AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
An Azure Files share must stay available if one availability zone in its primary region fails. The business does not need replication to another region. Which redundancy option should you choose for the storage account?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates choose LRS thinking it provides zone-level redundancy, but LRS only replicates within a single data center, not across zones, making it insufficient for the stated availability requirement.
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
✓
Zone-redundant storage (ZRS)
Zone-redundant storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates your Azure Files share across three Azure availability zones within the primary region. This ensures the share remains available if one zone fails, without requiring replication to another region. LRS only replicates within a single data center, while GRS and RA-GRS involve secondary region replication, which the business does not need.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Locally redundant storage (LRS)
Why it's wrong here
Locally redundant storage (LRS) makes three synchronous copies of a share within a single data center in the primary region, so it tolerates disk or node failures but not a full availability zone failure. Because the entire share is tied to one zone, the service can become unavailable if that specific zone is impacted, which does not meet the 'stay available' requirement.
When this WOULD be correct
Choose LRS when the requirement is to protect against server rack and drive failures within a single data center, and the application can tolerate a full data center outage (e.g., non-critical dev/test workloads).
- ✓
Zone-redundant storage (ZRS)
Why this is correct
Zone-redundant storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates a file share's data across three availability zones within the same Azure region. If one zone experiences an outage, the share remains read- and writable from the other two zones without any manual failover, satisfying the availability requirement. Azure Files supports ZRS on both standard and premium tiers in regions that have three or more zones.
- ✗
Geo-redundant storage (GRS)
Why it's wrong here
Geo-redundant storage (GRS) replicates data asynchronously to a paired secondary region, but the primary-region copy uses LRS, meaning it is still confined to a single availability zone. While a secondary copy exists, Azure Files does not automatically fail over for zone outages; a manual or account-level failover is required, so the share is not guaranteed to stay available immediately when a primary zone fails.
When this WOULD be correct
A question that requires data to be durable even if an entire region becomes unavailable, and the business can accept the cost and complexity of cross-region replication. For example: 'An organization needs to ensure data survives a regional disaster and is willing to pay for replication to a secondary region. Which redundancy option should they choose?'
- ✗
Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS)
Why it's wrong here
Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS) adds asynchronous geo-replication and read-only access to the secondary region, but the primary-region copy remains LRS-only and confined to one availability zone. A zone failure in the primary region would force a manual failover to make the share fully available, and until then you only have read access to stale secondary data, which does not satisfy the writable availability requirement.
When this WOULD be correct
A question requiring high durability and availability with the ability to read data from the secondary region in case the primary region becomes unavailable, even if writes are not yet failed over. For example: 'An application needs read access to data during a regional outage.'
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.
✓Zone-redundant storage (ZRS)Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Zone-redundant storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates a file share's data across three availability zones within the same Azure region. If one zone experiences an outage, the share remains read- and writable from the other two zones without any manual failover, satisfying the availability requirement. Azure Files supports ZRS on both standard and premium tiers in regions that have three or more zones.
✗Locally redundant storage (LRS)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
LRS replicates data within a single data center in a single availability zone, so it cannot survive a zone failure. The question requires availability across zones in the primary region.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
Choose LRS when the requirement is to protect against server rack and drive failures within a single data center, and the application can tolerate a full data center outage (e.g., non-critical dev/test workloads).
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may mistakenly believe LRS provides zone-level resilience or may choose it due to lower cost without reading the availability requirement carefully.
✗Geo-redundant storage (GRS)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Geo-redundant storage (GRS) replicates data to a secondary region, but the question explicitly states that replication to another region is not needed. GRS also does not protect against a single availability zone failure in the primary region because it uses LRS in the primary region.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question that requires data to be durable even if an entire region becomes unavailable, and the business can accept the cost and complexity of cross-region replication. For example: 'An organization needs to ensure data survives a regional disaster and is willing to pay for replication to a secondary region. Which redundancy option should they choose?'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think GRS provides higher availability because it replicates to another region, overlooking that the question specifically restricts replication to another region and requires zone-level resilience within the primary region.
✗Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
RA-GRS replicates data to a secondary region, but the question explicitly states no replication to another region is needed, and it does not protect against a single availability zone failure in the primary region.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question requiring high durability and availability with the ability to read data from the secondary region in case the primary region becomes unavailable, even if writes are not yet failed over. For example: 'An application needs read access to data during a regional outage.'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse RA-GRS with ZRS, thinking the read-access feature provides zone-level redundancy, or they may over-engineer the solution by adding geo-replication when it's not required.
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?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Managed Identities for Azure Resources
Key term
Azure Files
Azure Files is a cloud-based file sharing service that lets you create and access file shares using the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol or Network File System (NFS) protocol, just like you would access files on a local network drive.
Key term
LRS
An LRS (Learning Record Store) is a system that collects, stores, and retrieves learning data from various training activities, often used to track progress in IT certification study programs.
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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.