- A
An availability set because it automatically replaces unhealthy instances.
Why wrong: Availability sets do not automatically manage instance count or recreate unhealthy VMs for scaling purposes.
- B
A virtual machine scale set with health-based instance management.
A virtual machine scale set provides a managed pool of identical VMs and is the right choice when you want Azure to maintain instance count and support horizontal growth. It works well for web tiers because the platform can replace unhealthy instances and let you scale up or down as demand changes. This removes the need to create and maintain each VM individually.
- C
An Azure Dedicated Host to keep the VMs on one physical server.
Why wrong: Dedicated Host is about hardware isolation, not autoscaling or automatic replacement of failed instances.
- D
A proximity placement group to ensure the VMs are distributed evenly.
Why wrong: Proximity placement groups do not manage scaling or instance replacement, and they are not a compute service.
Quick Answer
The answer is a virtual machine scale set with health-based instance management. This configuration is correct because it allows you to deploy identical VMs with automatic replacement, ensuring that if an instance becomes unhealthy, the scale set automatically replaces it to maintain the desired instance count without manual intervention. On the AZ-104 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of VMSS health probes and autoscaling policies, often appearing as a distractor against using individual VMs in an availability set or a load balancer backend pool—traps that lack automatic replacement and future horizontal expansion capabilities. A key memory tip is to think of VMSS as a self-healing fleet: it not only keeps your identical VMs running but also scales out on demand, so remember “health probes + scale set = hands-free replacement.”
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.
A web tier must use identical VMs, keep the desired instance count if one instance becomes unhealthy, and allow future horizontal expansion without creating VMs one by one. What should the administrator deploy?
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 with health-based instance management.
A virtual machine scale set with health-based instance management is correct because it automatically maintains a desired number of identical VM instances, replaces unhealthy instances based on health probes, and supports horizontal scaling without manual VM creation. This aligns with the requirements for identical VMs, automatic instance replacement, and future expansion.
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 because it automatically replaces unhealthy instances.
Why it's wrong here
Availability sets do not automatically manage instance count or recreate unhealthy VMs for scaling purposes.
- ✓
A virtual machine scale set with health-based instance management.
Why this is correct
A virtual machine scale set provides a managed pool of identical VMs and is the right choice when you want Azure to maintain instance count and support horizontal growth. It works well for web tiers because the platform can replace unhealthy instances and let you scale up or down as demand changes. This removes the need to create and maintain each VM individually.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
An Azure Dedicated Host to keep the VMs on one physical server.
Why it's wrong here
Dedicated Host is about hardware isolation, not autoscaling or automatic replacement of failed instances.
- ✗
A proximity placement group to ensure the VMs are distributed evenly.
Why it's wrong here
Proximity placement groups do not manage scaling or instance replacement, and they are not a compute service.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse an availability set's fault domain protection with automatic instance replacement, not realizing that availability sets only provide redundancy, not health-based remediation.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
A virtual machine scale set uses a load balancer health probe (e.g., TCP or HTTP) to monitor instance health; when an instance fails the probe, the scale set automatically deletes and recreates it to maintain the desired capacity. The scale set also supports autoscale rules based on metrics like CPU or memory, enabling future horizontal expansion without manual provisioning. Under the hood, the scale set uses a virtual machine profile and an orchestration mode (uniform or flexible) to manage identical instances efficiently.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Deploy and Manage Azure Compute — study guide chapter
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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 with health-based instance management. — A virtual machine scale set with health-based instance management is correct because it automatically maintains a desired number of identical VM instances, replaces unhealthy instances based on health probes, and supports horizontal scaling without manual VM creation. This aligns with the requirements for identical VMs, automatic instance replacement, and future expansion.
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
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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