Note: This question is part of a series of questions that present the same scenario Each question in the
series contains a unique solution. Determine whether the solution meets the stated goals.
Your network contains a single Active directory forest. The forest contains a domain controller and Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) servers that are deployed to virtual machines. The virtual machines run either on-premises or on Microsoft Azure.
You have Azure AD connect deployed on-premises. The Azure AD connect database is installed on an onpremises instance of Microsoft SQL Server 2014.
Last month, an Azure AD connect server experienced a hardware failure that caused an Azure AD connect server to go offline for several days.
You need to recommend a solution to reduce the outage window when hardware failure occurs on the
Azure AD connect server.
Solution: you deploy a new Azure AD Connect server to an Azure virtual machine that uses a new SQL
Server instance. You set the Azure AD Connect server to staging mode.
Does this meet the goal?
A.
Yes
B.
No
Yes, correct.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/active-directory-aadconnectsync-operations#staging-mode
I believe the answer is ‘No.’ The AD FS server is connecting to an SQL 2014 instance meaning it is not using WID (Windows Internal Database). The scenario states ‘new Azure AD Connect server to an Azure virtual machine that uses a NEW Server instance.’ It should not connect to a new SQL instance as this would be a brand new database.
According to Microsoft “If the AD FS configuration database will be stored in a SQL database, the new federation server must point to the same SQL Server instance that is used by other federation servers in the farm so that the new server can participate in the farm.”
https://technet.microsoft.com/windows-server-docs/identity/ad-fs/design/when-to-create-a-federation-server-farm