AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of deploy and manage azure compute. 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.
You need to deploy 25 identical Azure virtual machines for a web application and scale the number of instances automatically based on CPU demand. Which Azure compute feature should you use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
A Virtual Machine Scale Set
A Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) is the correct Azure compute feature because it allows you to deploy and manage a group of identical, load-balanced VMs whose number can automatically increase or decrease in response to CPU demand using autoscale rules. This directly meets the requirement for 25 identical VMs with automatic scaling based on CPU metrics.
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.
✗
An availability set
Why it's wrong here
Availability sets improve fault tolerance but do not scale instances automatically.
✓
A Virtual Machine Scale Set
Why this is correct
VM Scale Sets provide group deployment and autoscaling for identical virtual machines.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
A Recovery Services vault
Why it's wrong here
A Recovery Services vault protects workloads and does not host or scale them.
✗
Boot diagnostics
Why it's wrong here
Boot diagnostics assists troubleshooting and does not deploy or autoscale VM fleets.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse an availability set (which provides high availability) with a Virtual Machine Scale Set (which provides both identical deployment and autoscaling), leading them to select Option A because they focus on the 'identical VMs' requirement without recognizing that autoscaling is the key differentiator.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, a VMSS uses a virtual machine scale set model that defines a configuration template (e.g., VM size, OS image, networking) and a capacity count; the Azure autoscale service monitors CPU metrics via the Azure Monitor platform, and when a threshold is breached, it triggers a scale-out or scale-in operation by updating the VMSS capacity property, which the VMSS orchestrator then uses to create or delete VM instances using the same template. A subtle behavior is that autoscale rules use a cool-down period (default 5 minutes) to prevent flapping, and scale-in operations by default use the 'Default' (Newest VM first) eviction policy unless overridden with a custom scale-in policy.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-104 question in full detail.
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute — This question tests Deploy and Manage Azure Compute — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: A Virtual Machine Scale Set — A Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) is the correct Azure compute feature because it allows you to deploy and manage a group of identical, load-balanced VMs whose number can automatically increase or decrease in response to CPU demand using autoscale rules. This directly meets the requirement for 25 identical VMs with automatic scaling based on CPU metrics.
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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