The answer is to configure immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy. This enforces a write-once-read-many (WORM) state at the container level, locking each blob so it cannot be modified or deleted for the specified duration—in this case, four years. On the AZ-104 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Azure Blob Storage immutable storage meets regulatory compliance requirements, often appearing alongside a distractor like legal hold, which is indefinite and lacks a set expiration. A common trap is confusing time-based retention with legal hold; remember that time-based retention is for fixed periods, while legal hold has no end date. For a quick memory tip, think “Time locks the data for a term; legal hold is permanent until removed.”
AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of implement and manage storage. 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.
Your application stores regulatory records in Azure Blob Storage. The records must remain in a write-once-read-many state for four years and must not be altered or deleted during that time. What should you configure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy
Immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy enforces a write-once-read-many (WORM) state, ensuring that blobs cannot be modified or deleted for a specified duration. This directly meets the regulatory requirement of four-year retention without alteration or deletion, as the policy locks the data at the container level and prevents any changes until the retention period expires.
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.
✗
Blob soft delete
Why it's wrong here
Soft delete helps recover deleted data but does not enforce immutability.
✓
Immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy
Why this is correct
This enforces WORM protection for the required period.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Lifecycle management to move data to Archive
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle management moves data between tiers but does not enforce WORM retention.
✗
A shared access signature
Why it's wrong here
A SAS delegates access and does not enforce retention or immutability.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse soft delete (which only protects against deletion) with immutable storage (which prevents both modification and deletion), leading them to choose blob soft delete when the question explicitly requires a write-once-read-many state.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Immutable blob storage uses a time-based retention policy that sets a retention interval in seconds, minutes, or days, and once applied, no user (including the storage account owner) can delete or overwrite the blobs until the interval expires. Under the hood, Azure enforces this by locking the blob's metadata and preventing any write or delete operations at the storage platform level, even bypassing role-based access control (RBAC). A real-world scenario is financial institutions storing audit logs that must comply with SEC Rule 17a-4, which requires WORM storage; Azure's immutable blobs are designed to meet these regulatory standards.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-104 question in full detail.
Implement and Manage Storage — This question tests Implement and Manage Storage — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy — Immutable blob storage with a time-based retention policy enforces a write-once-read-many (WORM) state, ensuring that blobs cannot be modified or deleted for a specified duration. This directly meets the regulatory requirement of four-year retention without alteration or deletion, as the policy locks the data at the container level and prevents any changes until the retention period expires.
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.
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Question Discussion
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