Quick Answer
The answer is a Service SAS. This is the correct choice because a Service SAS allows you to delegate granular, resource-specific permissions directly to a single Azure Blob Storage container, enabling you to grant only the 'Create' and 'Write' permissions while explicitly omitting 'Read' and 'Delete'. By scoping the SAS token to the container and setting its expiry to one hour, you achieve the required upload-only access without exposing any other operations. On the AZ-204 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the three SAS types—Service, Account, and User Delegation—and the common trap is choosing an Account SAS, which is broader and applies to the entire storage account rather than a specific container. Remember: for a single container with fine-grained permissions, always think Service SAS. A helpful mnemonic is "Service for Specific, Account for All"—if you need to lock down permissions to just one blob container, Service is your only valid option.
This AZ-204 practice question tests your understanding of develop for azure storage. 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.
Your application stores user-generated content in Azure Blob Storage. You need to implement a shared access signature (SAS) that allows users to upload files to a specific container but not read or delete. The SAS must be valid for one hour. Which type of SAS should you use?
Account SAS
Why wrong: Account SAS applies to the entire storage account, not a specific container.
Service SAS
Service SAS can be restricted to a container with only write permission.
Stored access policy
Why wrong: A stored access policy is used to manage SAS parameters, not a SAS type.
User delegation SAS
Why wrong: User delegation SAS can be scoped but is not the simplest option for write-only access.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Service SAS
A Service SAS is the correct choice because it allows you to delegate access to a specific Azure Blob Storage resource (in this case, a container) with granular permissions. You can generate a Service SAS scoped to the container with only the 'Create' and 'Write' permissions (no 'Read' or 'Delete'), and set its expiry to one hour. This meets the requirement of allowing uploads while preventing reads or deletes.
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.
Account SAS
Why it's wrong here
Account SAS applies to the entire storage account, not a specific container.
Service SAS
Why this is correct
Service SAS can be restricted to a container with only write permission.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Stored access policy
Why it's wrong here
A stored access policy is used to manage SAS parameters, not a SAS type.
User delegation SAS
Why it's wrong here
User delegation SAS can be scoped but is not the simplest option for write-only access.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'Service SAS' with 'Account SAS' because both can be used for blobs, but the Account SAS applies to the entire storage account and cannot be restricted to a single container, whereas the Service SAS is resource-specific.
Detailed technical explanation
A Service SAS for a container is generated using the storage account key and includes a signed signature field computed via HMAC-SHA256 over the string-to-sign, which contains the resource URI, permissions (e.g., 'cw' for create and write), and expiry time. The SAS token is appended to the container URL (e.g., https://<account>.blob.core.windows.net/<container>?sv=2020-08-04&se=2025-03-21T12:00:00Z&sp=cw&sig=...), and the user can upload blobs using the 'Put Blob' operation but cannot list or download blobs because those operations require 'Read' permission.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Develop for Azure storage — This question tests Develop for Azure storage — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Service SAS — A Service SAS is the correct choice because it allows you to delegate access to a specific Azure Blob Storage resource (in this case, a container) with granular permissions. You can generate a Service SAS scoped to the container with only the 'Create' and 'Write' permissions (no 'Read' or 'Delete'), and set its expiry to one hour. This meets the requirement of allowing uploads while preventing reads or deletes.
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
This AZ-204 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-204 exam.
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