AZ-204 Practice Question: Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services
Your team is migrating a legacy application to Azure. The application uses a proprietary database that is not supported by Azure SQL or Cosmos DB. You need to provide a managed database service with minimal rearchitecture. Which Azure service should you use?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse Azure Database Migration Service (a migration tool) with a managed database service, or assume that any database can be migrated to a PaaS offering like Azure SQL Database, ignoring the proprietary database constraint.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Azure Virtual Machines with the database software installed
Azure Virtual Machines (IaaS) is the correct choice because the proprietary database is not supported by any Azure PaaS database service. By deploying the database software on a VM, you retain full control over the database engine and configuration, enabling a lift-and-shift migration with minimal rearchitecture. This approach avoids the need to rewrite application code or adapt to a different database schema.
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 Virtual Machines with the database software installed
Why this is correct
Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) provide an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering, granting complete control over the operating system and installed software. This flexibility is crucial when migrating legacy applications that rely on specific, potentially uncommon, or highly customized database software not available as a managed PaaS offering in Azure. By deploying a VM, your team can install and configure any required database engine, ensuring full compatibility with the existing application's data layer and operational requirements, thus minimizing refactoring efforts.
- ✗
Azure Database for MySQL
Why it's wrong here
Azure Database for MySQL is a fully managed Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering specifically designed to host MySQL databases. While it simplifies database administration by handling patching, backups, and scaling, its fundamental limitation is that it exclusively supports the MySQL engine. If the legacy application utilizes a different database technology, such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server, this service would be incompatible, necessitating a complete database re-platforming or migration to a different hosting solution.
- ✗
Azure Database Migration Service
Why it's wrong here
Azure Database Migration Service (DMS) is a specialized tool designed to facilitate the migration of various database types to Azure data platforms with minimal downtime. Its primary function is to streamline the data transfer process, schema conversion, and cutover, acting as a migration orchestrator. However, DMS itself is not a database hosting solution; it does not provide the underlying infrastructure or managed service for running a database. Therefore, it cannot be selected as the target environment for the legacy application's database.
- ✗
Azure SQL Database
Why it's wrong here
Azure SQL Database is a managed relational database service (PaaS) built on the latest stable version of the Microsoft SQL Server database engine. It offers features like automatic backups, high availability, and performance tuning without requiring server management. However, its design is exclusively for SQL Server-compatible databases. If the legacy application uses a different database system, such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, or MySQL, Azure SQL Database would not be a suitable direct hosting option without significant database re-platforming and code changes to ensure compatibility.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
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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.