- A
Assign the built-in Virtual Machine Contributor role at the subscription scope.
Why wrong: This would allow VM management, but the scope is too broad and includes every resource group in the subscription.
- B
Create a custom role with only the required VM actions and assign it at the RG-App scope.
This limits permissions to the exact VM operations needed and confines access to RG-App only.
- C
Assign the built-in Reader role at the RG-App scope and let the team use portal buttons.
Why wrong: Reader allows viewing resources, but it cannot start, stop, or deallocate virtual machines.
- D
Assign the built-in Contributor role at the resource group scope.
Why wrong: Contributor is far broader than required and would permit changes to NICs, disks, and many unrelated resources.
AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage storage. 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.
A finance operations team manages virtual machines in RG-App. They must start, stop, deallocate, and view VM properties for any VM in that resource group. They must not be able to delete VMs, read NIC settings, or manage disks. What should the administrator do?
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
Create a custom role with only the required VM actions and assign it at the RG-App scope.
Option B is correct because the required permissions (start, stop, deallocate, view properties) are a subset of the built-in Virtual Machine Contributor role, but that role also includes delete and other management actions. A custom role allows you to grant only the specific Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/start/action, Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/deallocate/action, and Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/read permissions, while explicitly excluding delete, NIC read, and disk management actions. Assigning this custom role at the RG-App scope ensures the team can manage VMs without broader access.
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.
- ✗
Assign the built-in Virtual Machine Contributor role at the subscription scope.
Why it's wrong here
This would allow VM management, but the scope is too broad and includes every resource group in the subscription.
When this WOULD be correct
If the requirement was to manage all VMs across multiple resource groups in the subscription (e.g., start, stop, deallocate, view properties) without restricting deletion or disk management, and the scope needed to be subscription-wide.
- ✓
Create a custom role with only the required VM actions and assign it at the RG-App scope.
Why this is correct
This limits permissions to the exact VM operations needed and confines access to RG-App only.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Assign the built-in Reader role at the RG-App scope and let the team use portal buttons.
Why it's wrong here
Reader allows viewing resources, but it cannot start, stop, or deallocate virtual machines.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the question required read-only access to all resources in the resource group, with no need to perform any management actions like start/stop/deallocate.
- ✗
Assign the built-in Contributor role at the resource group scope.
Why it's wrong here
Contributor is far broader than required and would permit changes to NICs, disks, and many unrelated resources.
When this WOULD be correct
In a scenario where the team needs full management capabilities (including deletion, NIC reading, and disk management) for all resources in the resource group, assigning the Contributor role at the resource group scope would be appropriate.
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 with only the required VM actions and assign it at the RG-App scope.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
This limits permissions to the exact VM operations needed and confines access to RG-App only.
✗Assign the built-in Virtual Machine Contributor role at the subscription scope.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Assigning Virtual Machine Contributor at subscription scope grants permissions to all VMs in the subscription, not just RG-App, and includes actions like delete VM and manage disks, exceeding the required permissions.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the requirement was to manage all VMs across multiple resource groups in the subscription (e.g., start, stop, deallocate, view properties) without restricting deletion or disk management, and the scope needed to be subscription-wide.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Virtual Machine Contributor is the closest built-in role for VM management, overlooking that it includes unwanted permissions and that scope can be narrowed to a resource group.
✗Assign the built-in Reader role at the RG-App scope and let the team use portal buttons.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The built-in Reader role only allows viewing resources, not starting, stopping, or deallocating VMs. Portal buttons for these actions require write permissions, so the team would be unable to perform the required operations.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the question required read-only access to all resources in the resource group, with no need to perform any management actions like start/stop/deallocate.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may mistakenly believe that the Reader role combined with portal buttons provides sufficient permissions, overlooking that portal actions require underlying RBAC write permissions.
✗Assign the built-in Contributor role at the resource group scope.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The built-in Contributor role includes permissions to delete resources, read NIC settings, and manage disks, which violates the requirement to restrict these actions.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
In a scenario where the team needs full management capabilities (including deletion, NIC reading, and disk management) for all resources in the resource group, assigning the Contributor role at the resource group scope would be appropriate.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may assume Contributor provides sufficient VM management permissions without realizing it also grants broader resource management rights that exceed the specified restrictions.
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 assume the built-in Virtual Machine Contributor role is sufficient because it covers VM management, but they overlook that it includes delete and other broader permissions that must be explicitly excluded via a custom role.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Azure RBAC uses a deny-assignments model where explicit deny permissions override any allow permissions, but custom roles are the standard way to create a least-privilege set of actions. The required VM actions are defined in the Azure Resource Manager provider namespace Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines, and each action (e.g., start, deallocate) maps to a specific operation URI. In a real-world scenario, you might also need to include Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/instanceView/read for viewing VM status, which is a separate permission from the basic read property.
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.
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.
- →
Implement and Manage Storage — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Implement and Manage Storage practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All AZ-104 questions
1,170 questions across all exam domains
- →
AZ-104 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
AZ-104 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related AZ-104 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Manage Azure Identities and Governance practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Manage Azure Identities and Governance.
Implement and Manage Storage practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Implement and Manage Storage.
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Deploy and Manage Azure Compute.
Implement and Manage Virtual Networking practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Implement and Manage Virtual Networking.
Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources.
AZ-104 Azure RBAC practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 Azure RBAC.
AZ-104 storage account practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 storage account.
AZ-104 virtual network practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 virtual network.
AZ-104 NSG practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 NSG.
AZ-104 Azure Monitor practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 Azure Monitor.
AZ-104 backup practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 backup.
AZ-104 managed identity practice questions
Practise AZ-104 questions linked to AZ-104 managed identity.
Practice this exam
Start a free AZ-104 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Implement and Manage Storage — This question tests Implement and Manage Storage — 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 with only the required VM actions and assign it at the RG-App scope. — Option B is correct because the required permissions (start, stop, deallocate, view properties) are a subset of the built-in Virtual Machine Contributor role, but that role also includes delete and other management actions. A custom role allows you to grant only the specific Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/start/action, Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/deallocate/action, and Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/read permissions, while explicitly excluding delete, NIC read, and disk management actions. Assigning this custom role at the RG-App scope ensures the team can manage VMs without broader access.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Keep practising
More AZ-104 practice questions
- A storage automation service principal must upload, read, and delete blob data in one container by using Microsoft Entra…
- A subnet contains several application servers. You need to allow inbound TCP 3389 only from a management subnet named Su…
- A subscription admin wants to investigate who changed a resource and also review the platform-generated events for that…
- Based on the exhibit, which Azure feature should the administrator use to track this kind of platform-wide service issue…
- An administrator wants a script running on an Azure VM to create a resource in Azure without storing any passwords or cl…
- A PowerShell script runs on an Azure VM every night and uses Azure CLI commands to create tags and VM resources in anoth…
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.