AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
A company hosts documents in Azure Blob Storage. The files must remain available if one availability zone in the region fails. Which redundancy option should the administrator choose?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse LRS (three copies in one datacenter) with zone-level redundancy, or they incorrectly assume GRS or RA-GRS are needed for intra-region availability, when ZRS is the correct choice for zone failure protection within a single region.
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
✓
ZRS, because it stores copies across multiple availability zones in the region.
B is correct because Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three Azure availability zones within a primary region, ensuring data remains accessible if one zone fails. This meets the requirement for high availability within a single region without relying on a secondary region.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
LRS, because it keeps three copies within one datacenter.
Why it's wrong here
LRS keeps three synchronous copies within a single datacentre, so an availability zone failure can take the data offline. It suits non-critical workloads tolerating facility-level loss; zone resilience requires ZRS, which spreads replicas across three zones in the region.
When this WOULD be correct
A question requiring protection against a single datacenter failure (e.g., disk or server failure) within a region, with no need for zone-level resilience, would make LRS correct.
- ✓
ZRS, because it stores copies across multiple availability zones in the region.
Why this is correct
ZRS replicates data synchronously across three availability zones within the region, so blobs remain available if one zone fails. LRS keeps three copies in a single zone, which would be lost in a zone outage.
- ✗
GRS, because it automatically makes the account available in another region for reads.
Why it's wrong here
GRS replicates asynchronously to a paired region, protecting against regional outages, but within the primary region data still resides in a single zone. Zone-level failure requires ZRS, which synchronously replicates across three availability zones in the same region.
When this WOULD be correct
An exam question requiring data to remain available if an entire region fails, with the need for automatic failover to a secondary region for disaster recovery, would make GRS the correct choice.
- ✗
RA-GRS, because it is the only option that keeps a secondary copy.
Why it's wrong here
RA-GRS adds read access to the secondary region but, like GRS, keeps the primary copy in one zone; a zone failure still affects the primary endpoint. Zone resilience requires ZRS, and LRS and GRS also maintain secondary copies, so the claim of exclusivity is false.
When this WOULD be correct
RA-GRS would be correct if the question required data to remain available during a region-wide outage and allowed read access from a secondary region, e.g., 'The company needs read access to data even if the primary region becomes unavailable.'
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.
✓ZRS, because it stores copies across multiple availability zones in the region.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
ZRS replicates data synchronously across three availability zones within the region, so blobs remain available if one zone fails. LRS keeps three copies in a single zone, which would be lost in a zone outage.
✗LRS, because it keeps three copies within one datacenter.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
LRS replicates data three times within a single datacenter, not across availability zones. It does not protect against an entire availability zone failure, which is the requirement in the question.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question requiring protection against a single datacenter failure (e.g., disk or server failure) within a region, with no need for zone-level resilience, would make LRS correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse LRS's three copies as providing zone-level redundancy, or they may not understand that availability zones span multiple datacenters, not a single one.
✗GRS, because it automatically makes the account available in another region for reads.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
GRS replicates data to a secondary region, not across availability zones within the same region, so it does not protect against a single zone failure in the primary region.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An exam question requiring data to remain available if an entire region fails, with the need for automatic failover to a secondary region for disaster recovery, would make GRS the correct choice.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse zone-redundant storage with geo-redundant storage, thinking that any 'redundant' option provides zone-level protection, or they may overestimate GRS's capabilities within a single region.
✗RA-GRS, because it is the only option that keeps a secondary copy.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
RA-GRS provides read access to a secondary region, not availability zone resilience. The question requires availability within a single region if one zone fails, which ZRS provides, not RA-GRS.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
RA-GRS would be correct if the question required data to remain available during a region-wide outage and allowed read access from a secondary region, e.g., 'The company needs read access to data even if the primary region becomes unavailable.'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think RA-GRS is the most resilient option because it includes geo-replication and read access, overlooking that the question specifically asks for zone-level fault tolerance within a single region.
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 Import/Export Service and Data Box
Key term
Zone-redundant storage
Zone-redundant storage is a data replication method that stores copies of your data in multiple physical locations within a cloud region, so your data remains safe and available even if one entire data center fails.
Key term
Region
A region is a distinct geographic location where a cloud provider operates multiple data centers that are connected by low-latency networks and provide cloud services.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every AZ-104 question from scratch — 1,053 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.