mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped

A company needs to store large amounts of unstructured file data (documents, images) that is accessed concurrently from hundreds of Azure VMs. The data must be accessible via the SMB protocol and provide low-latency, high-throughput performance. The solution must be fully managed and support up to 1000 simultaneous connections. Which Azure storage solution should they choose?

Question 1mediummultiple choice
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A company needs to store large amounts of unstructured file data (documents, images) that is accessed concurrently from hundreds of Azure VMs. The data must be accessible via the SMB protocol and provide low-latency, high-throughput performance. The solution must be fully managed and support up to 1000 simultaneous connections. Which Azure storage solution should they choose?

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.

A

Best answer

Azure Files (Premium tier)

Premium Azure Files provides SSD-backed SMB shares, low latency, high IOPS, and supports up to 1000 concurrent connections per share, making it ideal for this scenario.

B

Distractor review

Azure Blob Storage

Azure Blob Storage is object storage and does not natively support the SMB protocol; accessing it from VMs would require additional components like a file gateway.

C

Distractor review

Azure NetApp Files

Azure NetApp Files offers SMB shares but is typically more expensive and suited for high-performance computing, not the most cost-effective for general file sharing with up to 1000 connections.

D

Distractor review

Azure Managed Disks

Managed Disks are block-level volumes attached to a single VM; they cannot be shared concurrently across hundreds of VMs.

Common exam trap

Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic

NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.

Technical deep dive

How to think about this question

NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.

KKey Concepts to Remember

  • Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
  • PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
  • Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
  • NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.

TExam Day Tips

  • Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
  • Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
  • Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.

Related practice questions

Related AZ-305 practice-question pages

Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.

More questions from this exam

Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.

FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this AZ-305 question test?

Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Azure Files (Premium tier) — Azure Files Premium tier provides SMB file shares with low latency, high throughput, and the ability to handle up to 1000 concurrent connections per share. It is fully managed. Azure Blob Storage does not natively support SMB. Azure NetApp Files also supports SMB but is typically used for specialized workloads and has a higher cost. Azure Managed Disks are block-level storage for individual VMs, not shared file access.

What should I do if I get this AZ-305 question wrong?

Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.

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