- A
Azure Load Balancer
Why wrong: Azure Load Balancer operates at Layer 4 (TCP/UDP) and does not support URL path-based routing or SSL termination.
- B
Azure Application Gateway
Application Gateway is a Layer 7 web traffic load balancer that provides URL path-based routing, SSL termination, and session persistence.
- C
Azure Traffic Manager
Why wrong: Traffic Manager is a DNS-based traffic routing service that directs traffic to endpoints based on performance, priority, or geographic location, but it does not inspect URL paths or terminate SSL.
- D
Azure Front Door
Why wrong: Azure Front Door is a global Layer 7 service that can also do path-based routing and SSL termination, but it is unnecessary for the stated requirement for a single-region scenario and more complex to configure than Application Gateway.
AZ-305 Design infrastructure solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design infrastructure 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.
A company deploys a web application on Azure VMs. They need to distribute incoming HTTP and HTTPS traffic based on the URL path: requests to /api/* go to one VM pool, requests to /images/* go to another pool. They also need to offload SSL/TLS termination. Which Azure load balancing solution should they use?
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 Application Gateway
Azure Application Gateway is a layer-7 load balancer that can route traffic based on URL path (e.g., /api/* vs /images/*) and provides SSL/TLS termination at the gateway, offloading the decryption from the backend VMs. This matches both requirements exactly, whereas other solutions either lack layer-7 path-based routing or are designed for global traffic distribution.
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 Load Balancer
Why it's wrong here
Azure Load Balancer operates at Layer 4 (TCP/UDP) and does not support URL path-based routing or SSL termination.
- ✓
Azure Application Gateway
Why this is correct
Application Gateway is a Layer 7 web traffic load balancer that provides URL path-based routing, SSL termination, and session persistence.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Azure Traffic Manager
- ✗
Azure Front Door
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Application Gateway (regional layer-7 routing) with Azure Front Door (global layer-7 routing) or Azure Load Balancer (layer-4), failing to recognize that only Application Gateway provides both URL path-based routing and SSL termination for a single-region deployment.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Azure Front Door is a global Layer 7 service that can also do path-based routing and SSL termination, but it is unnecessary for the stated requirement for a single-region scenario and more complex to configure than Application Gateway.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Application Gateway uses a set of routing rules defined in its HTTP settings and path-based rules, which inspect the URL path in the HTTP request header and forward traffic to the appropriate backend pool. SSL/TLS termination is handled by uploading a certificate to the gateway, which decrypts incoming HTTPS traffic and sends plain HTTP to the backend VMs, reducing CPU load on the VMs. In a real-world scenario, you might combine Application Gateway with a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect against common web exploits while maintaining path-based routing.
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
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Design infrastructure solutions — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-305 question test?
Design infrastructure solutions — This question tests Design infrastructure solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Application Gateway — Azure Application Gateway is a layer-7 load balancer that can route traffic based on URL path (e.g., /api/* vs /images/*) and provides SSL/TLS termination at the gateway, offloading the decryption from the backend VMs. This matches both requirements exactly, whereas other solutions either lack layer-7 path-based routing or are designed for global traffic distribution.
What should I do if I get this AZ-305 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
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This AZ-305 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-305 exam.
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