- A
Place all tiers in the same virtual network and use Azure Front Door with WAF for the web tier, and rely on NSGs for internal traffic.
Why wrong: Azure Front Door is for global load balancing and does not filter east-west traffic.
- B
Deploy Network Security Groups (NSGs) on each subnet and allow only necessary traffic between tiers.
Why wrong: While NSGs provide subnet-level filtering, they can be bypassed if a VM in the front-end tier is compromised and initiates outbound traffic to the middle tier; NSGs are not stateful for outbound east-west traffic by default.
- C
Deploy Azure Firewall in a hub virtual network and route all traffic between tiers through the firewall for inspection.
Azure Firewall provides centralized traffic filtering and logging, ensuring all east-west traffic is inspected.
- D
Use Azure Application Gateway with Web Application Firewall (WAF) in front of the web tier, and use NSGs for the other tiers.
Why wrong: Application Gateway protects inbound traffic but does not filter traffic between the web tier and API tier.
AZ-500 Secure networking Practice Question
This AZ-500 practice question tests your understanding of secure networking. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 designing network security for a multi-tier application deployed in Azure. The application consists of a front-end web tier, a middle-tier API, and a back-end database. All tiers must be isolated from the internet except the front-end, which must accept HTTPS traffic from the internet. You need to ensure that no traffic can bypass the network security controls. What should you 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
Deploy Azure Firewall in a hub virtual network and route all traffic between tiers through the firewall for inspection.
Option D is correct because Azure Firewall provides centralized network traffic filtering and can inspect traffic between tiers, while NSGs are for subnet/NIC-level filtering. Option A is wrong because NSGs alone cannot inspect east-west traffic if rules are misconfigured. Option B is wrong because Application Gateway is for inbound HTTP/S, not for filtering east-west traffic. Option C is wrong because Azure Front Door is for global load balancing, not internal traffic filtering.
Key principle: Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Place all tiers in the same virtual network and use Azure Front Door with WAF for the web tier, and rely on NSGs for internal traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Front Door is for global load balancing and does not filter east-west traffic.
- ✗
Deploy Network Security Groups (NSGs) on each subnet and allow only necessary traffic between tiers.
Why it's wrong here
While NSGs provide subnet-level filtering, they can be bypassed if a VM in the front-end tier is compromised and initiates outbound traffic to the middle tier; NSGs are not stateful for outbound east-west traffic by default.
- ✓
Deploy Azure Firewall in a hub virtual network and route all traffic between tiers through the firewall for inspection.
- ✗
Use Azure Application Gateway with Web Application Firewall (WAF) in front of the web tier, and use NSGs for the other tiers.
Why it's wrong here
Application Gateway protects inbound traffic but does not filter traffic between the web tier and API tier.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: usable hosts are not the same as total addresses
Subnetting questions often tempt you into counting all addresses. In normal IPv4 subnets, the network and broadcast addresses are not usable host addresses.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Subnetting questions test whether you can identify the network, broadcast address, usable range, mask and correct subnet. Slow down enough to calculate the block size correctly.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
- Block size helps identify subnet boundaries.
- Network and broadcast addresses are not usable hosts in normal IPv4 subnets.
- The required host count determines the smallest suitable subnet.
TExam Day Tips
- Write the block size before choosing the subnet.
- Check whether the question asks for hosts, subnets or a specific address range.
- Do not confuse /24, /25, /26 and /27 host counts.
Key takeaway
Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets.
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.
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related AZ-500 subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
- →
Secure networking — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-500 question test?
Secure networking — This question tests Secure networking — CIDR notation defines the prefix length..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Deploy Azure Firewall in a hub virtual network and route all traffic between tiers through the firewall for inspection. — Option D is correct because Azure Firewall provides centralized network traffic filtering and can inspect traffic between tiers, while NSGs are for subnet/NIC-level filtering. Option A is wrong because NSGs alone cannot inspect east-west traffic if rules are misconfigured. Option B is wrong because Application Gateway is for inbound HTTP/S, not for filtering east-west traffic. Option C is wrong because Azure Front Door is for global load balancing, not internal traffic filtering.
What should I do if I get this AZ-500 question wrong?
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related AZ-500 subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
What is the key concept behind this question?
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 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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