A team needs one Azure Files share that can be mounted by both Windows and Linux VMs. The VMs are joined to the same on-premises Active Directory Domain Services domain, and the security team forbids storage account keys. The team also wants to manage access with existing AD group memberships. What should the administrator 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.
Best answer
Use Azure Files over SMB and enable AD DS authentication
Azure Files over SMB supports both Windows and Linux clients, and AD DS authentication lets the team use existing domain identities and groups instead of storage keys. This keeps permissions centralized and avoids embedding secrets in scripts or mount commands. It is the most appropriate choice when both operating systems must share the same file data and access control should come from the established directory service.
Distractor review
Use a blob container and mount it through the Blob API
Blob containers are object storage, not shared file systems, and they do not provide the same SMB file-share experience.
Distractor review
Use anonymous access on an Azure File share
Anonymous access is not appropriate for a secured enterprise file share and would not satisfy the access control requirement.
Distractor review
Use a premium NFS file share with a shared access signature
NFS does not provide the same Windows-and-AD-DS file-sharing model, and a SAS is a secret-based access mechanism that violates the key restriction.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: authentication is not authorization
Logging in proves the user can authenticate. It does not automatically mean the user is allowed to enter privileged or configuration mode. Watch for AAA authorization, privilege level and command authorization details.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This kind of question is testing the difference between identity and permission. A user may successfully log in to a router because authentication is working, but still fail to enter configuration mode because authorization is missing, misconfigured or mapped to a lower privilege level.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Authentication checks who the user is.
- Authorization controls what the user is allowed to do after login.
- Privilege levels affect access to EXEC and configuration commands.
- AAA, TACACS+ and RADIUS can separate login success from command access.
TExam Day Tips
- Do not assume successful login means full administrative access.
- Look for words such as cannot enter configuration mode, privilege level, authorization or command access.
- Separate login problems from permission problems before choosing the answer.
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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?
Authentication checks who the user is.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Azure Files over SMB and enable AD DS authentication — Azure Files with SMB and AD DS authentication is the best fit because it lets both Windows and Linux VMs mount the same share while using existing domain identities and groups for authorization. That avoids storage account keys and keeps administration aligned with the organization's directory service. SMB is the cross-platform file-share protocol in this scenario, and AD DS gives the team centralized permission management without introducing a separate file server. Why others are wrong: Blob containers are not file shares, so they do not satisfy the requirement for a shared mounted folder. Anonymous access is insecure and would bypass the access model entirely. NFS with SAS is the wrong mix of protocol and authentication for a Windows-plus-Linux shared file-service design. The key requirement is a managed file share with directory-based access, which points to Azure Files over SMB with AD DS authentication.
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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