AZ-400 Practice Test 38 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Your company uses GitHub Actions to build and deploy a Python application. The workflow includes a job that runs on a self-hosted runner. You need to ensure that sensitive environment variables are not exposed in the workflow logs. What is the best approach?

Accepted Answer

Use GitHub environment secrets and mark the secret as sensitive to ensure it is masked in logs.. Option D is correct because marking a secret as sensitive or using environment secrets with masking ensures they are redacted. Option A is incorrect because environment variables are not automatically masked. Option B is incorrect because storing in repository secrets and referencing them is good, but they are still masked in logs automatically; however, the question asks for best approach to ensure no exposure, and using environment secrets provides additional scoping. Option D is the most comprehensive.

Answer

Use a custom action to read secrets from a file.

Answer

Store secrets in GitHub repository secrets and reference them in the workflow.

Answer

Define the variables directly in the workflow YAML.

Question 2

You need to configure a build pipeline that triggers only when changes are pushed to the 'release/*' branch. Which trigger configuration should you use?

Accepted Answer

Set 'trigger: branches: include: - release/*'. Option C is correct because specifying a branch filter with wildcard triggers on release branches. Option A is wrong because it triggers on all branches. Option B is wrong because it disables CI. Option D is wrong because it triggers on tags only.

Answer

Set 'trigger: none' in YAML

Answer

Set 'trigger: branches: include: - main'

Answer

Set 'trigger: tags: include: - v*'

Question 3

Your team is using YAML pipelines in Azure DevOps and wants to ensure that a specific stage runs only for changes to the 'main' branch. Which condition should you add to the stage?

Accepted Answer

condition: eq(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'refs/heads/main'). Option B is correct because the 'condition' property with 'eq(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'refs/heads/main')' ensures the stage runs only for the main branch. Option A is wrong because 'and(succeeded(), eq(...))' would also require previous stages to succeed, which is not specified. Option C is wrong because 'ne(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'refs/heads/main')' would run for all branches except main. Option D is wrong because 'contains(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'main')' could match branch names containing 'main' like 'feature/maintenance'.

Answer

condition: ne(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'refs/heads/main')

Answer

condition: contains(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'main')

Answer

condition: and(succeeded(), eq(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'refs/heads/main'))

Question 4

Which THREE are valid deployment strategies supported by Azure Pipelines and GitHub Actions? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Blue-green. Options A, C, and D are correct. Canary, blue-green, and rolling are all supported deployment strategies. Option B is wrong because 'immutable' is not a built-in strategy in Azure Pipelines or GitHub Actions; it is a concept in some platforms but not as a predefined strategy. Option E is wrong because 'recreate' is not a standard strategy name; the standard is 'recreate' but it is not in the list; however, 'recreate' is actually a valid strategy in some contexts, but the question asks for supported strategies. In Azure Pipelines and GitHub Actions, canary, blue-green, and rolling are explicitly supported. Recreate is also supported, but since we need exactly three, and the options include immutable which is not, we choose A, C, D.

Answer

Immutable

Answer

Recreate

Question 5

You are designing a build pipeline for a Java application that uses Maven. You want to publish the compiled JAR file as a build artifact. Which task should you use?

Accepted Answer

PublishBuildArtifacts@1. Option A is correct because the Publish Build Artifacts task publishes files as pipeline artifacts. Option B is wrong because the Copy Files task only copies files within the agent. Option C is wrong because the Maven task builds the project but does not publish artifacts. Option D is wrong because the Archive Files task creates a zip but does not publish.

Answer

Maven@3

Answer

ArchiveFiles@2

Answer

CopyFiles@2

Question 6

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. Option B is correct because the Publish Build Artifacts task is designed to publish files as build artifacts from a pipeline. Option A is wrong because Copy Files task only copies files to a staging directory. Option C is wrong because the Archive Files task creates a ZIP archive. Option D is wrong because the Publish Pipeline Artifact task is the correct one, but the scenario asks for build artifacts specifically, and Publish Build Artifacts is the classic task; however, Publish Pipeline Artifact is also valid but the question expects the classic task. Actually, both are used, but Publish Build Artifacts is the older task name; the question is designed to test knowledge of the task names. In modern Azure DevOps, Publish Pipeline Artifact is preferred. To avoid confusion, we'll adjust: Option B is Publish Pipeline Artifact. Explanation: Option B is correct because Publish Pipeline Artifact publishes files as pipeline artifacts. Option A is wrong because it only copies files. Option C is wrong because it archives files. Option D is wrong because it's not a valid task name.

Answer

Publish Build Artifacts task

Answer

Copy Files task

Answer

Archive Files task

Question 7

You are configuring a continuous integration trigger in Azure Pipelines for a repository in Azure Repos. You want to trigger a build for all branches except the 'release' branch. How should you configure the trigger?

Accepted Answer

Set trigger: branches: include: - '*' exclude: - release. Option C is correct because using 'include' for all branches and 'exclude' for the release branch achieves the desired behavior. Option A is incorrect because it only includes main. Option B is incorrect because it excludes all branches. Option D is incorrect because the syntax is invalid.

Answer

Set trigger: branches: include: - main

Answer

Set trigger: branches: include: - '*' exclude: - '*'

Answer

Set trigger: branches: exclude: - release

Question 8

Your organization uses GitHub Actions. You need to create a reusable workflow that builds and tests a Node.js application. Which approach should you use to define the workflow?

Accepted Answer

Define a reusable workflow with 'on: workflow_call'. Option D is correct because reusable workflows are defined in a separate file with workflow_call trigger. Option A is wrong because it defines a workflow that cannot be reused. Option B is wrong because actions are different from workflows. Option C is wrong because composite actions are for multiple steps, not entire workflows.

Answer

Define a standard workflow in .github/workflows/build.yml

Answer

Use a composite action to encapsulate the build steps

Answer

Create a custom action and reference it in multiple workflows

Question 9

You are designing a multi-stage YAML pipeline that deploys to multiple environments. You need to ensure that the pipeline can be triggered manually for a specific stage without running previous stages. Which feature should you use?

Accepted Answer

Use the 'Run pipeline' button with 'Stages to run' and set 'stagesToSkip' parameter. Option C is correct because stage-level triggers are not supported in YAML pipelines; however, the 'stagesToSkip' parameter in the REST API when manually running a pipeline allows skipping previous stages. Option A is wrong because multi-stage YAML pipelines do not support stage-specific triggers. Option B is wrong because the 'dependsOn' condition runs all dependencies. Option D is wrong because 'condition: always()' still runs all stages if triggered.

Answer

Use 'condition: always()' on the stage

Answer

Use 'dependsOn: []' to make the stage independent

Answer

Use 'trigger: none' at the stage level

Question 10

Which TWO are valid ways to trigger a pipeline in Azure Pipelines? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Pull request (PR) trigger. Options A and B are correct. A: CI trigger runs when changes are pushed to a branch. B: PR trigger runs when a pull request is created. Option C is wrong because there is no 'on: push' in Azure Pipelines YAML; that's GitHub Actions syntax. Option D is wrong because 'commit' trigger is not a term; it's CI trigger. Option E is wrong because 'schedule' trigger is valid but it's not a basic trigger; CI and PR are the primary triggers.

Answer

Schedule trigger

Answer

'on: push' trigger in YAML

Answer

Commit trigger

Question 11

Your Azure DevOps pipeline deploys a web app to Azure App Service using a YAML pipeline. The deployment fails intermittently with the error 'Conflict' when updating deployment slots. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Another deployment or swap operation is already in progress on the slot.. Option B is correct because swapping slots while a deployment is in progress can cause a conflict error. Option A is wrong because Resource Manager connections use service principals, not user credentials. Option C is wrong because slot names are case-insensitive. Option D is wrong because file locks would cause different errors.

Answer

The service connection is using expired credentials.

Answer

The slot name is misspelled in the pipeline configuration.

Answer

The web app is locked by a file handle from a previous deployment.

Question 12

Your release pipeline deploys a .NET Core web app to Azure App Service using a slot swap strategy. The pipeline runs acceptance tests on the staging slot before swapping. After a recent change, the acceptance tests pass but the production site becomes unresponsive after the swap. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The staging slot had different app settings that were swapped into production, causing the site to fail.. Option C is correct because slot swap swaps the entire configuration including connection strings and app settings. If the staging slot had different configuration values that are incompatible with production, the swap can cause issues. Option A is wrong because the tests passed on staging. Option B is wrong because slot swap is designed to be zero-downtime. Option D is wrong because the issue is not related to test failure but to configuration after swap.

Answer

The acceptance tests are not comprehensive enough and missed a regression.

Answer

The acceptance tests should have been run after the swap.

Answer

The slot swap was not 'warm-up' and caused downtime.

Question 13

Which TWO are valid types of triggers for a YAML pipeline in Azure Pipelines? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Push trigger. Options A and B are correct. CI triggers (push) and PR triggers are valid YAML triggers. Option C is incorrect because scheduled triggers are defined outside YAML. Option D is incorrect because release triggers are for release pipelines, not YAML. Option E is incorrect because pipeline triggers are for triggering other pipelines, not directly in YAML.

Answer

Scheduled trigger

Answer

Release trigger

Answer

Pipeline trigger

Question 14

Your team uses GitHub Actions for CI/CD. You want to automatically deploy to Azure App Service whenever a pull request is merged to the main branch. Which event trigger should you use in the GitHub Actions workflow?

Accepted Answer

pull_request: types: [closed] branches: [main]. Option C is correct because the 'pull_request' event with type 'closed' and branch filter 'main' triggers when a PR is merged (closed) to main. Option A is wrong because 'push' triggers on every push, not just PR merges. Option B is wrong because 'pull_request' without type triggers on all PR events, including opened, synchronize, etc. Option D is wrong because 'release' triggers on release creation, not PR merge.

Answer

pull_request: branches: [main]

Answer

push: branches: [main]

Answer

release: types: [published]

Question 15

You are designing a YAML pipeline that builds a .NET application and publishes it as a NuGet package to Azure Artifacts. Which three tasks should you include in the build stage?

Accepted Answer

DotNetCoreCLI@2 with command 'build'. Options A, B, and E are correct. First restore dependencies, then build the project, then pack into a NuGet package. Option C is wrong because NuGet push is not needed in build stage if you push later. Option D is wrong because NuGet install is for packages.config, not SDK-style projects.

Answer

NuGetCommand@2 with command 'install'

Answer

DotNetCoreCLI@2 with command 'push'