The answer is to enable Microsoft Sentinel on a single Log Analytics workspace and configure diagnostic settings for all subscriptions to send logs to that workspace. This is correct because Microsoft Sentinel operates as a SIEM on top of a Log Analytics workspace, acting as the centralized log collection repository; by streaming security events from every subscription—including Activity logs, NSG flow logs, and Windows Event logs—into that same workspace via diagnostic settings, you achieve unified visibility without deploying multiple Sentinel instances. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of centralized log collection and Sentinel’s architecture, often appearing as a trap where candidates mistakenly think each subscription needs its own workspace or that Azure Policy alone handles the streaming. Remember the key principle: one workspace to rule them all, with diagnostic settings as the pipeline. A useful mnemonic is “One Sentinel, One Workspace, All Subscriptions Stream.”
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. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 company plans to use Microsoft Sentinel as a SIEM solution. You need to ensure that security events from all Azure subscriptions are collected in a single workspace. What should you configure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable Microsoft Sentinel on a single Log Analytics workspace and configure diagnostic settings for all subscriptions to send logs to that workspace
Option D is correct because Microsoft Sentinel requires a single Log Analytics workspace to act as the SIEM repository. By enabling Sentinel on that workspace and configuring diagnostic settings on all Azure subscriptions to stream their security logs (e.g., Activity logs, NSG flow logs, Windows Event logs) to that same workspace, you centralize all security events in one location. This ensures unified detection, investigation, and response across the entire enterprise without needing multiple Sentinel instances.
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.
✗
Create a Log Analytics workspace per subscription and use cross-workspace queries
Why it's wrong here
Cross-workspace queries are possible but not a single workspace.
✗
Use Azure Policy to enforce Log Analytics workspace configuration across subscriptions
Why it's wrong here
Policy can help but does not directly achieve the goal without diagnostic settings.
✗
Deploy Microsoft Sentinel in each subscription and connect them via Azure Lighthouse
Why it's wrong here
You want a single workspace, not multiple Sentinel instances.
✓
Enable Microsoft Sentinel on a single Log Analytics workspace and configure diagnostic settings for all subscriptions to send logs to that workspace
Why this is correct
This centralizes all logs in one workspace.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Policy's ability to enforce log collection with the need to also enable Sentinel on a single workspace, or they mistakenly think cross-workspace queries or multiple Sentinel instances can achieve the same centralized correlation, which violates Sentinel's architecture requirement for a single data repository.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Microsoft Sentinel ingests data via the Log Analytics workspace's ingestion pipeline, which uses the Azure Monitor agent or legacy agents to collect logs from VMs, and diagnostic settings to stream platform logs (e.g., Azure Activity, resource logs) from each subscription. The workspace itself is a resource within a single subscription, but diagnostic settings can be configured at the subscription scope (via Azure Policy or manually) to send logs from any subscription to that workspace, regardless of the workspace's location. A real-world scenario: a global enterprise with 50 subscriptions can use a single Sentinel workspace in the central IT subscription, with Azure Policy 'DeployIfNotExists' to automatically configure diagnostic settings on all subscriptions to forward security logs to that workspace, ensuring no data silos.
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 healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
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: Enable Microsoft Sentinel on a single Log Analytics workspace and configure diagnostic settings for all subscriptions to send logs to that workspace — Option D is correct because Microsoft Sentinel requires a single Log Analytics workspace to act as the SIEM repository. By enabling Sentinel on that workspace and configuring diagnostic settings on all Azure subscriptions to stream their security logs (e.g., Activity logs, NSG flow logs, Windows Event logs) to that same workspace, you centralize all security events in one location. This ensures unified detection, investigation, and response across the entire enterprise without needing multiple Sentinel instances.
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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Question Discussion
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