AZ-204 Develop Azure compute solutions Practice Test 5 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You are deploying a containerized application to Azure Container Instances (ACI). The application writes temporary data to a local disk that must persist across container restarts (e.g., after a crash). Which configuration should you use?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Mount an Azure Files share as a volume in the container group.. Azure Container Instances (ACI) supports mounting an Azure Files share as a persistent volume. When a container restarts (e.g., after a crash), the temporary disk is wiped, but data written to an Azure Files share persists independently of the container's lifecycle. This meets the requirement for data to survive container restarts.

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Use the temporary disk automatically allocated by ACI.

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Store data in an Azure Cosmos DB database.

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Use an emptyDir volume as available in Kubernetes.

Question 2

You are developing an Azure Function that runs on a Consumption Plan. The function calls an external API that enforces a rate limit of 10 requests per second. When the function scales out to multiple instances, you must ensure the rate limit is not exceeded. Which pattern should you implement?

Accepted Answer

Use a queue-based load leveling pattern with an Azure Storage Queue.. A queue-based load leveling pattern uses an Azure Storage Queue to buffer incoming requests, allowing the function to process them at a controlled rate. This decouples the function's scaling from the external API's rate limit, ensuring that even with multiple function instances, the total request rate does not exceed 10 requests per second. The queue acts as a buffer, and the function can be configured to dequeue and process messages at a fixed rate, effectively smoothing out spikes in demand.

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Use a singleton attribute on the function to ensure only one instance runs.

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Use a static SemaphoreSlim in the function code to limit concurrent calls.

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Configure the function's host.json to limit concurrency to 1.

Question 3

You deploy a containerized background job to Azure Container Instances (ACI). The job should automatically restart only if it exits with a non-zero exit code (i.e., crashes). You want to minimize costs. Which restart policy should you configure?

Accepted Answer

OnFailure. The OnFailure restart policy is correct because it restarts the container only when it exits with a non-zero exit code, indicating a crash or error. This matches the requirement to automatically restart only on failure while minimizing costs, as it avoids unnecessary restarts on successful completions.

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Always

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Never

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Retry

Question 4

You are developing an Azure Function that processes messages from an Azure Service Bus queue. The function uses a Service Bus queue trigger and runs on a Consumption Plan. The queue receives a high volume of messages in bursts. You need to ensure that the function scales out to handle the load but does not exceed 10 concurrent instances. Which configuration should you apply?

Accepted Answer

Set the 'functionAppScaleLimit' application setting to 10 in the function app.. The 'functionAppScaleLimit' application setting controls the maximum number of instances for a function app running on the Consumption plan. Setting it to 10 ensures the app does not scale beyond 10 instances. The 'maxConcurrentCalls' property only limits per-instance concurrency.

Answer

Set the 'maxConcurrentCalls' property to 10 in the host.json file.

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Set the 'maxMessageBatchSize' property to 10 in the host.json file.

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Restrict the Service Bus queue to have a maximum concurrency of 10 at the namespace level.

Question 5

You deploy a containerized web application to Azure Container Instances (ACI). The application writes session data to a local directory. You need the data to persist across container restarts (e.g., after a crash or redeployment). Which storage configuration should you use?

Accepted Answer

Mount an Azure Files share as a volume in the container group.. Azure Files provides a fully managed SMB file share in the cloud that can be mounted as a volume in an Azure Container Instance. This allows session data written to the local directory to persist across container restarts, crashes, or redeployments, as the data lives on the share rather than in the ephemeral container filesystem.

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Use an emptyDir volume within the container group.

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Use the container's own filesystem and copy data to a blob storage on shutdown.

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Enable Azure Disk Encryption on the container group.

Question 6

You are developing an Azure Function that uses a Service Bus queue trigger. You need to ensure that the function processes messages one at a time to guarantee order. Which configuration should you use?

Accepted Answer

Set the batchSize to 1 in host.json. Setting `batchSize` to 1 in `host.json` forces the Service Bus trigger to process only one message at a time from the queue. This ensures strict message ordering, as the function will not fetch or process the next message until the current one is completed (either successfully or moved to the dead-letter queue). The Service Bus trigger uses a message pump that respects the `batchSize` setting to control concurrency.

Answer

Set the maxMessages to 1 in the ServiceBusTrigger attribute

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Set the function to run on a Premium Plan

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Set the maxDequeueCount to 1 in host.json

Question 7

You are developing a solution that needs to run a background task every 10 minutes to clean up temporary files in Azure Blob Storage. You want to use Azure Functions with the Consumption Plan to minimize cost. Which trigger type should you use?

Accepted Answer

TimerTrigger. B is correct because TimerTrigger is designed for scheduled execution of background tasks at fixed intervals, such as every 10 minutes. It uses a cron expression to define the schedule and runs on the Consumption Plan, which scales to zero when idle, minimizing cost. This makes it the ideal choice for periodic cleanup of temporary files in Azure Blob Storage.

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HTTPTrigger

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BlobTrigger

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ServiceBusTrigger

Question 8

You are developing a solution that needs to perform a multi-step workflow. The workflow involves calling several third-party APIs, and some steps may require waiting for a human approval via email. The workflow may run for hours. You want to use Azure Functions to implement this orchestration. Which Azure Functions feature should you use?

Accepted Answer

Durable Functions. Durable Functions is the correct choice because it is an extension of Azure Functions that enables stateful, long-running orchestration workflows. It supports waiting for external events (like human approval via email), managing multi-step API calls, and handling execution that may run for hours, all while preserving state through checkpoints and replay.

Answer

Timer trigger functions

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Service Bus queue trigger functions

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Blob storage trigger functions

Question 9

You are deploying a containerized application to Azure Container Instances (ACI). The application requires a connection string to an Azure SQL Database. The connection string contains a password that is stored as a secret in Azure Key Vault. The container image expects to read the connection string from an environment variable named SQL_CONNECTION_STRING. You want to pass the secret securely without embedding it in the YAML deployment file and without modifying the container image. The ACI container group will use a system-assigned managed identity that has access to the Key Vault secret. Which approach should you use?

Accepted Answer

Use a secure environment variable with a Key Vault reference syntax (e.g., secret://myvault/secretname). Azure Container Instances supports Key Vault references in environment variables using the `secret://` syntax, which allows you to securely inject secrets into containers at runtime without exposing them in the deployment YAML. The system-assigned managed identity is automatically used by the ACI infrastructure to authenticate to Key Vault and retrieve the secret, so no code changes to the container image are required.

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Mount a volume from Azure Files containing the connection string

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Use the managed identity inside the container to call the Key Vault SDK and retrieve the secret

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Store the connection string as an environment variable in ACI configuration but mark it as secure

Question 10

You have implemented a long-running order processing workflow using Azure Durable Functions. The orchestration may run for hours and involves multiple activity functions. You need to monitor the status of all running orchestrations and receive alerts when an orchestration fails. Which approach provides the most comprehensive and real-time monitoring?

Accepted Answer

Enable Application Insights for the Functions app and use its telemetry to monitor orchestration execution and set alerts.. Application Insights provides comprehensive, real-time monitoring for Durable Functions by automatically capturing orchestration lifecycle events, including failures, retries, and durations. It enables proactive alerting on failure metrics (e.g., 'orchestration-failed') without polling, and offers rich diagnostic tools like distributed tracing and custom querying. This is the most integrated and feature-rich approach for monitoring long-running orchestrations.

Answer

Use the Durable Functions HTTP API to poll the status of each orchestration.

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Use Azure Monitor to create alerts on custom metrics published by the Durable Functions.

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Use Azure Logic Apps to periodically check the orchestration status and send alerts.

Question 11

You are deploying a new version of an ASP.NET Core web application to Azure App Service. You want to test the new version with a subset of users before making it available to everyone. You also need to be able to switch back instantly if issues are found. Which App Service feature should you use?

Accepted Answer

Use deployment slots with swapping.. Deployment slots in Azure App Service allow you to deploy a new version of your application to a staging slot, then gradually route a subset of user traffic to it using slot-specific routing rules (e.g., cookie-based affinity). If issues arise, you can instantly revert by swapping the slots back, which requires no redeployment and preserves the previous version's warm instances.

Answer

Create a separate App Service plan and deploy the new version there.

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Use Azure DevOps deployment pipelines with deployment gates.

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Use Azure Traffic Manager to route traffic between the old and new versions.

Question 12

You have an Azure App Service web app that experiences fluctuating traffic. During peak hours, the CPU usage reaches 90% and response times increase. You want to automatically scale out the number of instances when CPU usage exceeds 75% and scale in when it drops below 25%. The scaling should be gradual to avoid thrashing. Which configuration should you use?

Accepted Answer

Configure autoscale rules on the App Service plan scale-out setting, using CPU percentage as the metric with appropriate thresholds and cool-down periods.. Azure App Service autoscale rules allow you to scale out (increase instance count) when CPU percentage exceeds 75% and scale in (decrease instance count) when it drops below 25%, with configurable cool-down periods (e.g., 5–10 minutes) to prevent thrashing. This directly addresses the fluctuating traffic pattern and gradual scaling requirement using the App Service plan's scale-out blade.

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Enable 'Always On' and configure manual scale based on scheduled times.

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Use Azure Functions with the Consumption Plan to handle the web app logic.

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Deploy the web app to Azure Container Instances and use the scale-on-CPU feature.

Question 13

You need to execute a PowerShell script every night to clean up unused resources in your Azure subscription. The script should run with a specific service principal identity that has the necessary permissions. You want a serverless solution with minimal management overhead. Which Azure service should you use?

Accepted Answer

Azure Automation with a scheduled runbook.. Azure Automation with a scheduled runbook is the correct choice because it is designed specifically for running PowerShell scripts on a recurring schedule using a service principal identity, with built-in support for Azure authentication via managed identities or Run As accounts. This provides a serverless solution with minimal management overhead, as Azure Automation handles the scheduling, execution, and identity management without requiring you to maintain any infrastructure.

Answer

Azure Functions with a timer trigger running PowerShell.

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Azure Logic Apps with a recurrence trigger running a PowerShell action.

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Set up a scheduled task on an Azure VM to run the script.

Question 14

You are implementing a Durable Functions orchestration that calls an activity function which may fail transiently. You want to retry the activity up to 3 times with a 5-second delay and exponential backoff. Which code snippet should you use?

Accepted Answer

await context.CallActivityWithRetryAsync("Activity", new RetryOptions(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5), 3), input);. The Durable Functions SDK provides the `CallActivityWithRetryAsync` method, which accepts a `RetryOptions` object to configure retry count and delay. The `RetryOptions` constructor takes `TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5)` as the first retry interval and `3` as the maximum number of attempts, including the initial call. This built-in method handles exponential backoff automatically, eliminating the need for manual retry logic.

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await context.CallActivityAsync("Activity", input);

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await context.CallActivityAsync("Activity", input, new RetryOptions(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5), 3));

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Use a durable timer and a loop to retry manually.

Question 15

You are deploying a container group to Azure Container Instances that runs a stateful application. The application writes data to the /data directory. You need to ensure that the data is preserved if the container restarts. Which volume mount type should you use?

Accepted Answer

Azure Files share. Azure Files shares provide persistent, shared storage that can be mounted into Azure Container Instances (ACI) using the SMB 3.0 protocol. This ensures that data written to the /data directory survives container restarts because the share exists independently of the container lifecycle. EmptyDir volumes are ephemeral and tied to the pod's lifetime, making them unsuitable for stateful applications that require data persistence across restarts.

Answer

EmptyDir

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Secret

Answer

ConfigMap