- A
A metric alert and an action group
A metric alert detects the threshold breach and the action group sends the email notification.
- B
An activity log alert only
Why wrong: Activity log alerts do not evaluate CPU performance metrics.
- C
A resource lock and Azure Advisor
Why wrong: Neither component is used to send threshold-based operational notifications.
- D
A budget alert and a private endpoint
Why wrong: Budget alerts monitor cost, and private endpoints provide connectivity.
Question 764 of 1,170
AZ-104 Metric alerts 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: metric 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.
You need to send an email whenever CPU utilization on VM-Prod01 exceeds 90 percent for 15 minutes. Which Azure Monitor components should you configure?
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
✓
A metric alert and an action group
A metric alert monitors a specific resource metric (like CPU utilization) and triggers when a condition (e.g., >90%) is met for a given duration (15 minutes). An action group defines the notification or remediation action (e.g., sending an email). Together, they fulfill the requirement to send an email when CPU utilization exceeds 90% for 15 minutes.
Key principle: Metric 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.
- ✓
A metric alert and an action group
- ✗
An activity log alert only
Why it's wrong here
Activity log alerts do not evaluate CPU performance metrics.
When this WOULD be correct
An activity log alert would be correct if the question asked to send an email when a VM is deleted or when a security rule is modified, as these are service-level events recorded in the activity log.
- ✗
A resource lock and Azure Advisor
Why it's wrong here
Neither component is used to send threshold-based operational notifications.
When this WOULD be correct
You need to prevent accidental deletion of a critical production VM and receive recommendations to improve its reliability and performance. In this scenario, you would configure a resource lock on the VM and use Azure Advisor to get actionable recommendations.
- ✗
A budget alert and a private endpoint
Why it's wrong here
Budget alerts monitor cost, and private endpoints provide connectivity.
When this WOULD be correct
You need to receive an email when spending on a subscription exceeds $500, and you must ensure that a storage account is only accessible over a private network. In that case, a budget alert and a private endpoint would be correct.
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.
✓A metric alert and an action groupCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
A metric alert detects the threshold breach and the action group sends the email notification.
✗An activity log alert onlyWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
An activity log alert only monitors changes to Azure resources (e.g., VM creation, deletion), not performance metrics like CPU utilization. To alert on CPU exceeding 90% for 15 minutes, you need a metric alert, not an activity log alert.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An activity log alert would be correct if the question asked to send an email when a VM is deleted or when a security rule is modified, as these are service-level events recorded in the activity log.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse activity log alerts with metric alerts, thinking any Azure alert can monitor performance metrics, or they may not understand that CPU utilization is a metric, not an activity log entry.
✗A resource lock and Azure AdvisorWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A resource lock prevents accidental deletion or modification of resources, and Azure Advisor provides best practice recommendations, but neither sends alerts based on performance metrics like CPU utilization.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
You need to prevent accidental deletion of a critical production VM and receive recommendations to improve its reliability and performance. In this scenario, you would configure a resource lock on the VM and use Azure Advisor to get actionable recommendations.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Azure Advisor's monitoring capabilities with alerting, or think that resource locks are involved in notification workflows, leading them to select this option despite its irrelevance to metric-based alerting.
✗A budget alert and a private endpointWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A budget alert monitors cost thresholds, not CPU utilization, and a private endpoint secures network connectivity to Azure resources, not metrics. Neither component addresses the requirement to alert on CPU performance metrics.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
You need to receive an email when spending on a subscription exceeds $500, and you must ensure that a storage account is only accessible over a private network. In that case, a budget alert and a private endpoint would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse 'budget' with performance thresholds or think that a private endpoint is needed for monitoring, not realizing that CPU alerts require metric alerts and action groups.
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 confusing activity log alerts (which monitor control-plane events) with metric alerts (which monitor performance data), leading candidates to incorrectly select an activity log alert for CPU utilization monitoring.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Metric alerts in Azure Monitor use a time-series signal from the resource's metrics (e.g., Percentage CPU) and evaluate it against a threshold using a statistical function (e.g., average, max) over a specified aggregation window (e.g., 15 minutes). The action group can include email, SMS, webhook, ITSM, or Azure Functions, and supports multiple notification channels. Under the hood, the alert rule is evaluated every minute (frequency) based on the metric data stored in Azure Monitor Metrics, ensuring near-real-time detection.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Metric alerts
- Action groups
- CPU utilization
- Alert condition
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
Metric alerts
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review metric alerts, then practise related AZ-104 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources — This question tests Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources — Metric alerts.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: A metric alert and an action group — A metric alert monitors a specific resource metric (like CPU utilization) and triggers when a condition (e.g., >90%) is met for a given duration (15 minutes). An action group defines the notification or remediation action (e.g., sending an email). Together, they fulfill the requirement to send an email when CPU utilization exceeds 90% for 15 minutes.
What should I do if I get this AZ-104 question wrong?
Review metric alerts, then practise related AZ-104 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Metric alerts
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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