- A
An availability set with the VMs placed in different update domains.
Why wrong: Availability sets protect against host maintenance and some hardware failures, but not a full datacenter outage.
- B
Two VMs placed in different availability zones within the region.
Availability zones place resources in separate datacenters inside the same region, so the workload can survive a complete zone or datacenter failure. For a requirement that explicitly includes datacenter-level resilience, zones are the correct choice. They provide stronger isolation than availability sets, which only protect against update domain and fault domain issues within a datacenter.
- C
A proximity placement group so both VMs stay physically close together.
Why wrong: A proximity placement group improves latency, but it does not provide failure isolation for datacenter outages.
- D
A single VM with Premium SSD storage and automatic restart.
Why wrong: A single VM is still a single point of failure and cannot meet the availability requirement.
AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of deploy and manage azure compute. 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 online transaction app uses two identical VMs in an Azure region that supports availability zones. The business wants the app to stay available if an entire datacenter in the region fails. What should the administrator deploy?
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
Two VMs placed in different availability zones within the region.
Option B is correct because deploying VMs in different availability zones protects against an entire datacenter failure. Each availability zone is a physically separate datacenter within an Azure region, with independent power, cooling, and networking. If one zone fails, the VM in the other zone remains available, ensuring business continuity for the app.
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.
- ✗
An availability set with the VMs placed in different update domains.
Why it's wrong here
Availability sets protect against host maintenance and some hardware failures, but not a full datacenter outage.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to protect VMs from hardware failures and maintenance within a single datacenter, but does not require resilience across datacenters. For example, deploying a two-tier app in a single datacenter where high availability within that datacenter is sufficient.
- ✓
Two VMs placed in different availability zones within the region.
Why this is correct
Availability zones place resources in separate datacenters inside the same region, so the workload can survive a complete zone or datacenter failure. For a requirement that explicitly includes datacenter-level resilience, zones are the correct choice. They provide stronger isolation than availability sets, which only protect against update domain and fault domain issues within a datacenter.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
A proximity placement group so both VMs stay physically close together.
Why it's wrong here
A proximity placement group improves latency, but it does not provide failure isolation for datacenter outages.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to minimize network latency between two VMs for a high-performance computing workload, and the VMs must be in the same region. Deploying them in a proximity placement group ensures low latency.
- ✗
A single VM with Premium SSD storage and automatic restart.
Why it's wrong here
A single VM is still a single point of failure and cannot meet the availability requirement.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked for a cost-effective solution to handle a temporary OS crash or planned maintenance within a single datacenter, deploying a single VM with automatic restart would be correct.
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.
✓Two VMs placed in different availability zones within the region.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Availability zones place resources in separate datacenters inside the same region, so the workload can survive a complete zone or datacenter failure. For a requirement that explicitly includes datacenter-level resilience, zones are the correct choice. They provide stronger isolation than availability sets, which only protect against update domain and fault domain issues within a datacenter.
✗An availability set with the VMs placed in different update domains.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
An availability set protects against planned and unplanned maintenance within a single datacenter, not against an entire datacenter failure. The question requires protection from a full datacenter outage, which availability zones provide.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to protect VMs from hardware failures and maintenance within a single datacenter, but does not require resilience across datacenters. For example, deploying a two-tier app in a single datacenter where high availability within that datacenter is sufficient.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse availability sets with availability zones, thinking that update domains provide datacenter-level fault tolerance, or they may not fully understand the scope of protection each option offers.
✗A proximity placement group so both VMs stay physically close together.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A proximity placement group reduces network latency by keeping VMs physically close, but it does not protect against an entire datacenter failure because all VMs could be in the same datacenter.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to minimize network latency between two VMs for a high-performance computing workload, and the VMs must be in the same region. Deploying them in a proximity placement group ensures low latency.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse high availability with low latency, thinking that placing VMs close together ensures availability, or they may not fully understand that availability zones provide datacenter-level fault isolation.
✗A single VM with Premium SSD storage and automatic restart.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A single VM with Premium SSD and automatic restart cannot survive an entire datacenter failure; if the datacenter hosting that VM goes down, the VM becomes unavailable regardless of storage or restart policies.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked for a cost-effective solution to handle a temporary OS crash or planned maintenance within a single datacenter, deploying a single VM with automatic restart would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may overestimate the protection offered by Premium SSD and automatic restart, mistakenly believing these features provide high availability against datacenter-level failures.
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?”
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse availability sets (which protect against rack-level failures within a single datacenter) with availability zones (which protect against entire datacenter failures), leading them to choose Option A instead of B.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure availability zones are unique physical locations within an Azure region, each with its own independent infrastructure (power, cooling, networking). The SLA for multi-VM deployments across availability zones is 99.99%, compared to 99.95% for availability sets. In a real-world scenario, if a regional disaster affects one zone, traffic can be load-balanced to the other zone using Azure Load Balancer or Traffic Manager, ensuring near-continuous availability.
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?
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute — This question tests Deploy and Manage Azure Compute — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Two VMs placed in different availability zones within the region. — Option B is correct because deploying VMs in different availability zones protects against an entire datacenter failure. Each availability zone is a physically separate datacenter within an Azure region, with independent power, cooling, and networking. If one zone fails, the VM in the other zone remains available, ensuring business continuity for the app.
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
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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