AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
A user accidentally deleted a folder tree from an Azure file share. The administrator needs to restore only the deleted folders to the state they had yesterday, not roll back the whole share. Which feature should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse Azure Files with Azure Blob Storage and incorrectly assume blob versioning or blob-level features apply to file shares, or they think a SAS token can somehow restore deleted data, when in fact only file share snapshots provide the necessary point-in-time, granular recovery for Azure Files.
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
✓
Use a file share snapshot and copy the needed folders back from it.
Azure file share snapshots provide a point-in-time, read-only copy of the share. By mounting a snapshot taken yesterday, the administrator can browse the folder tree and copy only the deleted folders back to the live share, restoring them without affecting other data. This is the only option that allows granular, folder-level recovery without rolling back the entire share or storage account.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Restore the entire storage account from an account-level backup.
Why it's wrong here
Restoring the entire storage account from an account-level backup would roll back all storage services—file shares, blobs, queues, and tables—to an earlier state, potentially discarding every change made in the meantime. Azure Backup for Azure Files offers file-share-level or item-level restore, but there is no coarse 'account-level' restore option that would surgically recover just one deleted folder tree. This approach is overly broad, risks overwriting unrelated data, and is not the least-privilege recovery method for this scenario.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked to recover the entire storage account to a previous state after a catastrophic failure or accidental deletion of multiple shares/blobs, then restoring from an account-level backup would be appropriate.
- ✓
Use a file share snapshot and copy the needed folders back from it.
Why this is correct
Azure Files snapshots capture point-in-time versions of a file share. By using the snapshot, the administrator can browse the earlier state and copy back only the deleted folders, which avoids restoring the entire share and minimizes impact on current data. This is the right operational recovery method when you need granular recovery of file content after accidental deletion.
- ✗
Enable blob versioning on the storage account and recover the folders from versions.
Why it's wrong here
Blob versioning is a feature specific to Azure Blob Storage that automatically preserves previous versions of a blob whenever it is overwritten or deleted. Azure file shares do not expose their data as blobs; they use file share semantics and rely on file share snapshots for point-in-time recovery. Enabling blob versioning on the storage account would not capture file-share changes, because file share data isn't versioned as blobs, and the deleted folders would not be recoverable this way.
- ✗
Create a shared access signature with read permissions and use it to recover the folder tree.
Why it's wrong here
A shared access signature (SAS) is a security delegation mechanism that grants limited, time-bound access to storage resources, but it is not a data protection or recovery feature. Even with read permissions, a SAS only lets you view and copy the current contents of the file share; it cannot resurrect folders that were already deleted because no point-in-time copy or version history is involved. Therefore, this approach cannot satisfy the recovery requirement.
When this WOULD be correct
A user needs to grant temporary read-only access to a specific folder tree in an Azure file share to an external auditor, without sharing the storage account key. A SAS with read permissions on that folder would be the correct solution.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The AZ-104 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Use a file share snapshot and copy the needed folders back from it.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Azure Files snapshots capture point-in-time versions of a file share. By using the snapshot, the administrator can browse the earlier state and copy back only the deleted folders, which avoids restoring the entire share and minimizes impact on current data. This is the right operational recovery method when you need granular recovery of file content after accidental deletion.
✗Restore the entire storage account from an account-level backup.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Restoring the entire storage account from an account-level backup would roll back all data in the account, not just the deleted folders, and would affect other shares and blobs, which is not the requirement.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked to recover the entire storage account to a previous state after a catastrophic failure or accidental deletion of multiple shares/blobs, then restoring from an account-level backup would be appropriate.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that a full backup is the safest option and overlook the requirement to restore only specific folders without impacting other data.
✗Create a shared access signature with read permissions and use it to recover the folder tree.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A shared access signature (SAS) with read permissions allows reading files but does not provide any restore or rollback capability for deleted folders in an Azure file share.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A user needs to grant temporary read-only access to a specific folder tree in an Azure file share to an external auditor, without sharing the storage account key. A SAS with read permissions on that folder would be the correct solution.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse SAS as a general recovery tool because it can grant access to data, but they overlook that it cannot restore deleted items or revert to previous states.
Analysis generated from the official AZ-104blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Managed Identities for Azure Resources
Key term
File share
A file share is a centralized storage location on a network where multiple users can access, read, write, and manage files simultaneously.
Key term
Storage account
A cloud storage account is a container that holds a set of cloud storage services and their data, providing a unique namespace and access policies for storing and managing unstructured data.
About these practice questions
This AZ-104 question is part of Courseiva's 1,049-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.