- A
Place the VMs in different availability zones within the same region.
Spreading the workload across multiple availability zones protects against a datacenter-level failure within the region. It also keeps traffic local to the region, which matches the requirement that cross-region failover is not needed.
- B
Use an availability set and expect it to cover a zone outage.
Why wrong: Availability sets protect against host and rack failures through fault and update domains, but they do not span datacenters or zones. A zone outage is outside what an availability set is designed to handle.
- C
Deploy the workload in a zone-enabled virtual machine scale set.
A zone-enabled VM scale set can place instances across zones automatically, which satisfies the need to avoid manual placement errors. It also gives you a platform-managed way to distribute instances for resilience.
- D
Keep all instances in one zone and rely on the load balancer.
Why wrong: A load balancer only distributes traffic among healthy targets; it does not provide zone-level resiliency if every instance lives in the same zone. That design still fails if the zone goes down.
- E
Use a paired region for automatic in-region zone balancing.
Why wrong: A paired region is useful for disaster recovery planning, but it is not an in-region zone balancing feature. The requirement calls for surviving a single datacenter outage without adding cross-region failover.
Quick Answer
The answer is to deploy the workload in a zone-enabled virtual machine scale set and to configure it to span at least two availability zones. This is correct because availability zones are physically separate datacenters within a single Azure region, each with independent power, cooling, and networking; by placing VMs across zones, you ensure that a single datacenter outage cannot take down all instances, and the scale set automatically distributes the VMs across the selected zones, eliminating manual placement errors. On the AZ-104 exam, this question tests your understanding of high-availability architecture within a region versus cross-region disaster recovery, and a common trap is to choose an availability set instead—remember that availability sets protect against rack-level failures within one datacenter, not a full datacenter outage. For a memory tip, think “zones for datacenter doom, sets for rack-room gloom.”
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 customer-facing service needs to survive a single datacenter outage in a zone-supported region. You do not need cross-region failover, but you do need Azure to spread instances without manual placement errors. Which two deployment choices satisfy that goal? Select two.
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
Place the VMs in different availability zones within the same region.
Option A is correct because availability zones are physically separate datacenters within a region, each with independent power, cooling, and networking. Placing VMs in different zones ensures that a single datacenter outage does not affect all instances, meeting the survivability requirement without manual placement errors. Azure automatically distributes VMs across selected zones, eliminating human error in instance placement.
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 the VMs in different availability zones within the same region.
Why this is correct
Spreading the workload across multiple availability zones protects against a datacenter-level failure within the region. It also keeps traffic local to the region, which matches the requirement that cross-region failover is not needed.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use an availability set and expect it to cover a zone outage.
Why it's wrong here
Availability sets protect against host and rack failures through fault and update domains, but they do not span datacenters or zones. A zone outage is outside what an availability set is designed to handle.
- ✓
Deploy the workload in a zone-enabled virtual machine scale set.
Why this is correct
A zone-enabled VM scale set can place instances across zones automatically, which satisfies the need to avoid manual placement errors. It also gives you a platform-managed way to distribute instances for resilience.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Keep all instances in one zone and rely on the load balancer.
Why it's wrong here
A load balancer only distributes traffic among healthy targets; it does not provide zone-level resiliency if every instance lives in the same zone. That design still fails if the zone goes down.
- ✗
Use a paired region for automatic in-region zone balancing.
Why it's wrong here
A paired region is useful for disaster recovery planning, but it is not an in-region zone balancing feature. The requirement calls for surviving a single datacenter outage without adding cross-region failover.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing availability sets (which protect against rack failures within a single datacenter) with availability zones (which protect against full datacenter outages), leading candidates to incorrectly select Option B as a valid solution for zone-level resilience.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Availability zones offer a 99.99% SLA for VMs when two or more instances are deployed across two or more zones, compared to 99.95% for availability sets. A zone-enabled virtual machine scale set (Option C) automatically distributes instances across zones based on a 'zone balance' property, which can be set to 'true' to ensure even distribution without manual intervention. Under the hood, each zone corresponds to one or more distinct datacenters with a minimum latency of 1-2 milliseconds between zones, ensuring physical separation while maintaining low-latency connectivity.
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.
- →
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All AZ-104 questions
1,170 questions across all exam domains
- →
AZ-104 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
AZ-104 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
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.
Manage Azure Identities and Governance practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Manage Azure Identities and Governance.
Implement and Manage Storage practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Implement and Manage Storage.
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Deploy and Manage Azure Compute.
Implement and Manage Virtual Networking practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Implement and Manage Virtual Networking.
Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources.
AZ-104 Azure RBAC practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 Azure RBAC.
AZ-104 storage account practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 storage account.
AZ-104 virtual network practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 virtual network.
AZ-104 NSG practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 NSG.
AZ-104 Azure Monitor practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 Azure Monitor.
AZ-104 backup practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 backup.
AZ-104 managed identity practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 managed identity.
Practice this exam
Start a free AZ-104 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
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: Place the VMs in different availability zones within the same region. — Option A is correct because availability zones are physically separate datacenters within a region, each with independent power, cooling, and networking. Placing VMs in different zones ensures that a single datacenter outage does not affect all instances, meeting the survivability requirement without manual placement errors. Azure automatically distributes VMs across selected zones, eliminating human error in instance placement.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Keep practising
More AZ-104 practice questions
- A storage automation service principal must upload, read, and delete blob data in one container by using Microsoft Entra…
- A subnet contains several application servers. You need to allow inbound TCP 3389 only from a management subnet named Su…
- A subscription admin wants to investigate who changed a resource and also review the platform-generated events for that…
- Based on the exhibit, which Azure feature should the administrator use to track this kind of platform-wide service issue…
- An administrator wants a script running on an Azure VM to create a resource in Azure without storing any passwords or cl…
- A PowerShell script runs on an Azure VM every night and uses Azure CLI commands to create tags and VM resources in anoth…
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.