AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
A batch job fails with a blob read error after the administrator moved a 200-GB blob to the archive tier. The file must be available again within a few hours, and the administrator wants the least disruptive recovery. What should be done?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often think soft delete (Option C) or changing the account tier (Option D) can immediately restore access, when in fact only explicit rehydration by tier change makes an archived blob readable.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Change the blob tier to Hot or Cool and wait for the rehydration process to finish.
Moving a blob to the archive tier makes it offline; to read it, you must first rehydrate it by changing the tier to Hot or Cool. Rehydration typically completes within a few hours (up to 15 hours for archive), meeting the requirement. This is the least disruptive method as it avoids data loss or additional uploads.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Delete the archived blob and upload a new copy from backup.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting and re-uploading the blob is unnecessarily destructive: an existing archived blob is a valid object that simply needs tier rehydration, so recreating it from backup introduces avoidable egress/degraded reads, requires that a current backup actually exists, and loses any associated metadata or snapshots tied to the original object. It also gives the application a brand-new blob URI or generation, so any lease or tags are reset. You should instead rehydrate via tier change because that's the supported, in-place recovery mechanism.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the blob was corrupted or lost due to accidental deletion or storage account failure, and no rehydration capability existed (e.g., in a legacy system without tiering support).
- ✓
Change the blob tier to Hot or Cool and wait for the rehydration process to finish.
Why this is correct
Archive blobs are offline and cannot be read directly until they are rehydrated. The administrator should change the tier from Archive to Hot or Cool, which starts rehydration and makes the blob readable again after the process completes. This is the least disruptive recovery path because it preserves the existing blob and uses the supported restore mechanism instead of recreating the data.
- ✗
Enable soft delete on the storage account and retry the read operation.
Why it's wrong here
Enabling soft delete adds protection against accidental deletion, but it does not change the offline status of an Archive-tier blob. A read of archived data continues to fail with an HTTP 409 (BlobArchiveNotAvailable) until rehydration completes, regardless of whether soft delete is on. Soft delete only matters if you need to recover a deleted blob version; it cannot force archived data to become online.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question were about recovering from accidental deletion of a blob (e.g., a user deleted a blob and needs to restore it), enabling soft delete and then undeleting the blob would be the correct approach.
- ✗
Convert the storage account to premium performance.
Why it's wrong here
The performance tier (Standard vs Premium) is selected at storage account creation and cannot be changed in place; converting an existing account would require migrating all data to a new Premium account. Even if that migration were done, Archive tier blobs are offline and need explicit rehydration before data reads succeed, because the tier state is independent of account performance. Thus, moving to Premium neither makes archive blobs readable nor is a practically available operation.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question were about improving I/O latency for frequently accessed blobs in a performance-sensitive application, and cost was not a concern, converting the storage account to premium performance would be correct.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The AZ-104 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Change the blob tier to Hot or Cool and wait for the rehydration process to finish.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Archive blobs are offline and cannot be read directly until they are rehydrated. The administrator should change the tier from Archive to Hot or Cool, which starts rehydration and makes the blob readable again after the process completes. This is the least disruptive recovery path because it preserves the existing blob and uses the supported restore mechanism instead of recreating the data.
✗Delete the archived blob and upload a new copy from backup.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Deleting the archived blob and re-uploading from backup is disruptive and time-consuming for a 200-GB blob, and unnecessary because Azure Blob Storage supports rehydration from the Archive tier to Hot or Cool tiers without data loss.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the blob was corrupted or lost due to accidental deletion or storage account failure, and no rehydration capability existed (e.g., in a legacy system without tiering support).
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think re-uploading is faster or simpler than waiting for rehydration, or they may not be aware that archive blobs can be rehydrated to a hot or cool tier.
✗Enable soft delete on the storage account and retry the read operation.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Enabling soft delete does not rehydrate an archived blob; it only protects against accidental deletion. The blob is still in the archive tier and unreadable until rehydrated.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question were about recovering from accidental deletion of a blob (e.g., a user deleted a blob and needs to restore it), enabling soft delete and then undeleting the blob would be the correct approach.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse soft delete with a recovery mechanism for inaccessible blobs, or think that enabling a feature can immediately fix read errors without understanding the archive tier's offline nature.
✗Convert the storage account to premium performance.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Converting to premium performance does not affect blob tier or rehydration; the blob is archived and must be rehydrated to a hot or cool tier before reading. Premium performance is for low-latency workloads, not for recovering archived blobs.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question were about improving I/O latency for frequently accessed blobs in a performance-sensitive application, and cost was not a concern, converting the storage account to premium performance would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may mistakenly think that premium performance can speed up data access or bypass the rehydration delay, confusing performance tier with access tier capabilities.
Analysis generated from the official AZ-104blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Quick reference
Azure Blob Storage Tier Comparison
| Tier | Storage Cost | Retrieval Cost | Latency | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot | Highest | Lowest | Immediate | Active data, frequent reads |
| Cool | Lower | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / month |
| Cold | Lower still | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / quarter |
| Archive | Lowest | Highest + rehydration delay | Hours | Long-term compliance retention |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Azure Files and Azure File Sync
Key term
Archive tier
Archive tier is an ultra-low-cost Azure Blob Storage access tier designed for long-term retention of data that is rarely accessed and can tolerate hours of retrieval latency.
Key term
Blob
A blob is a large piece of unstructured data, like a photo or video, stored in the cloud with a unique identifier.
About these practice questions
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on AZ-104
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. An archived blob must be read tomorrow morning. Which two actions are required before the blob can be opened? Select two.
easy- ✓ A.Change the blob access tier from Archive to Hot or Cool so the data becomes online again.
- ✓ B.Wait for the rehydration process to finish before opening the blob in a client or portal.
- C.Enable a private endpoint, because archive blobs can only be read through private connectivity.
- D.Convert the storage account to GZRS, because geo-replication automatically restores archived blobs.
- E.Set the container ACL to public so archived blobs can be read without rehydration.
Why A: An archived blob is in an offline state and must be rehydrated to the Hot or Cool tier before it can be read. Changing the access tier initiates the rehydration process, which makes the blob data online and accessible.
Variation 2. An administrator moved old log blobs to the Archive tier last month. An auditor now needs one blob for review later today. What must happen before the blob can be opened?
medium- A.Download the blob directly from the Archive tier and open it immediately
- ✓ B.Change the blob to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to complete
- C.Create a snapshot of the blob and open the snapshot instead
- D.Copy the blob to another container without changing its tier
Why B: Blobs in the Archive tier are offline and cannot be read directly. To access the data, you must first change the blob's access tier to Hot or Cool (rehydrate it), which can take up to 15 hours depending on the rehydration priority. Only after rehydration completes can the blob be downloaded and opened.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-104 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-104 exam.