- A
A metric alert rule only
Why wrong: A metric alert can detect the CPU condition, but it does not by itself define reusable notification recipients.
- B
An action group
An action group stores the notification targets, such as email and SMS recipients, so multiple alerts can reuse the same response action.
- C
A service health alert
Why wrong: Service health alerts report Azure platform issues, not a virtual machine's CPU usage.
- D
A diagnostic setting
Why wrong: Diagnostic settings send logs and metrics to destinations, but they do not define alert recipients.
Question 830 of 1,170
AZ-104 Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of monitor and maintain azure resources. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 company wants an alert to be sent by email and SMS whenever a production virtual machine's CPU percentage goes above 80 percent. The administrator also wants the notification targets to be reusable by other alerts later. What should the administrator configure first?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"first"Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
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
An action group (B) is the correct first configuration because it defines the notification targets (email, SMS) that can be reused across multiple alert rules. In Azure Monitor, alert rules are decoupled from notification actions; you create an action group once and then reference it in any metric alert rule, including the CPU percentage threshold rule needed here. This ensures the administrator can meet the requirement for reusable notification targets.
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.
- ✗
A metric alert rule only
Why it's wrong here
A metric alert can detect the CPU condition, but it does not by itself define reusable notification recipients.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked for the first step to monitor CPU usage without requiring reusable notifications, or if the alert rule itself could directly define email/SMS without needing a separate action group (which is not the case in Azure), then a metric alert rule alone would suffice.
- ✓
An action group
Why this is correct
An action group stores the notification targets, such as email and SMS recipients, so multiple alerts can reuse the same response action.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
A service health alert
Why it's wrong here
Service health alerts report Azure platform issues, not a virtual machine's CPU usage.
When this WOULD be correct
A service health alert would be correct if the question asked to notify administrators when Azure experiences a service incident affecting their subscription, such as a regional outage or planned maintenance for a specific service like Virtual Machines.
- ✗
A diagnostic setting
Why it's wrong here
Diagnostic settings send logs and metrics to destinations, but they do not define alert recipients.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked for collecting CPU metrics into Log Analytics for historical analysis or custom log queries, then configuring a diagnostic setting would be the first step.
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 groupCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
An action group stores the notification targets, such as email and SMS recipients, so multiple alerts can reuse the same response action.
✗A metric alert rule onlyWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A metric alert rule defines the condition (CPU > 80%) but does not include notification targets. The question requires reusable notification targets, which are configured separately as an action group.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked for the first step to monitor CPU usage without requiring reusable notifications, or if the alert rule itself could directly define email/SMS without needing a separate action group (which is not the case in Azure), then a metric alert rule alone would suffice.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think the alert rule includes notification settings, or they focus on the monitoring condition first and overlook the requirement for reusable notification targets.
✗A service health alertWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A service health alert monitors Azure service outages and planned maintenance, not VM CPU performance. The question requires alerting on a specific VM metric (CPU percentage), which is not covered by service health alerts.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A service health alert would be correct if the question asked to notify administrators when Azure experiences a service incident affecting their subscription, such as a regional outage or planned maintenance for a specific service like Virtual Machines.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse 'service health' with 'health of the VM service' or think that any alert related to Azure services should use service health alerts, not realizing it's for Azure platform health, not resource metrics.
✗A diagnostic settingWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A diagnostic setting is used to stream platform logs and metrics to destinations like Log Analytics, Storage, or Event Hubs, not to trigger alerts via email or SMS. It does not define notification actions.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked for collecting CPU metrics into Log Analytics for historical analysis or custom log queries, then configuring a diagnostic setting would be the first step.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse diagnostic settings with alert rules, thinking they are required to enable metric collection before alerting, but Azure Monitor automatically collects metrics for alerting without diagnostic settings.
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 think a metric alert rule inherently includes notification settings, but Azure separates the condition (alert rule) from the notification method (action group) to enforce reusability and centralized management.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Action groups in Azure Monitor support multiple notification channels (email, SMS, webhook, ITSM, etc.) and are defined at the subscription or resource group level. When an alert rule fires, it invokes the action group via an HTTP POST to the Azure Monitor backend, which then dispatches the notifications asynchronously. A common real-world scenario is creating a single 'Critical Ops Team' action group with email and SMS, then reusing it for CPU, memory, and disk alerts across all production VMs.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources — This question tests Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: An action group — An action group (B) is the correct first configuration because it defines the notification targets (email, SMS) that can be reused across multiple alert rules. In Azure Monitor, alert rules are decoupled from notification actions; you create an action group once and then reference it in any metric alert rule, including the CPU percentage threshold rule needed here. This ensures the administrator can meet the requirement for reusable notification targets.
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: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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