Question 997 of 1,170

Implement and Manage Storage →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is the Cold tier, because it is designed for rarely accessed blobs that must remain online with immediate read access, eliminating any rehydration delay. The Cold tier offers lower storage costs than Hot or Cool tiers while keeping data instantly readable, making it ideal for quarterly telemetry exports accessed only a few times per year. On the AZ-104 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of access tier trade-offs: Archive is cheaper but requires rehydration, while Cold provides online access without latency for infrequent reads. A common trap is choosing Cool, which is for data accessed more frequently (every 30 days or so), or Archive, which would introduce a delay. Remember the memory tip: “Cold is for cold data that’s still online—no thawing needed.”

AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question

This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage storage. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.

An analytics team keeps quarterly telemetry exports in Azure Blob Storage. The files are accessed only a few times per year, but when they are needed they must remain online and immediately readable without any rehydration delay. Which access tier should you use?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "immediately / without restart"
Why it matters: Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.

Question 1hardmultiple choice

Read the full network assurance explanation →

A
Hot, because it is optimized for frequent reads and writes.
Why wrong: Hot works, but it is not the most cost-efficient choice for data accessed only a few times per year.
B
Cool, because it is designed for infrequently accessed data that still stays online.
Why wrong: Cool is online and cheaper than Hot, but Cold is the better fit when access is even less frequent.
C
Cold, because it is intended for rarely accessed online data with lower storage cost.
Cold is the best match because the data must remain online and readable immediately, yet is accessed only a few times per year. That makes Archive inappropriate because Archive requires rehydration before reading. Cold gives the team an online tier with lower storage cost than the hotter tiers, while preserving immediate access when an analyst needs the files.
D
Archive, because it is the cheapest tier and can be opened directly in the portal.
Why wrong: Archive is offline and requires rehydration before the blob can be read again.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Cold, because it is intended for rarely accessed online data with lower storage cost.

The Cold tier is designed for data that is rarely accessed but must remain online with immediate read access, offering lower storage costs than Cool or Hot tiers while avoiding the rehydration delay of Archive. The scenario specifies files are accessed only a few times per year but must be immediately readable without any rehydration delay, which matches Cold tier's purpose of providing online access with no latency for infrequent reads.

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.

✗
Hot, because it is optimized for frequent reads and writes.
Why it's wrong here
Hot works, but it is not the most cost-efficient choice for data accessed only a few times per year.
✗
Cool, because it is designed for infrequently accessed data that still stays online.
Why it's wrong here
Cool is online and cheaper than Hot, but Cold is the better fit when access is even less frequent.
✓
Cold, because it is intended for rarely accessed online data with lower storage cost.
Why this is correct
Cold is the best match because the data must remain online and readable immediately, yet is accessed only a few times per year. That makes Archive inappropriate because Archive requires rehydration before reading. Cold gives the team an online tier with lower storage cost than the hotter tiers, while preserving immediate access when an analyst needs the files.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "immediately / without restart" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Archive, because it is the cheapest tier and can be opened directly in the portal.
Why it's wrong here
Archive is offline and requires rehydration before the blob can be read again.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates confuse 'rarely accessed' with 'Archive tier,' forgetting that Archive requires rehydration and is not immediately readable, while Cold tier provides online access with lower storage cost for data accessed only a few times per year.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Azure Blob Storage access tiers (Hot, Cool, Cold, Archive) have different storage costs and access costs; Cold tier offers a balance with lower storage cost than Cool but higher read cost, and data remains online with no rehydration needed. Under the hood, Cold tier uses the same underlying blob storage infrastructure but with different pricing and lifecycle management rules, ensuring data is immediately accessible via HTTP/HTTPS without any staging or retrieval process. In real-world scenarios, Cold tier is ideal for compliance archives or backup data that must be available on-demand but is rarely queried, such as quarterly telemetry exports.

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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this AZ-104 question test?

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: Cold, because it is intended for rarely accessed online data with lower storage cost. — The Cold tier is designed for data that is rarely accessed but must remain online with immediate read access, offering lower storage costs than Cool or Hot tiers while avoiding the rehydration delay of Archive. The scenario specifies files are accessed only a few times per year but must be immediately readable without any rehydration delay, which matches Cold tier's purpose of providing online access with no latency for infrequent reads.

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: "immediately / without restart". Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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