- A
LRS
Why wrong: Incorrect. LRS stores data in one datacenter, so a zone loss can still affect availability.
- B
ZRS
Correct. ZRS replicates data across availability zones in the same region to survive a zone outage.
- C
GRS
Why wrong: Incorrect. GRS provides geographic replication, but it does not guarantee zone-level resilience in the primary region.
- D
GZRS
Correct. GZRS includes zone redundancy in the primary region and also replicates to a paired region.
- E
RA-GRS
Why wrong: Incorrect. RA-GRS adds readable secondary access, but it does not provide zone redundancy in the primary region.
Question 1,168 of 1,170
Azure Storage Redundancy for Zone Failure: ZRS vs GZRS
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage storage. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 workload must keep storage available if one availability zone in the primary region fails. Geo-failover is optional, but the account must still meet the zone-failure requirement. Which two redundancy options satisfy this? Select two.
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"primary"Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
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
✓
ZRS
B is correct because Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three availability zones within a single region, ensuring durability and availability even if one zone fails. This meets the requirement of keeping storage available during a zone failure without relying on geo-failover.
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.
- ✗
LRS
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. LRS stores data in one datacenter, so a zone loss can still affect availability.
When this WOULD be correct
LRS would be correct if the question specified that the workload only needs to protect against local hardware failures within a single data center, and zone or regional redundancy is not required. For example, a development or test environment with low cost priority.
- ✓
ZRS
Why this is correct
Correct. ZRS replicates data across availability zones in the same region to survive a zone outage.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
GRS
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. GRS provides geographic replication, but it does not guarantee zone-level resilience in the primary region.
When this WOULD be correct
A question that requires geo-redundancy (survive a full region failure) but does not require zone-level redundancy within the primary region. For example: 'You need to ensure data is available even if an entire Azure region fails. Which redundancy option meets this requirement?'
- ✓
GZRS
Why this is correct
Correct. GZRS includes zone redundancy in the primary region and also replicates to a paired region.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
RA-GRS
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. RA-GRS adds readable secondary access, but it does not provide zone redundancy in the primary region.
When this WOULD be correct
RA-GRS would be correct for a workload that requires read access to data during a regional outage (geo-failover) and can tolerate zone failures within the primary region, such as a read-heavy application with low consistency needs.
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.
✓ZRSCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Correct. ZRS replicates data across availability zones in the same region to survive a zone outage.
✗LRSWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
LRS replicates data only within a single data center in one availability zone, so it cannot survive a zone failure. The question requires storage to remain available if one zone in the primary region fails.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
LRS would be correct if the question specified that the workload only needs to protect against local hardware failures within a single data center, and zone or regional redundancy is not required. For example, a development or test environment with low cost priority.
Why candidates choose this
LRS is the cheapest and simplest option, and candidates may mistakenly believe it provides zone redundancy because it replicates within a region, but it does not span zones.
✗GRSWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
GRS replicates data to a paired secondary region but does not provide zone-redundant storage within the primary region. The question requires availability if one zone in the primary region fails, which GRS does not guarantee.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question that requires geo-redundancy (survive a full region failure) but does not require zone-level redundancy within the primary region. For example: 'You need to ensure data is available even if an entire Azure region fails. Which redundancy option meets this requirement?'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse geo-redundancy with zone-redundancy, or think that having a secondary region automatically protects against zone failures in the primary region.
✗RA-GRSWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
RA-GRS provides read access to geo-replicated data, but it does not protect against a zone failure in the primary region because it uses LRS in the primary region, not ZRS. Thus, it fails the zone-failure requirement.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
RA-GRS would be correct for a workload that requires read access to data during a regional outage (geo-failover) and can tolerate zone failures within the primary region, such as a read-heavy application with low consistency needs.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse RA-GRS with GZRS, thinking the 'read-access' feature also implies zone redundancy, or they may overlook that RA-GRS still relies on LRS in the primary region.
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 GRS or RA-GRS as providing zone-level redundancy, but they only replicate across regions, not across zones within the primary region, unless combined with ZRS (as in GZRS).
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
ZRS uses synchronous replication across three Azure availability zones, each with independent power, cooling, and networking, achieving at least 99.99% availability for storage accounts. GZRS (Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage) combines ZRS in the primary region with GRS to a secondary region, providing both zone-failure resilience and optional geo-failover, which matches the 'optional' geo-failover requirement while still meeting the zone-failure mandate. Under the hood, ZRS writes data to all three zones before acknowledging a write, ensuring strong consistency within the region.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Implement and Manage Storage — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Implement and Manage Storage — This question tests Implement and Manage Storage — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: ZRS — B is correct because Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three availability zones within a single region, ensuring durability and availability even if one zone fails. This meets the requirement of keeping storage available during a zone failure without relying on geo-failover.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
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
3 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. An Azure Files share must stay available if one availability zone in its primary region fails. The business does not need replication to another region. Which redundancy option should you choose for the storage account?
easy- A.Locally redundant storage (LRS)
- ✓ B.Zone-redundant storage (ZRS)
- C.Geo-redundant storage (GRS)
- D.Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS)
Why B: Zone-redundant storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates your Azure Files share across three Azure availability zones within the primary region. This ensures the share remains available if one zone fails, without requiring replication to another region. LRS only replicates within a single data center, while GRS and RA-GRS involve secondary region replication, which the business does not need.
Variation 2. A team wants a storage option that stays available if one availability zone in the primary region fails. Which two redundancy options meet that requirement? Select two.
easy- ✓ A.Zone-redundant storage (ZRS).
- ✓ B.Geo-zone-redundant storage (GZRS).
- C.Locally redundant storage (LRS).
- D.Geo-redundant storage (GRS).
- E.Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS).
Why A: Zone-redundant storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three Azure availability zones within the primary region. If one zone fails, the data remains accessible from the other zones, ensuring high availability without requiring failover to a secondary region.
Variation 3. You need a storage redundancy option that keeps data available if an entire availability zone in the primary region fails, but you do not need cross-region replication. Which redundancy option should you choose?
medium- A.LRS
- ✓ B.ZRS
- C.GRS
- D.RA-GRS
Why B: B is correct because Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) synchronously replicates data across three Azure availability zones within a single region, ensuring data remains available if an entire zone fails. This meets the requirement of no cross-region replication while providing zone-level fault tolerance.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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