- A
Assign Reader at the subscription scope so the staff can view the VMs.
Why wrong: Reader lets users view resource settings, but it does not allow restart actions on virtual machines.
- B
Assign Virtual Machine Contributor at the RG-Dev scope.
Virtual Machine Contributor allows managing virtual machines, including restart operations, while avoiding broader control over networking resources. Assigning it at the resource group scope limits access to only RG-Dev, which matches the least-privilege requirement.
- C
Assign Contributor at the RG-Dev scope.
Why wrong: Contributor can manage all resources in the resource group, including networking and deletion, which is broader than required.
- D
Assign Virtual Machine Administrator Login at the RG-Dev scope.
Why wrong: Virtual Machine Administrator Login controls guest OS sign-in, not Azure management actions like restarting or viewing resource properties.
Assign Virtual Machine Contributor Role at Resource Group Scope
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 operations team needs to let helpdesk staff restart virtual machines and view their properties only in RG-Dev. The staff must not be able to manage virtual networks, disks, or delete any resources. What is the best built-in role assignment?
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
Assign Virtual Machine Contributor at the RG-Dev scope.
The Virtual Machine Contributor role at the RG-Dev scope grants the exact permissions needed: it allows restarting VMs and viewing their properties while explicitly preventing management of virtual networks, disks, or deletion of resources. This built-in role includes the 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action' and read permissions, but excludes write/delete on networking and storage resources, meeting all requirements.
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.
- ✗
Assign Reader at the subscription scope so the staff can view the VMs.
Why it's wrong here
Reader lets users view resource settings, but it does not allow restart actions on virtual machines.
When this WOULD be correct
Assign Reader at the subscription scope when the requirement is only to view virtual machine properties across all resource groups, with no need to perform any actions like restarting.
- ✓
Assign Virtual Machine Contributor at the RG-Dev scope.
Why this is correct
Virtual Machine Contributor allows managing virtual machines, including restart operations, while avoiding broader control over networking resources. Assigning it at the resource group scope limits access to only RG-Dev, which matches the least-privilege requirement.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Assign Contributor at the RG-Dev scope.
Why it's wrong here
Contributor can manage all resources in the resource group, including networking and deletion, which is broader than required.
When this WOULD be correct
If the requirement were to allow helpdesk staff full management of all resources in RG-Dev (including deletion and network changes), Contributor at RG-Dev scope would be correct.
- ✗
Assign Virtual Machine Administrator Login at the RG-Dev scope.
Why it's wrong here
Virtual Machine Administrator Login controls guest OS sign-in, not Azure management actions like restarting or viewing resource properties.
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.
✓Assign Virtual Machine Contributor at the RG-Dev scope.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Virtual Machine Contributor allows managing virtual machines, including restart operations, while avoiding broader control over networking resources. Assigning it at the resource group scope limits access to only RG-Dev, which matches the least-privilege requirement.
✗Assign Reader at the subscription scope so the staff can view the VMs.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Reader at subscription scope grants read-only access to all resources in the subscription, but the staff need to restart VMs (a write operation), which Reader does not allow.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
Assign Reader at the subscription scope when the requirement is only to view virtual machine properties across all resource groups, with no need to perform any actions like restarting.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Reader is sufficient because they focus on the 'view properties' requirement and overlook the 'restart' action, or they assume subscription scope is needed for visibility.
✗Assign Contributor at the RG-Dev scope.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Contributor role allows managing all resources, including deleting VMs, virtual networks, and disks, which exceeds the required permissions.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the requirement were to allow helpdesk staff full management of all resources in RG-Dev (including deletion and network changes), Contributor at RG-Dev scope would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Contributor provides sufficient control without realizing it includes delete and network management permissions beyond the specified constraints.
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 choose Contributor (Option C) thinking it's a safe middle ground, but it actually grants full management rights including deletion, which violates the explicit restriction in the question.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The Virtual Machine Contributor role is defined by Azure RBAC with a specific set of actions under 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/*' but excludes 'Microsoft.Network/*' and 'Microsoft.Storage/*' write/delete actions. This granularity is achieved through Azure Resource Manager's role definition JSON, where 'NotActions' can be used to explicitly deny certain operations, though in this case the role simply omits those permissions. In a real-world scenario, this role is ideal for helpdesk teams that need to perform VM lifecycle operations without risking accidental deletion of critical networking or storage infrastructure.
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
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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: Assign Virtual Machine Contributor at the RG-Dev scope. — The Virtual Machine Contributor role at the RG-Dev scope grants the exact permissions needed: it allows restarting VMs and viewing their properties while explicitly preventing management of virtual networks, disks, or deletion of resources. This built-in role includes the 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action' and read permissions, but excludes write/delete on networking and storage resources, meeting all requirements.
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
2 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. A support engineer must restart and view the properties of virtual machines only in RG-Dev. The engineer must not gain access to other resource groups in the subscription. What should the administrator do?
medium- A.Assign the Reader role at the subscription scope and the Virtual Machine Contributor role at RG-Dev scope.
- ✓ B.Assign the Virtual Machine Contributor role at the RG-Dev scope.
- C.Assign the Contributor role at the RG-Dev scope.
- D.Create a custom role at the subscription scope and assign it to the engineer.
Why B: Option B is correct because the Virtual Machine Contributor role at the RG-Dev scope grants the engineer the necessary permissions to restart and view properties of virtual machines within that resource group, while restricting access to other resource groups. This role includes actions like Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/start/action and Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/read, which cover the required tasks without granting broader management rights.
Variation 2. You want to let a support engineer restart only the virtual machines in the Prod-Apps resource group, and any VM added later to that group should also be covered. Where should you assign the role?
easy- A.At the subscription scope, because it will cover the resource group and future VMs.
- ✓ B.At the Prod-Apps resource group scope, because the assignment will inherit to all VMs in that group.
- C.At each VM resource scope, because role assignments never inherit.
- D.At the management group scope, because it is the only scope that applies to VMs.
Why B: Assigning the 'Virtual Machine Contributor' role at the Prod-Apps resource group scope ensures that the support engineer can restart all current and future VMs within that group. Role assignments in Azure RBAC are inherited by all child resources, so any VM added later to the resource group automatically receives the same permissions. This is the most efficient and maintainable approach for managing access to a dynamic set of resources.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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