The correct actions are to instrument the application with Application Insights and deploy the Azure Monitor Agent to each VM tier. This combination is essential for Azure VM monitoring for multi-tier application because the Monitor Agent collects OS-level metrics and logs from every tier, while Application Insights captures application-level telemetry like request rates, dependency calls, and exceptions directly from the code. Together, they provide end-to-end observability across the infrastructure and application layers, which is exactly what the Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305 exam tests under the “Design a monitoring solution” objective. A common trap is choosing only one agent or relying solely on the legacy Log Analytics agent; remember that the modern Monitor Agent is the unified replacement, and Application Insights handles the code-level instrumentation that the agent cannot. For a memory tip, think “Agent for the box, Insights for the code” — each covers a distinct layer of your multi-tier stack.
AZ-305 Practice Question: Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design identity, governance, and monitoring 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.
Which TWO actions should you take to design a monitoring solution for a multi-tier application running on Azure VMs? (Select TWO.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure Azure Monitor Agent to collect metrics and logs from each tier
Option B is correct because Azure Monitor Agent is the modern, unified agent that collects metrics and logs from Azure VMs and sends them to Azure Monitor, Log Analytics workspaces, and other destinations. For a multi-tier application, collecting data from each tier is essential for end-to-end monitoring. Option D is correct because Application Insights provides application performance monitoring (APM) by instrumenting the application code itself, capturing telemetry like request rates, dependency calls, and exceptions, which is critical for understanding the behavior of a multi-tier application.
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.
✗
Deploy VM Insights on each VM
Why it's wrong here
VM Insights is a feature of Azure Monitor for VMs, not a separate monitoring tool.
✓
Configure Azure Monitor Agent to collect metrics and logs from each tier
Why this is correct
Collects infrastructure data from all VMs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create a Log Analytics workspace and connect all VMs
Why it's wrong here
Log Analytics workspace is the data store, but the action to connect VMs is already part of agent deployment.
✓
Instrument the application with Application Insights
Why this is correct
Provides application-level monitoring and diagnostics.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable Azure Monitor for VMs on all VMs
Why it's wrong here
Monitors VM health but not application performance.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse 'VM Insights' (a feature that provides visualizations and dependency mapping) with the underlying agent installation, or they think that creating a Log Analytics workspace is a primary monitoring action rather than a prerequisite, leading them to select options A, C, or E instead of the correct combination of agent-based collection and application instrumentation.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The Azure Monitor Agent uses data collection rules (DCRs) to define what data to collect and where to send it, supporting both Windows and Linux VMs via a single agent. Application Insights uses the OpenTelemetry SDK or the older Application Insights SDK to instrument applications, and it can correlate telemetry across tiers using the W3C Trace-Context standard, enabling distributed tracing. In a real-world scenario, you might configure the Azure Monitor Agent to collect IIS logs from the web tier and performance counters from the database tier, while Application Insights tracks HTTP dependencies between the web and API tiers.
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-305 question in full detail.
Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions — This question tests Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure Azure Monitor Agent to collect metrics and logs from each tier — Option B is correct because Azure Monitor Agent is the modern, unified agent that collects metrics and logs from Azure VMs and sends them to Azure Monitor, Log Analytics workspaces, and other destinations. For a multi-tier application, collecting data from each tier is essential for end-to-end monitoring. Option D is correct because Application Insights provides application performance monitoring (APM) by instrumenting the application code itself, capturing telemetry like request rates, dependency calls, and exceptions, which is critical for understanding the behavior of a multi-tier application.
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.
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