The correct answer is immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy. This configuration enforces a write-once-read-many (WORM) state at the storage container level, preventing any blobs from being modified or deleted for a specified duration—in this case, five years. The policy locks the data regardless of user permissions or delete operations, making it ideal for compliance scenarios where records must remain unaltered. On the AZ-104 exam, this topic tests your understanding of data protection and governance within Azure Storage, often appearing in scenarios involving legal holds or regulatory requirements. A common trap is confusing a legal hold (which is indefinite) with a time-based retention policy (which has a fixed period). Remember the key distinction: time-based retention is for a defined duration, while legal hold is for an unknown period. Memory tip: think “WORM with a timer” to recall that time-based retention sets a countdown for data immutability.
AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage storage. 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.
Your application stores compliance documents in Azure Blob Storage. The documents must be kept in a write-once-read-many state for five years and must not be altered or removed during that time. What should you configure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy
Immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy enforces a write-once-read-many (WORM) state, ensuring that blobs cannot be modified or deleted for a specified retention period. This directly meets the requirement of keeping compliance documents unaltered for five years, as the policy locks the data at the storage level, overriding any user permissions or delete operations.
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.
✗
Blob soft delete
Why it's wrong here
Soft delete helps restore deleted blobs but does not enforce immutability.
✓
Immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy
Why this is correct
Immutable storage provides WORM protection for the specified retention period.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Blob lifecycle management to move data to Cool tier
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle management optimizes placement and cost but does not enforce WORM retention.
✗
A shared access signature
Why it's wrong here
A SAS grants delegated access and does not enforce compliance retention.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse blob soft delete (which only recovers deleted blobs but does not prevent modification) with immutable storage, or mistakenly think lifecycle management or SAS tokens can enforce a write-once-read-many state.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Immutable storage uses a legal hold or time-based retention policy that applies a WORM lock at the container or blob level. Under the hood, Azure enforces this by rejecting any write or delete requests (including those from the storage account owner) while the retention period is active, using a policy that is stored as metadata and checked by the storage service before any operation. In a real-world scenario, financial institutions often use time-based retention for SEC Rule 17a-4 compliance, where the policy must be set before data is written and cannot be shortened once applied.
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.
Implement and Manage Storage — This question tests Implement and Manage Storage — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy — Immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy enforces a write-once-read-many (WORM) state, ensuring that blobs cannot be modified or deleted for a specified retention period. This directly meets the requirement of keeping compliance documents unaltered for five years, as the policy locks the data at the storage level, overriding any user permissions or delete operations.
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 →
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. Your application stores compliance records in Azure Blob Storage. The records must remain in a write-once-read-many state for three years and must not be altered or deleted during that period. What should you configure?
hard
A.Blob soft delete
✓ B.Immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy
C.Lifecycle management to move data to Archive
D.A shared access signature
Why B: Immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy enforces a WORM (Write-Once, Read-Many) state, preventing any modification or deletion of blobs for a specified retention period. This meets the requirement of keeping compliance records unaltered for three years, as the policy locks the data at the storage level, overriding any user permissions or delete operations.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
Question Discussion
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