- A
Open the blob directly from the Archive tier because archived blobs remain online for read access.
Why wrong: Archive tier blobs are offline and cannot be read directly. They must be rehydrated before access is possible.
- B
Start rehydration of the blob to the Hot tier before opening it.
Archived blobs are not immediately readable, so the administrator must rehydrate the blob back to an online tier first. Hot is appropriate when the file needs to be accessible again as soon as the rehydration completes and may be used actively during the audit. This is the correct operational response when the blob must be read later the same day.
- C
Change the blob to the Cold tier, because Cold is designed for archived content.
Why wrong: Cold is an online tier for infrequently accessed data, but it is not the same as Archive. Data already in Archive still needs rehydration before moving back online.
- D
Use a snapshot of the archived blob, because snapshots can be opened even when the base blob is archived.
Why wrong: A snapshot still depends on the underlying blob state and does not bypass Archive tier behavior. It is not a replacement for rehydration.
Quick Answer
The answer is to start rehydration of the blob to the Hot tier before opening it. This is correct because blobs stored in the Archive tier are offline and cannot be read directly; they must first be rehydrated to the Hot or Cool tier to become online and accessible. Rehydration can take up to 15 hours, so the administrator must initiate the process well ahead of the auditor’s deadline. On the AZ-104 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of Azure Storage access tiers and the critical distinction that archived blobs are not instantly readable—a common trap is assuming you can simply change the tier on demand. Remember that rehydration is a background operation, not an instant switch. A helpful memory tip: think of the Archive tier as a deep freezer—you cannot grab a frozen item without first thawing it, and thawing takes time.
AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage storage. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 administrator archived monthly log exports in a blob container six weeks ago. An auditor now needs to open one of those files later today, and the file must be readable from Azure Storage rather than restored from a separate backup copy. What should the administrator do?
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
Start rehydration of the blob to the Hot tier before opening it.
Option B is correct because blobs in the Archive tier are offline and cannot be read directly. To access the data, the blob must first be rehydrated to the Hot or Cool tier, which changes its state to online and readable. Rehydration can take up to 15 hours, so the administrator must start this process well before the auditor needs the file.
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.
- ✗
Open the blob directly from the Archive tier because archived blobs remain online for read access.
Why it's wrong here
Archive tier blobs are offline and cannot be read directly. They must be rehydrated before access is possible.
- ✓
Start rehydration of the blob to the Hot tier before opening it.
Why this is correct
Archived blobs are not immediately readable, so the administrator must rehydrate the blob back to an online tier first. Hot is appropriate when the file needs to be accessible again as soon as the rehydration completes and may be used actively during the audit. This is the correct operational response when the blob must be read later the same day.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Change the blob to the Cold tier, because Cold is designed for archived content.
Why it's wrong here
Cold is an online tier for infrequently accessed data, but it is not the same as Archive. Data already in Archive still needs rehydration before moving back online.
- ✗
Use a snapshot of the archived blob, because snapshots can be opened even when the base blob is archived.
Why it's wrong here
A snapshot still depends on the underlying blob state and does not bypass Archive tier behavior. It is not a replacement for rehydration.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume archived blobs are still readable because they appear in the storage account listing, but Azure's Archive tier explicitly stores data offline, requiring explicit rehydration before any read operation.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Rehydration involves changing the blob's tier from Archive to Hot or Cool, which triggers an asynchronous copy of the blob data to an online tier. During rehydration, the blob remains in the Archive tier until the operation completes, and the blob's access tier property updates only after the data is fully online. The rehydration priority (Standard or High) affects the time to completion, with High priority typically completing within 1 hour for objects under 10 GB.
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.
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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: Start rehydration of the blob to the Hot tier before opening it. — Option B is correct because blobs in the Archive tier are offline and cannot be read directly. To access the data, the blob must first be rehydrated to the Hot or Cool tier, which changes its state to online and readable. Rehydration can take up to 15 hours, so the administrator must start this process well before the auditor needs the file.
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
3 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. An administrator moved a blob to the Archive tier last month. A user needs to open it tomorrow. What must happen before the file can be read?
easy- ✓ A.Change the blob to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to complete
- B.Create a snapshot of the archived blob
- C.Enable versioning on the storage account
- D.Move the storage account to LRS redundancy
Why A: To read a blob in the Archive tier, it must first be rehydrated to the Hot or Cool tier. This process, called rehydration, changes the blob's tier and makes it accessible for reading. Until rehydration completes, the blob remains offline and cannot be read.
Variation 2. An administrator archives monthly log exports in a blob container to reduce storage cost. During an audit, one archived blob must be downloaded and opened later the same day. What must the administrator do before the blob can be read?
medium- A.Read the blob directly from the Archive tier because archive data remains immediately online
- ✓ B.Change the blob tier from Archive to Hot or Cool and wait for rehydration to finish
- C.Copy the blob to a new container in the same account to bypass the archive restriction
- D.Assign an Azure RBAC role to the auditor so the archived blob becomes available immediately
Why B: Blobs stored in the Archive tier are offline and must be rehydrated to the Hot or Cool tier before they can be read. Rehydration can take up to 15 hours, so the administrator must initiate a tier change and wait for completion before downloading the blob. Option B correctly identifies this required step.
Variation 3. A lifecycle rule moves blobs to the archive tier after 90 days. A file was archived 2 weeks ago, and a reporting job now needs to read it tomorrow morning. What should you expect?
medium- A.The file is immediately readable, but only through the archive endpoint and at a higher request rate.
- ✓ B.The file must be rehydrated to an online tier before it can be read, so access is delayed.
- C.The file is permanently deleted when it enters archive, so the job must use a backup restore.
- D.The file can be read immediately if the account has read-access geo-redundancy enabled.
Why B: Option B is correct because blobs in the Azure Archive tier are offline and cannot be read directly. To access the data, you must first rehydrate the blob to an online tier (Hot, Cool, or Cold) using a copy or change-tier operation, which introduces a delay (typically up to 15 hours for standard priority rehydration). The file was archived only 2 weeks ago, so it is still in the Archive tier and requires rehydration before the reporting job can read it tomorrow morning.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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