AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
An analyst needs a blob that is currently in the Archive tier to be downloadable within the next hour. Which two actions should the administrator take? Select two.
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often think blobs in the Archive tier can be downloaded directly or that deleting and restoring from soft delete bypasses the rehydration requirement, but neither action changes the offline storage status of the blob.
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 access tier from Archive to Hot or Cool.
To make a blob in the Archive tier accessible for download, you must first change its access tier to Hot or Cool. This initiates a rehydration process that moves the blob data from offline storage to an online tier, making it available for read operations. The rehydration can take up to 15 hours, but selecting High priority rehydration (Option B) can reduce this to under 1 hour, meeting the analyst's requirement.
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 access tier from Archive to Hot or Cool.
Why this is correct
A blob in Archive is offline and cannot be read until it is rehydrated into an online tier. Moving it to Hot or Cool starts that rehydration process and makes the blob available again. This is the required administrative step when a previously archived blob must be downloaded for use.
- ✓
Choose High priority rehydration for the tier change.
Why this is correct
High priority rehydration is the fastest option for archived blobs and is appropriate when access is needed quickly. Standard priority can take longer, which may miss the one-hour requirement. Selecting High priority helps the blob become readable sooner after the tier change request is submitted.
- ✗
Download the blob directly from the Archive tier without changing its tier.
Why it's wrong here
Archive is not an online access tier, so the blob cannot be downloaded directly. The data must be rehydrated first. This option ignores the storage service behavior for archived content and would not satisfy the requirement to make the blob available soon.
When this WOULD be correct
If the blob were in the Cool or Hot tier, or if the question allowed for immediate download without tier change (e.g., using a read-access geo-redundant storage account with instant retrieval), then downloading directly would be correct.
- ✗
Delete the blob and restore it from a soft delete snapshot.
Why it's wrong here
Soft delete is not the normal way to retrieve an archived blob for immediate download. Deleting and restoring would add unnecessary steps and does not address the archive rehydration requirement. The correct action is to change the tier and request rehydration.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the question asked how to recover a blob that was accidentally deleted and the retention policy required restoring from a soft-delete snapshot, with no time constraint for download.
- ✗
Add a lifecycle rule to move the blob to Archive again after it is downloaded.
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle rules are useful for automated tier changes over time, but they do not make the archived blob immediately accessible. This action may be useful later, yet it does nothing to satisfy the urgent download requirement within the next hour.
When this WOULD be correct
A question asks how to automatically move blobs back to the Archive tier after they have been accessed or downloaded to minimize storage costs, with no time constraint on immediate access.
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 access tier from Archive to Hot or Cool.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
A blob in Archive is offline and cannot be read until it is rehydrated into an online tier. Moving it to Hot or Cool starts that rehydration process and makes the blob available again. This is the required administrative step when a previously archived blob must be downloaded for use.
✗Download the blob directly from the Archive tier without changing its tier.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Blobs in the Archive tier are offline and cannot be downloaded directly; they must first be rehydrated to a hot or cool tier, which takes time.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the blob were in the Cool or Hot tier, or if the question allowed for immediate download without tier change (e.g., using a read-access geo-redundant storage account with instant retrieval), then downloading directly would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that all blobs are immediately accessible regardless of tier, or they may overlook the fact that Archive tier blobs require rehydration before download.
✗Delete the blob and restore it from a soft delete snapshot.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Deleting the blob and restoring from a soft delete snapshot does not change the access tier; the restored blob would still be in the Archive tier, which does not allow immediate download. This process also risks data loss and is not designed for rehydration.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the question asked how to recover a blob that was accidentally deleted and the retention policy required restoring from a soft-delete snapshot, with no time constraint for download.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that restoring from a snapshot is a quick way to get a downloadable copy, not realizing that the restored blob inherits the original tier and still requires rehydration.
✗Add a lifecycle rule to move the blob to Archive again after it is downloaded.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Adding a lifecycle rule to move the blob back to Archive after download does not help make the blob downloadable within the next hour; it only affects future tiering.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question asks how to automatically move blobs back to the Archive tier after they have been accessed or downloaded to minimize storage costs, with no time constraint on immediate access.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think lifecycle rules can expedite the current download process or that managing post-download tiering is part of the immediate solution.
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
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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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.