- A
A source application security group for the web tier and a destination application security group for the app tier.
Application security groups let you group VMs by function rather than by individual IP addresses. An NSG rule can reference a source ASG and a destination ASG, so newly added web or app VMs are automatically governed as long as they are added to the correct ASG. This is ideal for scalable tier-to-tier access control.
- B
A service endpoint on the subnet where the app VMs are deployed.
Why wrong: Service endpoints are for securing access to supported Azure PaaS services, not for defining VM-to-VM security groups inside a virtual network.
- C
A user-defined route between the web subnet and app subnet.
Why wrong: Routes control packet forwarding paths, but they do not provide access control or automatically manage group membership for allowed sources and destinations.
- D
A load balancer backend pool for both tiers.
Why wrong: Backend pools are used for load balancing traffic, not for expressing security policy between application tiers.
AZ-104 Implement and Manage Virtual Networking Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage virtual networking. 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 team manages 20 web VMs and 15 app VMs that scale independently. The administrator needs an NSG rule that allows only the web tier to reach the app tier on TCP 8443, and future VM additions must be included automatically without editing IP addresses. What should the administrator use in the NSG rule?
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
A source application security group for the web tier and a destination application security group for the app tier.
Application security groups (ASGs) allow you to define network security rules based on logical groupings of VMs, regardless of their IP addresses. By assigning the web tier VMs to a source ASG and the app tier VMs to a destination ASG, the NSG rule automatically includes any new VMs added to those groups, meeting the requirement for dynamic inclusion without manual IP edits.
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.
- ✓
A source application security group for the web tier and a destination application security group for the app tier.
Why this is correct
Application security groups let you group VMs by function rather than by individual IP addresses. An NSG rule can reference a source ASG and a destination ASG, so newly added web or app VMs are automatically governed as long as they are added to the correct ASG. This is ideal for scalable tier-to-tier access control.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
A service endpoint on the subnet where the app VMs are deployed.
Why it's wrong here
Service endpoints are for securing access to supported Azure PaaS services, not for defining VM-to-VM security groups inside a virtual network.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to ensure that VMs in a subnet can only access an Azure SQL Database instance, and all traffic must go through the Azure backbone network. A service endpoint on the subnet would be the correct choice.
- ✗
A user-defined route between the web subnet and app subnet.
Why it's wrong here
Routes control packet forwarding paths, but they do not provide access control or automatically manage group membership for allowed sources and destinations.
When this WOULD be correct
A UDR would be correct if the question required traffic between the web and app subnets to be routed through a network virtual appliance (NVA) for inspection, e.g., 'Force traffic from web subnet to app subnet to go through a firewall.'
- ✗
A load balancer backend pool for both tiers.
Why it's wrong here
Backend pools are used for load balancing traffic, not for expressing security policy between application tiers.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to distribute incoming traffic from the internet to a set of VMs in a backend pool and ensure high availability. The load balancer would be the correct answer for distributing traffic, not for NSG filtering.
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.
✓A source application security group for the web tier and a destination application security group for the app tier.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Application security groups let you group VMs by function rather than by individual IP addresses. An NSG rule can reference a source ASG and a destination ASG, so newly added web or app VMs are automatically governed as long as they are added to the correct ASG. This is ideal for scalable tier-to-tier access control.
✗A service endpoint on the subnet where the app VMs are deployed.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Service endpoints secure Azure service access (e.g., Azure Storage) from a subnet, not traffic between VMs. They cannot restrict traffic between web and app tiers based on application security groups.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to ensure that VMs in a subnet can only access an Azure SQL Database instance, and all traffic must go through the Azure backbone network. A service endpoint on the subnet would be the correct choice.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse service endpoints with network security groups, thinking they can control VM-to-VM traffic, or they may believe endpoints can replace NSG rules for inter-tier communication.
✗A user-defined route between the web subnet and app subnet.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A user-defined route (UDR) controls network traffic routing between subnets, not security filtering. It cannot allow or deny traffic based on port or application; NSG rules are required for that purpose.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A UDR would be correct if the question required traffic between the web and app subnets to be routed through a network virtual appliance (NVA) for inspection, e.g., 'Force traffic from web subnet to app subnet to go through a firewall.'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse routing with security, thinking that directing traffic between subnets via a UDR can also enforce access control, especially when the question mentions 'allow only the web tier to reach the app tier.'
✗A load balancer backend pool for both tiers.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A load balancer backend pool groups VMs for traffic distribution, not for NSG rule source/destination specification. It cannot be used as a source or destination in an NSG rule to filter traffic between tiers.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to distribute incoming traffic from the internet to a set of VMs in a backend pool and ensure high availability. The load balancer would be the correct answer for distributing traffic, not for NSG filtering.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse the grouping capability of a load balancer backend pool with the grouping capability of an application security group, thinking both can be used to define traffic sources/destinations in NSG rules.
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 ASGs with network security groups (NSGs) themselves or think that service endpoints or UDRs can provide application-layer filtering, when in fact only ASGs enable IP-agnostic, dynamic grouping for NSG rules.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
ASGs are referenced by name in NSG rules and are resolved to the private IP addresses of all VMs in the group at runtime. This allows dynamic scaling: when a new VM is added to an ASG, the NSG automatically applies the rule to its IP without any manual intervention. ASGs can be used across subnets and even across virtual networks if peered, making them ideal for multi-tier application segmentation.
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
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Implement and Manage Virtual Networking — This question tests Implement and Manage Virtual Networking — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: A source application security group for the web tier and a destination application security group for the app tier. — Application security groups (ASGs) allow you to define network security rules based on logical groupings of VMs, regardless of their IP addresses. By assigning the web tier VMs to a source ASG and the app tier VMs to a destination ASG, the NSG rule automatically includes any new VMs added to those groups, meeting the requirement for dynamic inclusion without manual IP edits.
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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