Question 1easymultiple choice
Full question →easymultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A newly created VM must read secrets from Azure Key Vault. The solution must not store credentials on the VM, and the identity should disappear automatically when the VM is deleted. What should the administrator enable?
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
Distractor review
User-assigned managed identity
A user-assigned managed identity can be shared, but it does not automatically disappear when a single VM is deleted.
B
Best answer
System-assigned managed identity
A system-assigned managed identity is tied directly to one VM. Azure creates and manages the identity for that resource, so no passwords or client secrets need to be stored on the server. When the VM is deleted, the identity is removed automatically, which satisfies both security and lifecycle requirements.
C
Distractor review
A service principal with a stored client secret
A service principal requires a secret or certificate, which creates the credential storage problem the requirement explicitly forbids.
D
Distractor review
A storage account access key
A storage account key is unrelated to Key Vault authentication and would not provide the requested identity-based access pattern.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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.
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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?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: System-assigned managed identity — A system-assigned managed identity is the best choice when one VM needs secure access to Azure resources without storing credentials. Azure automatically creates the identity for that VM, and it is deleted with the VM. The administrator can grant Key Vault permissions to the identity and let the workload authenticate without secrets, which reduces operational risk and credential management overhead. Why others are wrong: A user-assigned managed identity is useful when multiple resources share the same identity, but it does not meet the requirement for automatic deletion with the VM. A service principal with a secret introduces long-lived credentials on the server. A storage account key is not relevant to Key Vault access and would not solve the identity requirement.
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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