- A
Create an availability set for the application VMs before deployment.
An availability set is the correct Azure construct for protecting workloads from host-level maintenance and failures inside a datacenter. It provides the placement mechanism needed to improve availability without requiring zone-level resilience.
- B
Deploy both VMs into the same availability set.
Both VMs must be members of the same availability set for Azure to distribute them according to the set's fault and update domains. Separating them into different sets would defeat the availability design.
- C
Allow Azure to place the VMs across different fault and update domains within the availability set.
Fault and update domain distribution is the main benefit of an availability set. Azure handles the placement automatically once the VMs are in the set, reducing the chance that a single maintenance event affects all instances.
- D
Deploy the VMs in separate availability zones to protect against a datacenter outage.
Why wrong: Availability zones are for protecting against datacenter or zone failures, which is beyond the stated requirement. They are not the best answer when the scenario only calls for host-level resilience.
- E
Use a single larger VM and rely on snapshots for uptime.
Why wrong: A bigger single VM does not provide redundancy. Snapshots help with recovery, but they do not keep the application running during a host patch or failure event.
AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of deploy and manage azure compute. 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.
Two line-of-business VMs in a single region must stay available if one physical host is patched or fails. A zone failure is not part of the requirement. Which three actions should the administrator take? Select three.
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
Create an availability set for the application VMs before deployment.
Option A is correct because an availability set ensures that VMs are placed on different fault domains (physical hosts) and update domains within a single Azure region, protecting against physical host patching or failure. This meets the requirement of keeping VMs available during a single host event without requiring zone-level redundancy.
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.
- ✓
Create an availability set for the application VMs before deployment.
Why this is correct
An availability set is the correct Azure construct for protecting workloads from host-level maintenance and failures inside a datacenter. It provides the placement mechanism needed to improve availability without requiring zone-level resilience.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Deploy both VMs into the same availability set.
Why this is correct
Both VMs must be members of the same availability set for Azure to distribute them according to the set's fault and update domains. Separating them into different sets would defeat the availability design.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Allow Azure to place the VMs across different fault and update domains within the availability set.
Why this is correct
Fault and update domain distribution is the main benefit of an availability set. Azure handles the placement automatically once the VMs are in the set, reducing the chance that a single maintenance event affects all instances.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Deploy the VMs in separate availability zones to protect against a datacenter outage.
Why it's wrong here
Availability zones are for protecting against datacenter or zone failures, which is beyond the stated requirement. They are not the best answer when the scenario only calls for host-level resilience.
- ✗
Use a single larger VM and rely on snapshots for uptime.
Why it's wrong here
A bigger single VM does not provide redundancy. Snapshots help with recovery, but they do not keep the application running during a host patch or failure event.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse availability sets (protecting against host failure) with availability zones (protecting against datacenter failure), leading them to select zone-based deployment when the requirement only specifies a single host failure scenario.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Availability zones are for protecting against datacenter or zone failures, which is beyond the stated requirement. They are not the best answer when the scenario only calls for host-level resilience.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
An availability set groups VMs into fault domains (up to 3) and update domains (up to 20) within an Azure region. Fault domains isolate VMs across different physical racks with independent power and networking, while update domains ensure VMs are not rebooted simultaneously during planned maintenance. This design guarantees that at least one VM remains available during a single host patch or failure event.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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: Create an availability set for the application VMs before deployment. — Option A is correct because an availability set ensures that VMs are placed on different fault domains (physical hosts) and update domains within a single Azure region, protecting against physical host patching or failure. This meets the requirement of keeping VMs available during a single host event without requiring zone-level redundancy.
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 →
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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