The answer is RA-GZRS, or Read-Access Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage. This option meets both requirements because it combines zone-redundant storage (ZRS) within the primary region, ensuring data survives a single availability zone outage, with geo-redundant storage (GRS) that replicates data to a secondary region. The critical “RA” prefix enables immediate read access to the most recently replicated copy in the secondary region after a primary region failure, even when writes are temporarily unavailable. On the AZ-104 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of Azure Storage redundancy options for zone and geo disaster recovery, often appearing as a scenario where you must distinguish between GZRS and RA-GZRS. A common trap is choosing GZRS alone, which does not allow read access until Microsoft initiates a failover. Remember the mnemonic: “RA-GZRS = Read Always after Geo-Zone failure,” emphasizing that the read-access feature is what makes it the right choice for immediate operational continuity.
AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage storage. 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 media company stores project video assets in Azure Blob Storage. The business requires the data to survive a single availability zone outage in the primary region. In addition, if the primary region becomes unavailable, operations staff must still be able to read the most recently replicated copy from the secondary region right away, even if writes are temporarily unavailable. Which redundancy option best meets this requirement?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
RA-GZRS
RA-GZRS (Read-Access Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage) is correct because it combines zone-redundant storage (ZRS) within the primary region to survive a single availability zone outage, and geo-redundant storage (GRS) to replicate data to a secondary region. The 'RA' prefix enables read access to the secondary region immediately after a primary region failure, allowing operations staff to read the most recently replicated copy even if writes are temporarily unavailable.
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.
✗
ZRS
Why it's wrong here
Zone-redundant storage survives a zone failure, but it does not provide a readable secondary region.
✗
GZRS
Why it's wrong here
Geo-zone-redundant storage adds geo-replication, but the secondary region is not directly readable.
✗
RA-GRS
Why it's wrong here
Read-access geo-redundant storage gives secondary read access, but it does not protect against zone failure in the primary region.
✓
RA-GZRS
Why this is correct
Read-access geo-zone-redundant storage combines zone resilience with geo-replication and secondary read access.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "best", "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse GZRS with RA-GZRS, forgetting that GZRS alone does not provide read access to the secondary region; the 'RA' prefix is required for immediate read access during a primary region outage.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
RA-GZRS uses three availability zones in the primary region for ZRS (synchronous replication within zones) and then asynchronously replicates to a single zone in the secondary region using LRS. The 'RA' feature works by maintaining a separate read-only endpoint (e.g., https://<storage-account>-secondary.blob.core.windows.net) that serves the last successful geo-replication checkpoint, enabling immediate reads after a primary region outage without waiting for a failover. In a real-world scenario, if the primary region suffers a catastrophic failure, operations staff can instantly access the secondary copy via the read-only endpoint to retrieve video assets, while writes remain unavailable until Microsoft initiates a failover.
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
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-104 question in full detail.
Implement and Manage Storage — This question tests Implement and Manage Storage — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: RA-GZRS — RA-GZRS (Read-Access Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage) is correct because it combines zone-redundant storage (ZRS) within the primary region to survive a single availability zone outage, and geo-redundant storage (GRS) to replicate data to a secondary region. The 'RA' prefix enables read access to the secondary region immediately after a primary region failure, allowing operations staff to read the most recently replicated copy even if writes are temporarily unavailable.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best", "primary". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company wants its file share data to be automatically copied to a paired Azure region, and administrators want to read the secondary copy during a disaster test. Which redundancy option should they use?
easy
A.ZRS
B.LRS
✓ C.RA-GRS
D.Cool
Why C: RA-GRS (Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage) is correct because it replicates data to a paired secondary region asynchronously and provides read-only access to that secondary copy. This allows administrators to read the secondary copy during a disaster test without impacting the primary region. ZRS and LRS do not replicate to a paired region, and Cool is a tier, not a redundancy option.
Variation 2. An Azure Files share must stay available if one availability zone in its primary region fails. The business does not need replication to another region. Which redundancy option should you choose for the storage account?
easy
A.Locally redundant storage (LRS)
✓ B.Zone-redundant storage (ZRS)
C.Geo-redundant storage (GRS)
D.Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS)
Why B: Zone-redundant storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates your Azure Files share across three Azure availability zones within the primary region. This ensures the share remains available if one zone fails, without requiring replication to another region. LRS only replicates within a single data center, while GRS and RA-GRS involve secondary region replication, which the business does not need.
Variation 3. A workload must keep storage available if one availability zone in the primary region fails. Geo-failover is optional, but the account must still meet the zone-failure requirement. Which two redundancy options satisfy this? Select two.
medium
A.LRS
✓ B.ZRS
C.GRS
✓ D.GZRS
E.RA-GRS
Why B: B is correct because Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three availability zones within a single region, ensuring durability and availability even if one zone fails. This meets the requirement of keeping storage available during a zone failure without relying on geo-failover.
Variation 4. A team wants a storage option that stays available if one availability zone in the primary region fails. Which two redundancy options meet that requirement? Select two.
easy
✓ A.Zone-redundant storage (ZRS).
✓ B.Geo-zone-redundant storage (GZRS).
C.Locally redundant storage (LRS).
D.Geo-redundant storage (GRS).
E.Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS).
Why A: Zone-redundant storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three Azure availability zones within the primary region. If one zone fails, the data remains accessible from the other zones, ensuring high availability without requiring failover to a secondary region.
Variation 5. You need a storage redundancy option that keeps data available if an entire availability zone in the primary region fails, but you do not need cross-region replication. Which redundancy option should you choose?
medium
A.LRS
✓ B.ZRS
C.GRS
D.RA-GRS
Why B: B is correct because Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three Azure availability zones within a single region, ensuring data remains available if an entire zone fails. This meets the requirement of no cross-region replication while providing zone-level fault tolerance.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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