AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question
A developer wants to publish an internet-facing web application from source code. The solution must support built-in HTTPS, deployment slots for testing, and autoscale. The team does not want to manage servers. Which Azure service should the administrator recommend?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse Azure Container Instances with Azure App Service for web apps, overlooking that Container Instances lacks built-in deployment slots and autoscale for web applications, and requires additional orchestration for HTTPS and scaling.
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
✓
Azure App Service
Azure App Service is the correct choice because it provides a fully managed platform for hosting web applications from source code, with built-in support for HTTPS via TLS/SSL certificates, deployment slots for staging and testing, and autoscale capabilities. It eliminates server management, aligning with the requirement for a PaaS (Platform as a Service) solution that handles infrastructure, patching, and scaling automatically.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Azure App Service
Why this is correct
Azure App Service is designed for hosting web applications and APIs with minimal infrastructure management. It supports built-in TLS/HTTPS, deployment slots for staging and swap testing, and autoscale for changing demand. Those features make it a strong fit for internet-facing applications that need operational simplicity and common web hosting capabilities without managing virtual machines.
- ✗
Azure Container Instances
Why it's wrong here
Azure Container Instances lets you run a container quickly without provisioning VMs, but it is a lightweight orchestration primitive rather than a full web hosting platform. It lacks App Service's deployment slots, built-in managed certificates, and integrated CI/CD support for building and publishing directly from source control. Additionally, scaling a multi-container web app on ACI requires manual orchestration or pairing with Azure Container Apps, making it a poor fit for a production internet-facing application.
When this WOULD be correct
A question requiring a serverless container service to run a single containerized application without managing orchestration, where the app does not need built-in HTTPS, deployment slots, or autoscale, and the team wants to deploy containers directly.
- ✗
Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets
Why it's wrong here
Virtual Machine Scale Sets give you a group of identical, auto-scaling VMs behind a load balancer, but they are an IaaS offering that requires full management of the operating system and web stack. You must install and configure the web server, manage TLS certificates, apply security patches, and deploy your application code manually—there are no built-in deployment slots or integrated source-control publishing. This operational overhead makes VMSS more suitable for custom infrastructure scenarios, not for simply publishing a web app from source code.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to deploy a custom application that requires full control over the operating system, specific software installations, or legacy dependencies, and must support autoscaling and load balancing for high availability.
- ✗
Azure Bastion
Why it's wrong here
Azure Bastion is a fully managed PaaS service that provides secure RDP and SSH connectivity to virtual machines directly in the Azure portal, acting as an access broker inside a virtual network. It does not execute application code, listen for HTTP requests, or expose any endpoint for internet browsers to reach a web app. Therefore, while valuable for administrative security, it has no role in publishing or hosting an internet-facing web application from source code.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to provide secure, seamless RDP/SSH connectivity to Azure virtual machines without exposing public IP addresses. The solution must use TLS and be accessible via the Azure portal.
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.
✓Azure App ServiceCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Azure App Service is designed for hosting web applications and APIs with minimal infrastructure management. It supports built-in TLS/HTTPS, deployment slots for staging and swap testing, and autoscale for changing demand. Those features make it a strong fit for internet-facing applications that need operational simplicity and common web hosting capabilities without managing virtual machines.
✗Azure Container InstancesWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Container Instances does not provide built-in HTTPS, deployment slots, or autoscale; it is a serverless container platform without these web app-specific features.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question requiring a serverless container service to run a single containerized application without managing orchestration, where the app does not need built-in HTTPS, deployment slots, or autoscale, and the team wants to deploy containers directly.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse serverless containers with platform-as-a-service (PaaS) web hosting, thinking Container Instances offers similar features like autoscale and slots, but it lacks these built-in capabilities.
✗Azure Virtual Machine Scale SetsWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets require managing VMs and do not natively support built-in HTTPS or deployment slots; they also lack the platform-as-a-service simplicity for deploying from source code without server management.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to deploy a custom application that requires full control over the operating system, specific software installations, or legacy dependencies, and must support autoscaling and load balancing for high availability.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse autoscaling capabilities with the need for server management, overlooking that App Service provides autoscaling without the overhead of managing VMs.
✗Azure BastionWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Bastion is a service for secure RDP/SSH access to virtual machines, not for hosting web applications. It does not support HTTPS, deployment slots, or autoscale for web apps.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to provide secure, seamless RDP/SSH connectivity to Azure virtual machines without exposing public IP addresses. The solution must use TLS and be accessible via the Azure portal.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Bastion's 'built-in HTTPS' for web app hosting, or think it can serve as a secure gateway for web traffic, but it is only for management access to VMs.
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?”
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About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every AZ-104 question from scratch — 1,049 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.