The answer is to create a policy exemption for the legacy storage account or its resource group. This is correct because a policy exemption allows you to exclude a specific resource from Azure Policy evaluation without altering the underlying policy definition, effectively granting a temporary waiver for noncompliance while the policy remains enforced for all other resources. On the AZ-104 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the difference between policy exemptions, exclusions, and overrides—a common trap is confusing an exemption with modifying the policy assignment’s exclusion scope, which would affect all resources in that scope. Remember the memory tip: “Exempt the exception, don’t edit the rule” to quickly recall that exemptions are for individual resources, not policy changes.
AZ-104 Manage Azure Identities and Governance Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of manage azure identities and governance. 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.
Exhibit
Policy compliance report:
- Assignment: Deny public network access on storage accounts
- Scope: MG-Platform
- Noncompliant resource: stlegacy01 in RG-Legacy
- Business note: The legacy application must stay publicly reachable for 30 days during migration.
Based on the exhibit, what should the administrator use to temporarily allow the legacy storage account to remain noncompliant without changing the policy for everyone?
Policy compliance report:
- Assignment: Deny public network access on storage accounts
- Scope: MG-Platform
- Noncompliant resource: stlegacy01 in RG-Legacy
- Business note: The legacy application must stay publicly reachable for 30 days during migration.
A
Modify the policy definition so all storage accounts can use public network access.
Why wrong: Changing the policy definition would weaken governance for every scoped resource, not just the legacy account.
B
Create a policy exemption for the legacy storage account or its resource group.
A policy exemption is designed for approved exceptions to an existing assignment. It lets the legacy storage account remain temporarily outside the deny effect while preserving the policy for everything else. This keeps governance intact and documents the exception clearly.
C
Apply a ReadOnly lock to the storage account.
Why wrong: A ReadOnly lock would interfere with normal management operations and does not create a policy exception.
D
Move the storage account to another subscription so the policy no longer applies.
Why wrong: Moving the resource is a disruptive workaround and does not address the governance exception in a controlled way.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a policy exemption for the legacy storage account or its resource group.
A policy exemption allows the administrator to exclude a specific resource (the legacy storage account) or its resource group from the Azure Policy evaluation without modifying the underlying policy definition. This is the correct approach because it temporarily grants noncompliance for that resource while the policy remains enforced for all other resources, aligning with the requirement to avoid changing the policy for everyone.
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.
✗
Modify the policy definition so all storage accounts can use public network access.
Why it's wrong here
Changing the policy definition would weaken governance for every scoped resource, not just the legacy account.
✓
Create a policy exemption for the legacy storage account or its resource group.
Why this is correct
A policy exemption is designed for approved exceptions to an existing assignment. It lets the legacy storage account remain temporarily outside the deny effect while preserving the policy for everything else. This keeps governance intact and documents the exception clearly.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Apply a ReadOnly lock to the storage account.
Why it's wrong here
A ReadOnly lock would interfere with normal management operations and does not create a policy exception.
✗
Move the storage account to another subscription so the policy no longer applies.
Why it's wrong here
Moving the resource is a disruptive workaround and does not address the governance exception in a controlled way.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse policy exemptions with resource locks or policy definition modifications, mistakenly thinking a ReadOnly lock or moving the resource will bypass policy evaluation, when in fact only an exemption explicitly excludes a resource from policy compliance checks.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Policy exemptions are defined at the same scope as the policy assignment (e.g., management group, subscription, or resource group) and can be applied to individual resources or resource groups. Exemptions support two categories: 'Mitigated' (for risks that are accepted) and 'Waiver' (for temporary noncompliance), each with a defined expiration date. Under the hood, the Azure Policy engine skips evaluation for exempted resources, meaning compliance results will not show the resource as noncompliant, and any automatic remediation tasks (e.g., via deployIfNotExists effects) will not be triggered.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-104 question in full detail.
Manage Azure Identities and Governance — This question tests Manage Azure Identities and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a policy exemption for the legacy storage account or its resource group. — A policy exemption allows the administrator to exclude a specific resource (the legacy storage account) or its resource group from the Azure Policy evaluation without modifying the underlying policy definition. This is the correct approach because it temporarily grants noncompliance for that resource while the policy remains enforced for all other resources, aligning with the requirement to avoid changing the policy for everyone.
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.
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