AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage storage. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 workload must keep storage available if one availability zone in the primary region fails. Geo-failover is optional, but the account must still meet the zone-failure requirement. Which two redundancy options satisfy this? Select two.
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
ZRS
B is correct because Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three availability zones within a single region, ensuring durability and availability even if one zone fails. This meets the requirement of keeping storage available during a zone failure without relying on geo-failover.
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.
✗
LRS
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. LRS stores data in one datacenter, so a zone loss can still affect availability.
✓
ZRS
Why this is correct
Correct. ZRS replicates data across availability zones in the same region to survive a zone outage.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
GRS
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. GRS provides geographic replication, but it does not guarantee zone-level resilience in the primary region.
✓
GZRS
Why this is correct
Correct. GZRS includes zone redundancy in the primary region and also replicates to a paired region.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
RA-GRS
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. RA-GRS adds readable secondary access, but it does not provide zone redundancy in the primary region.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse GRS or RA-GRS as providing zone-level redundancy, but they only replicate across regions, not across zones within the primary region, unless combined with ZRS (as in GZRS).
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
ZRS uses synchronous replication across three Azure availability zones, each with independent power, cooling, and networking, achieving at least 99.99% availability for storage accounts. GZRS (Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage) combines ZRS in the primary region with GRS to a secondary region, providing both zone-failure resilience and optional geo-failover, which matches the 'optional' geo-failover requirement while still meeting the zone-failure mandate. Under the hood, ZRS writes data to all three zones before acknowledging a write, ensuring strong consistency within the region.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-104 question in full detail.
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: ZRS — B is correct because Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three availability zones within a single region, ensuring durability and availability even if one zone fails. This meets the requirement of keeping storage available during a zone failure without relying on geo-failover.
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: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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