Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect ExpertDesign business continuity solutionsEasy
A multinational corporation uses Azure Virtual Machines to host its critical ERP system. The company requires a disaster recovery solution that can achieve a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 4 hours and a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 15 minutes. The solution must support testing failovers without impacting the production environment. Which Azure service is best suited for these requirements?
- AAzure VM snapshots
- BAzure Site Recovery (ASR)
- CAzure geo-redundant storage (GRS)
- DAzure Backup for VMs
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Azure Site Recovery (ASR)
Azure Site Recovery (ASR) is specifically designed for disaster recovery, offering low RTOs (hours) and RPOs (minutes) by continuously replicating VMs. It also supports non-disruptive test failovers, which is a key requirement.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. VM snapshots are point-in-time copies, not a continuous replication solution suitable for low RPO/RTO disaster recovery across regions.
- C. GRS provides geo-redundancy for storage accounts but does not replicate entire VMs or provide an orchestration mechanism for failover.
- D. Azure Backup is primarily for data backup and recovery, typically with higher RTOs and RPOs than ASR for disaster recovery scenarios.
Azure Site Recovery (ASR)
A disaster recovery service that orchestrates replication, failover, and failback of virtual machines and physical servers to Azure, or between Azure regions, to ensure business continuity.
- Provides low RTO and RPO for VMs
- Supports replication to Azure or between Azure regions
- Enables non-disruptive test failovers
- Orchestrates failover and failback processes
Memory trick: ASR is the DR orchestrator, handling replication and swift recovery.