AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
A blob was moved to the Archive tier last month. A user now needs to open the file within a few hours. What should the administrator do first?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume the Archive tier is readable like Cool or Hot, or that snapshots or versioning bypass the rehydration requirement, but Azure explicitly blocks direct access to archived blobs until they are rehydrated.
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 to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to complete
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, which initiates a rehydration process that makes the blob available for reading. Since the user needs the file within a few hours, rehydration typically completes within that timeframe (up to 15 hours for Archive to Cool/Hot).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Download the blob directly from the Archive tier
Why it's wrong here
Archive-tier blobs are stored in a cold storage layer that requires an explicit rehydration step before any data can be read or downloaded. Because the blob is offline, the storage service will either fail the download request or return a 403 error indicating the blob is in archive and must first be rehydrated. Direct download is not supported, and attempting it incurs no benefit; you must first change the tier to Hot or Cool (or use an asynchronous copy) and wait for the data to be brought online.
When this WOULD be correct
If the blob is already in the Hot or Cool tier (not Archive), or if the question specifies that the blob is in the Cool tier and the user needs immediate access, then downloading directly would be correct.
- ✓
Change the blob to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to complete
Why this is correct
The correct action is to set the blob’s access tier to Hot or Cool by issuing a Set Blob Tier operation. Once the tier-change request is submitted, the service automatically rehydrates the blob from Archive, which can take up to 15 hours depending on the rehydration priority you specify; the blob is not readable until the process completes. After rehydration, the blob becomes accessible for normal read/update operations, although you may also choose to copy the blob out to a new online-tier blob to keep the original archived.
- ✗
Create a snapshot of the blob and open the snapshot instead
Why it's wrong here
A snapshot is a read-only, point-in-time copy of a blob, but taking a snapshot of an Archive-tier blob does not produce an online-readable copy; the snapshot inherits the archived state and remains inaccessible until the underlying blob is rehydrated. Moreover, you cannot directly read a snapshot while its base blob is in Archive because the archive tier is designed to keep blobs offline. You would still need to rehydrate either the snapshot or the base blob to access the data, so this action does not solve the problem.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the question asked: 'A user needs to preserve the current state of a blob before modifying it. What should the administrator do first?' In that case, creating a snapshot captures the blob's state at that moment.
- ✗
Enable versioning on the storage account
Why it's wrong here
Enabling blob versioning on the storage account maintains historical versions of a blob whenever it is overwritten, but it does not change the access tier of the current version. Since the blob was moved to Archive, its current version and any subsequent versions (if created) will also be offline and cannot be read until rehydrated. Versioning is a data-protection feature for race-condition safety and recovery, not a mechanism for restoring access to offline archival data.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to protect against accidental deletion or overwrites of blobs. The correct action is to enable versioning on the storage account so that previous versions are preserved and can be restored.
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 to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to completeCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
The correct action is to set the blob’s access tier to Hot or Cool by issuing a Set Blob Tier operation. Once the tier-change request is submitted, the service automatically rehydrates the blob from Archive, which can take up to 15 hours depending on the rehydration priority you specify; the blob is not readable until the process completes. After rehydration, the blob becomes accessible for normal read/update operations, although you may also choose to copy the blob out to a new online-tier blob to keep the original archived.
✗Download the blob directly from the Archive tierWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Blobs in the Archive tier are offline and cannot be downloaded directly; they must first be rehydrated to an online tier (Hot or Cool) before access.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the blob is already in the Hot or Cool tier (not Archive), or if the question specifies that the blob is in the Cool tier and the user needs immediate access, then downloading directly would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may assume that all blobs are immediately accessible regardless of tier, or they may overlook the fact that Archive tier blobs require rehydration before download.
✗Create a snapshot of the blob and open the snapshot insteadWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Creating a snapshot does not rehydrate the blob from Archive tier; snapshots are read-only copies of the blob at the time of creation and remain in the same tier, so the user still cannot access the data without rehydration.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the question asked: 'A user needs to preserve the current state of a blob before modifying it. What should the administrator do first?' In that case, creating a snapshot captures the blob's state at that moment.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think a snapshot provides an immediate accessible copy, misunderstanding that snapshots inherit the source blob's tier and do not bypass rehydration requirements for archived blobs.
✗Enable versioning on the storage accountWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Enabling versioning does not rehydrate a blob from the Archive tier; it only creates new versions on writes. The user needs to rehydrate the blob to a hot or cool tier before accessing it.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to protect against accidental deletion or overwrites of blobs. The correct action is to enable versioning on the storage account so that previous versions are preserved and can be restored.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse versioning with a method to access archived blobs, thinking that creating a new version might allow reading the data without rehydration.
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
Blob
A blob is a large piece of unstructured data, like a photo or video, stored in the cloud with a unique identifier.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every AZ-104 question from scratch — 1,049 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.