AZ-104 Manage Azure Identities and Governance Practice Question
Exhibit
Tenant: Contoso Subscription: Prod-Sub Resource groups: - RG-App - RG-Data - RG-Net Requirement: - Helpdesk contractors must start and stop all VMs only in RG-App. - They must not see or manage resources in the other resource groups.
Based on the exhibit, where should the administrator assign the role so the contractor can start and stop virtual machines only in RG-App and nothing else?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume assigning at the subscription scope is simpler and still 'covers the work area,' failing to recognize that it violates least privilege by granting access to all resource groups, not just RG-App.
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
✓
Assign the role at the resource group scope for RG-App.
The contractor needs to manage virtual machines only within RG-App. Azure RBAC allows you to assign the Virtual Machine Contributor role at the resource group scope, which grants permissions to start and stop VMs within that specific resource group while preventing access to resources in other resource groups or at higher scopes. Assigning at the subscription or management group level would grant permissions across all resource groups, violating the principle of least privilege.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Assign the role at the subscription scope so it covers the contractor's work area.
Why it's wrong here
Assigning the role at the subscription scope applies the permissions to all resource groups in the subscription—RG-App, RG-Data, and RG-Net—so the contractor would be able to access storage, networking, and other resources beyond the VMs they need to manage. This is unnecessarily broad because the requirement is specifically limited to virtual machines in RG-App. The correct scope should be the narrowest one that still covers the entire target resource group, not the whole subscription.
When this WOULD be correct
If the contractor needed to start and stop VMs across multiple resource groups within the same subscription, assigning the role at the subscription scope would be appropriate.
- ✓
Assign the role at the resource group scope for RG-App.
Why this is correct
This is the narrowest scope that still reaches all virtual machines inside RG-App. RBAC permissions assigned at the resource group level apply only to resources in that group, which fits the requirement to manage VMs there without affecting RG-Data or RG-Net.
- ✗
Assign the role at the management group scope above the subscription.
Why it's wrong here
A management group is the topmost scope in Azure RBAC and can contain one or more subscriptions. Assigning the role there propagates the permissions to every subscription under that management group, including any outside the one that holds RG-App. This gives the contractor access to unrelated environments and resources, making it far broader than the requirement and violating least privilege.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question required the contractor to manage VMs across multiple subscriptions that all belong to the same management group, and the role assignment should cover all those subscriptions, then assigning at the management group scope would be correct.
- ✗
Assign the role directly to one virtual machine only, because that is always the best scope.
Why it's wrong here
Assigning the role directly to one VM scope would grant the contractor access to only that specific virtual machine, leaving all other VMs in RG-App without the required permissions. This approach would also require duplicating the assignment for each VM and would not automatically cover VMs created in RG-App later. The claim that an individual resource is always the best scope is false; scope must match the actual set of resources being managed, which in this case is the entire RG-App resource group.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question required granting permissions to start and stop only one specific VM (e.g., a critical server) and no other resources, assigning the role at the VM scope would be correct.
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.
✓Assign the role at the resource group scope for RG-App.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
This is the narrowest scope that still reaches all virtual machines inside RG-App. RBAC permissions assigned at the resource group level apply only to resources in that group, which fits the requirement to manage VMs there without affecting RG-Data or RG-Net.
✗Assign the role at the subscription scope so it covers the contractor's work area.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Assigning at subscription scope grants permissions to all resource groups in the subscription, not just RG-App, violating the requirement to limit access to RG-App only.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the contractor needed to start and stop VMs across multiple resource groups within the same subscription, assigning the role at the subscription scope would be appropriate.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think subscription scope is necessary to cover all resources, overlooking the need for least privilege and the specific constraint to limit access to a single resource group.
✗Assign the role at the management group scope above the subscription.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Assigning the role at the management group scope would grant permissions to start/stop VMs in all subscriptions under that management group, not just RG-App, violating the requirement to restrict access to only RG-App.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question required the contractor to manage VMs across multiple subscriptions that all belong to the same management group, and the role assignment should cover all those subscriptions, then assigning at the management group scope would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that using a higher scope like management group is more efficient or covers all necessary resources, but they overlook the need for least privilege and the specific constraint to limit access to only one resource group.
✗Assign the role directly to one virtual machine only, because that is always the best scope.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Assigning the role to a single VM would only grant permissions on that VM, not on all VMs in RG-App, and the requirement is to manage all VMs in the resource group.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question required granting permissions to start and stop only one specific VM (e.g., a critical server) and no other resources, assigning the role at the VM scope would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that assigning at the most granular scope (VM) is always best, but they overlook that the requirement covers multiple VMs in the resource group.
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?”
Quick reference
Access Control Model Comparison
| Model | Acronym | Who Controls Access? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Access Control | DAC | Resource owner | Small teams, file shares |
| Mandatory Access Control | MAC | System / security labels | Classified govt / military |
| Role-Based Access Control | RBAC | Administrator (via roles) | Enterprise environments |
| Attribute-Based Access Control | ABAC | Policy engine (user + resource attributes) | Fine-grained, dynamic policies |
| Rule-Based Access Control | RuBAC | System rules / ACLs | Firewall rules, network ACLs |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Dynamic Membership Groups
Key term
Access control
Access control is the security practice of determining who or what is allowed to view, use, or enter a resource, and under what conditions.
Key term
Contributor role
The Contributor role is a built-in Azure role that grants full access to manage resources within a scope but does not allow granting access to other users.
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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.