-end Azure solutions that align with business goals and industry best practices.

Sample Questions and Answers

Question 1

You are designing a solution that uses Azure SQL Database. You need to recommend a solution that provides automatic failover in case of a regional outage. What should you recommend?

A. Active geo-replication
B. Read-scale out
C. Azure SQL Elastic Pool
D. Always On availability group

Answer: A. Active geo-replication
Explanation: Active geo-replication enables automatic failover between regions. It provides high availability and disaster recovery by allowing you to configure readable secondaries in different regions.


Question 2

You need to ensure sensitive data is protected in an Azure SQL Database without modifying existing applications. What should you implement?

A. Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)
B. Always Encrypted
C. SQL Server auditing
D. Azure Defender for SQL

Answer: B. Always Encrypted
Explanation: Always Encrypted ensures sensitive data is encrypted both at rest and in transit and cannot be read by the SQL engine, thus not requiring changes to the application logic.


Question 3

A company wants to host a multi-region web application in Azure. What service should you use to provide global load balancing with automatic failover?

A. Azure Application Gateway
B. Azure Load Balancer
C. Azure Traffic Manager
D. Azure Front Door

Answer: D. Azure Front Door
Explanation: Azure Front Door provides global HTTP load balancing, fast failover, and acceleration for web apps hosted in multiple Azure regions.


Question 4

You need to ensure that an Azure Function can access an Azure Key Vault securely without using secrets in code. What should you use?

A. Managed Identity
B. Shared Access Signature
C. Service Principal
D. Access Key

Answer: A. Managed Identity
Explanation: Managed Identity allows services like Azure Functions to access Azure resources securely without managing credentials explicitly.


Question 5

What Azure service should you use for real-time telemetry ingestion and processing of millions of events per second?

A. Azure Data Factory
B. Azure Event Grid
C. Azure Event Hubs
D. Azure Logic Apps

Answer: C. Azure Event Hubs
Explanation: Event Hubs is designed for high-throughput event ingestion and is ideal for real-time analytics and telemetry collection.


Question 6

You are designing a business continuity solution for an Azure web app. You want to ensure minimal downtime. Which deployment strategy should you recommend?

A. Blue-Green Deployment
B. Lift and Shift
C. Canary Deployment
D. In-Place Upgrade

Answer: A. Blue-Green Deployment
Explanation: Blue-Green Deployment minimizes downtime and risk by maintaining two production environments and switching traffic between them.


Question 7

You need to store semi-structured data and run complex queries on it. Which Azure service is the best fit?

A. Azure Blob Storage
B. Azure SQL Database
C. Azure Synapse Analytics
D. Azure Cosmos DB (SQL API)

Answer: D. Azure Cosmos DB (SQL API)
Explanation: Cosmos DB supports semi-structured data and provides SQL-like query capabilities, ideal for scenarios like user profiles, catalogs, etc.


Question 8

Which service provides a platform for managing compliance and policy enforcement across multiple Azure subscriptions?

A. Azure Monitor
B. Azure Policy
C. Azure Blueprints
D. Azure Security Center

Answer: C. Azure Blueprints
Explanation: Azure Blueprints help automate the deployment of governance policies, RBAC, and resources across subscriptions.


Question 9

What Azure service should be used to protect virtual machines from zero-day vulnerabilities and malware?

A. Azure Key Vault
B. Azure Sentinel
C. Microsoft Defender for Cloud
D. Azure Bastion

Answer: C. Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Explanation: Defender for Cloud provides threat protection and vulnerability assessment for VMs and other resources.


Question 10

Which Azure storage service allows for tiered access based on frequency of access?

A. Azure Table Storage
B. Azure Queue Storage
C. Azure Blob Storage
D. Azure Files

Answer: C. Azure Blob Storage
Explanation: Blob Storage supports tiered access levels: Hot, Cool, and Archive, optimizing cost based on data access patterns.


Question 11

You need to design a data solution that supports batch and stream processing with native machine learning integration. Which service should you choose?

A. Azure Databricks
B. Azure SQL Managed Instance
C. Azure Data Factory
D. Azure Machine Learning

Answer: A. Azure Databricks
Explanation: Databricks supports both stream and batch analytics and integrates with ML frameworks, making it ideal for big data analytics and AI.


Question 12

Which of the following is the best option to ensure secure access to Azure VMs without exposing public IP addresses?

A. Azure Firewall
B. Azure Bastion
C. Azure VPN Gateway
D. Azure NAT Gateway

Answer: B. Azure Bastion
Explanation: Azure Bastion allows secure RDP/SSH access to VMs over the Azure portal without public IP exposure.


Question 13

Which Azure service helps to automate the deployment and configuration of resources in a repeatable manner?

A. Azure Resource Manager Templates
B. Azure Logic Apps
C. Azure CLI
D. Azure Monitor

Answer: A. Azure Resource Manager Templates
Explanation: ARM templates provide infrastructure as code for consistent and repeatable deployments of Azure resources.


Question 14

Your company requires that all data stored in Azure is encrypted using customer-managed keys (CMKs). Which service should you use?

A. Azure Storage Service Encryption
B. Azure Key Vault
C. Azure Disk Encryption
D. Azure AD Privileged Identity Management

Answer: B. Azure Key Vault
Explanation: Azure Key Vault allows storage and management of CMKs, supporting integration with various Azure services for encryption.


Question 15

You are designing a solution using Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). Which component should handle load balancing for incoming internet traffic?

A. Kubernetes Ingress Controller
B. Azure Load Balancer
C. Azure API Management
D. Azure Application Gateway

Answer: A. Kubernetes Ingress Controller
Explanation: The Ingress Controller in AKS provides HTTP routing, SSL termination, and load balancing.

Question 16

You are designing a multi-tenant SaaS application hosted in Azure. You need to isolate each tenant’s data and ensure scalability. Which database strategy should you choose?

A. Shared database, shared schema
B. Shared database, separate schema
C. Separate databases per tenant
D. Single database with partitioning

Answer: C. Separate databases per tenant
Explanation: Using separate databases ensures strong isolation and allows per-tenant scaling, which is ideal for multi-tenant SaaS environments.


Question 17

Which Azure service allows you to perform real-time analytics on data streams?

A. Azure Monitor
B. Azure Stream Analytics
C. Azure Data Factory
D. Azure Synapse Analytics

Answer: B. Azure Stream Analytics
Explanation: Azure Stream Analytics is designed to process real-time data streams using SQL-like queries for time-sensitive insights.


Question 18

You need to deploy an Azure virtual machine and ensure it automatically joins an Active Directory domain. What should you use?

A. Azure Automation Runbooks
B. Azure Custom Script Extension
C. Desired State Configuration (DSC)
D. Azure VM Agent

Answer: C. Desired State Configuration (DSC)
Explanation: DSC can automate VM configuration post-deployment, including domain joins, in a repeatable and declarative way.


Question 19

Your team wants to detect threats and abnormal activities across Azure resources. What service should they use?

A. Azure Firewall
B. Azure Monitor
C. Azure Security Center (Microsoft Defender for Cloud)
D. Azure Policy

Answer: C. Azure Security Center (Microsoft Defender for Cloud)
Explanation: Defender for Cloud offers advanced threat protection and behavioral analytics across your Azure environment.


Question 20

You want to store application secrets securely and allow RBAC-based access. Which Azure service should you use?

A. Azure App Configuration
B. Azure Key Vault
C. Azure Blob Storage
D. Azure AD B2C

Answer: B. Azure Key Vault
Explanation: Azure Key Vault securely stores secrets, keys, and certificates and integrates with Azure RBAC for access control.


Question 21

You want to enable a VM to access an Azure Storage account without using access keys. What should you configure?

A. Shared Access Signature (SAS)
B. Azure AD role assignment
C. Managed Identity
D. Azure Key Vault reference

Answer: C. Managed Identity
Explanation: A managed identity allows the VM to authenticate securely with Azure services like Storage without credentials.


Question 22

A company wants to minimize latency for its global user base accessing a website. What service should they implement?

A. Azure Application Gateway
B. Azure Traffic Manager
C. Azure Load Balancer
D. Azure Front Door

Answer: D. Azure Front Door
Explanation: Azure Front Door provides global load balancing, dynamic site acceleration, and SSL offloading, reducing latency globally.


Question 23

Which of the following best enforces resource consistency, compliance, and organizational standards across multiple Azure subscriptions?

A. Azure Policy
B. Azure Blueprints
C. Azure Management Groups
D. Azure Locks

Answer: B. Azure Blueprints
Explanation: Blueprints combine policies, role assignments, and ARM templates for repeatable, governed deployments across subscriptions.


Question 24

You are designing a microservices solution with internal communication between services. What Azure service helps manage these communications?

A. Azure API Management
B. Azure Load Balancer
C. Azure Service Bus
D. Azure Application Gateway

Answer: C. Azure Service Bus
Explanation: Azure Service Bus enables reliable messaging between decoupled microservices, ensuring message delivery even in failure scenarios.


Question 25

Which type of storage should you use for a VM that requires high IOPS and low latency?

A. Standard HDD
B. Premium SSD
C. Standard SSD
D. Archive Storage

Answer: B. Premium SSD
Explanation: Premium SSDs provide low latency and high throughput, making them ideal for performance-intensive VM workloads.


Question 26

You need to allow an on-premises data center to securely connect to an Azure virtual network. What should you configure?

A. ExpressRoute
B. Azure DNS
C. Azure Application Gateway
D. Azure Front Door

Answer: A. ExpressRoute
Explanation: ExpressRoute provides private, high-bandwidth connectivity between on-premises environments and Azure without going over the public internet.


Question 27

You want to move large amounts of offline data to Azure Blob Storage. What’s the most efficient method?

A. Azure File Sync
B. Azure Import/Export
C. AzCopy
D. Azure Data Box

Answer: D. Azure Data Box
Explanation: Azure Data Box is a physical appliance used to transfer large volumes of data to Azure securely and efficiently when online transfer isn’t feasible.


Question 28

A developer wants to test a new version of a web app with a small percentage of users before full deployment. Which strategy should be used?

A. Rolling update
B. Canary release
C. Blue-Green deployment
D. In-place upgrade

Answer: B. Canary release
Explanation: A canary release gradually rolls out the new version to a subset of users, allowing monitoring before full deployment.


Question 29

Which service allows you to monitor the performance and health of applications hosted in Azure?

A. Azure Monitor
B. Azure Advisor
C. Azure Diagnostics
D. Application Insights

Answer: D. Application Insights
Explanation: Application Insights is part of Azure Monitor and provides performance tracking, error analysis, and diagnostics for apps.


Question 30

Your organization wants to restrict deployment of only specific VM sizes in Azure. What should you implement?

A. Azure Policy
B. Azure Blueprints
C. Management Locks
D. Role-Based Access Control

Answer: A. Azure Policy
Explanation: Azure Policy can restrict VM SKUs, regions, and other properties to enforce organizational standards and compliance.

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