AZ-400 Practice Test 32 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Your pipeline uses a multi-stage YAML file. You want to conditionally run a stage only when the build is triggered from the 'main' branch. Which expression should you use in the 'condition' property of the stage?

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

Accepted Answer

eq(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'refs/heads/main'). The `Build.SourceBranch` variable in Azure Pipelines contains the full Git ref path (e.g., `refs/heads/main`). The `condition` property evaluates expressions at runtime, and using `eq(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'refs/heads/main')` precisely matches the full ref for the main branch, ensuring the stage runs only when the trigger originates from that branch.

Answer

startsWith(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'main')

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eq(variables['Build.SourceBranchName'], 'refs/heads/main')

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eq(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'main')

Question 2

Your organization has a multi-stage YAML pipeline that builds and deploys a containerized application to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). The pipeline uses environment approvals for the production stage. You need to ensure that the container image deployed to production is the same as the one that passed all previous stages. Which strategy should you implement?

Accepted Answer

Publish the container image as a pipeline artifact and reference it from each stage.. Publishing the container image as a pipeline artifact ensures that the exact same image (by digest, not just tag) is available to all stages. By referencing the artifact in each stage, you guarantee that the image deployed to production is identical to the one that passed testing, avoiding any risk of tag mutation or rebuild inconsistencies.

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Use the same image tag in all stages, updating the tag as needed.

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Enable immutable tags on the container registry to prevent overwrites.

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Rebuild the container image in each stage to ensure freshness.

Question 3

Refer to the exhibit. You queue a build in Azure Pipelines. The build status remains 'notStarted' for an extended period. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The build is waiting for an available agent that meets the demands.. The 'notStarted' status indicates the build has been queued but no agent has picked it up yet. In Azure Pipelines, a build waits for an available agent that matches the demands specified in the pipeline (e.g., capabilities like 'Agent.OS' or custom demands). If all agents in the pool are busy or none meet the demands, the build remains in a 'notStarted' state until a suitable agent becomes free.

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The build priority is set to normal, causing delay.

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The build definition has a syntax error in the YAML file.

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The build definition is not authorized to use the Azure Pipelines pool.

Question 4

You have a YAML pipeline that builds a .NET application. You want to cache the NuGet packages to speed up subsequent builds. Which task should you use?

Accepted Answer

Cache task with a key based on the packages.lock.json hash.. The Cache task in Azure Pipelines allows you to cache NuGet packages by specifying a key derived from the hash of `packages.lock.json`. This ensures that the cache is invalidated only when the lock file changes, which accurately reflects changes in package dependencies. The cached `~/.nuget/packages` folder is then restored on subsequent runs, significantly reducing restore time.

Answer

CopyFiles task to copy packages to a staging directory.

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NuGet restore task with 'cacheRestore' option.

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PublishBuildArtifacts task to upload packages.

Question 5

Your organization uses GitHub Copilot for pull request summaries. However, some developers report that the summaries are inaccurate. What should you do to improve the quality of Copilot-generated pull request summaries?

Accepted Answer

Ask developers to write clear, structured PR titles and descriptions.. GitHub Copilot for pull request summaries relies on the PR title and description as primary input to generate accurate summaries. Clear, structured titles and descriptions provide better context for the AI model, reducing ambiguity and improving summary quality. Detailed commit messages (Option A) are not directly used by Copilot for PR summaries, as it focuses on the PR-level metadata.

Answer

Encourage developers to write more detailed commit messages.

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Disable Copilot for pull requests and use manual summaries.

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Provide a link to a documentation wiki in the PR description.

Question 6

Which TWO conditions must be met for a self-hosted agent to be used in an Azure Pipelines agent pool? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

The agent must have network access to Azure Pipelines.. A self-hosted agent must have outbound network connectivity to Azure Pipelines (specifically to the Azure DevOps service endpoints) in order to receive job assignments, download tasks, and report status. Without this network access, the agent cannot communicate with the orchestration layer and will remain offline. This is a fundamental requirement for any agent, whether hosted or self-hosted.

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The agent must be in the Default pool.

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The agent must run on Windows Server.

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The agent must be installed on a virtual machine.

Question 7

Refer to the exhibit. You are deploying this ARM template using Azure Pipelines. The pipeline passes the parameter 'environmentName' with value 'prod'. What will be the name of the virtual network?

Accepted Answer

vnet-prod. The ARM template uses the `concat` function to combine the string 'vnet-' with the value of the `environmentName` parameter. Since the pipeline passes 'prod' for `environmentName`, the resulting virtual network name is 'vnet-prod'. This is a standard pattern for parameterizing resource names in Azure Resource Manager templates.

Answer

vnet-default

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vnet-prod-vnet

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vnet-dev

Question 8

Which TWO of the following are benefits of using deployment slots in Azure App Service? (Select TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Zero-downtime deployments.. Deployment slots enable zero-downtime deployments (C) by allowing you to swap a staging slot with the production slot. The swap operation warms up the target slot's application before routing traffic, ensuring no requests are dropped. This is a core feature of Azure App Service for safe, continuous delivery.

Answer

Automatic rollback on failure.

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Independent scaling of each slot.

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Geographic redundancy.

Question 9

You are deploying a multi-container application to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) using Azure Pipelines. You need to ensure that the deployment rollback automatically if the health checks fail. Which strategy should you implement?

Accepted Answer

Configure a rolling update with readiness and liveness probes. A rolling update with readiness and liveness probes is the correct strategy because Kubernetes automatically monitors pod health via these probes. If a new pod fails its readiness probe, the rolling update pauses; if the liveness probe fails, the pod is restarted. Azure Pipelines can be configured to detect probe failures and trigger a rollback to the previous stable ReplicaSet, ensuring automated recovery without manual intervention.

Answer

Use a blue-green deployment strategy

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Use Helm charts with pre-upgrade hooks

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Implement a canary deployment with manual verification

Question 10

You are designing a build pipeline for a Java application hosted in Azure Repos. The pipeline needs to run unit tests, package the application as a JAR file, and publish the build artifact. Which task should you use to publish the JAR file as a pipeline artifact?

Accepted Answer

Publish Pipeline Artifact task. The Publish Pipeline Artifact task (D) is the correct choice because it is the modern, recommended way to publish artifacts from a pipeline in Azure DevOps. It stores the JAR file as a pipeline artifact, making it available for subsequent stages or releases, and it supports both file and folder paths directly without requiring an intermediate staging directory.

Answer

Publish Build Artifacts task

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Copy Files task

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Archive Files task

Question 11

You maintain a classic release pipeline that deploys to multiple environments. You need to ensure that a deployment to the Production environment only proceeds after a manual approval from a specific group of users. Which feature should you configure?

Accepted Answer

Pre-deployment approvals on the Production environment. Pre-deployment approvals are configured on an environment to require manual sign-off before a release is deployed to that environment. In a classic release pipeline, this ensures that the deployment to Production only proceeds after a specific group of users has approved it, meeting the requirement for manual approval before deployment.

Answer

Post-deployment approvals on the Production environment

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Deployment queue settings on the Production environment

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Deployment gates on the Production environment

Question 12

You have a pipeline that uses Azure Repos Git. You need to enforce that all commits to the main branch are associated with a work item. Which branch policy should you enable?

Accepted Answer

Require linked work items. The 'Require linked work items' branch policy in Azure Repos blocks any pull request from completing unless every commit is associated with at least one work item. This directly enforces traceability between code changes and tracked work, which is exactly what the scenario demands. It is configured per branch under Repos > Branches > Branch policies.

Answer

Limit merge types

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Require a minimum number of reviewers

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Check for comment resolution

Question 13

Your company is migrating from TFVC to Git in Azure Repos. The repository contains a large number of binary files (e.g., .dll, .exe) that are frequently updated. You need to minimize repository size and clone time. What should you include in your migration plan?

Accepted Answer

Use Git LFS to track binary files.. Git LFS (Large File Storage) replaces large binary files in the repository with lightweight text pointers, storing the actual binary content in external storage. This prevents the repository from bloating with frequently updated binaries, reducing clone time and repository size since only the pointers are cloned.

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Perform a shallow clone of the last commit only.

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Use sparse checkout to exclude binary files from the working tree.

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Use TFVC to Git converter with default settings.

Question 14

Your team uses Azure Pipelines to deploy a Node.js application. Recently, deployments have been failing intermittently due to a missing npm package. The pipeline runs successfully on the local agent but fails on the hosted agent. Which instrumentation strategy should you implement to identify the root cause?

Accepted Answer

Enable verbose logging for the npm install task and compare the output between pipeline runs.. Verbose logging on the npm install task surfaces the exact package resolution, registry URL, and dependency tree being used on the hosted agent, which is where the failure occurs. Comparing that output against the successful local run reveals differences such as a missing package-lock.json, a different registry, or a case-sensitivity issue on the Linux hosted agent. This is a diagnostic instrumentation step, which is what the question asks for.

Answer

Replace the hosted agent with a self-hosted agent.

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Configure Application Insights for the Node.js app to monitor runtime errors.

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Add a pipeline cache task for npm packages to ensure consistent restore.

Question 15

Your team uses GitHub for source control and Azure Pipelines for CI/CD. You need to ensure that only pull requests from specific branches trigger a build pipeline. Which trigger configuration should you use?

Accepted Answer

pr:
  branches:
    include:
      - main
      - develop. The `pr` trigger in Azure Pipelines controls which pull requests trigger a pipeline. By using `branches` with `include`, you specify that only PRs targeting the `main` and `develop` branches should trigger the build. This directly meets the requirement to restrict PR triggers to specific branches.

Answer

pr:
  paths:
    include:
      - main
      - develop

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pr:
  branches:
    only:
      - main

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trigger:
  branches:
    include:
      - main
      - develop