AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
An administrator archives monthly log exports in a blob container to reduce storage cost. During an audit, one archived blob must be downloaded and opened later the same day. What must the administrator do before the blob can be read?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume Archive tier blobs are always accessible with the right permissions, but Azure explicitly keeps Archive blobs offline to minimize cost, requiring a manual rehydration step before any read or copy operation.
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
✓
Change the blob tier from Archive to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to finish
Blobs stored in the Archive tier are offline and must be rehydrated to the Hot or Cool tier before they can be read. Rehydration can take up to 15 hours, so the administrator must initiate a tier change and wait for completion before downloading the blob. Option B correctly identifies this required step.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Read the blob directly from the Archive tier because archive data remains immediately online
Why it's wrong here
Archive-tier blobs are stored on offline media and are not immediately available for reads or writes. Attempting to read directly returns an HTTP 409 error with error code BlobArchived, because the service cannot access the offline data until rehydration is complete. The 'immediately online' assumption is false; even owning the storage account does not let you bypass the offline state. Only after the blob is rehydrated to Hot or Cool can normal read operations succeed.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question specified that the blob is in the Cool or Hot tier, or if the archive tier supported immediate reads (which it does not), then reading directly would be correct.
- ✓
Change the blob tier from Archive to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to finish
Why this is correct
Changing the blob's access tier from Archive to Hot or Cool invokes a rehydration operation, during which the blob's data is moved from offline storage to an online tier. You must wait for this rehydration to complete; the operation can take from under an hour with High priority to up to 15 hours with Standard priority, during which read attempts fail. Once the blob's tier status shows it has rehydrated (no longer 'rehydrate-pending'), you can read it immediately. This is the intended way to make archived data accessible.
- ✗
Copy the blob to a new container in the same account to bypass the archive restriction
Why it's wrong here
Copying an archived blob to a new container (or a new blob name) does not bypass the archive restriction, because the copy operation must first read the archived source, which is offline. In fact, a Copy Blob operation against an archived source is itself a rehydration-like operation and takes the same amount of time as changing the tier. Even if you specify an online tier for the destination, the copy does not complete until the source has been rehydrated, so there is no immediate access. You cannot retrieve archived data by copying without incurring the rehydration wait.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked how to move a blob between storage accounts without changing its tier, or how to create a duplicate blob in the same account while keeping the original in Archive, then copying would be a valid approach.
- ✗
Assign an Azure RBAC role to the auditor so the archived blob becomes available immediately
Why it's wrong here
Assigning an Azure RBAC role such as Storage Blob Data Reader only grants authorization permissions; it does not alter the physical state of the blob. Archive-tier data remains offline regardless of identity or role, so even a user with Owner permissions receives the same BlobArchived error on read attempts. Access control and data accessibility are orthogonal: RBAC determines who may call the operation, while rehydration determines whether the operation can physically succeed. You still need to rehydrate the blob before anyone can read it.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked how to grant an auditor read access to a blob that is already in Hot or Cool tier (i.e., online), assigning the appropriate RBAC role (e.g., Storage Blob Data Reader) would be the correct step.
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.
✓Change the blob tier from Archive to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to finishCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Changing the blob's access tier from Archive to Hot or Cool invokes a rehydration operation, during which the blob's data is moved from offline storage to an online tier. You must wait for this rehydration to complete; the operation can take from under an hour with High priority to up to 15 hours with Standard priority, during which read attempts fail. Once the blob's tier status shows it has rehydrated (no longer 'rehydrate-pending'), you can read it immediately. This is the intended way to make archived data accessible.
✗Read the blob directly from the Archive tier because archive data remains immediately onlineWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Blobs in the Archive tier are offline and cannot be read directly; they must first be rehydrated to Hot or Cool tier, which takes time.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question specified that the blob is in the Cool or Hot tier, or if the archive tier supported immediate reads (which it does not), then reading directly would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may mistakenly believe that Archive tier data is still immediately accessible, confusing it with the Cool or Hot tiers, or assume that 'archived' means simply stored rather than taken offline.
✗Copy the blob to a new container in the same account to bypass the archive restrictionWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Copying a blob from Archive tier does not bypass the rehydration requirement; the copy operation itself triggers rehydration, and the blob remains inaccessible until rehydration completes.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked how to move a blob between storage accounts without changing its tier, or how to create a duplicate blob in the same account while keeping the original in Archive, then copying would be a valid approach.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think copying avoids the rehydration delay because they assume the copy operation reads the data directly, not realizing that reading from Archive requires prior rehydration.
✗Assign an Azure RBAC role to the auditor so the archived blob becomes available immediatelyWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Assigning an Azure RBAC role does not change the blob's access tier; archived blobs remain offline until rehydrated, regardless of permissions.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked how to grant an auditor read access to a blob that is already in Hot or Cool tier (i.e., online), assigning the appropriate RBAC role (e.g., Storage Blob Data Reader) would be the correct step.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse access control (RBAC) with data availability, assuming that granting permissions automatically makes archived data accessible.
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?”
Quick reference
Azure Blob Storage Tier Comparison
| Tier | Storage Cost | Retrieval Cost | Latency | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot | Highest | Lowest | Immediate | Active data, frequent reads |
| Cool | Lower | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / month |
| Cold | Lower still | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / quarter |
| Archive | Lowest | Highest + rehydration delay | Hours | Long-term compliance retention |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Customer-Managed Keys (CMK) for Storage Encryption
Key term
Audit
An audit is a systematic, independent review of IT systems, processes, and controls to verify compliance with policies, standards, and regulations.
Key term
Container
A container is a lightweight, standalone software package that includes everything needed to run an application, such as code, runtime, system tools, and libraries.
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.