- A
At the subscription scope
Why wrong: This would grant the contractor access to all matching resources in every resource group in the subscription.
- B
At the RG-Operations resource group scope
This limits the assignment to only resources inside RG-Operations, which satisfies least privilege.
- C
At the management group scope
Why wrong: This would be broader than needed and could affect additional subscriptions beyond the target one.
- D
At an individual virtual machine scope
Why wrong: This would apply to only one VM, not to all VMs in the Operations resource group.
Question 697 of 1,170
AZ-104 Manage Azure Identities and Governance Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of manage azure identities and governance. 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.
An organization has one Azure subscription with separate resource groups for Development and Operations. A contractor must start, stop, and read the properties of virtual machines only in RG-Operations. The contractor must not have access to virtual machines in RG-Development. Where should the role assignment be created?
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
✓
At the RG-Operations resource group scope
Role assignments in Azure are inherited from higher scopes (management group, subscription, resource group) down to lower scopes. To grant the contractor the Virtual Machine Contributor role (or a custom role with start/stop/read permissions) only on VMs in RG-Operations and explicitly deny access to RG-Development, the assignment must be scoped to the RG-Operations resource group. Assigning at a higher scope (subscription or management group) would grant access to all resource groups, including RG-Development, violating the requirement.
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.
- ✗
At the subscription scope
Why it's wrong here
This would grant the contractor access to all matching resources in every resource group in the subscription.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question required the contractor to manage virtual machines across all resource groups (e.g., both Development and Operations), then assigning the role at the subscription scope would be correct to provide uniform access.
- ✓
At the RG-Operations resource group scope
Why this is correct
This limits the assignment to only resources inside RG-Operations, which satisfies least privilege.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
At the management group scope
Why it's wrong here
This would be broader than needed and could affect additional subscriptions beyond the target one.
- ✗
At an individual virtual machine scope
Why it's wrong here
This would apply to only one VM, not to all VMs in the Operations resource group.
When this WOULD be correct
A question where a specific user needs to manage only a single virtual machine (e.g., start, stop, change its properties) and must not have access to any other resources in the same resource group or subscription. The role assignment would be scoped to that individual VM.
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.
✓At the RG-Operations resource group scopeCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
This limits the assignment to only resources inside RG-Operations, which satisfies least privilege.
✗At the subscription scopeWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Assigning the role at the subscription scope would grant the contractor permissions to all resource groups, including RG-Development, violating the requirement to restrict access to RG-Operations only.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question required the contractor to manage virtual machines across all resource groups (e.g., both Development and Operations), then assigning the role at the subscription scope would be correct to provide uniform access.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think assigning at a higher scope (subscription) is simpler and covers the needed resource group, overlooking that it also grants unintended access to other resource groups.
✗At an individual virtual machine scopeWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Assigning the role at an individual virtual machine scope would only grant access to that specific VM, not to all VMs in RG-Operations as required. The contractor needs to start, stop, and read properties of all VMs in the resource group, which requires a role assignment at the resource group scope.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question where a specific user needs to manage only a single virtual machine (e.g., start, stop, change its properties) and must not have access to any other resources in the same resource group or subscription. The role assignment would be scoped to that individual VM.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that assigning the role at the VM level is more restrictive and thus more secure, but they overlook that the requirement is to manage all VMs in the resource group, not just one.
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 assume assigning a role at the subscription scope is simpler and still allows them to control access via resource group membership, but they forget that role assignments at higher scopes are inherited by all child scopes, granting unintended access to resources in other resource groups like RG-Development.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure RBAC uses a hierarchical inheritance model where permissions flow from higher scopes (management group, subscription, resource group) down to child scopes. When a role is assigned at the resource group scope, it applies to all resources within that group, including VMs, but not to resources in other resource groups. The Virtual Machine Contributor role (built-in) includes Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/start/action, Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/powerOff/action, and Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/read, which satisfy the start, stop, and read properties requirements. Deny assignments (e.g., via Azure Blueprints or custom policies) can further enforce exclusions, but the simplest and most secure approach is to scope the role assignment directly to RG-Operations.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Manage Azure Identities and Governance — This question tests Manage Azure Identities and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: At the RG-Operations resource group scope — Role assignments in Azure are inherited from higher scopes (management group, subscription, resource group) down to lower scopes. To grant the contractor the Virtual Machine Contributor role (or a custom role with start/stop/read permissions) only on VMs in RG-Operations and explicitly deny access to RG-Development, the assignment must be scoped to the RG-Operations resource group. Assigning at a higher scope (subscription or management group) would grant access to all resource groups, including RG-Development, violating the requirement.
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
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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