Quick Answer
The answer is Azure Monitor and Action Groups. Azure Monitor is the core service for collecting and analyzing metrics and logs from Azure resources, and it supports metric alerts that can be configured to trigger when CPU usage exceeds 90% for a sustained period of 5 minutes. Action Groups are then required to define the notification and response actions—such as email, SMS, or webhook—that execute when the alert fires, making them essential for sending the alert. On the AZ-305 exam, this pairing tests your understanding of the monitoring and alerting architecture, often appearing in scenario-based questions where you must distinguish between Azure Monitor (the data and alert engine) and Action Groups (the notification mechanism). A common trap is selecting Azure Monitor alone, forgetting that Action Groups are needed to actually send the alert. Memory tip: think of Azure Monitor as the “watchdog” that detects the problem, and Action Groups as the “messenger” that delivers the warning.
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.
You need to monitor Azure resources and send alerts when the CPU usage of a virtual machine exceeds 90% for 5 minutes. Which two Azure services should you use? (Select TWO.)
Azure Monitor Action Groups
Action groups define the notification actions for alerts.
Log Analytics
Why wrong: Log Analytics is for log data, not metric alerts.
Azure Monitor
Azure Monitor collects performance metrics and can create alerts.
Application Insights
Why wrong: Application Insights is for application performance, not VM metrics.
Event Grid
Why wrong: Event Grid is for event-driven workflows, not metric alerts.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Azure Monitor Action Groups
Azure Monitor is the core service for collecting and analyzing metrics and logs from Azure resources. It can be configured with metric alerts that trigger when CPU usage exceeds 90% for 5 minutes. Action Groups define the notification and response actions (e.g., email, SMS, webhook) that are executed when the alert fires, making them essential for sending alerts.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Azure Monitor Action Groups
Why this is correct
Action groups define the notification actions for alerts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Log Analytics
Why it's wrong here
Log Analytics is for log data, not metric alerts.
Azure Monitor
Why this is correct
Azure Monitor collects performance metrics and can create alerts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Application Insights
Why it's wrong here
Application Insights is for application performance, not VM metrics.
Event Grid
Why it's wrong here
Event Grid is for event-driven workflows, not metric alerts.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Log Analytics (a log query tool) with Azure Monitor (the alerting engine), or mistakenly think Application Insights can monitor VM-level metrics, when it is designed for application-level telemetry.
Detailed technical explanation
Azure Monitor metric alerts use a multi-dimensional signal (e.g., Percentage CPU) with a dynamic or static threshold and an evaluation frequency (e.g., every 1 minute). The 'for 5 minutes' condition means the alert fires only after the metric breaches the threshold across five consecutive 1-minute data points, reducing noise. Action Groups support multiple action types including ITSM connectors, Azure Functions, and webhooks, enabling integration with third-party incident management systems.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions — This question tests Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Azure Monitor Action Groups — Azure Monitor is the core service for collecting and analyzing metrics and logs from Azure resources. It can be configured with metric alerts that trigger when CPU usage exceeds 90% for 5 minutes. Action Groups define the notification and response actions (e.g., email, SMS, webhook) that are executed when the alert fires, making them essential for sending alerts.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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