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Guided AZ-305 Domain 3
Domain 3 — Module 3 of 5 60%
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AZ-305 Study Guide

Domain 1: Design Identity, Governance, and Monitoring Solutions

  • Monitoring & Logging Design
  • Choosing Authentication Methods
  • Designing Identity Management
  • Authorizing Access to Resources
  • Secrets, Keys & Certificates
  • Governance at Scale
  • Compliance & Identity Governance

Domain 2: Design Data Storage Solutions

  • Relational Data: Choosing Your SQL Platform
  • Database Performance & Scalability
  • Database Security & Compliance
  • Cosmos DB & Semi-Structured Data
  • Blob, Data Lake & Azure Files
  • Data Integration & Analytics

Domain 3: Design Business Continuity Solutions

  • Recovery Objectives: RPO, RTO & SLA Free
  • Backup & Recovery for Compute Free
  • Backup for Databases & Unstructured Data Free
  • High Availability for Compute Free
  • High Availability for Data Free

Domain 4: Design Infrastructure Solutions

  • Compute Design: VMs & When to Use Them
  • Container Solutions: AKS, ACI & Container Apps
  • Serverless & Batch Processing
  • Messaging Architecture
  • Event-Driven Architecture
  • API Integration & Caching
  • App Configuration & Automated Deployment
  • Migration Strategy & Assessment
  • Executing Migrations
  • Network Connectivity: Internet & Hybrid
  • Network Security & Performance
  • Load Balancing & Routing

AZ-305 Study Guide

Domain 1: Design Identity, Governance, and Monitoring Solutions

  • Monitoring & Logging Design
  • Choosing Authentication Methods
  • Designing Identity Management
  • Authorizing Access to Resources
  • Secrets, Keys & Certificates
  • Governance at Scale
  • Compliance & Identity Governance

Domain 2: Design Data Storage Solutions

  • Relational Data: Choosing Your SQL Platform
  • Database Performance & Scalability
  • Database Security & Compliance
  • Cosmos DB & Semi-Structured Data
  • Blob, Data Lake & Azure Files
  • Data Integration & Analytics

Domain 3: Design Business Continuity Solutions

  • Recovery Objectives: RPO, RTO & SLA Free
  • Backup & Recovery for Compute Free
  • Backup for Databases & Unstructured Data Free
  • High Availability for Compute Free
  • High Availability for Data Free

Domain 4: Design Infrastructure Solutions

  • Compute Design: VMs & When to Use Them
  • Container Solutions: AKS, ACI & Container Apps
  • Serverless & Batch Processing
  • Messaging Architecture
  • Event-Driven Architecture
  • API Integration & Caching
  • App Configuration & Automated Deployment
  • Migration Strategy & Assessment
  • Executing Migrations
  • Network Connectivity: Internet & Hybrid
  • Network Security & Performance
  • Load Balancing & Routing
Domain 3: Design Business Continuity Solutions Free ⏱ ~15 min read

Backup for Databases & Unstructured Data

Database PITR, geo-restore, long-term retention, and blob/file backup — design data backup strategies that match compliance requirements and recovery objectives.

Database backup design

☕ Simple explanation

Azure SQL databases are automatically backed up. You don’t configure it — it just happens. The design question is: how long do you keep those backups, and can you restore across regions?

PITR (Point-in-Time Restore): Restore to any second within the retention window (7-35 days).

Long-term retention (LTR): Keep weekly/monthly/yearly backups for up to 10 years.

Geo-restore: Restore from the most recent geo-replicated backup in a different region.

Database backup architecture differs by service:

  • Azure SQL: Automatic backups (full weekly, differential daily, log every 5-10 min), configurable retention, LTR policies, geo-restore
  • Cosmos DB: Continuous backup (restore to any point in last 7-30 days) or periodic backup (every 1-24 hours)
  • PostgreSQL/MySQL: Automatic backups with configurable retention (7-35 days), geo-redundant backup option
  • Unstructured data: Blob soft delete, versioning, point-in-time restore, Azure Backup for Blobs

Azure SQL backup architecture

Backup TypeFrequencyWhat It CapturesAutomatic?
FullWeeklyEntire databaseYes
DifferentialEvery 12-24 hoursChanges since last fullYes
Transaction logEvery 5-10 minutesAll transactions since last log backupYes

Recovery options

Azure SQL Recovery Options
OptionRPORTOScopeBest For
Point-in-time restore (PITR)Seconds (log backup interval)Minutes to hoursSame regionAccidental deletion, corruption — restore to any second
Long-term retention (LTR)Weekly/monthly/yearlyHoursSame or different regionCompliance — keep backups for years
Geo-restore~1 hour (geo-replication lag)HoursDifferent regionRegional disaster — restore from geo-replicated backup
Active geo-replication~5 secondsSecondsDifferent regionLow-RPO DR — readable secondary with fast failover
Auto-failover groups~5 secondsSeconds (automatic)Different regionAutomatic DR failover with read/write endpoint redirection

🏦 Elena’s SQL backup design:

  • PITR retention: 35 days (maximum) for all production databases
  • LTR: Weekly backups retained 52 weeks, monthly retained 12 months, yearly retained 7 years
  • Auto-failover group: Trading database replicated to paired region with automatic failover
  • Geo-restore: Enabled as a last-resort recovery option for non-critical databases

Cosmos DB backup

Cosmos DB Backup Modes
FactorContinuous BackupPeriodic Backup
Restore granularityAny point in time (last 7 or 30 days)Specific backup intervals (1-24 hours)
RPOSecondsHours (interval-dependent)
Self-service restoreYes — via portal/CLINo — support ticket required
CostIncluded (7-day) or additional (30-day)Included in Cosmos DB pricing
Best forProduction — accidental deletes, corruptionNon-critical — basic protection

Design recommendation: Always use continuous backup for production Cosmos DB accounts. The ability to self-service restore to any point in time is critical for operational recovery.

Unstructured data backup

FeatureWhat It ProtectsHow It Works
Soft deleteAccidental deletionDeleted blobs recoverable for configured period (1-365 days)
Blob versioningAccidental overwritePrevious versions automatically retained
Point-in-time restoreBulk corruption/deletionRestore ALL block blobs in a container to a previous state
Azure Backup for BlobsOperational + vault backupPolicy-driven backup with long-term retention in vault
Immutable storageMalicious deletion/modificationWORM — cannot be deleted even by admins during retention

🏗️ Priya’s unstructured data backup:

  • Soft delete: 30 days on all production containers
  • Blob versioning: Enabled for document storage (track changes)
  • Point-in-time restore: Enabled for critical containers (bulk recovery)
  • GZRS redundancy: Cross-region durability for all production storage

Knowledge check

Question

What's the difference between Azure SQL PITR and geo-restore?

Click or press Enter to reveal answer

Answer

PITR restores to any second within the retention window (7-35 days) in the same region — for accidental deletion or corruption. Geo-restore uses geo-replicated backups to restore in a DIFFERENT region — for regional disasters. Geo-restore has ~1 hour RPO (geo-replication lag) vs seconds for PITR.

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Question

What Cosmos DB backup mode should you recommend for production?

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Answer

Continuous backup — enables self-service point-in-time restore to any second within the last 7 or 30 days. Periodic backup requires a support ticket and has hours-level RPO. Always use continuous for production workloads.

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Question

What's the difference between blob soft delete, versioning, and immutable storage?

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Answer

Soft delete: recovers deleted blobs within a retention window. Versioning: keeps previous versions of overwritten blobs automatically. Immutable storage (WORM): prevents modification or deletion for a retention period — required for regulatory compliance. Use all three together: versioning for accidental overwrites, soft delete for accidental deletions, immutable storage for compliance.

Click to flip back
Knowledge Check

🏦 Elena's compliance team requires Azure SQL database backups retained for 7 years. They also need the ability to restore to any second within the last 35 days for operational recovery. Which combination should Elena configure?
Knowledge Check

🏛️ David's government client stores legal documents in Azure Blob Storage. Regulations require that documents cannot be modified or deleted for 10 years after upload. Staff must still be able to read documents at any time. Which storage feature should David configure?

🎬 Video coming soon

Next up: Data is backed up — now let’s keep it running — High Availability for Compute.

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