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A build server hosted in a company datacenter must deploy ARM templates to a target resource group in Azure without storing a user password. The server is not running in Azure, and the team wants to authorize deployments with Azure RBAC. What should be configured?

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A build server hosted in a company datacenter must deploy ARM templates to a target resource group in Azure without storing a user password. The server is not running in Azure, and the team wants to authorize deployments with Azure RBAC. What should be configured?

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.

A

Best answer

A service principal authenticated with a certificate and assigned RBAC on the target scope

This works from outside Azure and supports noninteractive authentication with Azure RBAC authorization.

B

Distractor review

A system-assigned managed identity on the build server

Managed identities are tied to Azure resources, so this option is not available for an on-premises server.

C

Distractor review

A personal user account with multifactor authentication

This is harder to automate and does not meet the requirement to avoid user-password storage.

D

Distractor review

A shared access signature for the resource group

SAS is a storage-specific delegation mechanism and cannot authorize ARM template deployment.

Common exam trap

Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic

NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.

Technical deep dive

How to think about this question

NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.

KKey Concepts to Remember

  • Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
  • PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
  • Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
  • NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.

TExam Day Tips

  • Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
  • Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
  • Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.

Related practice questions

Related AZ-104 practice-question pages

Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.

More questions from this exam

Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.

FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this AZ-104 question test?

Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: A service principal authenticated with a certificate and assigned RBAC on the target scope — For automation that runs outside Azure, a service principal is the standard noninteractive identity for Azure RBAC-based access. Using a certificate is more secure than storing a password or client secret in a script because the private key can be protected and rotated under standard enterprise controls. The service principal can be granted only the required role on the target resource group, which keeps deployment permissions narrowly scoped and audit-friendly. Why others are wrong: A system-assigned managed identity is only available on supported Azure resources, not on an on-premises build server. A personal user account introduces interactive sign-in friction and poor automation hygiene. A shared access signature works for storage data access, not for ARM deployments or resource management. The service principal with certificate authentication is the secure, Azure-supported pattern for external automation.

What should I do if I get this AZ-104 question wrong?

Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.

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