- A
An availability set
Why wrong: Availability sets improve resiliency but do not support autoscaling.
- B
A Virtual Machine Scale Set
Scale Sets provide grouped VM deployment and autoscaling.
- C
A Recovery Services vault
Why wrong: A Recovery Services vault is for backup and recovery.
- D
Boot diagnostics
Why wrong: Boot diagnostics helps troubleshoot VM startup issues and does not manage fleet scaling.
Question 146 of 1,170
AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of deploy and manage azure compute. 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.
You need to deploy 20 identical Azure virtual machines for a web application and automatically scale the number of instances based on CPU demand. Which Azure feature should you use?
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
✓
A Virtual Machine Scale Set
A Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) is the correct Azure feature because it allows you to deploy and manage a group of identical, load-balanced VMs that can automatically scale in or out based on CPU demand using autoscale rules. This directly meets the requirement for deploying 20 identical VMs with automatic scaling based on a performance metric like CPU utilization.
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.
- ✗
An availability set
Why it's wrong here
Availability sets improve resiliency but do not support autoscaling.
When this WOULD be correct
You need to deploy two or more VMs for a critical application and ensure they are placed in separate fault and update domains to meet a 99.95% SLA. The question would ask for a feature to maximize availability within a single region.
- ✓
A Virtual Machine Scale Set
Why this is correct
Scale Sets provide grouped VM deployment and autoscaling.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
A Recovery Services vault
Why it's wrong here
A Recovery Services vault is for backup and recovery.
When this WOULD be correct
You need to protect Azure virtual machines by enabling backup and restore capabilities. Which Azure feature should you use?
- ✗
Boot diagnostics
Why it's wrong here
Boot diagnostics helps troubleshoot VM startup issues and does not manage fleet scaling.
When this WOULD be correct
You need to troubleshoot why a specific Azure VM fails to boot after a configuration change. Boot diagnostics would be the correct feature to enable to view the serial log and screenshot to diagnose the boot issue.
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.
✓A Virtual Machine Scale SetCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Scale Sets provide grouped VM deployment and autoscaling.
✗An availability setWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
An availability set provides high availability by distributing VMs across fault and update domains, but it does not support automatic scaling based on CPU demand. It is a static grouping, not a scaling solution.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
You need to deploy two or more VMs for a critical application and ensure they are placed in separate fault and update domains to meet a 99.95% SLA. The question would ask for a feature to maximize availability within a single region.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse availability sets with scale sets because both involve multiple VMs, and they might think availability sets also handle scaling, but they only provide redundancy, not elasticity.
✗A Recovery Services vaultWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A Recovery Services vault is used for backup and disaster recovery, not for deploying or scaling virtual machines. It does not provide auto-scaling based on CPU demand.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
You need to protect Azure virtual machines by enabling backup and restore capabilities. Which Azure feature should you use?
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse 'Recovery' with 'scaling' or think it provides some form of resilience that includes scaling, but it is purely for backup and recovery.
✗Boot diagnosticsWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Boot diagnostics captures serial console output and screenshots for troubleshooting VM boot failures, but it does not provide any mechanism for deploying multiple VMs or automatically scaling them based on CPU demand.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
You need to troubleshoot why a specific Azure VM fails to boot after a configuration change. Boot diagnostics would be the correct feature to enable to view the serial log and screenshot to diagnose the boot issue.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse boot diagnostics with a feature that monitors performance metrics like CPU, or they might think it includes scaling capabilities because 'diagnostics' sounds like it could trigger actions based on data.
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 an availability set (which provides high availability through fault domain distribution) with a Virtual Machine Scale Set (which provides both high availability and automatic scaling), leading them to select Option A when the question explicitly requires automatic scaling based on demand.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, a VMSS uses an autoscale profile that defines the minimum, maximum, and default instance counts, and you configure autoscale rules based on metrics like Percentage CPU (gathered from the Azure Diagnostics extension or the VM's host metrics). The scale-out and scale-in actions are triggered when the metric crosses defined thresholds for a specified duration (e.g., average CPU > 75% for 10 minutes), and the VMSS uses a scale policy (e.g., 'NewestVM' or 'OldestVM') to determine which instances to remove during scale-in. In a real-world scenario, you would also configure a load balancer or Application Gateway in front of the scale set to distribute traffic evenly across the instances.
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: A Virtual Machine Scale Set — A Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) is the correct Azure feature because it allows you to deploy and manage a group of identical, load-balanced VMs that can automatically scale in or out based on CPU demand using autoscale rules. This directly meets the requirement for deploying 20 identical VMs with automatic scaling based on a performance metric like CPU utilization.
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 →
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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