The correct choice is to create a custom role with Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action and the required read permissions at the narrowest scope. This design is correct because Azure RBAC custom roles allow you to grant only the specific restart action while explicitly excluding destructive permissions like delete or network write operations, ensuring operators can restart VMs without the ability to delete them or change networking. On the AZ-500 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the principle of least privilege and the granularity of Azure resource provider operations—a common trap is selecting a built-in role like Contributor, which includes delete and network write permissions. The key memory tip is to think of the action path as a verb-noun pair: “restart/action” is the only verb that allows a reboot, while “delete” and “network” verbs are left out entirely.
AZ-500 Manage identity and access Practice Question
This AZ-500 practice question tests your understanding of manage identity and access. 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.
A custom Azure role should allow operators to restart virtual machines but not delete them or change networking. Which permission design is most appropriate?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a custom role with Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action and required read permissions at the narrowest scope
Option B is correct because it grants the specific 'restart/action' permission on virtual machines while excluding destructive actions like delete or network changes. Custom roles in Azure RBAC allow fine-grained control by including only the required data actions and read permissions, ensuring operators can restart VMs without the ability to delete them or modify networking.
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.
✗
Assign Contributor at the resource group scope
Why it's wrong here
This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
✓
Create a custom role with Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action and required read permissions at the narrowest scope
Why this is correct
Correct for the stated requirement.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Assign Virtual Machine Contributor at subscription scope
Why it's wrong here
This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
✗
Assign Reader and ask operators to use Run Command
Why it's wrong here
This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse built-in roles like Contributor or Virtual Machine Contributor with the ability to restrict actions, not realizing these roles include delete and network write permissions that exceed the narrow restart-only requirement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure RBAC custom roles are defined using a JSON structure with 'Actions', 'NotActions', and 'DataActions'. The 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action' is a control plane action that triggers the VM restart via the Azure Resource Manager, requiring the 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/read' permission to identify the target VM. Under the hood, the restart action sends a POST request to the ARM endpoint, and the RBAC engine evaluates the caller's role assignments at the relevant scope before allowing the operation.
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
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-500 question in full detail.
Manage identity and access — This question tests Manage identity and access — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a custom role with Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action and required read permissions at the narrowest scope — Option B is correct because it grants the specific 'restart/action' permission on virtual machines while excluding destructive actions like delete or network changes. Custom roles in Azure RBAC allow fine-grained control by including only the required data actions and read permissions, ensuring operators can restart VMs without the ability to delete them or modify networking.
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.
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Question Discussion
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