- A
Action group
An action group defines the notifications or automated responses sent when an alert fires.
- B
Azure Policy assignment
Why wrong: Azure Policy enforces compliance settings, but it does not send alert notifications.
- C
Metric alert rule
A metric alert rule watches the CPU metric and triggers when the threshold is crossed.
- D
Recovery Services vault
Why wrong: A Recovery Services vault is for backup and restore, not for alerting on CPU usage.
- E
Log Analytics workspace
Why wrong: A Log Analytics workspace stores and queries logs, but it is not required for a metric alert.
Question 105 of 1,170
AZ-104 Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of monitor and maintain azure resources. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 production VM needs an email and SMS notification when CPU percentage stays above 80 percent for five minutes. Which two Azure Monitor components should the administrator configure? 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
✓
Action group
A Metric alert rule monitors the VM’s CPU percentage metric and triggers when the condition (above 80% for 5 minutes) is met. An Action group defines the notification actions (email and SMS) that are executed when the alert fires. Together, they enable the required notification workflow.
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.
- ✓
Action group
Why this is correct
An action group defines the notifications or automated responses sent when an alert fires.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Azure Policy assignment
Why it's wrong here
Azure Policy enforces compliance settings, but it does not send alert notifications.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to ensure all VMs in a subscription have a specific tag (e.g., 'Environment: Production') and automatically remediate non-compliant VMs. In this scenario, an Azure Policy assignment with a 'deny' or 'deployIfNotExists' effect would be correct.
- ✓
Metric alert rule
Why this is correct
A metric alert rule watches the CPU metric and triggers when the threshold is crossed.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Recovery Services vault
Why it's wrong here
A Recovery Services vault is for backup and restore, not for alerting on CPU usage.
When this WOULD be correct
A Recovery Services vault would be correct if the question asked about configuring backup for an Azure VM, such as scheduling daily backups and setting up retention policies.
- ✗
Log Analytics workspace
Why it's wrong here
A Log Analytics workspace stores and queries logs, but it is not required for a metric alert.
When this WOULD be correct
A Log Analytics workspace would be correct if the question asked for a component to collect and analyze performance logs from multiple VMs, or to query historical CPU data for troubleshooting, without requiring real-time alerting.
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.
✓Action groupCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
An action group defines the notifications or automated responses sent when an alert fires.
✗Azure Policy assignmentWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Policy assignment enforces compliance rules on resources (e.g., tagging, SKU restrictions) and does not send notifications based on performance metrics like CPU percentage.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to ensure all VMs in a subscription have a specific tag (e.g., 'Environment: Production') and automatically remediate non-compliant VMs. In this scenario, an Azure Policy assignment with a 'deny' or 'deployIfNotExists' effect would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Azure Policy with monitoring or alerting, thinking it can trigger notifications for performance issues, but Policy is for governance and compliance, not real-time metric alerts.
✗Recovery Services vaultWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A Recovery Services vault is used for Azure Backup and Azure Site Recovery, not for monitoring or alerting. It cannot send email or SMS notifications based on CPU metrics.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A Recovery Services vault would be correct if the question asked about configuring backup for an Azure VM, such as scheduling daily backups and setting up retention policies.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Recovery Services vault with monitoring tools because both involve 'recovery' or 'alerts', or they might think it is needed for VM health monitoring.
✗Log Analytics workspaceWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A Log Analytics workspace is used for collecting and analyzing log data, not for sending email or SMS notifications based on CPU metrics. The notification action requires an action group, not a Log Analytics workspace.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A Log Analytics workspace would be correct if the question asked for a component to collect and analyze performance logs from multiple VMs, or to query historical CPU data for troubleshooting, without requiring real-time alerting.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Log Analytics with monitoring and assume it can directly send notifications, or they think metric data must be stored in Log Analytics before alerting, overlooking that metric alerts can work independently.
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 may confuse Log Analytics workspace (which can also generate alerts from log queries) with the metric-based alerting required for CPU percentage, or mistakenly think a Recovery Services vault is involved in monitoring notifications.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Metric alert rules evaluate resource metrics at a frequency as low as 1 minute using a sliding window. The aggregation of CPU percentage over 5 minutes uses the 'Average' statistic by default. Action groups support multiple notification channels (email, SMS, webhook, ITSM, etc.) and can be reused across multiple alert rules, ensuring consistent notification behavior.
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?
Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources — This question tests Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Action group — A Metric alert rule monitors the VM’s CPU percentage metric and triggers when the condition (above 80% for 5 minutes) is met. An Action group defines the notification actions (email and SMS) that are executed when the alert fires. Together, they enable the required notification workflow.
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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