- A
Enable soft-delete and purge protection on the Key Vault.
Why wrong: Soft-delete and purge protection help recover deleted keys, but they do not enable automatic key rotation or re-wrapping of disks.
- B
Use Key Vault key auto-rotation with a 90-day rotation period, and configure the disk encryption set to use the latest key version (empty string).
Key Vault key auto-rotation creates new key versions on schedule. By setting the key version to empty in the disk encryption set, the VMs automatically re-wrap their disks with the latest key version after rotation.
- C
Create a new KEK every 90 days and modify the disk encryption set to point to the new key version.
Why wrong: This approach is manual and does not automatically re-wrap running VMs. It requires updating the disk encryption set and may require a VM restart or manual re-encryption.
- D
Use Azure Policy to enforce automatic key rotation.
Why wrong: Azure Policy can audit or enforce that VMs use a specific key version, but it does not cause automatic re-wrapping after key rotation. The disk encryption set must be configured to use the latest key version.
Quick Answer
The correct answer is to use Key Vault key auto-rotation with a 90-day rotation period and configure the disk encryption set to use the latest key version (empty string). This works because when a disk encryption set is set to an empty string for the key version, it dynamically references the most recent version of the key encryption key in Azure Key Vault, enabling automatic re-wrapping of the disk encryption key without requiring a VM restart. On the AZ-500 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Azure Disk Encryption integrates with Key Vault and disk encryption sets to meet compliance policies for automatic key rotation and disk re-wrapping. A common trap is selecting a solution that requires manual version updates or VM redeployment, which violates the "automatic" requirement. Remember the memory tip: "Empty string, latest key—no restart, no worry."
AZ-500 Secure compute, storage, and databases Practice Question
This AZ-500 practice question tests your understanding of secure compute, storage, and databases. 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.
A company uses Azure Disk Encryption (ADE) on Windows virtual machines. They use a key encryption key (KEK) stored in Azure Key Vault to wrap the disk encryption key. The security policy requires that the KEK be automatically rotated every 90 days. They need to ensure that after rotation, the OS and data disks of running VMs automatically get re-wrapped with the new KEK version. Which configuration should they implement?
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 Key Vault key auto-rotation with a 90-day rotation period, and configure the disk encryption set to use the latest key version (empty string).
Option B is correct because Azure Key Vault supports automatic key rotation with a configurable rotation period, and when a disk encryption set (DES) is configured with an empty string as the key version, it automatically uses the latest version of the KEK. This ensures that after the KEK is rotated every 90 days, the running VMs' OS and data disks are re-wrapped with the new KEK version without manual intervention or VM restart.
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.
- ✗
Enable soft-delete and purge protection on the Key Vault.
Why it's wrong here
Soft-delete and purge protection help recover deleted keys, but they do not enable automatic key rotation or re-wrapping of disks.
- ✓
Use Key Vault key auto-rotation with a 90-day rotation period, and configure the disk encryption set to use the latest key version (empty string).
Why this is correct
Key Vault key auto-rotation creates new key versions on schedule. By setting the key version to empty in the disk encryption set, the VMs automatically re-wrap their disks with the latest key version after rotation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Create a new KEK every 90 days and modify the disk encryption set to point to the new key version.
Why it's wrong here
This approach is manual and does not automatically re-wrap running VMs. It requires updating the disk encryption set and may require a VM restart or manual re-encryption.
- ✗
Use Azure Policy to enforce automatic key rotation.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Policy can audit or enforce that VMs use a specific key version, but it does not cause automatic re-wrapping after key rotation. The disk encryption set must be configured to use the latest key version.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse Azure Policy (which enforces compliance) with actual key rotation and re-wrapping mechanisms, or mistakenly believe that manual key version updates in the DES are sufficient for automatic re-wrapping of running VMs.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Azure Disk Encryption uses the KEK to wrap the disk encryption key (DEK) via the Key Vault's WrapKey operation. When the DES is configured with an empty string for the key version, Azure automatically resolves to the latest version of the KEK. After key rotation, the Azure Disk Encryption service re-wraps the DEK using the new KEK version during the next maintenance window or upon VM reboot, ensuring seamless compliance with rotation policies without downtime.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-500 question test?
Secure compute, storage, and databases — This question tests Secure compute, storage, and databases — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Key Vault key auto-rotation with a 90-day rotation period, and configure the disk encryption set to use the latest key version (empty string). — Option B is correct because Azure Key Vault supports automatic key rotation with a configurable rotation period, and when a disk encryption set (DES) is configured with an empty string as the key version, it automatically uses the latest version of the KEK. This ensures that after the KEK is rotated every 90 days, the running VMs' OS and data disks are re-wrapped with the new KEK version without manual intervention or VM restart.
What should I do if I get this AZ-500 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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on AZ-500
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company enables Azure Disk Encryption (ADE) on Windows virtual machines using a key encryption key (KEK) stored in Azure Key Vault. They want the KEK to be automatically rotated every 30 days to meet compliance requirements. Which Azure Key Vault feature should they enable?
medium- ✓ A.Key rotation policy
- B.Key expiration date
- C.Soft-delete
- D.Purge protection
Why A: A key rotation policy in Azure Key Vault allows you to define automatic rotation rules for keys, including a rotation interval (e.g., every 30 days) and a rotation time window. This feature ensures that the KEK is automatically replaced with a new key version at the specified interval without manual intervention, meeting compliance requirements for periodic key rotation.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This AZ-500 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-500 exam.
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