AZ-104 Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources Practice Question
Exhibit
Azure Monitor alert rule Condition: Average Percentage CPU > 85 for 10 minutes Notifications: Not configured Action group: Missing Scope: vm-prod-02
Based on the exhibit, what should the administrator add to send an email and SMS notification?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse a Log Analytics workspace (which can trigger alerts based on log queries) with the actual notification delivery mechanism, forgetting that an action group is required to define how and where the alert notification is sent.
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
✓
An action group with email and SMS receivers.
To send email and SMS notifications from an Azure Monitor alert, you must configure an action group. An action group defines the notification channels (e.g., email, SMS, webhook) and their respective receivers. When the alert rule triggers, Azure Monitor invokes the action group to deliver the notifications. Without an action group, the alert rule has no mechanism to send email or SMS.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
An action group with email and SMS receivers.
Why this is correct
Action groups are the Azure Monitor component that define the notification delivery path for alert rules. To send email and SMS messages when a metric alert fires, an action group must be created with those receiver types and linked to the rule. Without an action group, the alert can only be viewed in the portal or API but cannot proactively contact an administrator. Adding email and SMS receivers gives the alert the required response mechanism.
- ✗
A Log Analytics workspace connected to the virtual machine.
Why it's wrong here
A Log Analytics workspace is a data repository used for ingesting, storing, and querying logs from resources like virtual machines. While an alert rule can query log data in a workspace, the workspace itself has no built-in capability to send email or SMS notifications. Notifications are handled exclusively by alert rules and action groups, so connecting a workspace merely enables log analytics, not communication. Thus, it does not fulfill the requirement to send alerts.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the question asked: 'What should the administrator add to collect and analyze performance metrics and logs from the virtual machine?' In that scenario, connecting a Log Analytics workspace is the appropriate solution.
- ✗
A backup recovery point for the virtual machine.
Why it's wrong here
A backup recovery point is a point-in-time snapshot of a virtual machine's data used solely for restore and disaster-recovery operations. It is a passive artifact that does not monitor live performance or trigger any messaging. Even if a recovery point exists, there is no mechanism within it to deliver email or SMS notifications. Backup and alerting are separate services; recovery points are irrelevant to sending live performance alerts.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct in a question like: 'An administrator needs to restore a virtual machine to a previous state. What should they use?' In that context, a backup recovery point is the correct resource.
- ✗
A private endpoint for the virtual machine.
Why it's wrong here
A private endpoint creates a network interface with a private IP address to securely access a PaaS service over a private connection. It operates at the network layer and is designed to control connectivity, not to send notifications. There is no functionality in a private endpoint to generate email or SMS messages. Attaching one to the virtual machine would not enable any alerting or communication path, so it cannot be the missing component.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct in a question asking how to ensure that traffic to a virtual machine from a specific Azure service (e.g., Storage Account) stays within the Microsoft backbone network and does not traverse the public internet, enhancing security.
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.
✓An action group with email and SMS receivers.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Action groups are the Azure Monitor component that define the notification delivery path for alert rules. To send email and SMS messages when a metric alert fires, an action group must be created with those receiver types and linked to the rule. Without an action group, the alert can only be viewed in the portal or API but cannot proactively contact an administrator. Adding email and SMS receivers gives the alert the required response mechanism.
✗A Log Analytics workspace connected to the virtual machine.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A Log Analytics workspace is used for collecting and analyzing diagnostic logs and metrics, not for sending email or SMS notifications. The question specifically asks about sending notifications, which requires an action group.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the question asked: 'What should the administrator add to collect and analyze performance metrics and logs from the virtual machine?' In that scenario, connecting a Log Analytics workspace is the appropriate solution.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse monitoring (Log Analytics) with alerting (action groups), or think that Log Analytics can directly send notifications, when in fact it only provides data for alerts that then trigger action groups.
✗A backup recovery point for the virtual machine.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The question asks about sending email and SMS notifications, which requires an action group. A backup recovery point is used for restoring virtual machine data, not for configuring notifications.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct in a question like: 'An administrator needs to restore a virtual machine to a previous state. What should they use?' In that context, a backup recovery point is the correct resource.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates might confuse backup recovery points with alerting or notification mechanisms, or think that backup-related resources can trigger notifications.
✗A private endpoint for the virtual machine.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A private endpoint is used to securely connect to Azure services over a private IP address, not to send email or SMS notifications. It does not provide notification capabilities.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct in a question asking how to ensure that traffic to a virtual machine from a specific Azure service (e.g., Storage Account) stays within the Microsoft backbone network and does not traverse the public internet, enhancing security.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse private endpoints with notification delivery mechanisms, or think that private endpoints can be used to send alerts via private network channels.
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
Alerting policy
An alerting policy is a set of rules that defines when to send notifications about a system condition that needs attention.
Key term
Group
A group is a collection of users, devices, or other objects that are assigned permissions and policies together for simplified management in identity and governance systems like Microsoft Entra ID.
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.