Question 938 of 999

Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is to create a Microsoft Sentinel analytics rule using the Azure Activity data connector. This is correct because the Azure Activity data connector ingests control plane logs from Azure Resource Manager, allowing you to detect the specific 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/write' operation that creates a VM. By configuring the rule to trigger when a network security group rule opens inbound SSH port 22 to 'Internet' (any IP), you generate an alert without deploying any additional agents or infrastructure, directly addressing the need to detect an open SSH port on Azure VM creation with Sentinel. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of leveraging existing SIEM resources for security monitoring with minimal overhead—a common trap is overcomplicating the solution by suggesting agents or third-party tools when the Activity log already captures the necessary data. Memory tip: think "Activity log for control plane, analytics rule for alerting"—no agents needed for ARM operations.

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.

Your organization uses Microsoft Sentinel for security information and event management (SIEM). You need to ensure that an alert is generated when an Azure VM is created with an open inbound SSH port (22) from the internet. The solution should use existing Azure resources and minimize administrative overhead. What should you use?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

Question 1mediummultiple choice

Full question →

A
Create a Microsoft Sentinel analytics rule using the Azure Activity data connector.
The analytics rule can detect VM creation events and check for open ports by correlating with NSG flow logs or resource configuration.
B
Create an Azure Policy with audit effect and configure a Sentinel data connector for Azure Policy.
Why wrong: Azure Policy audit logs are not natively ingested by Sentinel without custom connectors.
C
Create an Azure Monitor metric alert on the 'Network In' metric.
Why wrong: Metric alerts do not capture configuration changes like SSH port opening.
D
Enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud and configure a continuous export to Sentinel.
Why wrong: Defender for Cloud has its own alerts, but to create a custom alert for specific SSH port opening, analytics rules are more flexible.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Create a Microsoft Sentinel analytics rule using the Azure Activity data connector.

Option A is correct because Microsoft Sentinel's Azure Activity data connector ingests resource logs from Azure's control plane (Azure Resource Manager). By creating an analytics rule that detects a 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/write' operation with a network security group rule allowing inbound SSH (port 22) from 'Internet' (any IP), you can generate an alert without deploying additional agents or infrastructure. This minimizes administrative overhead by using existing Sentinel resources and the built-in Activity log connector.

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 Microsoft Sentinel analytics rule using the Azure Activity data connector.
Why this is correct
The analytics rule can detect VM creation events and check for open ports by correlating with NSG flow logs or resource configuration.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create an Azure Policy with audit effect and configure a Sentinel data connector for Azure Policy.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Policy audit logs are not natively ingested by Sentinel without custom connectors.
✗
Create an Azure Monitor metric alert on the 'Network In' metric.
Why it's wrong here
Metric alerts do not capture configuration changes like SSH port opening.
✗
Enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud and configure a continuous export to Sentinel.
Why it's wrong here
Defender for Cloud has its own alerts, but to create a custom alert for specific SSH port opening, analytics rules are more flexible.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may overcomplicate the solution by choosing Defender for Cloud or Azure Policy, thinking they need a security-specific service, when the simplest path is to use the already-connected Azure Activity data connector in Sentinel to monitor control-plane operations for risky configurations.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

The Azure Activity data connector captures control-plane operations (e.g., VM creation, NSG rule changes) via the Azure Monitor REST API, which polls the Activity Log every 5 minutes. An analytics rule can use KQL to join VM creation events with NSG rule write events, filtering for 'destinationPortRanges' containing '22' and 'sourceAddressPrefixes' containing '*' or 'Internet'. This approach avoids dependency on guest OS agents or network flow logs, which would require additional configuration and cost.

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

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

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 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: Create a Microsoft Sentinel analytics rule using the Azure Activity data connector. — Option A is correct because Microsoft Sentinel's Azure Activity data connector ingests resource logs from Azure's control plane (Azure Resource Manager). By creating an analytics rule that detects a 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/write' operation with a network security group rule allowing inbound SSH (port 22) from 'Internet' (any IP), you can generate an alert without deploying additional agents or infrastructure. This minimizes administrative overhead by using existing Sentinel resources and the built-in Activity log connector.

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.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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