AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question
An Azure virtual machine was moved to a host that is experiencing intermittent issues. You need to move the VM to a different Azure host while keeping the existing managed disks and configuration. Which action should you perform?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse 'Stop' (which deallocates but may not change the host) with 'Redeploy' (which explicitly forces a host migration), or they mistakenly think 'Restart' is sufficient to fix hardware issues when it only reboots the OS on the same faulty host.
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
✓
Redeploy
Redeploying the VM (Option C) is the correct action because it moves the VM to a new Azure host node while preserving the existing managed disks, virtual network, and configuration. The Azure platform automatically selects a healthy host, resolves transient hardware issues, and maintains the VM's identity and associated resources.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Stop
Why it's wrong here
Stop (deallocate) releases the compute resources and disassociates the VM from its current host, but it does not guarantee placement on a new host when you start it again. Azure may place the restarted VM on the same original host if that host is still healthy and has capacity, depending on resource availability and placement logic. Therefore, stopping alone provides no deterministic way to force a migration to a different physical host, and it also causes downtime without addressing the root cause of the host failure.
When this WOULD be correct
When you need to deallocate a VM to reduce costs or to change its size (resize), stopping (deallocating) is the correct action. For example, to resize a VM, you must first stop it.
- ✗
Restart
Why it's wrong here
Restart is insufficient because it only reboots the guest operating system and does not change the underlying physical host. While a restart can clear transient OS or application crashes, it cannot repair a degraded or failed host, network controller, or storage path that Azure might be experiencing. The VM's current placement on the problematic host remains unchanged, so any host-level faults will likely persist after the reboot.
When this WOULD be correct
If a VM is unresponsive or experiencing a temporary software glitch (e.g., memory leak, service hang), and you need to apply updates or clear the state without changing the host, Restart is the correct action.
- ✓
Redeploy
Why this is correct
Redeploy is the correct action because Azure explicitly reallocates the virtual machine to a different physical host within the same region, while preserving the VM's managed disks, network interfaces, and configuration. This operation is designed to resolve host-level failures or performance issues that a simple OS-level reboot cannot address. The portal's 'Redeploy' button triggers a backend process that first deallocates the VM and then restores it onto a healthy host, ensuring continuity of your VM's data and settings.
- ✗
Capture
Why it's wrong here
Capture is inappropriate because it is used to create a reusable VM image from a generalized (sysprepped) VM, not to relocate an existing VM to a new host. Running capture requires you to deallocate the VM first, marks it as generalized, and the original VM is typically deleted after the image is created. This destroys the current VM's operational state and does not preserve its running configuration in place, making it completely unsuitable for resolving host-level issues while keeping the VM live.
When this WOULD be correct
When you need to create a reusable image from a generalized VM to deploy multiple identical VMs, or when you want to save a VM's configuration as an image for future deployments, Capture is the correct action.
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.
✓RedeployCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Redeploy is the correct action because Azure explicitly reallocates the virtual machine to a different physical host within the same region, while preserving the VM's managed disks, network interfaces, and configuration. This operation is designed to resolve host-level failures or performance issues that a simple OS-level reboot cannot address. The portal's 'Redeploy' button triggers a backend process that first deallocates the VM and then restores it onto a healthy host, ensuring continuity of your VM's data and settings.
✗StopWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Stopping the VM only deallocates it; it does not force the VM to be moved to a different host. The VM may be placed back on the same problematic host when started again.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
When you need to deallocate a VM to reduce costs or to change its size (resize), stopping (deallocating) is the correct action. For example, to resize a VM, you must first stop it.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that stopping and restarting the VM will cause it to be placed on a new host, similar to rebooting a local computer to resolve hardware issues.
✗RestartWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Restarting the VM does not change the underlying host; it only reboots the VM on the same host, so it would not resolve issues caused by a faulty host.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If a VM is unresponsive or experiencing a temporary software glitch (e.g., memory leak, service hang), and you need to apply updates or clear the state without changing the host, Restart is the correct action.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think restarting will force the VM to move to a different host, similar to how restarting a computer can sometimes resolve hardware-related issues, but in Azure, restart does not change the host.
✗CaptureWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Capturing a VM creates a generalized image, which removes machine-specific configurations and managed disks, making it unsuitable for moving the VM to a different host while keeping existing managed disks and configuration.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
When you need to create a reusable image from a generalized VM to deploy multiple identical VMs, or when you want to save a VM's configuration as an image for future deployments, Capture is the correct action.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Capture preserves the VM state and disks, but it actually generalizes the VM, losing specific settings and managed disk associations.
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?”
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Privileged Identity Management (PIM)
Key term
Azure virtual machine
An Azure virtual machine is a software-based emulation of a physical computer that runs in Microsoft's cloud, allowing you to deploy and manage applications without owning the hardware.
Key term
Virtual network
A virtual network is a software-based network that connects computers, servers, and devices over the internet or within a cloud environment, simulating a physical network without requiring dedicated hardware.
About these practice questions
This AZ-104 question is part of Courseiva's 1,049-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on AZ-104
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. You need to redeploy an Azure virtual machine to a new host while keeping the VM configuration and attached disks. Which action should you use in the Azure portal?
medium- A.Resize
- ✓ B.Redeploy
- C.Capture
- D.Reapply
Why B: The Redeploy action moves the VM to a new Azure host node while preserving the VM configuration, attached managed disks, and network resources. This is used to recover from underlying host failures or performance issues without losing the VM's state or data.
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.