AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
A lifecycle rule moved old audit logs to the Archive tier. A support engineer now needs to read one archived blob, and the download request fails with a message that the blob is archived. The engineer can wait several hours for the data to become available. What should the administrator do?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse storage account settings (versioning, replication, container moves) with blob-tier operations, failing to recognize that only a tier change initiates rehydration for archived blobs.
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
✓
Change the blob tier from Archive to Hot or Cool to start rehydration.
Archived blobs in Azure Storage are offline and cannot be read directly. To access the data, the blob must first be rehydrated by changing its tier to Hot or Cool, which initiates an asynchronous copy of the blob data to an online tier. This process can take up to 15 hours, matching the engineer's ability to wait several hours.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable versioning on the storage account so the archived blob can be read immediately.
Why it's wrong here
Versioning does not make archived blobs online or readable. It helps preserve previous versions of objects, but it does not change the access tier or rehydrate archived content. The blob would still be unavailable until it is restored from Archive.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked for a way to protect against accidental deletion or overwrite of blobs, enabling versioning would be correct.
- ✓
Change the blob tier from Archive to Hot or Cool to start rehydration.
Why this is correct
Archived blobs are offline and cannot be read until they are rehydrated. Changing the access tier to Hot or Cool begins the rehydration process, after which the blob becomes available again. Because the engineer can wait, this is the correct administrative action rather than copying the data elsewhere or changing account settings.
- ✗
Move the blob to a different container in the same storage account.
Why it's wrong here
Moving the blob to another container does not restore access to archived data. The archive state is attached to the blob itself, so relocating it does not make it readable. The blob must first be rehydrated from Archive.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked how to organize blobs into separate containers for lifecycle management or access control, moving a blob to a different container would be correct.
- ✗
Switch the storage account replication from LRS to ZRS.
Why it's wrong here
Replication settings affect resilience, not whether a blob in Archive can be read. Changing redundancy does not rehydrate archived data and will not resolve the immediate access failure. The issue is the access tier, not the replication model.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to increase data durability and availability across zones for a storage account that currently uses LRS, and the change can be made without downtime.
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.
✓Change the blob tier from Archive to Hot or Cool to start rehydration.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Archived blobs are offline and cannot be read until they are rehydrated. Changing the access tier to Hot or Cool begins the rehydration process, after which the blob becomes available again. Because the engineer can wait, this is the correct administrative action rather than copying the data elsewhere or changing account settings.
✗Enable versioning on the storage account so the archived blob can be read immediately.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Enabling versioning does not allow immediate reading of an archived blob; the blob must be rehydrated to a hot or cool tier before it can be accessed.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked for a way to protect against accidental deletion or overwrite of blobs, enabling versioning would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think versioning provides a way to access different versions of the blob, but it does not bypass the need to rehydrate archived blobs.
✗Move the blob to a different container in the same storage account.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Moving a blob to a different container does not change its access tier; the blob remains in the Archive tier and cannot be read until rehydrated.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked how to organize blobs into separate containers for lifecycle management or access control, moving a blob to a different container would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that moving the blob to a new container resets its tier or bypasses the archive restriction, confusing container operations with tier changes.
✗Switch the storage account replication from LRS to ZRS.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Switching replication from LRS to ZRS does not change the blob's tier; the blob remains in Archive tier and still requires rehydration before it can be read.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to increase data durability and availability across zones for a storage account that currently uses LRS, and the change can be made without downtime.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that changing replication affects data accessibility, but it does not alter the blob's access tier or initiate rehydration.
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
Managed Identities for Azure Resources
Key term
Audit
An audit is a systematic, independent review of IT systems, processes, and controls to verify compliance with policies, standards, and regulations.
Key term
Archive tier
Archive tier is an ultra-low-cost Azure Blob Storage access tier designed for long-term retention of data that is rarely accessed and can tolerate hours of retrieval latency.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every AZ-104 question from scratch — 1,049 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.