- A
Azure VPN Gateway
Why wrong: VPN Gateway creates encrypted network tunnels, but it does not provide portal-based browser access to individual VMs.
- B
Azure Load Balancer
Why wrong: A load balancer distributes traffic; it does not provide administrative shell access to VMs.
- C
A network security group with RDP and SSH rules
Why wrong: An NSG only filters traffic. It does not supply the management path the admins are asking for.
- D
Azure Bastion
Azure Bastion provides secure browser-based RDP and SSH to VMs that have no public IP addresses. It keeps management traffic inside Azure and avoids exposing administrative ports to the internet or requiring a client VPN on the administrator's device.
Question 544 of 1,170
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.
Administrators need to connect to Windows and Linux VMs from the Azure portal using a browser. The VMs do not have public IP addresses, and the security team does not want a VPN client installed on admin laptops. Which service should be deployed?
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
✓
Azure Bastion
Azure Bastion provides secure, seamless RDP and SSH connectivity to Azure VMs directly from the Azure portal over TLS, without requiring public IP addresses on the VMs or a VPN client on the admin's laptop. It uses a hardened bastion host deployed in the same virtual network, acting as a jump server that brokers browser-based connections, meeting both the security and connectivity requirements.
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.
- ✗
Azure VPN Gateway
- ✗
Azure Load Balancer
Why it's wrong here
A load balancer distributes traffic; it does not provide administrative shell access to VMs.
When this WOULD be correct
A question requiring high availability and load distribution for web applications across multiple VMs, where the goal is to distribute incoming traffic and ensure fault tolerance, not to provide secure administrative access.
- ✗
A network security group with RDP and SSH rules
Why it's wrong here
An NSG only filters traffic. It does not supply the management path the admins are asking for.
- ✓
Azure Bastion
Why this is correct
Azure Bastion provides secure browser-based RDP and SSH to VMs that have no public IP addresses. It keeps management traffic inside Azure and avoids exposing administrative ports to the internet or requiring a client VPN on the administrator's device.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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.
✓Azure BastionCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Azure Bastion provides secure browser-based RDP and SSH to VMs that have no public IP addresses. It keeps management traffic inside Azure and avoids exposing administrative ports to the internet or requiring a client VPN on the administrator's device.
✗Azure VPN GatewayWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure VPN Gateway requires a VPN client installed on admin laptops to establish a site-to-site or point-to-site connection, which conflicts with the security team's requirement of no VPN client installation.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An exam question where administrators need to securely connect on-premises networks to Azure VMs over the internet, and installing a VPN client on admin laptops is acceptable, would make Azure VPN Gateway the correct answer.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think VPN Gateway provides browser-based connectivity without client software, but it actually requires a VPN client for point-to-site connections, making it tempting but incorrect here.
✗Azure Load BalancerWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Load Balancer distributes traffic to VMs but does not provide inbound RDP/SSH connectivity without public IPs or a jump box; it operates at the transport layer and cannot replace a secure bastion host for browser-based access.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question requiring high availability and load distribution for web applications across multiple VMs, where the goal is to distribute incoming traffic and ensure fault tolerance, not to provide secure administrative access.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think a load balancer can be used to reach VMs internally, confusing its traffic distribution role with a gateway for administrative access, especially when VMs lack public IPs.
✗A network security group with RDP and SSH rulesWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A network security group (NSG) with RDP and SSH rules controls inbound traffic at the subnet or NIC level, but it does not provide browser-based connectivity without public IPs or a VPN. The VMs lack public IPs, so NSG rules alone cannot enable access from the Azure portal.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct in a scenario where VMs already have public IP addresses and the question asks how to restrict inbound RDP/SSH access to specific source IPs or deny all inbound traffic except from a management subnet, using NSG rules.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that allowing RDP/SSH in an NSG is sufficient for connectivity, overlooking the requirement for browser-based access without public IPs or VPN clients.
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 Bastion with a VPN gateway or assume that an NSG with RDP/SSH rules alone is sufficient for secure browser-based access, overlooking the requirement for no public IPs and no client software.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Bastion provisions a fully managed PaaS service inside a virtual network, using a dedicated subnet named 'AzureBastionSubnet' with a /26 or larger prefix. It leverages the Azure portal's HTML5-based client to proxy RDP (port 3389) and SSH (port 22) traffic over HTTPS (port 443), ensuring no public IP is assigned to the target VMs and all traffic remains within the Azure backbone. In a real-world scenario, this eliminates the need for complex VPN configurations while still supporting just-in-time access and integration with Azure AD authentication for conditional access policies.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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: Azure Bastion — Azure Bastion provides secure, seamless RDP and SSH connectivity to Azure VMs directly from the Azure portal over TLS, without requiring public IP addresses on the VMs or a VPN client on the admin's laptop. It uses a hardened bastion host deployed in the same virtual network, acting as a jump server that brokers browser-based connections, meeting both the security and connectivity requirements.
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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