- A
ZRS
Why wrong: Zone-redundant storage survives a zone failure, but it does not provide a readable secondary region.
- B
GZRS
Why wrong: Geo-zone-redundant storage adds geo-replication, but the secondary region is not directly readable.
- C
RA-GRS
Why wrong: Read-access geo-redundant storage gives secondary read access, but it does not protect against zone failure in the primary region.
- D
RA-GZRS
Read-access geo-zone-redundant storage combines zone resilience with geo-replication and secondary read access.
Question 386 of 1,170
AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage storage. 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 media company stores project video assets in Azure Blob Storage. The business requires the data to survive a single availability zone outage in the primary region. In addition, if the primary region becomes unavailable, operations staff must still be able to read the most recently replicated copy from the secondary region right away, even if writes are temporarily unavailable. Which redundancy option best meets this requirement?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"primary"Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
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
✓
RA-GZRS
RA-GZRS (Read-Access Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage) is correct because it combines zone-redundant storage (ZRS) within the primary region to survive a single availability zone outage, and geo-redundant storage (GRS) to replicate data to a secondary region. The 'RA' prefix enables read access to the secondary region immediately after a primary region failure, allowing operations staff to read the most recently replicated copy even if writes are temporarily unavailable.
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.
- ✗
ZRS
Why it's wrong here
Zone-redundant storage survives a zone failure, but it does not provide a readable secondary region.
When this WOULD be correct
A question requiring data to survive an availability zone outage within a single region, with no need for cross-region disaster recovery or read access from a secondary region. For example: 'An application needs high availability within a single region and must tolerate an availability zone failure. Which redundancy option should be used?'
- ✗
GZRS
Why it's wrong here
Geo-zone-redundant storage adds geo-replication, but the secondary region is not directly readable.
When this WOULD be correct
A company requires data to be durable across regions and can tolerate a brief delay in accessing the secondary copy after a primary region failure. They do not need immediate read access to the secondary region; a manual failover process is acceptable.
- ✗
RA-GRS
Why it's wrong here
Read-access geo-redundant storage gives secondary read access, but it does not protect against zone failure in the primary region.
When this WOULD be correct
A company requires read access to a secondary region during a primary region outage, but data durability only needs to survive a region-level disaster, not a zone-level failure. For example, a backup storage solution where the primary region is a single data center and the secondary region provides read-only access during failover.
- ✓
RA-GZRS
Why this is correct
Read-access geo-zone-redundant storage combines zone resilience with geo-replication and secondary read access.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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.
✓RA-GZRSCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Read-access geo-zone-redundant storage combines zone resilience with geo-replication and secondary read access.
✗ZRSWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
ZRS replicates data synchronously across three availability zones in a single region, but does not provide a secondary region for disaster recovery. The requirement for reading from a secondary region immediately after a primary region outage is not met.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question requiring data to survive an availability zone outage within a single region, with no need for cross-region disaster recovery or read access from a secondary region. For example: 'An application needs high availability within a single region and must tolerate an availability zone failure. Which redundancy option should be used?'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may choose ZRS because it protects against zone failures, but they overlook the additional requirement for cross-region read access in the event of a primary region outage.
✗GZRSWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
GZRS replicates data to a secondary region asynchronously, but it does not provide read access to the secondary region unless a failover is initiated. The requirement to read from the secondary region immediately after a primary region outage, without waiting for failover, necessitates RA-GZRS.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company requires data to be durable across regions and can tolerate a brief delay in accessing the secondary copy after a primary region failure. They do not need immediate read access to the secondary region; a manual failover process is acceptable.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse GZRS with RA-GZRS, thinking that GZRS also provides read-access geo-redundancy, or they may overlook the 'read-access' requirement in the question.
✗RA-GRSWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
RA-GRS provides read-access to a secondary region during a primary region outage, but it does not guarantee data survival after a single availability zone outage in the primary region because GRS replicates across regions, not zones, and a zone failure could still cause data loss if the primary region has only one zone.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company requires read access to a secondary region during a primary region outage, but data durability only needs to survive a region-level disaster, not a zone-level failure. For example, a backup storage solution where the primary region is a single data center and the secondary region provides read-only access during failover.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse RA-GRS with RA-GZRS, thinking that read-access geo-redundant storage automatically includes zone-level redundancy, or they may overlook the requirement to survive an availability zone outage in the primary region.
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 GZRS with RA-GZRS, forgetting that GZRS alone does not provide read access to the secondary region; the 'RA' prefix is required for immediate read access during a primary region outage.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
RA-GZRS uses three availability zones in the primary region for ZRS (synchronous replication within zones) and then asynchronously replicates to a single zone in the secondary region using LRS. The 'RA' feature works by maintaining a separate read-only endpoint (e.g., https://<storage-account>-secondary.blob.core.windows.net) that serves the last successful geo-replication checkpoint, enabling immediate reads after a primary region outage without waiting for a failover. In a real-world scenario, if the primary region suffers a catastrophic failure, operations staff can instantly access the secondary copy via the read-only endpoint to retrieve video assets, while writes remain unavailable until Microsoft initiates a failover.
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.
Quick reference
Azure Blob Storage Tier Comparison
| Tier | Storage Cost | Retrieval Cost | Latency | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot | Highest | Lowest | Immediate | Active data, frequent reads |
| Cool | Lower | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / month |
| Cold | Lower still | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / quarter |
| Archive | Lowest | Highest + rehydration delay | Hours | Long-term compliance retention |
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Implement and Manage Storage — This question tests Implement and Manage Storage — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: RA-GZRS — RA-GZRS (Read-Access Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage) is correct because it combines zone-redundant storage (ZRS) within the primary region to survive a single availability zone outage, and geo-redundant storage (GRS) to replicate data to a secondary region. The 'RA' prefix enables read access to the secondary region immediately after a primary region failure, allowing operations staff to read the most recently replicated copy even if writes are temporarily unavailable.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
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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