AZ-104 Manage Azure Identities and Governance Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of manage azure identities and governance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
Exhibit
Current access review:
- User: Alex
- Existing role: Virtual Machine Contributor
- Scope: RG-Training
- Requirement: Alex must read VM properties and restart only VM-Training01.
- Alex must not delete the VM, manage disks, or change networking settings.
Based on the exhibit, what should the administrator create to let Alex restart one VM and read its properties without giving broader permissions?
Exhibit
Current access review:
- User: Alex
- Existing role: Virtual Machine Contributor
- Scope: RG-Training
- Requirement: Alex must read VM properties and restart only VM-Training01.
- Alex must not delete the VM, manage disks, or change networking settings.
A
Create a custom role that includes only the required VM read and restart actions.
A custom role lets the administrator define only the actions needed for the task, such as reading VM properties and restarting the VM. That is the cleanest least-privilege solution when built-in roles are broader than necessary.
B
Create an Azure Policy assignment that allows restart operations on the VM.
Why wrong: Azure Policy is used for governance and compliance, not for granting user permissions to operate a VM.
C
Apply a CanNotDelete lock to the VM resource.
Why wrong: A lock can block deletion, but it does not grant the restart and read permissions Alex needs.
D
Move the VM to a management group so the permissions become more specific.
Why wrong: Management groups organize subscriptions; they do not directly define fine-grained permissions for one VM.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a custom role that includes only the required VM read and restart actions.
Option A is correct because Azure custom roles allow you to define granular permissions by specifying only the required actions in the `Actions` field of the role definition. For Alex to restart a VM (`Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action`) and read its properties (`Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/read`), a custom role with exactly these two actions provides the least-privilege access without granting broader permissions like VM write or delete.
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.
✓
Create a custom role that includes only the required VM read and restart actions.
Why this is correct
A custom role lets the administrator define only the actions needed for the task, such as reading VM properties and restarting the VM. That is the cleanest least-privilege solution when built-in roles are broader than necessary.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create an Azure Policy assignment that allows restart operations on the VM.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Policy is used for governance and compliance, not for granting user permissions to operate a VM.
When this WOULD be correct
An Azure Policy assignment would be correct if the question asked for a way to automatically tag all VMs in a subscription with a specific cost center, or to enforce that VMs are only deployed in certain regions.
✗
Apply a CanNotDelete lock to the VM resource.
Why it's wrong here
A lock can block deletion, but it does not grant the restart and read permissions Alex needs.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked how to prevent accidental deletion of a VM while still allowing authorized users to manage it, applying a CanNotDelete lock would be correct.
✗
Move the VM to a management group so the permissions become more specific.
Why it's wrong here
Management groups organize subscriptions; they do not directly define fine-grained permissions for one VM.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to apply a common set of policies (e.g., allowed VM sizes) to multiple subscriptions. Moving the VM to a management group would allow policy inheritance across those subscriptions.
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 custom role that includes only the required VM read and restart actions.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
A custom role lets the administrator define only the actions needed for the task, such as reading VM properties and restarting the VM. That is the cleanest least-privilege solution when built-in roles are broader than necessary.
✗Create an Azure Policy assignment that allows restart operations on the VM.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Policy is used to enforce compliance rules on resources, not to grant permissions. It cannot allow a user to perform actions like restarting a VM; it only evaluates and enforces conditions.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An Azure Policy assignment would be correct if the question asked for a way to automatically tag all VMs in a subscription with a specific cost center, or to enforce that VMs are only deployed in certain regions.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Azure Policy with Azure RBAC, thinking that policies can grant or deny actions, when in fact policies only audit or enforce resource configurations.
✗Apply a CanNotDelete lock to the VM resource.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A CanNotDelete lock prevents deletion of the VM but does not grant permissions to restart it or read its properties; it only blocks delete operations, not controls access.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked how to prevent accidental deletion of a VM while still allowing authorized users to manage it, applying a CanNotDelete lock would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse locks with permissions, thinking that a lock can restrict operations like restart, or they may assume that preventing deletion is equivalent to granting restart rights.
✗Move the VM to a management group so the permissions become more specific.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Moving a VM to a management group does not grant specific permissions like restart or read properties; it only changes the scope for policy and compliance inheritance, not role-based access control.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to apply a common set of policies (e.g., allowed VM sizes) to multiple subscriptions. Moving the VM to a management group would allow policy inheritance across those subscriptions.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that management groups provide more granular control over permissions, but they are for policy and compliance, not for assigning specific actions like restart.
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 confuse Azure Policy (which enforces configurations) with RBAC (which controls permissions), or they mistakenly think locks or management groups can grant specific actions like restart.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Azure RBAC evaluates permissions by checking the effective role assignments at the resource, resource group, subscription, or management group scope. A custom role definition is stored as a JSON document with `Actions`, `NotActions`, `DataActions`, and `AssignableScopes`. The `Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action` is a control-plane action that requires the `Microsoft.Compute/locations/vmSizes/read` permission implicitly, but the custom role must explicitly include it if not inherited. In real-world scenarios, custom roles are essential for scenarios like giving a helpdesk user the ability to restart VMs without allowing them to resize or delete them.
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
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-104 question in full detail.
Manage Azure Identities and Governance — This question tests Manage Azure Identities and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a custom role that includes only the required VM read and restart actions. — Option A is correct because Azure custom roles allow you to define granular permissions by specifying only the required actions in the `Actions` field of the role definition. For Alex to restart a VM (`Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action`) and read its properties (`Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/read`), a custom role with exactly these two actions provides the least-privilege access without granting broader permissions like VM write or delete.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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