Question 1hardmultiple choice
Full question →hardmultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A build server in an on-premises datacenter must deploy ARM templates to Azure. The automation must not use a human account password, and Microsoft Entra conditional access for device sign-in is not available because the server is outside Azure. The security team allows a non-human credential but wants the strongest practical option for this scenario. What should the administrator configure?
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
Distractor review
A system-assigned managed identity on the build server.
Managed identities require an Azure resource, so they are not available for a server running on-premises.
B
Best answer
A service principal authenticated with a certificate.
A certificate-based service principal is suitable for non-interactive automation outside Azure and avoids storing a user password.
C
Distractor review
A user-assigned managed identity shared with the build server.
User-assigned managed identities still require an Azure resource to attach to and cannot be used directly on an on-premises server.
D
Distractor review
A resource lock on the target resource group to permit template deployment.
A lock does not authenticate the build server or grant it permission to deploy templates.
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.
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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.
Question 1
A route table contains these entries: 10.0.0.0/8 with next hop Virtual appliance, and 10.1.1.0/24 with next hop Virtual network gateway. Which next hop will Azure use for traffic to 10.1.1.5?
Question 2
You are deploying a stateless web application on Azure virtual machines. The solution must automatically add and remove instances based on CPU demand and allow all instances to be managed as one logical group. Which Azure compute feature should you deploy?
Question 3
You are deploying a Windows Server VM for an internal app. The VM must support Secure Boot and vTPM later, its OS disk must survive host moves, and the team wants the lowest-cost managed disk tier that still behaves like a normal writable OS disk. Which two choices should you make? Select two.
Question 4
You need to deploy several identical virtual machines and ensure that the failure of a single Azure host does not affect all of them. Which feature should you use?
Question 5
You need to connect VNet-Hub and VNet-Spoke so that resources in both virtual networks can communicate privately over the Microsoft backbone. Both virtual networks are in the same region. What should you configure?
Question 6
You need to create a storage account that provides the lowest-cost redundant storage for non-critical data and only needs protection against local disk or server failure within a single datacenter. Which redundancy option should you choose?
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. — Because the build server is outside Azure, managed identity is not an option. For non-interactive automation, a service principal is the correct identity pattern, and using a certificate is stronger than a client secret because it reduces secret exposure and supports more secure credential handling. This approach lets the on-premises server authenticate to Azure without a human password while still supporting ARM template deployment to the target resource group. Why others are wrong: Managed identities only work when attached to supported Azure resources, so neither system-assigned nor user-assigned identity fits an on-premises server. A resource lock affects resource management, not authentication. The scenario explicitly asks for an approach that works outside Azure and avoids a human password; a certificate-based service principal is the practical secure option in that case.
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.
Discussion
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