- A
Place both VMs in the same availability set
This is the standard design for spreading VMs across fault and update domains.
- B
Deploy the VMs so Azure distributes them across fault and update domains within that set
This ensures the VMs are separated for host and maintenance resiliency as intended.
- C
Deploy the VMs in separate availability zones
Why wrong: Zones may not exist in the region, and the scenario explicitly rules out zone-based design.
- D
Convert the workload to a single larger VM
Why wrong: A single VM removes redundancy and does not protect against host failures or maintenance.
- E
Put the VMs in a proximity placement group
Why wrong: This improves co-location and performance, but it does not provide the required resilience.
Question 560 of 1,170
When to Use Availability Zones or Availability Sets
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of deploy and manage azure compute. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
A business-critical application runs in a region that does not support availability zones. It uses two Azure VMs and must survive planned maintenance and a single host failure, but it does not need automatic scale-out. Which two actions should the administrator take? Select two.
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
✓
Place both VMs in the same availability set
Option A is correct because an availability set provides redundancy within a single region that does not support availability zones, protecting against both planned maintenance (via update domains) and host failures (via fault domains). By placing both VMs in the same availability set, Azure ensures they are distributed across multiple fault domains (up to 3) and update domains (up to 20), so a single hardware failure or planned maintenance event does not affect both VMs simultaneously.
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.
- ✓
Place both VMs in the same availability set
Why this is correct
This is the standard design for spreading VMs across fault and update domains.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Deploy the VMs so Azure distributes them across fault and update domains within that set
Why this is correct
This ensures the VMs are separated for host and maintenance resiliency as intended.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Deploy the VMs in separate availability zones
Why it's wrong here
Zones may not exist in the region, and the scenario explicitly rules out zone-based design.
When this WOULD be correct
In a region that supports availability zones, when the requirement is to protect against a full datacenter failure and achieve the highest SLA (e.g., 99.99%), deploying VMs across separate availability zones would be correct.
- ✗
Convert the workload to a single larger VM
Why it's wrong here
A single VM removes redundancy and does not protect against host failures or maintenance.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked for a cost-effective solution for a non-critical application that needs to handle occasional load spikes without redundancy requirements, converting to a single larger VM could be correct.
- ✗
Put the VMs in a proximity placement group
Why it's wrong here
This improves co-location and performance, but it does not provide the required resilience.
When this WOULD be correct
For a latency-sensitive application (e.g., HPC or real-time data processing) requiring VMs to be as close as possible to minimize network latency, even if it means sacrificing high availability.
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.
✓Place both VMs in the same availability setCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
This is the standard design for spreading VMs across fault and update domains.
✗Deploy the VMs in separate availability zonesWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The question states the region does not support availability zones, so deploying VMs in separate availability zones is not possible.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
In a region that supports availability zones, when the requirement is to protect against a full datacenter failure and achieve the highest SLA (e.g., 99.99%), deploying VMs across separate availability zones would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse availability zones with availability sets, or assume zones are always available, not reading the constraint that the region lacks zone support.
✗Convert the workload to a single larger VMWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The question requires surviving a single host failure, which a single larger VM cannot achieve because it is a single point of failure. Two VMs are needed for redundancy.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked for a cost-effective solution for a non-critical application that needs to handle occasional load spikes without redundancy requirements, converting to a single larger VM could be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think a larger VM is more reliable or can handle failures better, not realizing that a single VM cannot survive host failure regardless of size.
✗Put the VMs in a proximity placement groupWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A proximity placement group reduces network latency between VMs but does not protect against planned maintenance or host failure; it lacks fault and update domain separation.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
For a latency-sensitive application (e.g., HPC or real-time data processing) requiring VMs to be as close as possible to minimize network latency, even if it means sacrificing high availability.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse proximity placement groups with high availability features, assuming close physical placement also provides redundancy.
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 often confuse availability zones with availability sets, assuming zones are always an option, but the question explicitly restricts the region to non-zone support, making the availability set the only viable redundancy mechanism.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Zones may not exist in the region, and the scenario explicitly rules out zone-based design.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
An availability set uses fault domains (logical groups of hardware sharing a common power source and network switch) and update domains (logical groups that undergo maintenance sequentially). Azure guarantees that VMs in the same availability set are placed in different fault domains (up to 3) and update domains (up to 20), ensuring that at most one VM is affected during a host failure or planned maintenance. This is achieved through the Azure Resource Manager placing VMs based on the set's configuration at deployment time.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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: Place both VMs in the same availability set — Option A is correct because an availability set provides redundancy within a single region that does not support availability zones, protecting against both planned maintenance (via update domains) and host failures (via fault domains). By placing both VMs in the same availability set, Azure ensures they are distributed across multiple fault domains (up to 3) and update domains (up to 20), so a single hardware failure or planned maintenance event does not affect both VMs simultaneously.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
3 more ways 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. A production application runs on three Azure VMs in a region that supports availability zones. The business wants the application to remain available if one datacenter in the region fails. What should the administrator use?
easy- A.An availability set
- ✓ B.Availability zones
- C.A managed disk snapshot
- D.A proximity placement group
Why B: Availability zones are physically separate datacenters within an Azure region, each with independent power, cooling, and networking. Deploying the three VMs across different zones ensures that if one datacenter fails, the application remains available because the other zones continue to operate. This directly meets the requirement for resilience against a single datacenter failure.
Variation 2. A public web application runs on two identical VMs behind a load balancer. The region supports availability zones. The business wants the app to keep serving traffic if one datacenter in the region becomes unavailable. What should the administrator use?
medium- A.An availability set with two VMs
- ✓ B.Availability zones for the two VMs
- C.A single virtual machine scale set instance
- D.A proximity placement group
Why B: Option B is correct because deploying the two VMs in different availability zones within the same region protects against a single datacenter failure. Each availability zone is a physically separate datacenter with independent power, cooling, and networking. If one zone goes down, the load balancer automatically routes traffic to the VM in the other zone, ensuring the application continues serving traffic.
Variation 3. A line-of-business application must keep running even if one datacenter in an Azure region has an outage. Which deployment option should you choose for the VMs?
easy- A.An availability set
- B.A single virtual machine with Premium SSD
- ✓ C.Availability zones
- D.A proximity placement group
Why C: Availability zones (Option C) are physically separate datacenters within an Azure region, each with independent power, cooling, and networking. Deploying VMs across two or more zones ensures that if one datacenter fails, the application continues running in the other zone, meeting the requirement for resilience against a single datacenter outage.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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