- A
LRS, because it keeps three copies within a single datacenter and is enough for any zone failure.
Why wrong: LRS protects against local disk or server failures inside one datacenter, but it does not provide zone-level resilience.
- B
ZRS, because it replicates synchronously across zones in the same region and survives a zone outage.
ZRS keeps data synchronously replicated across multiple availability zones within one region. That design helps the storage account remain available when a zone or datacenter becomes unavailable, which matches the requirement. It avoids the added complexity and cost of geo-replication because a secondary region is not required.
- C
GRS, because it adds a geographically replicated secondary region for disaster recovery.
Why wrong: GRS provides cross-region replication, but the scenario does not require a secondary region replica. It also does not specifically target zone-level protection as the primary requirement.
- D
RA-GRS, because read access to the secondary region is the best protection against a zone failure.
Why wrong: RA-GRS adds read access to the secondary region, but that capability is for geo-replication scenarios. It does not directly address the stated need for resiliency within the same region across zones.
AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage storage. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 application writes transaction logs to a storage account in a region that supports availability zones. The business wants the account to stay available if one datacenter or zone fails, but it does not need a secondary region replica. Which redundancy option should you choose?
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
ZRS, because it replicates synchronously across zones in the same region and survives a zone outage.
B is correct because Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three Azure availability zones within the same region. This design ensures that if one datacenter or zone fails, the storage account remains available and durable without requiring a secondary region replica, exactly matching the business requirement.
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.
- ✗
LRS, because it keeps three copies within a single datacenter and is enough for any zone failure.
Why it's wrong here
LRS protects against local disk or server failures inside one datacenter, but it does not provide zone-level resilience.
- ✓
ZRS, because it replicates synchronously across zones in the same region and survives a zone outage.
Why this is correct
ZRS keeps data synchronously replicated across multiple availability zones within one region. That design helps the storage account remain available when a zone or datacenter becomes unavailable, which matches the requirement. It avoids the added complexity and cost of geo-replication because a secondary region is not required.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
GRS, because it adds a geographically replicated secondary region for disaster recovery.
Why it's wrong here
GRS provides cross-region replication, but the scenario does not require a secondary region replica. It also does not specifically target zone-level protection as the primary requirement.
- ✗
RA-GRS, because read access to the secondary region is the best protection against a zone failure.
Why it's wrong here
RA-GRS adds read access to the secondary region, but that capability is for geo-replication scenarios. It does not directly address the stated need for resiliency within the same region across zones.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse LRS's three-copy replication within one datacenter as sufficient for zone failures, not realizing that a zone can contain multiple datacenters and LRS does not span zones, while ZRS is specifically designed for zone-level resilience.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
GRS provides cross-region replication, but the scenario does not require a secondary region replica. It also does not specifically target zone-level protection as the primary requirement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, ZRS uses synchronous replication across three availability zones, ensuring that write operations are committed to all zones before acknowledging success, providing a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of zero and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of zero for zone failures. This differs from LRS, which replicates within a single datacenter and cannot tolerate a full zone outage. In a real-world scenario, if a zone experiences a power failure or network isolation, ZRS automatically fails over to another zone without manual intervention, maintaining application uptime for transaction log writes.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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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: ZRS, because it replicates synchronously across zones in the same region and survives a zone outage. — B is correct because Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three Azure availability zones within the same region. This design ensures that if one datacenter or zone fails, the storage account remains available and durable without requiring a secondary region replica, exactly matching the business requirement.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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