- A
Assign Contributor at the subscription scope so the team can manage all resources.
Why wrong: Contributor grants broad management rights across the scope, which is more access than the requirement allows. It would let the team modify many resource types beyond virtual machines. This violates least privilege and increases the chance of unintended changes.
- B
Create a custom RBAC role with only the required VM power actions and assign it at the resource group scope.
A custom role is appropriate when the built-in roles are broader than the actual task. By granting only the VM start, stop, and restart actions needed for that resource group, the administrator keeps permissions tightly limited. Assigning the role at the resource group scope also ensures the team cannot affect resources outside that application boundary.
- C
Assign Reader at the resource group scope and use Azure Policy to permit VM restarts.
Why wrong: Reader provides view-only access and cannot perform operational actions on VMs. Azure Policy does not grant permissions to users; it enforces compliance for resources. This combination cannot satisfy the requirement to restart or stop virtual machines.
- D
Apply a resource lock to the resource group so the team can only make approved changes.
Why wrong: Locks are a change-prevention control, not a permission model for selective operational access. A lock would block some operations, but it would not selectively grant start, stop, or restart permissions. It also would not replace RBAC for least-privilege access.
AZ-104 Manage Azure Identities and Governance Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of manage azure identities and governance. 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 support team must be able to start, stop, and restart virtual machines in one application resource group, but they must not create or delete VMs, modify disks, or manage networking. What is the best access approach?
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.
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 custom RBAC role with only the required VM power actions and assign it at the resource group scope.
Option B is correct because Azure RBAC allows you to create a custom role with specific actions like Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/start/action, Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action, and Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/deallocate/action, and assign it at the resource group scope. This grants the support team exactly the permissions needed to start, stop, and restart VMs without allowing VM creation, deletion, disk modification, or networking changes, adhering to the principle of least privilege.
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.
- ✗
Assign Contributor at the subscription scope so the team can manage all resources.
Why it's wrong here
Contributor grants broad management rights across the scope, which is more access than the requirement allows. It would let the team modify many resource types beyond virtual machines. This violates least privilege and increases the chance of unintended changes.
- ✓
Create a custom RBAC role with only the required VM power actions and assign it at the resource group scope.
Why this is correct
A custom role is appropriate when the built-in roles are broader than the actual task. By granting only the VM start, stop, and restart actions needed for that resource group, the administrator keeps permissions tightly limited. Assigning the role at the resource group scope also ensures the team cannot affect resources outside that application boundary.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Assign Reader at the resource group scope and use Azure Policy to permit VM restarts.
Why it's wrong here
Reader provides view-only access and cannot perform operational actions on VMs. Azure Policy does not grant permissions to users; it enforces compliance for resources. This combination cannot satisfy the requirement to restart or stop virtual machines.
- ✗
Apply a resource lock to the resource group so the team can only make approved changes.
Why it's wrong here
Locks are a change-prevention control, not a permission model for selective operational access. A lock would block some operations, but it would not selectively grant start, stop, or restart permissions. It also would not replace RBAC for least-privilege access.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Policy or resource locks with RBAC, thinking they can grant or restrict permissions, when in fact they are separate governance tools—Policy enforces rules, locks prevent changes, and only RBAC roles control who can perform actions.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Custom RBAC roles are defined using a JSON actions/notActions structure, where you specify resource provider operations like Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/*/action for power actions. The assignment at the resource group scope ensures permissions are scoped only to that group, and the role can be further refined by excluding data plane actions (e.g., Microsoft.Compute/disks/write) to prevent disk modifications. In real-world scenarios, this approach is critical for tiered support teams where Level 1 engineers need operational control without infrastructure changes.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Manage Azure Identities and Governance — This question tests Manage Azure Identities and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a custom RBAC role with only the required VM power actions and assign it at the resource group scope. — Option B is correct because Azure RBAC allows you to create a custom role with specific actions like Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/start/action, Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action, and Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/deallocate/action, and assign it at the resource group scope. This grants the support team exactly the permissions needed to start, stop, and restart VMs without allowing VM creation, deletion, disk modification, or networking changes, adhering to the principle of least privilege.
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". 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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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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