- A
Use Azure App Service.
Correct. App Service is designed for hosted web applications with managed platform features.
- B
Choose an App Service plan at Standard tier or higher.
Correct. Deployment slots and autoscale require a plan tier that supports those capabilities.
- C
Use Azure Container Instances for the public application.
Why wrong: Incorrect. ACI is better for containers, but it does not provide deployment slots or web app hosting features.
- D
Deploy the app on a virtual machine scale set.
Why wrong: Incorrect. VM scale sets do not provide platform-managed deployment slots or built-in web hosting features.
- E
Use an availability set for the application instances.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Availability sets address VM resilience, not application platform features like slots or autoscale.
How to Host a Web App on Azure App Service with Built-in HTTPS, Slots, and Autoscaling
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 development team wants to publish an internet-facing application directly from source code. The solution must support built-in HTTPS, deployment slots for safe testing, and autoscale as demand changes. Which two choices should the administrator select? 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
Use Azure App Service.
Azure App Service is a fully managed platform for building, deploying, and scaling web apps. It natively supports publishing directly from source code (via continuous deployment from GitHub, Azure Repos, or Bitbucket), built-in HTTPS (with automatic certificate management), deployment slots for staging and swapping, and autoscale based on metrics or schedules. These features directly satisfy all the requirements stated in the question.
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.
- ✓
Use Azure App Service.
Why this is correct
Correct. App Service is designed for hosted web applications with managed platform features.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Choose an App Service plan at Standard tier or higher.
Why this is correct
Correct. Deployment slots and autoscale require a plan tier that supports those capabilities.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use Azure Container Instances for the public application.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. ACI is better for containers, but it does not provide deployment slots or web app hosting features.
- ✗
Deploy the app on a virtual machine scale set.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. VM scale sets do not provide platform-managed deployment slots or built-in web hosting features.
When this WOULD be correct
A question requiring a highly customizable, multi-tier application with specific OS-level configurations, custom software installations, or need for full control over the VM environment, where scaling out VMs is needed and deployment slots are not a requirement.
- ✗
Use an availability set for the application instances.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Availability sets address VM resilience, not application platform features like slots or autoscale.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to ensure high availability for a set of virtual machines hosting a critical application within a single region, requiring at least two VMs in different fault and update domains.
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.
✓Use Azure App Service.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Correct. App Service is designed for hosted web applications with managed platform features.
✗Use Azure Container Instances for the public application.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Container Instances does not provide built-in HTTPS, deployment slots, or autoscaling; it is designed for simple container workloads without these features.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
When the requirement is to run a containerized application quickly without managing orchestration, and features like HTTPS termination are handled by a separate front-end (e.g., Azure Application Gateway), and autoscaling is not needed.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think container instances are a modern, scalable option for web apps, overlooking that Azure App Service offers the required built-in features like slots and autoscale.
✗Deploy the app on a virtual machine scale set.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Virtual machine scale sets require manual configuration of HTTPS, deployment slots, and autoscale rules, and do not support direct source code deployment with built-in HTTPS and deployment slots like App Service.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question requiring a highly customizable, multi-tier application with specific OS-level configurations, custom software installations, or need for full control over the VM environment, where scaling out VMs is needed and deployment slots are not a requirement.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think VMSS provides autoscaling and is suitable for internet-facing apps, but overlook the specific requirements for built-in HTTPS and deployment slots that are native to App Service.
✗Use an availability set for the application instances.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
An availability set provides high availability for VMs within a datacenter but does not support built-in HTTPS, deployment slots, or autoscaling for internet-facing applications from source code.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to ensure high availability for a set of virtual machines hosting a critical application within a single region, requiring at least two VMs in different fault and update domains.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse availability sets with high-availability features of PaaS services like App Service, or think that availability sets provide scaling and HTTPS capabilities.
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 Azure Container Instances or virtual machine scale sets as simpler alternatives, but they lack the integrated deployment slots and built-in HTTPS management that App Service provides out of the box.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure App Service runs on a multi-tenant platform that abstracts the underlying IIS and Windows/Linux runtime. Deployment slots are actually separate live sites with their own hostnames and traffic routing, allowing zero-downtime swaps via Azure Resource Manager. Autoscale in App Service relies on the App Service plan's scaling out (adding instances) based on rules like CPU percentage or HTTP queue length, and the Standard tier or higher is required to enable both deployment slots and autoscale features.
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: Use Azure App Service. — Azure App Service is a fully managed platform for building, deploying, and scaling web apps. It natively supports publishing directly from source code (via continuous deployment from GitHub, Azure Repos, or Bitbucket), built-in HTTPS (with automatic certificate management), deployment slots for staging and swapping, and autoscale based on metrics or schedules. These features directly satisfy all the requirements stated in the question.
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
2 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 developer wants to publish an internet-facing web application from source code. The solution must support built-in HTTPS, deployment slots for testing, and autoscale. The team does not want to manage servers. Which Azure service should the administrator recommend?
easy- ✓ A.Azure App Service
- B.Azure Container Instances
- C.Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets
- D.Azure Bastion
Why A: Azure App Service is the correct choice because it provides a fully managed platform for hosting web applications from source code, with built-in support for HTTPS via TLS/SSL certificates, deployment slots for staging and testing, and autoscale capabilities. It eliminates server management, aligning with the requirement for a PaaS (Platform as a Service) solution that handles infrastructure, patching, and scaling automatically.
Variation 2. A developer wants to publish an internet-facing application from source code. Required capabilities include built-in HTTPS, deployment slots, and autoscale, but the team does not want to manage the operating system. Which Azure service should the administrator choose?
medium- A.Azure Container Instances
- B.Azure Virtual Machines
- ✓ C.Azure App Service
- D.Azure Kubernetes Service
Why C: Azure App Service is the correct choice because it provides a fully managed platform for hosting web applications with built-in HTTPS support, deployment slots for staging and swapping, and autoscale capabilities. It abstracts the underlying operating system, allowing the team to focus on code without managing infrastructure.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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