Question 546 of 1,170

Implement and Manage Storage →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is to assign the VM a managed identity and grant it the Storage Blob Data Contributor role on the container or storage account. This is correct because a managed identity provides an automatically managed service principal in Azure AD, allowing the Windows service to authenticate to Azure Blob Storage without storing any account keys or long-lived SAS tokens on the VM. On the AZ-104 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how managed identities eliminate secret management for Azure resources, and it often appears alongside trap answers that suggest using Key Vault or SAS tokens. The key distinction is that managed identities are designed for exactly this use case—unattended, keyless authentication from Azure VMs to other Azure services. A helpful memory tip: think “MI for no keys”—Managed Identity means you never have to store a key on the VM.

AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question

This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage storage. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 team runs a Windows service on an Azure virtual machine that uploads invoices to Blob storage every few minutes. Security policy forbids storing account keys or long-lived SAS tokens on the VM. The service must authenticate without human interaction. What should the administrator configure?

Question 1mediummultiple choice

Full question →

A
Generate a SAS token with a 1-year expiry and store it in an encrypted file on the VM.
Why wrong: A long-lived SAS still becomes a reusable secret on the VM, which violates the policy and increases exposure if the host is compromised.
B
Assign the VM a managed identity and grant it Storage Blob Data Contributor on the container or storage account.
A managed identity lets the VM authenticate to Azure Storage without storing credentials. Granting Storage Blob Data Contributor provides the data-plane permissions needed to upload blobs while keeping access tied to Entra ID and RBAC. This satisfies the requirement for noninteractive authentication and avoids account keys or long-lived SAS tokens.
C
Share the storage account access key with the service account and rotate it monthly.
Why wrong: The access key is a high-risk credential that grants broad access to the storage account and must not be stored on the VM under this policy.
D
Create a storage firewall rule that allows the VM's public IP address and keep using anonymous access.
Why wrong: A firewall rule only controls network reachability. It does not provide authentication for blob uploads, and anonymous access would be insecure and generally disabled.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Assign the VM a managed identity and grant it Storage Blob Data Contributor on the container or storage account.

Option B is correct because assigning a managed identity to the VM allows it to authenticate to Azure Blob Storage without any secrets stored on the VM. The managed identity provides an automatically managed service principal in Azure AD, and by granting the Storage Blob Data Contributor role, the service obtains the necessary permissions to upload invoices. This satisfies the security policy forbidding account keys or long-lived SAS tokens and enables unattended authentication.

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.

✗
Generate a SAS token with a 1-year expiry and store it in an encrypted file on the VM.
Why it's wrong here
A long-lived SAS still becomes a reusable secret on the VM, which violates the policy and increases exposure if the host is compromised.
✓
Assign the VM a managed identity and grant it Storage Blob Data Contributor on the container or storage account.
Why this is correct
A managed identity lets the VM authenticate to Azure Storage without storing credentials. Granting Storage Blob Data Contributor provides the data-plane permissions needed to upload blobs while keeping access tied to Entra ID and RBAC. This satisfies the requirement for noninteractive authentication and avoids account keys or long-lived SAS tokens.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Share the storage account access key with the service account and rotate it monthly.
Why it's wrong here
The access key is a high-risk credential that grants broad access to the storage account and must not be stored on the VM under this policy.
✗
Create a storage firewall rule that allows the VM's public IP address and keep using anonymous access.
Why it's wrong here
A firewall rule only controls network reachability. It does not provide authentication for blob uploads, and anonymous access would be insecure and generally disabled.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may think a SAS token or access key is acceptable if encrypted or rotated, but the security policy explicitly forbids storing any secrets on the VM, making managed identity the only compliant option.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Managed identities use the Azure Instance Metadata Service (IMDS) endpoint at 169.254.169.254 to obtain an access token for Azure AD. The token is automatically rotated by Azure, typically every 8 hours, and the service can use it to authenticate to Azure Storage via OAuth 2.0 bearer tokens. In a real-world scenario, if the VM is migrated or reimaged, the managed identity persists and the service continues to work without manual credential management.

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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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.

Manage Azure Identities and Governance practice questions

Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Manage Azure Identities and Governance.

Implement and Manage Storage practice questions

Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Implement and Manage Storage.

Deploy and Manage Azure Compute practice questions

Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Deploy and Manage Azure Compute.

Implement and Manage Virtual Networking practice questions

Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Implement and Manage Virtual Networking.

Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources practice questions

Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources.

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.

Practice this exam

Start a free AZ-104 practice session

Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.

10 questions 20 questions 30 questions 50 questions Timed 30

AZ-104 practice-test guide →Study guide →Browse all practice tests

FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this AZ-104 question test?

Implement and Manage Storage — This question tests Implement and Manage Storage — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Assign the VM a managed identity and grant it Storage Blob Data Contributor on the container or storage account. — Option B is correct because assigning a managed identity to the VM allows it to authenticate to Azure Blob Storage without any secrets stored on the VM. The managed identity provides an automatically managed service principal in Azure AD, and by granting the Storage Blob Data Contributor role, the service obtains the necessary permissions to upload invoices. This satisfies the security policy forbidding account keys or long-lived SAS tokens and enables unattended authentication.

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.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

About these practice questions

Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →

How Courseiva writes practice questions · Editorial policy

Same concept, more angles

1 more ways 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 VM-based app must upload invoices to a blob container every hour. Security prohibits storing account keys or SAS tokens on the VM. The app should authenticate with Microsoft Entra ID and be allowed only to write blobs in one container. What should you configure?

medium

A.Create an account SAS token and store it in the VM's application settings.
✓ B.Enable a managed identity on the VM and assign Storage Blob Data Contributor at the container scope.
C.Assign Reader on the storage account so the VM can reach the container securely.
D.Grant Storage Account Contributor at the subscription scope so the app can manage all storage resources.

Why B: Option B is correct because enabling a managed identity on the VM allows the app to authenticate with Microsoft Entra ID without storing any secrets. Assigning the Storage Blob Data Contributor role at the container scope grants the VM’s managed identity the minimum required permission to write blobs only to that specific container, adhering to the principle of least privilege.

Keep practising

Question Discussion

Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.

Loading comments…

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.