Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator AssociateMonitor and maintain Azure resourcesMedium

A financial services company uses Azure to host critical applications. They need to ensure that database backups are immutable for a period of 7 years to meet regulatory compliance. They are currently using Azure Backup for their Azure SQL Databases. Which Azure Backup feature should they enable to meet this requirement?

  1. ABackup Immutability
  2. BLong-Term Retention (LTR)
  3. CCross Region Restore
  4. DSoft Delete
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A. Backup Immutability

Backup Immutability in Azure Backup prevents backups from being deleted or modified for a specified duration, which directly addresses the regulatory requirement for immutable backups.

Why the other options are wrong

  • B. Long-Term Retention (LTR) allows keeping backups for extended periods, but doesn't inherently make them immutable against deletion or modification by an authorized user.
  • C. Cross Region Restore enables restoring data to a different Azure region, which is a disaster recovery feature, not related to immutability.
  • D. Soft Delete provides a grace period to recover accidentally deleted backups, but doesn't guarantee immutability for a fixed long period.

Azure Backup Immutability

A feature in Azure Backup that makes backed-up data unchangeable and undeletable for a specified retention period, even by administrators, to meet regulatory and compliance requirements.

  • Prevents accidental or malicious deletion/modification of backups.
  • Configured at the Recovery Services vault level.
  • Essential for compliance standards requiring data retention integrity.

Memory trick: Immutable backups, like a rock, protect your data's integrity.

More Monitor and maintain Azure resources questions