Question 1mediummulti select
Full question →Question 995 of 1,000
Quick Answer
The correct answer includes enabling end-to-end TLS encryption between the web and application tiers, deploying an Azure Application Gateway with SSL/TLS termination in front of the web tier, and configuring an NSG on the application tier subnet to deny all inbound traffic from the internet. This combination secures a multi-tier application by ensuring that traffic between tiers remains encrypted even after the gateway decrypts external connections, while network segmentation isolates the application tier from direct internet exposure. On the AZ-500 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of defense-in-depth for multi-tier architectures, often appearing as a "choose three" question where a common trap is selecting a VPN gateway or Azure Firewall instead of the NSG for subnet isolation. Remember the layered approach: encrypt the edge with Application Gateway, encrypt the internal path with end-to-end TLS, and block the internet with NSGs. A useful mnemonic is "GATE-NSG-TLS" — Gateway at the edge, NSG on the subnet, TLS between tiers.
AZ-500 Secure networking Practice Question
This AZ-500 practice question tests your understanding of secure networking. 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.
You are planning a network security strategy for a multi-tier application deployed on Azure virtual machines. You need to ensure that traffic between the web tier and the application tier is encrypted and that the application tier is not directly accessible from the internet. Which three of the following should you implement? (Choose three.)
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
✓
Deploy an Azure Application Gateway with SSL/TLS termination in front of the web tier.
Deploying an Azure Application Gateway with SSL/TLS termination in front of the web tier ensures that incoming client traffic is encrypted at the edge, and the gateway can then forward traffic to the web tier. Configuring an NSG on the application tier subnet to deny all inbound traffic from the internet directly protects the application tier from external access. Enabling end-to-end TLS encryption between the web tier and the application tier using certificates ensures that traffic within the virtual network remains encrypted, meeting the requirement for encrypted inter-tier communication.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Front Door (a global service) with Azure Application Gateway (a regional service) and incorrectly assume Front Door can handle internal tier routing, or they think a site-to-site VPN is needed for intra-VNet encryption when end-to-end TLS is the correct approach.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
End-to-end TLS encryption between tiers typically involves installing certificates on both the web and application tier VMs, and configuring the web tier to re-encrypt traffic before forwarding it to the application tier. The NSG on the application tier subnet should have a deny rule for all inbound traffic from the Internet (source tag 'Internet') while allowing traffic from the web tier subnet (source IP range or virtual network tag). Azure Application Gateway can be configured with a listener for HTTPS and a backend pool of web tier VMs, terminating SSL at the gateway and optionally re-encrypting traffic to the backend.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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-500 question test?
Secure networking — This question tests Secure networking — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Deploy an Azure Application Gateway with SSL/TLS termination in front of the web tier. — Deploying an Azure Application Gateway with SSL/TLS termination in front of the web tier ensures that incoming client traffic is encrypted at the edge, and the gateway can then forward traffic to the web tier. Configuring an NSG on the application tier subnet to deny all inbound traffic from the internet directly protects the application tier from external access. Enabling end-to-end TLS encryption between the web tier and the application tier using certificates ensures that traffic within the virtual network remains encrypted, meeting the requirement for encrypted inter-tier communication.
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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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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