AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question
A team needs to deploy a set of Azure VMs that will run a batch processing job. The job requires a large amount of temporary storage that is not persisted and can be lost if the VM is moved. The VMs will be deallocated after the job completes. Which VM component should the team utilize for this temporary storage?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that any attached disk can be used for temporary storage, but only the temporary disk is non-persistent and locally attached.
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
✓
The temporary disk (D: drive on Windows, /dev/sdb on Linux)
The temporary disk is designed for short-term storage of data that does not need to be persisted, such as page files, swap files, or scratch data. It is directly attached to the host and offers better performance than network-based storage. Data on the temporary disk is lost when the VM is deallocated or moved to a different host, which aligns with the batch job's temporary storage needs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A managed data disk attached to the VM
Why it's wrong here
Managed data disks are persistent and can be detached and reattached to other VMs. They are not temporary and their data survives VM deallocation. They are also subject to separate billing. For temporary scratch space that can be lost, a managed data disk is overkill and not the intended use.
- ✗
An Azure Files share mounted to the VM
Why it's wrong here
Azure Files provides SMB or NFS file shares that are persistent and network-based. It is not designed for high-performance temporary storage and incurs network latency. While it can be used for shared data, it does not meet the requirement for non-persistent, locally attached temporary storage.
- ✗
An Azure Blob Storage container accessed via REST API
Why it's wrong here
Blob storage is a durable, scalable object storage service accessed over the network. It is not suitable for high-performance temporary storage needed by a batch job because of network latency and the fact that it persists data. The requirement is for local, non-persistent storage, not remote object storage.
- ✓
The temporary disk (D: drive on Windows, /dev/sdb on Linux)
Why this is correct
The temporary disk is directly attached to the physical host and provides low-latency, high-performance storage ideal for temporary data like batch processing scratch space. It is not persisted and data is lost when the VM is deallocated or moved. This matches the requirement for non-persistent temporary storage.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
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.