AZ-104 Manage Azure Identities and Governance Practice Question
Exhibit
Policy compliance details Assignment name: Deny-Public-Storage Scope: Subscription / Contoso-Prod Effect: Deny Condition: Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/publicNetworkAccess = 'Enabled' Compliance state: - stapp01: Non-compliant, creation denied - stlegacy01: Non-compliant, existing exception requested by application team Request note: - Keep stlegacy01 publicly reachable until migration is complete - Do not change the policy for all other resources
Based on the exhibit, a policy assigned at the subscription denies storage accounts that allow public network access. One existing storage account in RG-Legacy must remain publicly reachable for 30 days while a migration is completed. What should the administrator use?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse policy exemptions with policy exclusions (which are set at assignment scope and apply to entire resource groups or subscriptions), leading them to think they must modify the assignment or move resources instead of using the precise exemption mechanism designed for temporary exceptions.
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
✓
Create a policy exemption for stlegacy01 at the resource scope.
A policy exemption at the resource scope is the correct approach because it allows the administrator to selectively exclude the specific storage account (stlegacy01) from the subscription-level policy that denies public network access. This exemption can be configured with an expiration date of 30 days, ensuring the legacy account remains publicly reachable during the migration while the policy continues to apply to all other resources. Policy exemptions are designed for exactly this scenario—temporary exceptions for compliance or migration needs—without altering the policy definition or assignment.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create a policy exemption for stlegacy01 at the resource scope.
Why this is correct
A policy exemption is the correct tool when one known resource must temporarily be excluded from a policy assignment. It preserves the policy for everything else while documenting the exception for stlegacy01. This is ideal for a time-bound migration because it avoids weakening the policy across the subscription.
- ✗
Remove the policy assignment from the subscription until the migration finishes.
Why it's wrong here
Removing the assignment disables the control for all storage accounts, not just the legacy one. That creates a governance gap and allows any other storage account to become public. The requirement is to keep the policy active everywhere except one resource.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question stated that all storage accounts in the subscription need temporary public access for a short migration period, and there is no requirement to maintain the policy for other resources, then removing the assignment until migration finishes would be appropriate.
- ✗
Change the policy effect from Deny to Audit.
Why it's wrong here
Switching the effect from Deny to Audit would stop Azure Policy from blocking noncompliant storage accounts, meaning every storage account in the subscription—not just stlegacy01—would be allowed to become publicly accessible. The policy would then only log compliance data, which does not satisfy the requirement to enforce the control for other resources. An exemption targets a single scope and preserves the Deny effect everywhere else, whereas changing the effect weakens the entire policy baseline. This option is fundamentally a policy change, not a scoped exception, so it fails to maintain the intended security posture.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question required temporarily allowing all storage accounts to have public access for testing or migration, and the policy was intended to be reverted later, changing the effect to Audit would be appropriate.
- ✗
Move the legacy storage account to a separate subscription and assign the policy there.
Why it's wrong here
Moving the resource to another subscription is disruptive and does not directly address the governance need. It is also unnecessary when Azure Policy exemptions already support temporary, scoped exceptions. The question asks for the simplest correct governance action.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the question stated that the legacy storage account must be isolated from the policy permanently, and the migration is not time-sensitive. For example: 'An organization wants to permanently exempt a legacy storage account from a subscription-level policy without creating exemptions, and the account can be moved to a new subscription with minimal downtime.'
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.
✓Create a policy exemption for stlegacy01 at the resource scope.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
A policy exemption is the correct tool when one known resource must temporarily be excluded from a policy assignment. It preserves the policy for everything else while documenting the exception for stlegacy01. This is ideal for a time-bound migration because it avoids weakening the policy across the subscription.
✗Remove the policy assignment from the subscription until the migration finishes.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Removing the policy assignment would disable the deny effect for all resources in the subscription, including those that should remain protected, violating the requirement to keep the policy enforced for other storage accounts.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question stated that all storage accounts in the subscription need temporary public access for a short migration period, and there is no requirement to maintain the policy for other resources, then removing the assignment until migration finishes would be appropriate.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think removing the policy is a quick fix to allow public access for the legacy account, overlooking that it also removes protection from other compliant resources.
✗Change the policy effect from Deny to Audit.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Changing the effect to Audit would allow all storage accounts in the subscription to bypass the deny policy, not just the legacy one, violating the requirement to block public access for other accounts.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question required temporarily allowing all storage accounts to have public access for testing or migration, and the policy was intended to be reverted later, changing the effect to Audit would be appropriate.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Audit is a softer enforcement that still logs violations, but they overlook that the specific legacy account must remain publicly reachable while others must stay denied.
✗Move the legacy storage account to a separate subscription and assign the policy there.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Moving the storage account to a separate subscription would require reconfiguring network access and potentially disrupt the migration. The policy is assigned at the subscription level, so moving to a new subscription would avoid the policy but does not address the requirement to keep the account publicly reachable for 30 days without migration interruption.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the question stated that the legacy storage account must be isolated from the policy permanently, and the migration is not time-sensitive. For example: 'An organization wants to permanently exempt a legacy storage account from a subscription-level policy without creating exemptions, and the account can be moved to a new subscription with minimal downtime.'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think moving to a separate subscription is a clean way to bypass the policy without modifying assignments or exemptions, overlooking the operational overhead and potential disruption during migration.
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?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Managed Identities for Azure Resources
Key term
Subscription
A subscription is a payment model where you pay a recurring fee to access a product or service instead of buying it once and owning it forever.
Key term
Policy definition
A policy definition is a formal rule or set of rules that specifies allowed or denied actions on resources within an IT environment, often used for governance, compliance, and security control.
About these practice questions
This AZ-104 question is part of Courseiva's 1,049-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-104 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-104 exam.