AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question
An operations team maintains a hardened Windows Server image with application prerequisites and monitoring tools already installed. They want to deploy future VMs from the same versioned image in multiple subscriptions and promote a new build only after testing. Which Azure feature should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse a managed disk snapshot with a reusable image, but snapshots lack versioning, cross-subscription sharing, and the ability to promote builds after testing, which are core requirements for this scenario.
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
✓
An Azure Compute Gallery image version
An Azure Compute Gallery (formerly Shared Image Gallery) allows you to store and manage multiple versions of a custom VM image, replicate them across regions, and share them across subscriptions. This enables the team to maintain a hardened, versioned image, deploy VMs from it in multiple subscriptions, and promote a new build only after testing by creating a new image version.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A managed disk snapshot created from one of the VMs
Why it's wrong here
A managed disk snapshot is a point-in-time copy of a single VM's disk, often preserving machine-specific identifiers, drivers, and sysprep-unrelated state, which makes it an ungoverned and potentially ungeneralized artifact. It does not offer the same versioning, cross-region replication, or image definition management that an Azure Compute Gallery image version provides. Snapshots are primarily for backup and recovery, not for building a clean, repeatable golden image.
When this WOULD be correct
A question asks: 'You need to create a backup of a VM's OS disk that can be used to restore the VM to the same state in the same region. Which Azure feature should you use?'
- ✓
An Azure Compute Gallery image version
Why this is correct
An Azure Compute Gallery image version is a managed, versioned artifact that packages a fully configured OS—including a hardened Windows Server baseline—into a reusable entity. It supports regional replication, controlled sharing via RBAC or community gallery, and distinct version numbers so VM deployments can be pinned to a known-good configuration. This is the proper mechanism to consistently deploy identical, hardened VMs across subscriptions or regions.
- ✗
A custom script extension installed during VM provisioning
Why it's wrong here
A custom script extension is executed on an existing VM during provisioning to install software or apply post-deployment settings, but it does not produce a reusable base image artifact. Every new VM must run the same script against whatever foundation image was chosen, which can lead to drift or failure if the underlying OS version or dependencies change. It is merely a configuration step—not a versioned, shareable image that captures the entire hardened state.
When this WOULD be correct
When the question asks for a method to install software or apply configurations automatically during initial VM deployment, such as joining a domain or installing an application, without needing a pre-built image.
- ✗
An availability set containing the VMs
Why it's wrong here
An availability set is a logical construct that places VMs into different fault domains and update domains to maximize uptime during hardware failures or planned Azure maintenance. It contains no OS state, no image definition, and no configuration baseline, so it cannot be used to propagate a hardened Windows Server setting to new deployments. Its purpose is redundancy, not providing a reusable image artifact.
When this WOULD be correct
When the question asks for a feature that ensures VMs are distributed across multiple fault domains and update domains to maintain service availability during planned or unplanned downtime, an availability set would be the correct answer.
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.
✓An Azure Compute Gallery image versionCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
An Azure Compute Gallery image version is a managed, versioned artifact that packages a fully configured OS—including a hardened Windows Server baseline—into a reusable entity. It supports regional replication, controlled sharing via RBAC or community gallery, and distinct version numbers so VM deployments can be pinned to a known-good configuration. This is the proper mechanism to consistently deploy identical, hardened VMs across subscriptions or regions.
✗A managed disk snapshot created from one of the VMsWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A managed disk snapshot captures a point-in-time copy of a single disk, but it does not support versioning, replication across subscriptions, or the structured testing and promotion workflow required for maintaining a hardened image pipeline.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question asks: 'You need to create a backup of a VM's OS disk that can be used to restore the VM to the same state in the same region. Which Azure feature should you use?'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse snapshots with image management because both involve capturing VM state, but snapshots lack the versioning, sharing, and testing capabilities of an Azure Compute Gallery.
✗A custom script extension installed during VM provisioningWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A custom script extension runs scripts during VM provisioning but does not create a reusable, versioned image that can be deployed across multiple subscriptions and tested before promotion.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
When the question asks for a method to install software or apply configurations automatically during initial VM deployment, such as joining a domain or installing an application, without needing a pre-built image.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse the need for automation during provisioning with the requirement for a reusable image, thinking that a script extension can replicate the same setup across VMs.
✗An availability set containing the VMsWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
An availability set is a logical grouping of VMs to provide high availability during maintenance or failures, not a mechanism for deploying versioned images across multiple subscriptions or managing image lifecycle.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
When the question asks for a feature that ensures VMs are distributed across multiple fault domains and update domains to maintain service availability during planned or unplanned downtime, an availability set would be the correct answer.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse availability sets with image management because both involve VMs, or they might think that deploying VMs from the same image requires grouping them in an availability set.
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?”
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About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every AZ-104 question from scratch — 1,049 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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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.