This AZ-204 practice question tests your understanding of develop azure compute solutions. 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 have an Azure App Service web app that experiences high CPU usage during peak hours. You need to scale out automatically based on CPU load. Which scaling solution should you use?
Manual scaling
Why wrong: Manual scaling does not automate based on metrics.
Traffic Manager
Why wrong: Traffic Manager distributes traffic, does not scale based on CPU.
Autoscale with a CPU percentage rule
Autoscale can scale out when CPU exceeds a threshold.
Scale sets autoscale
Why wrong: Scale sets are for virtual machines, not App Service.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Autoscale with a CPU percentage rule
Autoscale with a CPU percentage rule is the correct solution because Azure App Service supports built-in autoscaling that can automatically increase or decrease the number of instances based on a metric like CPU percentage. This allows the web app to handle peak-hour traffic by scaling out when CPU usage exceeds a defined threshold, ensuring performance without manual intervention.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Manual scaling
Why it's wrong here
Manual scaling does not automate based on metrics.
Traffic Manager
Why it's wrong here
Traffic Manager distributes traffic, does not scale based on CPU.
Autoscale with a CPU percentage rule
Why this is correct
Autoscale can scale out when CPU exceeds a threshold.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Scale sets autoscale
Why it's wrong here
Scale sets are for virtual machines, not App Service.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may confuse 'scale sets autoscale' (which is for VMs) with App Service autoscale, or think Traffic Manager can scale resources, when it only distributes traffic.
Detailed technical explanation
Azure App Service autoscale uses Azure Monitor metrics, such as CPU percentage, to trigger scale-out and scale-in actions based on rules you define. The autoscale engine evaluates the metric at regular intervals (default 1 minute) and applies a cool-down period (default 10 minutes) to avoid flapping. In a real-world scenario, you might set a rule to scale out by 1 instance when CPU exceeds 70% for 5 minutes, ensuring the app remains responsive during traffic spikes.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Develop Azure compute solutions — This question tests Develop Azure compute solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Autoscale with a CPU percentage rule — Autoscale with a CPU percentage rule is the correct solution because Azure App Service supports built-in autoscaling that can automatically increase or decrease the number of instances based on a metric like CPU percentage. This allows the web app to handle peak-hour traffic by scaling out when CPU usage exceeds a defined threshold, ensuring performance without manual intervention.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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