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 managed data disk was accidentally deleted from a VM. A snapshot taken the day before is still available. Which two actions should the administrator perform to recover the data? Select two.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a new managed disk from the snapshot.
Option A is correct because a snapshot is a point-in-time, read-only copy of a managed disk. To recover the data, you must create a new managed disk from the snapshot using the `az disk create --source` command or the Azure portal. This new disk will contain the exact data as it existed when the snapshot was taken.
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.
✓
Create a new managed disk from the snapshot.
Why this is correct
A snapshot must be turned into a managed disk before it can be attached to a running VM.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Attach the new managed disk to the VM.
Why this is correct
After the disk is created, attaching it returns the data volume to the VM for use again.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Mount the snapshot directly as a data disk.
Why it's wrong here
A snapshot is not directly attachable as a live disk to an Azure VM.
✗
Redeploy the VM and reinstall the operating system.
Why it's wrong here
The operating system does not need to be rebuilt when only a data disk was deleted.
✗
Delete the snapshot after verifying it exists.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting the snapshot would remove the recovery source before the data is restored.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse snapshots with disks, assuming a snapshot can be directly attached to a VM, when in fact Azure requires an explicit disk creation step from the snapshot before attachment.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, an Azure managed disk snapshot is a full copy of the disk's VHD at the block level, stored as a page blob snapshot in Azure Storage. When you create a new managed disk from a snapshot, Azure performs a background copy of the snapshot's blocks to a new page blob, which then becomes a writable managed disk. This process uses incremental snapshots by default in newer API versions, meaning only changed blocks are copied, reducing creation time and cost.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-104 question in full detail.
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: Create a new managed disk from the snapshot. — Option A is correct because a snapshot is a point-in-time, read-only copy of a managed disk. To recover the data, you must create a new managed disk from the snapshot using the `az disk create --source` command or the Azure portal. This new disk will contain the exact data as it existed when the snapshot was taken.
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.
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Question Discussion
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