- A
Place both VMs in an availability set.
Why wrong: An availability set spreads VMs across fault and update domains, but it does not protect against an entire datacenter failure.
- B
Deploy the VMs across availability zones.
Availability zones place resources in physically separate datacenters within the same region. If one zone becomes unavailable, the other zone can continue serving traffic. That makes zones the correct choice when the requirement is resilience to a datacenter-scale outage. They provide stronger isolation than availability sets, which mainly protect against host and maintenance failures inside a single datacenter boundary.
- C
Use a proximity placement group for both VMs.
Why wrong: A proximity placement group reduces network latency by placing resources close together. It is a performance feature, not a high-availability feature.
- D
Deploy both VMs in a single-zone virtual machine scale set.
Why wrong: A scale set can simplify management, but a single-zone deployment still depends on one zone. It does not satisfy datacenter failure protection.
AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of deploy and manage azure compute. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company runs two identical Linux VMs for a stateless web app in an Azure region that supports availability zones. The business requires protection from a full datacenter outage, not just planned host maintenance. Which deployment choice best meets this requirement?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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
Deploy the VMs across availability zones.
Option B is correct because deploying the two VMs across different availability zones ensures that each VM resides in a physically separate datacenter within the region. This architecture protects against a full datacenter outage, as an availability zone failure affects only one zone, leaving the other VM operational. Availability zones provide a 99.99% SLA for VMs when two or more instances are deployed across zones, which aligns with the requirement for protection beyond planned host maintenance.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Place both VMs in an availability set.
Why it's wrong here
An availability set spreads VMs across fault and update domains, but it does not protect against an entire datacenter failure.
- ✓
Deploy the VMs across availability zones.
Why this is correct
Availability zones place resources in physically separate datacenters within the same region. If one zone becomes unavailable, the other zone can continue serving traffic. That makes zones the correct choice when the requirement is resilience to a datacenter-scale outage. They provide stronger isolation than availability sets, which mainly protect against host and maintenance failures inside a single datacenter boundary.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use a proximity placement group for both VMs.
Why it's wrong here
A proximity placement group reduces network latency by placing resources close together. It is a performance feature, not a high-availability feature.
- ✗
Deploy both VMs in a single-zone virtual machine scale set.
Why it's wrong here
A scale set can simplify management, but a single-zone deployment still depends on one zone. It does not satisfy datacenter failure protection.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse availability sets (which protect against rack-level failures within a single datacenter) with availability zones (which protect against full datacenter outages), leading them to choose Option A incorrectly.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Azure availability zones are physically separate datacenters within a region, each with independent power, cooling, and networking. When you deploy VMs across zones, the Azure Load Balancer or Traffic Manager can distribute traffic, and in a zone failure, the remaining zone continues to serve traffic. A real-world scenario is a regional disaster like a power grid failure affecting one datacenter; with zone-redundant deployment, the app remains available without manual intervention.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute — This question tests Deploy and Manage Azure Compute — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Deploy the VMs across availability zones. — Option B is correct because deploying the two VMs across different availability zones ensures that each VM resides in a physically separate datacenter within the region. This architecture protects against a full datacenter outage, as an availability zone failure affects only one zone, leaving the other VM operational. Availability zones provide a 99.99% SLA for VMs when two or more instances are deployed across zones, which aligns with the requirement for protection beyond planned host maintenance.
What should I do if I get this AZ-104 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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