AZ-400 Practice Question: Design and implement build and release pipelines
Which TWO conditions must be met for a self-hosted agent to be used in an Azure Pipelines agent pool? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume self-hosted agents must be in the Default pool or run on a specific OS, but Azure Pipelines allows any pool and any supported OS (Windows, Linux, macOS) as long as the agent is registered and has network access.
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
✓
The agent must have network access to Azure Pipelines.
A self-hosted agent must have outbound network connectivity to Azure Pipelines (specifically to the Azure DevOps service endpoints) in order to receive job assignments, download tasks, and report status. Without this network access, the agent cannot communicate with the orchestration layer and will remain offline. This is a fundamental requirement for any agent, whether hosted or self-hosted.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The agent must be in the Default pool.
Why it's wrong here
The Default pool is not a mandatory location for self-hosted agents. You can register a self-hosted agent in any agent pool defined in the organization or project, and using a custom pool is often recommended to control access and isolate workloads.
- ✓
The agent must have network access to Azure Pipelines.
Why this is correct
A self-hosted agent must have outbound network connectivity to the Azure Pipelines service over HTTPS. This connection is required to poll for queued jobs, download task definitions and source code, and report execution status back to the service; without it the agent cannot participate in pipelines.
- ✗
The agent must run on Windows Server.
Why it's wrong here
Self-hosted agents are cross-platform and are officially supported on Windows (including Windows Server and client editions), Linux, and macOS. The specific operating system is chosen based on your build or deployment needs, not mandated by Azure Pipelines.
- ✗
The agent must be installed on a virtual machine.
Why it's wrong here
There is no requirement that a self-hosted agent run inside a virtual machine. It can be installed directly on a physical machine, a VM, a container, or even on a device like a Raspberry Pi, as long as the underlying OS is supported and the agent has the required prerequisites.
- ✓
The agent must be registered with the agent pool.
Why this is correct
Every self-hosted agent must be registered with an agent pool before it can accept jobs. Registration authenticates the agent, assigns it to a pool, and makes it visible to Azure Pipelines; this process is performed during configuration using the agent's interactive or Personal Access Token (PAT) authentication.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to DevOps and Azure DevOps
Key term
Self-hosted agent
A self-hosted agent is a software component that you install and manage on your own infrastructure to run automated tasks for a CI/CD or DevOps platform.
Key term
Agent
An agent is a software component that runs on a local machine to perform automated tasks, collect data, or execute commands as part of a larger system like CI/CD or monitoring.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-400 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-400 exam.