AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
An administrator moved old log blobs to the Archive tier last month. An auditor now needs one blob for review later today. What must happen before the blob can be opened?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often assume archived blobs are still readable like Cool or Hot tier blobs, or that a snapshot or copy operation can bypass the rehydration requirement, but Azure enforces that the data must be physically moved back to an online tier before any access is allowed.
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
Blobs in the Archive tier are offline and cannot be read directly. To access the data, you must first change the blob's access tier to Hot or Cool (rehydrate it), which can take up to 15 hours depending on the rehydration priority. Only after rehydration completes can the blob be downloaded and opened.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Download the blob directly from the Archive tier and open it immediately
Why it's wrong here
Archived blobs are offline; any read or download fails until the blob is rehydrated to Hot or Cool, which takes hours. Direct download is correct for blobs in the Hot, Cool or Cold tiers, where data is immediately accessible.
When this WOULD be correct
If the blob were already in the Hot or Cool tier, or if the question specified that the blob was in the Cool tier and the administrator needed to download it, then direct download would work without rehydration.
- ✓
Change the blob to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to complete
Why this is correct
Archive-tier blobs are offline, so they cannot be read directly. The blob must first be rehydrated by changing its tier to Hot or Cool, and access is only possible once that rehydration operation completes, which typically takes hours.
- ✗
Create a snapshot of the blob and open the snapshot instead
Why it's wrong here
Snapshots inherit the tier of the base blob, so a snapshot of an archived blob is also archived and cannot be read. Snapshotting is the correct choice when you need point-in-time versions of a blob that is already in a readable hot or cool tier.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked how to preserve a point-in-time copy of a blob before modifying or deleting it, creating a snapshot would be the correct answer, especially when the blob is in Hot or Cool tier and immediate access is needed.
- ✗
Copy the blob to another container without changing its tier
Why it's wrong here
Copying a blob leaves it in the Archive tier, so the destination copy is equally unreadable; rehydration is still required. It tempts because copying is the normal way to move data between containers or accounts, which would be the right approach for relocating blobs rather than reading one.
When this WOULD be correct
If the blob were in a readable tier (Hot, Cool, or Cold) and you needed to duplicate it to another container for organizational purposes, copying without changing tier would be correct.
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
Archive-tier blobs are offline, so they cannot be read directly. The blob must first be rehydrated by changing its tier to Hot or Cool, and access is only possible once that rehydration operation completes, which typically takes hours.
✗Download the blob directly from the Archive tier and open it immediatelyWrong 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. Downloading immediately would fail.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the blob were already in the Hot or Cool tier, or if the question specified that the blob was in the Cool tier and the administrator needed to download it, then direct download would work without rehydration.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may assume that all tiers allow immediate download, not realizing that Archive tier blobs are offline and require rehydration before access.
✗Create a snapshot of the blob and open the snapshot insteadWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A snapshot captures the blob's state at a point in time but does not change its access tier; if the blob is in Archive tier, the snapshot remains in Archive and cannot be read without rehydration.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked how to preserve a point-in-time copy of a blob before modifying or deleting it, creating a snapshot would be the correct answer, especially when the blob is in Hot or Cool tier and immediate access is needed.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse snapshots with tier changes, thinking a snapshot provides a separate, accessible copy regardless of the original blob's tier, or they may recall that snapshots are used for backup without considering tier restrictions.
✗Copy the blob to another container without changing its tierWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Blobs in Archive tier are offline and cannot be read or copied directly. Copying without changing the tier would fail because the source blob is not available for read operations.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the blob were in a readable tier (Hot, Cool, or Cold) and you needed to duplicate it to another container for organizational purposes, copying without changing tier would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think copying a blob is a workaround to access archived data, not realizing that the source blob must be rehydrated before any read or copy operation can succeed.
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
Entitlement Management and Access Packages
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.
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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.