AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
A reporting team stores read-only analytics files in Azure Blob Storage. The files must replicate to a paired region so they survive a regional outage, and analysts want to read the secondary copy through the secondary endpoint without waiting for failover. Which redundancy option should the administrator choose?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse GRS with RA-GRS, assuming that GRS automatically provides read access to the secondary copy, but in reality, GRS requires a failover to make the secondary endpoint readable, while RA-GRS explicitly enables read access without failover.
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
✓
RA-GRS
RA-GRS (Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage) is the correct choice because it replicates data to a paired secondary region (geo-redundancy) and enables read access to the secondary copy via the secondary endpoint without requiring a failover. This meets the requirement for both regional disaster recovery and immediate read access to the secondary copy.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
LRS
Why it's wrong here
LRS replicates data three times within a single data centre (or a single availability zone in newer implementations), protecting against server and disk failures but leaving no copy in another region. This localized protection means a regional catastrophe or data-centre-wide outage would make the analytics files inaccessible, and there is no secondary endpoint for read requests. Therefore, LRS falls short of any geographic redundancy requirement.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to store temporary, non-critical data that can be lost if a single rack fails, and cost is the primary concern. LRS is the cheapest option and sufficient for data that can be easily regenerated.
- ✗
ZRS
Why it's wrong here
ZRS synchronously replicates your blob data across three Azure availability zones within the same region, providing high durability against zone-level outages. However, it offers no secondary regional endpoint and cannot survive a full region failure, which is a core requirement for geographically redundant read access. Thus, while ZRS is more resilient than LRS, it does not provide the cross-region read access the reporting team needs.
- ✗
GRS
Why it's wrong here
GRS replicates data asynchronously to a paired secondary region for disaster recovery, but by default that secondary copy is not readable until a failover is executed. The reporting team would have to wait for a failover event — either manually initiated or Microsoft-triggered — before they could access the replicated files, which is not acceptable for their continuous read-only analytics workload. Unlike RA-GRS, GRS lacks an always-on read endpoint to the secondary.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs geo-redundant storage for disaster recovery but does not require immediate read access to the secondary region. They are willing to initiate a manual failover to access the secondary copy if the primary region fails.
- ✓
RA-GRS
Why this is correct
RA-GRS asynchronously copies your blobs to a paired secondary region and exposes a read-only endpoint for that replica without requiring any failover. This always-available secondary read access is exactly what the analysts need to query analytics files from a different geographic location, with a typical 15-minute RPO. Because the secondary is readable even during normal operation, RA-GRS uniquely satisfies the requirement among the redundancy options.
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.
✓RA-GRSCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
RA-GRS asynchronously copies your blobs to a paired secondary region and exposes a read-only endpoint for that replica without requiring any failover. This always-available secondary read access is exactly what the analysts need to query analytics files from a different geographic location, with a typical 15-minute RPO. Because the secondary is readable even during normal operation, RA-GRS uniquely satisfies the requirement among the redundancy options.
✗LRSWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
LRS replicates data only within a single datacenter, not to a paired region, so it does not survive a regional outage or provide a secondary endpoint for read access.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to store temporary, non-critical data that can be lost if a single rack fails, and cost is the primary concern. LRS is the cheapest option and sufficient for data that can be easily regenerated.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may choose LRS because it is the simplest and lowest-cost option, overlooking the requirement for regional disaster recovery and secondary read access.
✗GRSWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
GRS replicates data to a paired region for regional disaster recovery, but it does not provide read access to the secondary copy unless a failover occurs. The question requires analysts to read the secondary copy through the secondary endpoint without waiting for failover, which only RA-GRS supports.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs geo-redundant storage for disaster recovery but does not require immediate read access to the secondary region. They are willing to initiate a manual failover to access the secondary copy if the primary region fails.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse GRS with RA-GRS, assuming that geo-replication automatically allows reading from the secondary endpoint, or they may overlook the 'read-access' distinction in the question.
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
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Managed Identities for Azure Resources
Key term
GRS
GRS (Georedundant Storage) is a data replication method that copies your stored data to a secondary region hundreds of miles away to protect against regional disasters.
Key term
Geo-redundant storage
Geo-redundant storage is a data storage strategy that automatically copies and maintains data in at least two geographically separated locations to protect against regional disasters and ensure high availability.
About these practice questions
One of 1,049 original AZ-104 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on AZ-104
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 reporting application stores files in Azure Blob Storage. The business wants the secondary region to be readable if the primary region becomes unavailable. Which redundancy option should you use?
easy- A.LRS, because it stores all copies in one region only.
- B.ZRS, because it replicates across availability zones.
- ✓ C.RA-GRS, because it provides geo-replication with read access to the secondary endpoint.
- D.Archive, because archived blobs are stored cheaply for long-term retention.
Why C: (RA-GRS) is correct because it provides geo-replication by asynchronously copying data to a secondary region and enables read access to that secondary endpoint. If the primary region becomes unavailable, the application can continue reading from the secondary region, meeting the business requirement for readable secondary access during a primary outage.
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.