- A
Use an Azure Load Balancer and configure NSGs on each subnet.
Why wrong: Azure Load Balancer is a layer 4 service and does not provide SSL termination, WAF, or URL-based routing. NSGs alone cannot provide those capabilities.
- B
Use Azure Firewall to inspect all traffic and allow internet traffic to the web tier.
Why wrong: Azure Firewall is a stateful firewall that operates at layers 3-4 with some layer 7 capabilities, but it is not optimized for inbound web traffic with SSL offloading and URL routing like a WAF-enabled service.
- C
Use Azure Application Gateway with WAF, and configure NSGs to restrict traffic between tiers.
Application Gateway provides SSL termination, WAF, and URL routing. NSGs on subnets can enforce isolation by allowing only necessary traffic (e.g., only web tier to app tier on specific ports).
- D
Use Azure Front Door to expose the web tier and NSGs for internal isolation.
Why wrong: Azure Front Door is a global load balancer, suitable for multi-region scenarios. For a single-region deployment, Application Gateway is more appropriate and cost-effective, and Front Door does not inherently provide isolation between tiers.
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 is deploying a multi-tier web application on Azure VMs. The web tier must be accessible from the internet, while the application and database tiers must be isolated within the virtual network. The solution must provide SSL termination, web application firewall (WAF) capabilities, and URL-based routing. Which Azure service should they use to expose the web tier?
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
Use Azure Application Gateway with WAF, and configure NSGs to restrict traffic between tiers.
Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 load balancer that provides SSL termination, a web application firewall (WAF), and URL-based routing, making it ideal for exposing a web tier to the internet. By placing the gateway in front of the web tier and configuring network security groups (NSGs) on the application and database subnets, you can isolate internal tiers while meeting all stated requirements.
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.
- ✗
Use an Azure Load Balancer and configure NSGs on each subnet.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Load Balancer is a layer 4 service and does not provide SSL termination, WAF, or URL-based routing. NSGs alone cannot provide those capabilities.
- ✗
Use Azure Firewall to inspect all traffic and allow internet traffic to the web tier.
- ✓
Use Azure Application Gateway with WAF, and configure NSGs to restrict traffic between tiers.
- ✗
Use Azure Front Door to expose the web tier and NSGs for internal isolation.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Front Door is a global load balancer, suitable for multi-region scenarios. For a single-region deployment, Application Gateway is more appropriate and cost-effective, and Front Door does not inherently provide isolation between tiers.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Load Balancer (Layer 4) with Application Gateway (Layer 7), assuming a basic load balancer can handle SSL termination and WAF, when in fact those features require Layer 7 capabilities.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Azure Front Door is a global load balancer, suitable for multi-region scenarios. For a single-region deployment, Application Gateway is more appropriate and cost-effective, and Front Door does not inherently provide isolation between tiers.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Application Gateway uses a listener to terminate SSL at the gateway, decrypting traffic before forwarding it to backend web servers, which reduces CPU load on VMs. Its WAF mode leverages the OWASP Core Rule Set to inspect HTTP/HTTPS traffic for common exploits like SQL injection and cross-site scripting. URL-based routing is achieved through path-based rules, allowing you to route traffic to different backend pools (e.g., /api to app servers, /images to static servers) without exposing internal IPs.
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.
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.
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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: Use Azure Application Gateway with WAF, and configure NSGs to restrict traffic between tiers. — Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 load balancer that provides SSL termination, a web application firewall (WAF), and URL-based routing, making it ideal for exposing a web tier to the internet. By placing the gateway in front of the web tier and configuring network security groups (NSGs) on the application and database subnets, you can isolate internal tiers while meeting all stated requirements.
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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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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