AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✗

  A Virtual Machine Scale Set.

  Why it's wrong here

  A Virtual Machine Scale Set can provide availability and even automatically scale the number of identical VMs, but it is designed for elastic, large-scale workloads that need to react to demand. For a fixed deployment of two VMs running the same application, a scale set introduces unnecessary orchestration, autoscaling rules, and load-balancing topology, and its instances are intended to be replaceable rather than individually managed. The requirement does not mention scaling or variable capacity, so an availability set is the simpler and more precise fit.

  When this WOULD be correct

  When the requirement includes automatic scaling based on demand (e.g., variable load) and you need to manage multiple identical VMs as a group, such as a web front-end that scales out during peak hours.

• ✓

  An availability set.

  Why this is correct

  An availability set is the correct, targeted Azure construct for a small fixed set of VMs that must stay up together. When you place both VMs in the same availability set, Azure distributes them across fault domains and update domains, so a single rack failure or a planned maintenance reboot affects only one VM at a time. This meets the high-availability requirement directly and qualifies the deployment for the 99.95% VM SLA. It is simpler and more appropriate than scale-out or container-based alternatives for exactly two VMs running the same line-of-business application.

• ✗

  Azure Container Apps.

  Why it's wrong here

  Azure Container Apps is a fully managed serverless container platform, not a virtual machine service, so it would require re-architecting the line-of-business application into a container image and changing how compute, networking, and identity are managed. The scenario explicitly calls for two virtual machines, meaning IaaS-level control and guest OS management; Container Apps abstracts away those VMs entirely and uses a different execution and scaling model. Choosing it would alter the hosting model rather than simply solving VM availability, which is why it is incorrect here.

  When this WOULD be correct

  You need to deploy a containerized application that can scale based on HTTP traffic or events, and you want to avoid managing the underlying infrastructure. Azure Container Apps would be the correct choice for a serverless container workload with autoscaling.

• ✗

  A private endpoint.

  Why it's wrong here

  A private endpoint is a networking feature that gives an Azure service a private IP address inside a virtual network, enabling secure, private connectivity to PaaS services such as Storage, SQL Database, or Key Vault. It has nothing to do with VM placement, fault tolerance, or ensuring multiple VMs are available; it exists to control network access, not compute redundancy. Deploying one would not improve the availability of the two VMs, so it is unrelated to the stated requirement.

  When this WOULD be correct

  A private endpoint would be correct if the question asked: 'You need to ensure that a virtual machine can securely access an Azure Storage account without using the public internet. What should you use?'

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.

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?”