The answer is Azure Service Bus topics. This is the correct choice because Service Bus topics implement a publish-subscribe pattern where a single message, such as an order event, can be delivered to multiple independent subscribers through separate subscriptions. Each subscription receives its own copy of the message, allowing subscribers to process the event independently without affecting one another, and new subscribers can be added later without any changes to the publisher. On the AZ-204 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of decoupled messaging patterns; a common trap is confusing Service Bus queues with topics—queues use a point-to-point model where only one consumer processes each message, while topics enable fan-out to many consumers. Remember the memory tip: "Topics for teams, queues for singles"—if multiple independent systems need the same message, think topic subscriptions.
AZ-204 Practice Question: Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services
This AZ-204 practice question tests your understanding of connect to and consume azure services and third-party services. 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 application publishes order events that multiple independent subscribers must process. Subscribers may be added later without changing the publisher. Which Azure messaging service should be used?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Azure Service Bus topic
Azure Service Bus topics support a publish/subscribe pattern where multiple independent subscribers can each receive a copy of the same message. This decouples the publisher from subscribers, allowing new subscribers to be added later without modifying the publisher. The topic's subscription mechanism ensures each subscriber processes the event independently.
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.
✗
Azure Blob Storage lifecycle policy
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle policies manage blob storage, not event distribution.
✗
Azure Storage Queue
Why it's wrong here
Storage Queue is point-to-point queueing and does not natively provide multiple subscriptions.
✗
Azure Cache for Redis list only
Why it's wrong here
Redis lists are not the managed enterprise pub-sub messaging choice for this requirement.
✓
Azure Service Bus topic
Why this is correct
Service Bus topics support publish-subscribe messaging with independent subscriptions.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Storage Queue (point-to-point) with Service Bus topics (pub/sub), mistakenly thinking a queue can serve multiple independent subscribers when it actually requires a single consumer or competing consumers pattern.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Azure Service Bus topics use a broker that maintains a separate copy of each message for each subscription, ensuring independent delivery and processing. Subscribers can use filters (e.g., SQL-like filters or correlation filters) to receive only relevant events, enabling fine-grained routing. In a real-world scenario, an e-commerce system might use a topic for 'OrderPlaced' events, with separate subscriptions for inventory, billing, and shipping services, each processing the event independently and scaling independently.
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-204 question in full detail.
Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services — This question tests Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Service Bus topic — Azure Service Bus topics support a publish/subscribe pattern where multiple independent subscribers can each receive a copy of the same message. This decouples the publisher from subscribers, allowing new subscribers to be added later without modifying the publisher. The topic's subscription mechanism ensures each subscriber processes the event independently.
What should I do if I get this AZ-204 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 →
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. An application publishes order events that multiple independent subscribers must process. Subscribers may be added later without changing the publisher. Which Azure messaging service should be used? The architecture review board prefers a managed AWS-native control.
medium
A.Azure Blob Storage lifecycle policy
B.Azure Storage Queue
C.Azure Cache for Redis list only
✓ D.Azure Service Bus topic
Why D: Azure Service Bus topics support a publish-subscribe pattern where multiple independent subscribers can process the same message. Subscribers can be added later without modifying the publisher, and each subscriber receives its own copy of the message through subscriptions. This matches the requirement for order events that must be processed by multiple independent subscribers.
Variation 2. An application publishes order events that multiple independent subscribers must process. Subscribers may be added later without changing the publisher. Which Azure messaging service should be used? The design must avoid adding custom operational scripts.
medium
A.Azure Blob Storage lifecycle policy
B.Azure Storage Queue
C.Azure Cache for Redis list only
✓ D.Azure Service Bus topic
Why D: Azure Service Bus topics support a publish-subscribe pattern where multiple independent subscribers each receive a copy of every published message. This decouples the publisher from subscribers, allowing new subscribers to be added later without modifying the publisher. The built-in subscription entities eliminate the need for custom operational scripts.
Variation 3. An application publishes order events that multiple independent subscribers must process. Subscribers may be added later without changing the publisher. Which Azure messaging service should be used? The team wants the control to be enforceable during normal operations.
medium
A.Azure Blob Storage lifecycle policy
B.Azure Storage Queue
C.Azure Cache for Redis list only
✓ D.Azure Service Bus topic
Why D: Azure Service Bus topics support a publish/subscribe pattern where multiple independent subscribers can each receive a copy of every published message. Subscribers can be added later without modifying the publisher, and the team can enforce control during normal operations using topic-level authorization rules and subscription filters.
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Question Discussion
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