The answer is to create an action group and attach it to the metric alert rule. This is correct because an action group is the Azure component that defines the notification channel—such as email, SMS, or webhook—while the metric alert rule monitors the specific condition, like when the Azure VM’s average CPU exceeds 80% for 10 minutes. Without an action group attached, the alert rule can fire but has no destination for the notification, so the operations team would never receive the email. On the AZ-104 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the separation between alert logic and notification delivery; a common trap is to think the alert rule itself sends email, but it only triggers the action group. Remember the mnemonic: “Alert fires, Action delivers”—the rule watches the metric, the group sends the message.
AZ-104 Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of monitor and maintain azure resources. 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. A key principle to apply: action groups define notification preferences and actions for Azure Monitor alerts.. 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
Azure Monitor alert rule
- Signal type: Metric
- Resource: vm-prod-01
- Condition: Percentage CPU > 80
- Condition window: 10 minutes
- Current action group: None
- Notification requirement: Email the operations team
Based on the exhibit, what should the administrator configure so the operations team receives an email when the VM's average CPU stays above 80% for 10 minutes?
Azure Monitor alert rule
- Signal type: Metric
- Resource: vm-prod-01
- Condition: Percentage CPU > 80
- Condition window: 10 minutes
- Current action group: None
- Notification requirement: Email the operations team
A
Create a diagnostic setting on the VM and send platform logs to Log Analytics.
Why wrong: Diagnostic settings send telemetry to destinations, but they do not directly notify users when a threshold is crossed.
B
Create an action group and attach it to the metric alert rule.
An action group is the Azure Monitor component that delivers notifications or runs automation when an alert fires. The metric alert already defines the CPU condition, so the missing piece is the action group to email the operations team. Once linked, the alert can evaluate continuously and send the required notification whenever the threshold is met.
C
Assign a Reader role to the operations team on the VM resource.
Why wrong: Reader access allows viewing the VM, but it does not create alert notifications or send email when CPU rises.
D
Enable a resource lock on the VM to prevent CPU spikes.
Why wrong: Locks help prevent management changes, but they do not monitor performance or generate alert notifications.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create an action group and attach it to the metric alert rule.
To send an email when a metric threshold is breached, you must first create an action group that defines the notification action (e.g., email, SMS). Then, when configuring the metric alert rule for 'Percentage CPU' with a condition of 'greater than 80%' for 10 minutes, you attach that action group to the alert rule. This ensures that when the alert fires, the defined email notification is sent to the operations team.
Key principle: Action groups define notification preferences and actions for Azure Monitor alerts.
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 diagnostic setting on the VM and send platform logs to Log Analytics.
Why it's wrong here
Diagnostic settings send telemetry to destinations, but they do not directly notify users when a threshold is crossed.
✓
Create an action group and attach it to the metric alert rule.
Why this is correct
An action group is the Azure Monitor component that delivers notifications or runs automation when an alert fires. The metric alert already defines the CPU condition, so the missing piece is the action group to email the operations team. Once linked, the alert can evaluate continuously and send the required notification whenever the threshold is met.
Related concept
Action groups define notification preferences and actions for Azure Monitor alerts.
✗
Assign a Reader role to the operations team on the VM resource.
Why it's wrong here
Reader access allows viewing the VM, but it does not create alert notifications or send email when CPU rises.
✗
Enable a resource lock on the VM to prevent CPU spikes.
Why it's wrong here
Locks help prevent management changes, but they do not monitor performance or generate alert notifications.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse diagnostic settings (which send data to a destination) with alert rules (which evaluate conditions and trigger notifications), leading them to pick Option A even though it does not include the action group needed for email delivery.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Azure Monitor metric alerts evaluate the specified metric (e.g., Percentage CPU) over a given aggregation window (e.g., 10 minutes) using a threshold. When the condition is met, the alert state changes to 'Fired', and the alert engine invokes all linked action groups. Action groups can contain multiple action types (email, SMS, webhook, ITSM, etc.), and each action type has its own rate limits and retry logic—for email, Azure Monitor sends the notification via SMTP with a default retry of up to 3 times. In a real-world scenario, you might combine email with a webhook to trigger an automated remediation runbook, but the core requirement of 'sending an email' is fulfilled solely by the action group attached to the alert rule.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Action groups define notification preferences and actions for Azure Monitor alerts.
An action group can include email, SMS, push notifications, and webhook actions.
Action groups are linked to alert rules (metric, activity log, smart detection) to trigger responses.
Multiple alert rules can utilize the same action group for consistent notification delivery.
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
Action groups define notification preferences and actions for Azure Monitor alerts.
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.
Review action groups define notification preferences and actions for Azure Monitor alerts., then practise related AZ-104 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources — This question tests Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources — Action groups define notification preferences and actions for Azure Monitor alerts..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create an action group and attach it to the metric alert rule. — To send an email when a metric threshold is breached, you must first create an action group that defines the notification action (e.g., email, SMS). Then, when configuring the metric alert rule for 'Percentage CPU' with a condition of 'greater than 80%' for 10 minutes, you attach that action group to the alert rule. This ensures that when the alert fires, the defined email notification is sent to the operations team.
What should I do if I get this AZ-104 question wrong?
Review action groups define notification preferences and actions for Azure Monitor alerts., then practise related AZ-104 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Action groups define notification preferences and actions for Azure Monitor alerts.
About these practice questions
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These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Based on the exhibit, what should the administrator deploy to monitor CPU and free disk space on a small set of VMs while keeping telemetry cost low?
easy
✓ A.Deploy Azure Monitor Agent and collect only the required performance counters with a data collection rule.
B.Enable diagnostic settings on each VM and send all guest logs to a storage account.
C.Install Application Insights on each VM and enable request tracing.
D.Create a resource lock on each VM to preserve the current state.
Why A: Option A is correct because Azure Monitor Agent (AMA) is the modern, cost-effective agent for collecting performance counters like CPU and free disk space from VMs. By using a Data Collection Rule (DCR) to specify only the required counters, the administrator minimizes data ingestion volume, directly controlling telemetry costs. This approach avoids the overhead of sending all guest logs or using more expensive monitoring tools.
Variation 2. Based on the exhibit, what should the administrator add to send an email and SMS notification?
easy
✓ A.An action group with email and SMS receivers.
B.A Log Analytics workspace connected to the virtual machine.
C.A backup recovery point for the virtual machine.
D.A private endpoint for the virtual machine.
Why A: To send email and SMS notifications from an Azure Monitor alert, you must configure an action group. An action group defines the notification channels (e.g., email, SMS, webhook) and their respective receivers. When the alert rule triggers, Azure Monitor invokes the action group to deliver the notifications. Without an action group, the alert rule has no mechanism to send email or SMS.
Variation 3. You need an alert that emails administrators when CPU on VM-DB01 exceeds a threshold. Which two Azure Monitor components work together to achieve this?
medium
✓ A.A metric alert and an action group
B.A budget alert and a private DNS zone
C.A Recovery Services vault and a route table
D.An activity log export and a lock
Why A: A metric alert monitors a specific performance metric (like CPU percentage) on a target resource (VM-DB01) and triggers when the value crosses a defined threshold. An action group defines the notification actions (e.g., sending an email to administrators) that execute when the alert fires. Together, they form the core alerting workflow in Azure Monitor: the metric alert evaluates the condition, and the action group delivers the response.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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