- A
Standard HDD
Why wrong: Standard HDD provides the lowest cost but not the required performance.
- B
Standard SSD
Why wrong: Standard SSD offers balanced performance but not the highest consistent IOPS and lowest latency.
- C
Premium SSD v2
Premium SSD v2 is optimized for high IOPS and low latency workloads.
- D
Archive storage
Why wrong: Archive is a blob storage tier and is not used for managed disks.
Question 431 of 1,170
AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of deploy and manage azure compute. 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.
You have an application that writes heavily to Azure-managed disks and requires the highest consistent IOPS and lowest latency. Which disk type should you choose?
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
✓
Premium SSD v2
Premium SSD v2 is the correct choice because it is designed for high-performance workloads, offering sub-millisecond latency and the highest consistent IOPS among Azure managed disks. It supports up to 80,000 IOPS per disk and 1,200 MB/s throughput, making it ideal for write-heavy applications that demand low latency and predictable performance.
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.
- ✗
Standard HDD
Why it's wrong here
Standard HDD provides the lowest cost but not the required performance.
When this WOULD be correct
For a question specifying 'lowest cost' or 'sequential workloads with large block sizes' where performance requirements are minimal, Standard HDD would be the correct choice.
- ✗
Standard SSD
Why it's wrong here
Standard SSD offers balanced performance but not the highest consistent IOPS and lowest latency.
When this WOULD be correct
When the question specifies a workload that requires balanced performance at a lower cost, such as a web server or a lightly used database, and does not demand the highest IOPS or lowest latency.
- ✓
Premium SSD v2
Why this is correct
Premium SSD v2 is optimized for high IOPS and low latency workloads.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Archive storage
Why it's wrong here
Archive is a blob storage tier and is not used for managed disks.
When this WOULD be correct
When the question asks about cost-effective storage for long-term backup data that is accessed less than once a year and can tolerate hours of retrieval latency, Archive storage is the correct choice.
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.
✓Premium SSD v2Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Premium SSD v2 is optimized for high IOPS and low latency workloads.
✗Standard HDDWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Standard HDD provides the lowest IOPS and highest latency among Azure disk types, making it unsuitable for applications requiring high consistent IOPS and low latency.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
For a question specifying 'lowest cost' or 'sequential workloads with large block sizes' where performance requirements are minimal, Standard HDD would be the correct choice.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse 'heavy writes' with 'high capacity' and assume HDD is sufficient, or they may not be aware of the performance tiers available in Azure managed disks.
✗Standard SSDWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Standard SSD provides lower IOPS and higher latency compared to Premium SSD v2, and is not designed for the highest consistent IOPS and lowest latency required by heavy write workloads.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
When the question specifies a workload that requires balanced performance at a lower cost, such as a web server or a lightly used database, and does not demand the highest IOPS or lowest latency.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Standard SSD with high-performance storage because it is an SSD, overlooking that Premium tiers are necessary for top-tier performance.
✗Archive storageWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Archive storage is a blob tier for infrequently accessed data, not a disk type for active VMs. It cannot be used as an Azure-managed disk for an application requiring high IOPS and low latency.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
When the question asks about cost-effective storage for long-term backup data that is accessed less than once a year and can tolerate hours of retrieval latency, Archive storage is the correct choice.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse 'archive' with a low-cost disk option, or mistakenly think it can be used as a managed disk for VMs due to its name implying storage.
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 Premium SSD v2 with standard Premium SSD, assuming the older tier provides the same performance, but Premium SSD v2 offers significantly higher IOPS and lower latency due to its independent provisioning model and NVMe support.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Premium SSD v2 uses a per-disk provisioning model where IOPS and throughput are independently configurable, unlike older Premium SSD where they are tied to disk size. Under the hood, it leverages NVMe over TCP for lower protocol overhead and supports up to 256 TB per disk, enabling massive scale without the need for striping. In a real-world scenario, a high-frequency trading application writing transaction logs would benefit from Premium SSD v2's consistent sub-millisecond latency and ability to sustain 80,000 IOPS without throttling.
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.
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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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute — This question tests Deploy and Manage Azure Compute — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Premium SSD v2 — Premium SSD v2 is the correct choice because it is designed for high-performance workloads, offering sub-millisecond latency and the highest consistent IOPS among Azure managed disks. It supports up to 80,000 IOPS per disk and 1,200 MB/s throughput, making it ideal for write-heavy applications that demand low latency and predictable performance.
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 →
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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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