- A
Create a new Recovery Services vault and re-register the VM
Why wrong: A new vault is unnecessary for changing retention or schedule, and re-registering adds avoidable operational work.
- B
Modify the backup policy associated with the protected VM
Backup schedule and retention are controlled by the backup policy in the Recovery Services vault. Updating that policy changes how future recovery points are created and retained for the protected VM. This is the correct operational object to edit because the VM is already onboarded and the requirement is to adjust policy settings, not the vault itself.
- C
Install a new VM extension to change retention behavior
Why wrong: VM extensions are not used to define Azure Backup schedules or retention periods for Recovery Services vault protection.
- D
Take a manual snapshot of the VM disk every night
Why wrong: Snapshots are not the same as Azure Backup policy-based protection and do not provide the same retention management or restore workflow.
Quick Answer
The answer is to modify the backup policy associated with the protected VM. Azure Backup decouples the backup schedule and retention rules from the resource itself through a policy object, meaning you can adjust the backup time to 11:00 PM and set daily recovery point retention to 30 days by simply editing the existing policy—no need to stop protection or re-onboard the VM. On the AZ-104 exam, this tests your understanding that policies are reusable templates applied to vault items; a common trap is thinking you must create a new vault or reconfigure the backup, which wastes time and risks data gaps. Remember, policies control when and how long, not where—the vault stays the same. For a memory tip: think of the policy as a thermostat—you adjust the temperature (schedule and retention) without replacing the whole HVAC system.
AZ-104 Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of monitor and maintain azure resources. 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.
A virtual machine is already protected by Azure Backup. The business wants the VM backed up every day at 11:00 PM and wants daily recovery points retained for 30 days, without re-onboarding the VM. What should the administrator modify?
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
Modify the backup policy associated with the protected VM
Option B is correct because Azure Backup uses backup policies to define the backup schedule and retention rules for protected resources. By modifying the existing policy associated with the VM, you can change the backup time to 11:00 PM and set daily recovery point retention to 30 days without needing to re-onboard the VM or create a new vault.
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.
- ✗
Create a new Recovery Services vault and re-register the VM
Why it's wrong here
A new vault is unnecessary for changing retention or schedule, and re-registering adds avoidable operational work.
- ✓
Modify the backup policy associated with the protected VM
Why this is correct
Backup schedule and retention are controlled by the backup policy in the Recovery Services vault. Updating that policy changes how future recovery points are created and retained for the protected VM. This is the correct operational object to edit because the VM is already onboarded and the requirement is to adjust policy settings, not the vault itself.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Install a new VM extension to change retention behavior
Why it's wrong here
VM extensions are not used to define Azure Backup schedules or retention periods for Recovery Services vault protection.
- ✗
Take a manual snapshot of the VM disk every night
Why it's wrong here
Snapshots are not the same as Azure Backup policy-based protection and do not provide the same retention management or restore workflow.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think changing the backup schedule or retention requires re-onboarding the VM or creating a new vault, but Azure Backup allows in-place policy modification for already protected resources.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Backup policies consist of a schedule (frequency and time) and a retention rule (how long to keep recovery points). When you modify a policy, the changes apply to all associated protected items, and existing recovery points are subject to the new retention settings (though points already older than the new retention period will be pruned). This is handled via the Azure Backup Management Plane, which updates the backup metadata in the Recovery Services vault without requiring any agent reconfiguration.
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 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.
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.
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Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources — study guide chapter
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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 — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Modify the backup policy associated with the protected VM — Option B is correct because Azure Backup uses backup policies to define the backup schedule and retention rules for protected resources. By modifying the existing policy associated with the VM, you can change the backup time to 11:00 PM and set daily recovery point retention to 30 days without needing to re-onboard the VM or create a new vault.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on AZ-104
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. A virtual machine is already protected by Azure Backup. The current policy runs daily at 23:00 and keeps daily recovery points for 30 days. The business now wants the same schedule but wants new daily recovery points retained for 90 days. No new vault or re-registration should occur. What should the administrator do?
hard- A.Create a new Recovery Services vault and enable backup again with the longer retention period.
- ✓ B.Edit the existing backup policy and change the daily retention for future recovery points.
- C.Take nightly managed disk snapshots because snapshots automatically inherit the Recovery Services vault retention period.
- D.Change the vault redundancy setting to increase the number of retained recovery points.
Why B: Option B is correct because Azure Backup allows you to modify an existing backup policy to change the retention duration for future recovery points without creating a new vault or re-registering the VM. By editing the policy and setting the daily retention to 90 days, all new daily recovery points will be retained for the longer period, while existing recovery points remain unaffected by the change.
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.
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