- A
Effective routes for the network interface
Effective routes display the actual routing behavior applied to the VM NIC.
- B
NSG flow logs
Why wrong: NSG flow logs show allowed and denied traffic flows, not the effective routing table.
- C
Azure Policy compliance
Why wrong: Policy compliance does not show routing decisions.
- D
The subscription activity log
Why wrong: The activity log records control-plane events, not the effective route entries applied to a NIC.
Question 198 of 1,170
AZ-104 Implement and Manage Virtual Networking Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage virtual networking. 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.
Traffic from Subnet-App to the internet is being routed through a virtual appliance unexpectedly. You need to identify which route is being applied to the network interface of VM-App01. Which Azure feature should you use?
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
✓
Effective routes for the network interface
Effective routes for the network interface (NIC) shows the actual routes applied to a specific VM's NIC after evaluating all route tables, virtual network gateway routes, and BGP routes. Since traffic from Subnet-App to the internet is unexpectedly going through a virtual appliance, you need to see which route (e.g., a user-defined route with next hop type VirtualAppliance or VirtualNetworkGateway) is being selected based on the longest prefix match. This tool directly displays the effective next hop for each destination prefix, allowing you to identify the misconfigured route causing the traffic to be redirected.
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.
- ✓
Effective routes for the network interface
Why this is correct
Effective routes display the actual routing behavior applied to the VM NIC.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
NSG flow logs
Why it's wrong here
NSG flow logs show allowed and denied traffic flows, not the effective routing table.
When this WOULD be correct
When you need to analyze network traffic patterns, detect anomalies, or troubleshoot connectivity issues related to NSG rules, such as identifying denied or allowed traffic between VMs.
- ✗
Azure Policy compliance
Why it's wrong here
Policy compliance does not show routing decisions.
When this WOULD be correct
An exam question asks: 'You need to ensure that all network interfaces in a subscription have a specific tag. Which Azure feature should you use to audit compliance?' In that case, Azure Policy compliance would be correct.
- ✗
The subscription activity log
Why it's wrong here
The activity log records control-plane events, not the effective route entries applied to a NIC.
When this WOULD be correct
You need to investigate who deleted a critical virtual network or changed a route table in your subscription. The subscription activity log would show the user, timestamp, and details of the management operation.
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.
✓Effective routes for the network interfaceCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Effective routes display the actual routing behavior applied to the VM NIC.
✗NSG flow logsWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
NSG flow logs record traffic that passes through a network security group, but they do not show the effective route applied to a network interface. The question asks for the route being applied, not the traffic logs.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
When you need to analyze network traffic patterns, detect anomalies, or troubleshoot connectivity issues related to NSG rules, such as identifying denied or allowed traffic between VMs.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse NSG flow logs with route analysis because both involve network troubleshooting, but flow logs focus on traffic flows through NSGs, not routing decisions.
✗Azure Policy complianceWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Policy compliance checks resource configurations against policies, but it does not show the actual applied routes for a network interface. The question asks for identifying which route is being applied, which requires effective routes, not policy compliance.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An exam question asks: 'You need to ensure that all network interfaces in a subscription have a specific tag. Which Azure feature should you use to audit compliance?' In that case, Azure Policy compliance would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Azure Policy with network troubleshooting tools, thinking policy can enforce or reveal routing behavior, when it only governs resource configurations.
✗The subscription activity logWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The subscription activity log tracks management-plane operations (e.g., creating or deleting resources), not data-plane routing decisions. It cannot show which route is applied to a specific network interface.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
You need to investigate who deleted a critical virtual network or changed a route table in your subscription. The subscription activity log would show the user, timestamp, and details of the management operation.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think the activity log records all network events, including routing, because it is a central auditing tool. They overlook that it only captures control-plane actions, not data-plane traffic paths.
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 NSG flow logs (which show traffic filtering) with effective routes (which show routing decisions), leading them to pick NSG flow logs when the question is about path selection rather than security rule evaluation.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
NSG flow logs show allowed and denied traffic flows, not the effective routing table.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Effective routes are computed by Azure based on system routes, user-defined routes (UDRs), and BGP routes, with the most specific prefix (longest match) winning. For a NIC, you can retrieve effective routes via Azure Portal, Azure CLI (`az network nic show-effective-route-table`), or PowerShell, which returns the next hop type (e.g., VirtualAppliance, Internet, VNetLocal) and the source of the route (e.g., Default, User, VirtualNetworkGateway). In a real-world scenario, a misconfigured UDR with a 0.0.0.0/0 route pointing to a virtual appliance can override the default internet route, causing all outbound traffic to traverse the appliance unexpectedly.
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.
Visual reference
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 Virtual Networking — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Implement and Manage Virtual Networking 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 Virtual Networking — This question tests Implement and Manage Virtual Networking — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Effective routes for the network interface — Effective routes for the network interface (NIC) shows the actual routes applied to a specific VM's NIC after evaluating all route tables, virtual network gateway routes, and BGP routes. Since traffic from Subnet-App to the internet is unexpectedly going through a virtual appliance, you need to see which route (e.g., a user-defined route with next hop type VirtualAppliance or VirtualNetworkGateway) is being selected based on the longest prefix match. This tool directly displays the effective next hop for each destination prefix, allowing you to identify the misconfigured route causing the traffic to be redirected.
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.