AZ-104 Manage Azure Identities and Governance Practice Question
A management group named Corp contains subscription Sales. RG-App is in Sales and contains several virtual machines. The Auditors group must read every resource in Sales, including resources in future resource groups created under that subscription. The ServerOps group must be able to start, stop, and restart only the virtual machines in RG-App. Which two role assignments should the administrator configure? Select two.
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often assign roles at too broad a scope (e.g., subscription) for ServerOps, thinking it simplifies management, or assign too permissive a role like Owner, not realizing that Virtual Machine Contributor is the precise built-in role for VM start/stop/restart operations.
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
✓
Assign Reader to Auditors at the Sales subscription scope.
Assigning the Reader role to the Auditors group at the Sales subscription scope grants read access to all resources within that subscription, including any future resource groups and resources created under it. This meets the requirement that Auditors must read every resource in Sales, including those in future resource groups.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Assign Reader to Auditors at the Sales subscription scope.
Why this is correct
The Reader role at the subscription scope grants read-only access to all resource groups and resources within the Sales subscription, including current and future resources. Since auditors require visibility across the entire subscription, this scope satisfies the requirement without granting write permissions. It also covers any other resource groups that may exist alongside RG-App.
- ✗
Assign Reader to Auditors at the RG-App resource group scope.
Why it's wrong here
This scope only provides read-only access to the RG-App resource group, leaving other resource groups in the Sales subscription unreadable. Auditors require visibility across the entire Sales subscription, not just a single resource group, so this assignment fails to meet the requirement.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question required read access only to resources in a specific existing resource group (RG-App) and not to future resource groups, then assigning Reader at RG-App scope would be correct.
- ✓
Assign Virtual Machine Contributor to ServerOps at the RG-App resource group scope.
Why this is correct
Scoping the Virtual Machine Contributor role to the RG-App resource group limits the ServerOps team's permissions to only the VMs in that group. The built-in Virtual Machine Contributor role includes permissions to start, stop, restart, and manage VMs, which covers power operations. This follows least privilege by not extending access to other resource groups or the subscription.
- ✗
Assign Virtual Machine Contributor to ServerOps at the Sales subscription scope.
Why it's wrong here
This grants ServerOps the ability to manage VMs in all resource groups within the Sales subscription, which is broader than the stated need for only RG-App. This violates the principle of least privilege because ServerOps should only manage VMs in RG-App, not the entire subscription. It also grants unnecessary permissions to potentially sensitive VMs outside RG-App.
When this WOULD be correct
If the requirement was for ServerOps to manage VMs across all resource groups in the Sales subscription (e.g., to support VMs in multiple groups), then assigning Virtual Machine Contributor at the subscription scope would be correct.
- ✗
Assign Owner to ServerOps at the RG-App resource group scope.
Why it's wrong here
The Owner role at any scope grants full control, including managing permissions and deleting resources, going far beyond the required VM power management capabilities. This violates least privilege as ServerOps only needs to manage VMs (Virtual Machine Contributor), not administer the resource group or its access control. Additionally, Owner includes the ability to grant access to others, which is unnecessary and risky for a VM operations team.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question required ServerOps to manage all aspects of resources in RG-App, including creating and deleting resources and assigning roles to others, then Owner at the RG-App scope would be appropriate.
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.
✓Assign Reader to Auditors at the Sales subscription scope.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
The Reader role at the subscription scope grants read-only access to all resource groups and resources within the Sales subscription, including current and future resources. Since auditors require visibility across the entire subscription, this scope satisfies the requirement without granting write permissions. It also covers any other resource groups that may exist alongside RG-App.
✗Assign Reader to Auditors at the RG-App resource group scope.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Assigning Reader at RG-App scope would not grant read access to resources in future resource groups under the Sales subscription, as required by the question.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question required read access only to resources in a specific existing resource group (RG-App) and not to future resource groups, then assigning Reader at RG-App scope would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that assigning Reader at the resource group scope is sufficient because it covers all resources in that group, overlooking the requirement for future resource groups.
✗Assign Virtual Machine Contributor to ServerOps at the Sales subscription scope.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Assigning Virtual Machine Contributor at the Sales subscription scope grants ServerOps start, stop, and restart permissions on all VMs in the subscription, not just those in RG-App, violating the requirement to limit permissions to RG-App.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the requirement was for ServerOps to manage VMs across all resource groups in the Sales subscription (e.g., to support VMs in multiple groups), then assigning Virtual Machine Contributor at the subscription scope would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think assigning a broader scope is simpler or ensures coverage, overlooking the principle of least privilege and the specific constraint to limit permissions to a single resource group.
✗Assign Owner to ServerOps at the RG-App resource group scope.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Owner grants full control, including permission to assign roles and delete resources, which exceeds the requirement to only start, stop, and restart virtual machines. This violates the principle of least privilege.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question required ServerOps to manage all aspects of resources in RG-App, including creating and deleting resources and assigning roles to others, then Owner at the RG-App scope would be appropriate.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Owner is needed to perform start/stop/restart actions, not realizing Virtual Machine Contributor already includes those permissions without granting excessive rights.
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?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Dynamic Membership Groups
Key term
Group
A group is a collection of users, devices, or other objects that are assigned permissions and policies together for simplified management in identity and governance systems like Microsoft Entra ID.
Key term
Reader role
A Reader role is a predefined set of permissions in identity and governance systems that allows a user to view resources and data but not create, modify, or delete anything.
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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.