- A
Place both VMs in the same availability set so Azure separates them across update domains.
Why wrong: Availability sets protect against update and fault domain issues, but they do not provide zone-level isolation across datacenters.
- B
Deploy the VMs across two availability zones in the same region.
Availability zones place resources in separate datacenters within the same Azure region. That design protects the workload if a full datacenter or zone experiences an outage. For production systems that must survive a zone failure, zones provide stronger resilience than availability sets. This is the best fit when the region supports zones and the application can run with zone-separated instances.
- C
Use a single larger VM size with premium SSD storage for better uptime.
Why wrong: A larger VM may improve performance, but it still creates a single point of failure if that datacenter or host becomes unavailable.
- D
Deploy the VMs in the same resource group and enable auto-shutdown.
Why wrong: Resource groups are only management containers, and auto-shutdown is meant for cost control rather than high availability.
AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of deploy and manage azure compute. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 is deploying two Linux application VMs in Azure for a production workload. The region supports availability zones, and the business requires the workload to stay online if an entire datacenter in the region becomes unavailable. Which deployment choice best meets this requirement?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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
Deploy the VMs across two availability zones in the same region.
Availability zones are physically separate datacenters within an Azure region, each with independent power, cooling, and networking. Deploying the two Linux VMs across two different zones ensures that if an entire datacenter fails, the VM in the other zone remains online, meeting the requirement for resilience against a full datacenter outage.
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.
- ✗
Place both VMs in the same availability set so Azure separates them across update domains.
Why it's wrong here
Availability sets protect against update and fault domain issues, but they do not provide zone-level isolation across datacenters.
- ✓
Deploy the VMs across two availability zones in the same region.
Why this is correct
Availability zones place resources in separate datacenters within the same Azure region. That design protects the workload if a full datacenter or zone experiences an outage. For production systems that must survive a zone failure, zones provide stronger resilience than availability sets. This is the best fit when the region supports zones and the application can run with zone-separated instances.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use a single larger VM size with premium SSD storage for better uptime.
Why it's wrong here
A larger VM may improve performance, but it still creates a single point of failure if that datacenter or host becomes unavailable.
- ✗
Deploy the VMs in the same resource group and enable auto-shutdown.
Why it's wrong here
Resource groups are only management containers, and auto-shutdown is meant for cost control rather than high availability.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse availability sets (which protect within a datacenter) with availability zones (which protect against full datacenter failure), leading them to choose option A even though it cannot meet the stated requirement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure availability zones offer a 99.99% SLA for VMs when two or more instances are deployed across zones, compared to 99.95% for availability sets. Each zone is a unique physical location with independent network connectivity; zone-to-zone latency is typically under 2 ms within a region. For production workloads, you should also consider using a load balancer (e.g., Azure Standard Load Balancer) to distribute traffic across the zone-deployed VMs and ensure seamless failover.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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?
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: Deploy the VMs across two availability zones in the same region. — Availability zones are physically separate datacenters within an Azure region, each with independent power, cooling, and networking. Deploying the two Linux VMs across two different zones ensures that if an entire datacenter fails, the VM in the other zone remains online, meeting the requirement for resilience against a full datacenter outage.
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: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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 →
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.
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