Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A subnet contains 15 backend VMs that only need outbound internet access for patching and package downloads. Security wants all outbound connections to use one static public IP address, and no VM should have a public IP assigned directly. What should you configure?
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
A public Standard Load Balancer with outbound rules for the backend pool.
Outbound rules can provide SNAT, but this is not the simplest or most direct option when you want a single static outbound IP for a subnet. Load balancers are usually chosen for inbound distribution as well.
B
Best answer
A NAT gateway associated with the subnet.
A NAT gateway is designed for outbound-only connectivity from a subnet and provides a predictable public IP or prefix for SNAT. It satisfies the requirement for one static outbound address without assigning public IPs to individual VMs or exposing inbound access. This is the preferred Azure pattern for backend VMs that only need internet egress.
C
Distractor review
A public IP address on each virtual machine so all outbound traffic is traceable.
Assigning public IPs directly to VMs violates the requirement not to expose the VMs individually. It also creates multiple outbound addresses instead of one static IP.
D
Distractor review
An internal load balancer with a private frontend IP.
An internal load balancer supports private inbound traffic inside the network. It does not provide the requested single public outbound SNAT address for internet access.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: usable hosts are not the same as total addresses
Subnetting questions often tempt you into counting all addresses. In normal IPv4 subnets, the network and broadcast addresses are not usable host addresses.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
Subnetting questions test whether you can identify the network, broadcast address, usable range, mask and correct subnet. Slow down enough to calculate the block size correctly.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
- Block size helps identify subnet boundaries.
- Network and broadcast addresses are not usable hosts in normal IPv4 subnets.
- The required host count determines the smallest suitable subnet.
TExam Day Tips
- Write the block size before choosing the subnet.
- Check whether the question asks for hosts, subnets or a specific address range.
- Do not confuse /24, /25, /26 and /27 host counts.
Related practice questions
Related AZ-104 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
AZ-104 Azure RBAC practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 Azure RBAC.
AZ-104 storage account practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 storage account.
AZ-104 virtual network practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 virtual network.
AZ-104 NSG practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 NSG.
AZ-104 Azure Monitor practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 Azure Monitor.
AZ-104 backup practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 backup.
AZ-104 managed identity practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 managed identity.
AZ-104 load balancer practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 load balancer.
AZ-104 Azure Policy practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 Azure Policy.
AZ-104 virtual machine practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 virtual machine.
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?
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: A NAT gateway associated with the subnet. — A NAT gateway is the best fit for subnet-level outbound internet access when you want a consistent public source IP and do not need inbound publishing. It performs source NAT for all flows leaving the associated subnet and removes the need to place public IPs on the individual VMs. This is a common solution for patching, software downloads, and other egress-only scenarios. Why others are wrong: A load balancer can help with outbound rules, but NAT gateway is the direct service for outbound-only SNAT at the subnet level. Assigning public IPs to each VM defeats the goal of a single static address. An internal load balancer is for private traffic inside the network and does not provide public outbound connectivity.
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.
Discussion
Loading comments…
Sign in to join the discussion.