AZ-104 Manage Azure Identities and Governance Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of manage azure identities and governance. 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.
Exhibit
Policy compliance report:
- Assignment: Deny public network access on storage accounts
- Scope: MG-Platform
- Noncompliant resource: stlegacy01 in RG-Legacy
- Business note: The legacy application must stay publicly reachable for 30 days during migration.
Based on the exhibit, what should the administrator use to temporarily allow the legacy storage account to remain noncompliant without changing the policy for everyone?
Exhibit
Policy compliance report:
- Assignment: Deny public network access on storage accounts
- Scope: MG-Platform
- Noncompliant resource: stlegacy01 in RG-Legacy
- Business note: The legacy application must stay publicly reachable for 30 days during migration.
A
Modify the policy definition so all storage accounts can use public network access.
Why wrong: Changing the policy definition would weaken governance for every scoped resource, not just the legacy account.
B
Create a policy exemption for the legacy storage account or its resource group.
A policy exemption is designed for approved exceptions to an existing assignment. It lets the legacy storage account remain temporarily outside the deny effect while preserving the policy for everything else. This keeps governance intact and documents the exception clearly.
C
Apply a ReadOnly lock to the storage account.
Why wrong: A ReadOnly lock would interfere with normal management operations and does not create a policy exception.
D
Move the storage account to another subscription so the policy no longer applies.
Why wrong: Moving the resource is a disruptive workaround and does not address the governance exception in a controlled way.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a policy exemption for the legacy storage account or its resource group.
A policy exemption allows the administrator to exclude a specific resource (the legacy storage account) or its resource group from the Azure Policy evaluation without modifying the underlying policy definition. This is the correct approach because it temporarily grants noncompliance for that resource while the policy remains enforced for all other resources, aligning with the requirement to avoid changing the policy for everyone.
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.
✗
Modify the policy definition so all storage accounts can use public network access.
Why it's wrong here
Changing the policy definition would weaken governance for every scoped resource, not just the legacy account.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked for a permanent solution to allow public network access for all storage accounts, or if the policy was too restrictive and needed to be relaxed globally, then modifying the policy definition would be correct.
✓
Create a policy exemption for the legacy storage account or its resource group.
Why this is correct
A policy exemption is designed for approved exceptions to an existing assignment. It lets the legacy storage account remain temporarily outside the deny effect while preserving the policy for everything else. This keeps governance intact and documents the exception clearly.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Apply a ReadOnly lock to the storage account.
Why it's wrong here
A ReadOnly lock would interfere with normal management operations and does not create a policy exception.
When this WOULD be correct
A ReadOnly lock would be correct if the question asked how to prevent accidental modifications or deletions of a critical storage account while still allowing read access, without any policy compliance requirement.
✗
Move the storage account to another subscription so the policy no longer applies.
Why it's wrong here
Moving the resource is a disruptive workaround and does not address the governance exception in a controlled way.
When this WOULD be correct
If an organization wants to permanently exclude a resource from a policy without affecting other resources, and the policy is scoped to a specific subscription, moving the resource to a different subscription that does not have the policy assigned would be a valid solution.
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 policy exemption for the legacy storage account or its resource group.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
A policy exemption is designed for approved exceptions to an existing assignment. It lets the legacy storage account remain temporarily outside the deny effect while preserving the policy for everything else. This keeps governance intact and documents the exception clearly.
✗Modify the policy definition so all storage accounts can use public network access.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Modifying the policy definition to allow public network access for all storage accounts would affect everyone, not just the legacy account. The requirement is to temporarily allow only the legacy account to be noncompliant without changing the policy for others.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked for a permanent solution to allow public network access for all storage accounts, or if the policy was too restrictive and needed to be relaxed globally, then modifying the policy definition would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that changing the policy is the most direct way to resolve noncompliance, overlooking the need to isolate the exemption to a single resource.
✗Apply a ReadOnly lock to the storage account.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Applying a ReadOnly lock prevents any changes to the storage account, but it does not exempt the account from policy compliance. The policy would still evaluate the account as noncompliant because public network access remains enabled.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A ReadOnly lock would be correct if the question asked how to prevent accidental modifications or deletions of a critical storage account while still allowing read access, without any policy compliance requirement.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse locks with policy exemptions, thinking that locking the resource prevents policy evaluation or enforcement, or they may believe that a lock can override policy effects.
✗Move the storage account to another subscription so the policy no longer applies.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Moving the storage account to another subscription would remove it from the policy's scope, but the question asks for a temporary solution without changing the policy for everyone. This approach is not temporary and could cause other compliance or management issues.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If an organization wants to permanently exclude a resource from a policy without affecting other resources, and the policy is scoped to a specific subscription, moving the resource to a different subscription that does not have the policy assigned would be a valid solution.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that moving the resource to another subscription is a quick way to bypass the policy, overlooking that it's not temporary and may introduce other complications like network connectivity or management overhead.
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 confuse policy exemptions with resource locks or policy definition modifications, mistakenly thinking a ReadOnly lock or moving the resource will bypass policy evaluation, when in fact only an exemption explicitly excludes a resource from policy compliance checks.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Policy exemptions are defined at the same scope as the policy assignment (e.g., management group, subscription, or resource group) and can be applied to individual resources or resource groups. Exemptions support two categories: 'Mitigated' (for risks that are accepted) and 'Waiver' (for temporary noncompliance), each with a defined expiration date. Under the hood, the Azure Policy engine skips evaluation for exempted resources, meaning compliance results will not show the resource as noncompliant, and any automatic remediation tasks (e.g., via deployIfNotExists effects) will not be triggered.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-104 question in full detail.
Manage Azure Identities and Governance — This question tests Manage Azure Identities and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a policy exemption for the legacy storage account or its resource group. — A policy exemption allows the administrator to exclude a specific resource (the legacy storage account) or its resource group from the Azure Policy evaluation without modifying the underlying policy definition. This is the correct approach because it temporarily grants noncompliance for that resource while the policy remains enforced for all other resources, aligning with the requirement to avoid changing the policy for everyone.
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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