AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
A records archive stores thousands of blobs that are usually read-only. The administrator wants blobs older than 90 days to move automatically to a lower-cost online tier without manual intervention. Which solution should be configured?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse object replication (which copies data for redundancy) with lifecycle management (which changes the tier of existing blobs), or they assume that setting the entire account to Archive is equivalent to per-blob tiering, ignoring the operational impact on frequently accessed data.
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
✓
Create a blob lifecycle management policy with a rule that moves blobs after 90 days.
Azure Blob Storage lifecycle management policies allow you to define rules that automatically transition blobs to a lower-cost access tier (e.g., from Hot to Cool or from Cool to Archive) based on the age of the blob. In this scenario, a rule can be configured to move blobs older than 90 days to the Cool or Archive tier without any manual intervention, meeting the requirement for automated cost optimization.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Manually change each blob tier when the archive team remembers to review it.
Why it's wrong here
Manual tier changes violate the core requirement for automated, policy-driven lifecycle management. Relying on the archive team's memory is inherently unreliable, and each manual review would require individually selecting blobs and calling Set Blob Tier, which does not scale to thousands of blobs and leaves the process dependent on human intervention rather than enforcing a consistent 90-day transition rule.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question specified a one-time migration or a scenario where automation is not possible due to compliance or security restrictions, manual tier changes might be acceptable.
- ✓
Create a blob lifecycle management policy with a rule that moves blobs after 90 days.
Why this is correct
A lifecycle management policy automates tier transitions based on blob age, last access time, or other conditions. In this case, the administrator can create a rule that moves blobs older than 90 days from a higher-cost tier to a lower-cost online tier, such as Cool, without manual work. This is the right control because it enforces a repeatable storage cost strategy over time.
- ✗
Enable object replication so the blobs are copied to another storage account.
Why it's wrong here
Object replication only creates asynchronous copies of blobs in a second storage account; it does not modify the access tier of the source or destination blobs. While replication can help with availability or geographic dispersion, it does not satisfy the need to automatically move blobs to a lower-cost online tier based on their age, and it would actually incur additional storage and transaction costs without achieving the required tier transition.
- ✗
Move the account to the Archive access tier and leave it there permanently.
Why it's wrong here
Archive is an offline access tier that requires rehydration before data can be read, making it unsuitable for blobs that are described as usually accessed and needing online availability. Additionally, storage accounts do not have an 'Archive access tier' as a whole; you configure access tiers at the blob level, so moving the entire account concept is technically invalid and would also prevent immediate access if the data is needed before the 90-day threshold.
When this WOULD be correct
A question where blobs must be stored at the absolute lowest cost and are never expected to be read again (e.g., regulatory compliance data that must be retained but never accessed). The scenario would specify that immediate access is not required and rehydration costs are acceptable.
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.
✓Create a blob lifecycle management policy with a rule that moves blobs after 90 days.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
A lifecycle management policy automates tier transitions based on blob age, last access time, or other conditions. In this case, the administrator can create a rule that moves blobs older than 90 days from a higher-cost tier to a lower-cost online tier, such as Cool, without manual work. This is the right control because it enforces a repeatable storage cost strategy over time.
✗Manually change each blob tier when the archive team remembers to review it.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Manually changing blob tiers requires ongoing human intervention, which contradicts the requirement for automatic movement without manual effort.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question specified a one-time migration or a scenario where automation is not possible due to compliance or security restrictions, manual tier changes might be acceptable.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think manual review is a simple solution and overlook the automation requirement, or they may underestimate the volume of blobs involved.
✗Move the account to the Archive access tier and leave it there permanently.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Moving the entire storage account to the Archive tier permanently would make all blobs inaccessible for immediate reads (requiring rehydration) and incurs higher costs for blobs that are accessed frequently. The question requires a lower-cost online tier, and Archive is an offline tier with higher retrieval costs and latency.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question where blobs must be stored at the absolute lowest cost and are never expected to be read again (e.g., regulatory compliance data that must be retained but never accessed). The scenario would specify that immediate access is not required and rehydration costs are acceptable.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Archive is the cheapest tier and assume moving the entire account is simpler than configuring lifecycle policies, overlooking that Archive is offline and incurs high retrieval costs.
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
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Key term
Blob
A blob is a large piece of unstructured data, like a photo or video, stored in the cloud with a unique identifier.
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.
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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.