AZ-104 Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources Practice Question
Exhibit
Monitoring requirement - 5 Linux VMs in one resource group - Collect CPU percentage and logical disk free space - Keep ingestion cost as low as possible - No application tracing is required - Current state: No guest monitoring agent configured
Based on the exhibit, what should the administrator deploy to monitor CPU and free disk space on a small set of VMs while keeping telemetry cost low?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse Azure Monitor Agent with the older Log Analytics agent or mistakenly think diagnostic settings to storage accounts are free, overlooking that storage write operations and data retention incur costs.
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
✓
Deploy Azure Monitor Agent and collect only the required performance counters with a data collection rule.
Azure Monitor Agent (AMA) is the modern, cost-effective agent for collecting performance counters like CPU and free disk space from VMs. By using a Data Collection Rule (DCR) to specify only the required counters, the administrator minimizes data ingestion volume, directly controlling telemetry costs. This approach avoids the overhead of sending all guest logs or using more expensive monitoring tools.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Deploy Azure Monitor Agent and collect only the required performance counters with a data collection rule.
Why this is correct
Azure Monitor Agent with a targeted data collection rule is the cost-aware choice because it collects only the specific performance data needed. The administrator can scope the rule to the five VMs and include just CPU and disk free space counters, avoiding broad log ingestion. This meets the monitoring requirement without paying to send unnecessary telemetry to Log Analytics.
- ✗
Enable diagnostic settings on each VM and send all guest logs to a storage account.
Why it's wrong here
Enabling diagnostic settings and sending all guest logs to a storage account will stream every event from the system, application, and security logs into an unstructured blob container, creating unnecessary egress and storage costs. This approach does not support real-time alerting or querying against those logs, and it lacks the targeted collection of only CPU and disk free space counters. A data collection rule with Azure Monitor Agent is far more precise and cost-effective.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question required long-term archival of all guest OS logs for compliance or audit purposes, and cost was not a primary concern, enabling diagnostic settings to send logs to a storage account would be appropriate.
- ✗
Install Application Insights on each VM and enable request tracing.
Why it's wrong here
Application Insights is designed for application performance monitoring, such as request rates, dependency call durations, and exceptions from instrumented code, not for guest OS counters like CPU utilization or free disk space. The Application Insights agent on a VM also targets .NET web apps and requires application-level instrumentation, so it would not deliver the required performance counters to Log Analytics. Selecting it would add unnecessary overhead and fail the original monitoring requirement.
When this WOULD be correct
When the question asks to monitor the performance and usage of a custom web application running on VMs, including tracking user requests, dependencies, and exceptions, while keeping costs low by using only the required telemetry.
- ✗
Create a resource lock on each VM to preserve the current state.
Why it's wrong here
A resource lock is a governance control that prevents accidental deletion or modification of a VM, which is unrelated to collecting performance telemetry. Locking a VM would not generate CPU or disk utilization metrics, nor would it send any data to Log Analytics for alerting and reporting. Thus, while a lock can protect a resource, it cannot satisfy the requirement to monitor host performance counters.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to prevent accidental deletion or modification of critical VMs in a production environment. Deploying resource locks (e.g., CanNotDelete or ReadOnly) on each VM would be the correct answer.
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.
✓Deploy Azure Monitor Agent and collect only the required performance counters with a data collection rule.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Azure Monitor Agent with a targeted data collection rule is the cost-aware choice because it collects only the specific performance data needed. The administrator can scope the rule to the five VMs and include just CPU and disk free space counters, avoiding broad log ingestion. This meets the monitoring requirement without paying to send unnecessary telemetry to Log Analytics.
✗Enable diagnostic settings on each VM and send all guest logs to a storage account.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Sending all guest logs to a storage account incurs high storage and data transfer costs, and does not provide real-time monitoring for CPU and disk space; it also lacks the targeted performance counter collection needed for low-cost monitoring.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question required long-term archival of all guest OS logs for compliance or audit purposes, and cost was not a primary concern, enabling diagnostic settings to send logs to a storage account would be appropriate.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that enabling diagnostic settings is a standard way to collect performance data, and they overlook the cost implications of sending all logs versus collecting only specific counters.
✗Install Application Insights on each VM and enable request tracing.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Application Insights is designed for application performance monitoring and request tracing, not for OS-level metrics like CPU and disk space. It would incur higher costs and unnecessary complexity for simple VM monitoring.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
When the question asks to monitor the performance and usage of a custom web application running on VMs, including tracking user requests, dependencies, and exceptions, while keeping costs low by using only the required telemetry.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Application Insights as a general monitoring tool for VMs, not realizing it is focused on application-level telemetry rather than OS performance counters.
✗Create a resource lock on each VM to preserve the current state.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Resource locks prevent accidental deletion or modification of resources but do not monitor CPU or free disk space, so they cannot satisfy the monitoring requirement.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to prevent accidental deletion or modification of critical VMs in a production environment. Deploying resource locks (e.g., CanNotDelete or ReadOnly) on each VM would be the correct answer.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse resource locks with monitoring or think that locking preserves the current state, including performance metrics, but locks only affect management operations, not data collection.
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?”
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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.