AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
An administrator moved a blob to the Archive tier last month. A user needs to open it tomorrow. What must happen before the file can be read?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often think archived blobs can be read directly or that other operations like snapshots or versioning bypass the rehydration requirement, but Azure explicitly requires tier change and rehydration before any read access.
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 to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to complete
To read a blob in the Archive tier, it must first be rehydrated to the Hot or Cool tier. This process, called rehydration, changes the blob's tier and makes it accessible for reading. Until rehydration completes, the blob remains offline and cannot be read.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Change the blob to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to complete
Why this is correct
Because Archive-tier blobs are stored in an offline format and cannot be accessed for reads or writes, the only way to make the data available is to change its access tier to Hot or Cool. This action triggers a rehydration operation, which can take from minutes to several hours depending on the rehydration priority you choose (Standard or High), and only after the blob moves to an online tier can clients read or modify it. Waiting for rehydration to complete is therefore essential before any application can use the data.
- ✗
Create a snapshot of the archived blob
Why it's wrong here
Creating a snapshot simply captures a point-in-time, read-only copy of the blob's state, but it does nothing to change the underlying blob's access tier. If the base blob is in Archive, the snapshot is also bound to that same archived state and remains offline, so it cannot be accessed directly. Snapshots are meant for versioning or backup scenarios, not for rehydrating data from offline storage.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question were 'How can you preserve a point-in-time copy of an archived blob before changing its tier?' then creating a snapshot would be correct, as snapshots capture the blob state at that moment.
- ✗
Enable versioning on the storage account
Why it's wrong here
Enabling blob versioning on the storage account records past versions when blobs are overwritten or deleted, but it has no effect on the tier of an existing blob. The archived blob and its versions remain in the Archive tier and stay offline, so versioning doesn't make the data available for immediate access. Versioning is a data-management and protection feature, not a mechanism for changing the online/offline status of storage tiers.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked how to preserve the current state of a blob before modifying it, enabling versioning would be correct. For example: 'An administrator needs to keep a history of changes to a blob. What should they enable?'
- ✗
Move the storage account to LRS redundancy
Why it's wrong here
Changing the storage account's redundancy from, say, GRS to LRS alters how many copies of the data are kept and where they are placed, but it does not affect the per-blob access tier. An archived blob remains in the offline Archive tier after any redundancy change; in fact, the replication process itself doesn't transfer the blob to an online tier. Redundancy and access tiers are independent dimensions of Azure Storage.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the question were about reducing costs for a storage account that currently uses geo-redundant storage (GRS) and the data does not require high durability across regions. For example: 'An administrator wants to minimize storage costs for a storage account with non-critical data. What should they do?'
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 to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to completeCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Because Archive-tier blobs are stored in an offline format and cannot be accessed for reads or writes, the only way to make the data available is to change its access tier to Hot or Cool. This action triggers a rehydration operation, which can take from minutes to several hours depending on the rehydration priority you choose (Standard or High), and only after the blob moves to an online tier can clients read or modify it. Waiting for rehydration to complete is therefore essential before any application can use the data.
✗Create a snapshot of the archived blobWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Creating a snapshot of an archived blob does not rehydrate the blob; the snapshot itself is also in the Archive tier and cannot be read until the base blob is rehydrated.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question were 'How can you preserve a point-in-time copy of an archived blob before changing its tier?' then creating a snapshot would be correct, as snapshots capture the blob state at that moment.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think a snapshot provides immediate access to the data, not realizing that snapshots of archived blobs remain in the Archive tier and require rehydration to be read.
✗Enable versioning on the storage accountWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Enabling versioning does not make an archived blob readable; it only preserves previous versions. The blob remains in the Archive tier and must be rehydrated to Hot or Cool before access.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked how to preserve the current state of a blob before modifying it, enabling versioning would be correct. For example: 'An administrator needs to keep a history of changes to a blob. What should they enable?'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse versioning with the ability to access archived data, thinking that versioning creates a copy that bypasses the rehydration requirement.
✗Move the storage account to LRS redundancyWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Moving the storage account to LRS redundancy does not affect the Archive tier's requirement for rehydration before reading. The blob remains in the Archive tier and must be changed to Hot or Cool and rehydrated.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the question were about reducing costs for a storage account that currently uses geo-redundant storage (GRS) and the data does not require high durability across regions. For example: 'An administrator wants to minimize storage costs for a storage account with non-critical data. What should they do?'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that changing redundancy could somehow make the blob accessible, confusing storage account configuration with blob tier operations, or they might believe that LRS is required for reading archived blobs.
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
Azure Files and Azure File Sync
Key term
Archive tier
Archive tier is an ultra-low-cost Azure Blob Storage access tier designed for long-term retention of data that is rarely accessed and can tolerate hours of retrieval latency.
Key term
Blob
A blob is a large piece of unstructured data, like a photo or video, stored in the cloud with a unique identifier.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every AZ-104 question from scratch — 1,049 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or 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.