Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A help desk analyst wants a query in Log Analytics that returns Azure virtual machines that have stopped sending a heartbeat for more than 15 minutes. Which KQL query should the analyst run?
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
Heartbeat | summarize LastSeen=max(TimeGenerated) by Computer | where LastSeen < ago(15m)
This query uses the Heartbeat table to identify the most recent signal from each VM and filters for machines whose latest heartbeat is older than 15 minutes. That is the correct pattern for detecting VMs that are no longer reporting to Log Analytics or Azure Monitor. It is practical, concise, and directly aligned to troubleshooting agent connectivity or VM availability.
B
Distractor review
AzureActivity | where OperationNameValue contains 'Heartbeat' | summarize count() by ResourceGroup
AzureActivity tracks control-plane operations, not VM heartbeat telemetry, so it will not identify silent agents.
C
Distractor review
Perf | where CounterName == '% Processor Time' | summarize avg(CounterValue) by Computer
Perf is useful for performance counters, but CPU data does not indicate whether the VM has stopped sending heartbeat records.
D
Distractor review
SecurityEvent | where EventID == 4624 | summarize count() by Computer
SecurityEvent contains Windows security logs and successful sign-ins, which are unrelated to heartbeat reporting status.
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: Heartbeat | summarize LastSeen=max(TimeGenerated) by Computer | where LastSeen < ago(15m) — The Heartbeat table is the correct source for checking whether an Azure VM is still reporting to Log Analytics. By summarizing the latest TimeGenerated value for each computer and filtering for entries older than 15 minutes, the analyst can quickly find VMs that have gone quiet. This is a common troubleshooting pattern for agent connectivity, guest health, or onboarding problems in Azure Monitor. Why others are wrong: AzureActivity shows management operations, not heartbeat telemetry. Perf contains performance counters such as CPU or memory, but not the agent heartbeat signal. SecurityEvent is for Windows security logs and sign-in events, which do not indicate whether the VM is still sending monitoring data. The Heartbeat table is the only option that matches the problem directly.
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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