An operations team wants to deploy the same set of Azure VMs every month from source control. The deployment should be readable, repeatable, and stored as code. What should they use?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
Best answer
Bicep template
Bicep is a declarative infrastructure-as-code language that is easier to read than raw ARM JSON. It is well suited for storing deployment definitions in source control and reusing them consistently across environments. Because it compiles to ARM templates, it still uses the Azure-native deployment engine while improving maintainability.
Distractor review
Manual portal deployment
Manual portal steps are not a source-controlled or repeatable deployment method, so they do not meet the requirement.
Distractor review
Azure Advisor recommendation
Azure Advisor provides guidance and best-practice recommendations, but it does not deploy VM infrastructure from code.
Distractor review
Azure Resource Explorer
Azure Resource Explorer is for viewing resource properties and testing APIs, not for authoring repeatable deployment definitions.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A route table contains these entries: 10.0.0.0/8 with next hop Virtual appliance, and 10.1.1.0/24 with next hop Virtual network gateway. Which next hop will Azure use for traffic to 10.1.1.5?
Question 2
You are deploying a stateless web application on Azure virtual machines. The solution must automatically add and remove instances based on CPU demand and allow all instances to be managed as one logical group. Which Azure compute feature should you deploy?
Question 3
You are deploying a Windows Server VM for an internal app. The VM must support Secure Boot and vTPM later, its OS disk must survive host moves, and the team wants the lowest-cost managed disk tier that still behaves like a normal writable OS disk. Which two choices should you make? Select two.
Question 4
You need to deploy several identical virtual machines and ensure that the failure of a single Azure host does not affect all of them. Which feature should you use?
Question 5
You need to connect VNet-Hub and VNet-Spoke so that resources in both virtual networks can communicate privately over the Microsoft backbone. Both virtual networks are in the same region. What should you configure?
Question 6
You need to create a storage account that provides the lowest-cost redundant storage for non-critical data and only needs protection against local disk or server failure within a single datacenter. Which redundancy option should you choose?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Bicep template — Bicep is the best answer when a team wants an infrastructure definition that is readable, repeatable, and stored in source control. It is intentionally concise, making it easier to review and maintain than equivalent JSON ARM templates. Because it is declarative, the same file can be deployed repeatedly to create consistent VM environments with less chance of manual configuration drift. Why others are wrong: Manual portal deployment is too dependent on human steps and is not ideal for source control. Azure Advisor gives recommendations but does not define or deploy infrastructure. Azure Resource Explorer is useful for inspecting resource data, but it is not a deployment language or repeatable build mechanism.
What should I do if I get this AZ-104 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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