AZ-900 Azure Application Gateway Practice Question
A company runs a web application on two Azure virtual machines (VMs) in different availability zones within the same region. The application maintains user session state in memory on the VMs. The company needs a load balancing solution that distributes incoming HTTP requests across both VMs, ensures all requests from a specific user session are routed to the same VM (session persistence), and terminates SSL/TLS to offload encryption from the VMs. Which Azure service should the company use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse layer-4 (Azure Load Balancer) with layer-7 (Application Gateway) capabilities, or assuming that a global service like Front Door is appropriate for a single-region, multi-zone deployment when Application Gateway is the correct regional choice.
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
✓
Azure Application Gateway v2
Azure Application Gateway v2 is a layer-7 load balancer that supports HTTP/HTTPS traffic, SSL/TLS termination, and session persistence (sticky sessions) via cookie-based affinity. This makes it the correct choice for distributing HTTP requests across VMs in different availability zones while maintaining user session state and offloading encryption.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Azure Load Balancer (Standard)
Why it's wrong here
Azure Load Balancer operates at Layer 4 (TCP/UDP) and does not support SSL/TLS termination. It offers session persistence based on source IP affinity, but not cookie-based persistence, and cannot offload SSL encryption. Therefore, it does not meet the SSL termination requirement.
When this WOULD be correct
A company runs a stateless web application on VMs in an availability set, requiring only Layer 4 load balancing for TCP/UDP traffic with no need for SSL termination or session persistence. Azure Load Balancer (Standard) would be the correct choice.
- ✓
Azure Application Gateway v2
Why this is correct
Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 load balancer that includes built-in SSL termination (offload), cookie-based session affinity, and HTTP request routing. It is designed to distribute web traffic and maintain user session stickiness, making it the correct choice for this scenario.
- ✗
Azure Traffic Manager
Why it's wrong here
Azure Traffic Manager is a DNS-based global traffic routing service. It directs clients to endpoints based on DNS resolution but does not inspect HTTP requests, terminate SSL, or provide session persistence. It is unsuitable for per-request load balancing or SSL offload.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to distribute traffic across multiple Azure regions for global load balancing and failover, with no requirement for session persistence or SSL termination. The application is stateless and can handle requests from any region.
- ✗
Azure Front Door
Why it's wrong here
Azure Front Door is unsuitable because the web application's VMs are located within a *single Azure region*, across different availability zones. Front Door operates as a *global* load balancer, designed for distributing traffic across *multiple regions* to improve performance and provide geo-redundancy. While it offers SSL/TLS termination and session affinity, its global scope is an over-provision for a purely regional deployment. It would be the correct choice if the company needed to distribute traffic across backends in *multiple Azure regions*.
When this WOULD be correct
A company has a globally distributed web application deployed in multiple Azure regions and needs to provide high availability, SSL termination, and fast content delivery by routing users to the nearest region. Azure Front Door would be the correct choice for global load balancing with session affinity and SSL offload.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The AZ-900 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Azure Application Gateway v2Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 load balancer that includes built-in SSL termination (offload), cookie-based session affinity, and HTTP request routing. It is designed to distribute web traffic and maintain user session stickiness, making it the correct choice for this scenario.
✗Azure Load Balancer (Standard)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Load Balancer (Standard) operates at Layer 4 (transport layer) and does not support SSL/TLS termination or HTTP-level session persistence (e.g., cookie-based affinity). It cannot offload encryption or route based on application-layer session state.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company runs a stateless web application on VMs in an availability set, requiring only Layer 4 load balancing for TCP/UDP traffic with no need for SSL termination or session persistence. Azure Load Balancer (Standard) would be the correct choice.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Azure Load Balancer with Application Gateway, assuming it can handle HTTP traffic and session persistence, but Load Balancer lacks application-layer features like SSL offloading and cookie-based affinity.
✗Azure Traffic ManagerWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Traffic Manager operates at the DNS level and does not provide session persistence (sticky sessions) or SSL/TLS termination. It cannot route based on HTTP session state or offload encryption.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to distribute traffic across multiple Azure regions for global load balancing and failover, with no requirement for session persistence or SSL termination. The application is stateless and can handle requests from any region.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Traffic Manager's global DNS-based load balancing with the layer-7 features needed for session persistence and SSL offloading, assuming it can handle HTTP-level routing.
✗Azure Front DoorWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Front Door operates at the global HTTP/HTTPS layer and does not support session persistence (affinity) for user sessions across VMs in the same region; it is designed for global load balancing and acceleration, not regional session-based routing.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company has a globally distributed web application deployed in multiple Azure regions and needs to provide high availability, SSL termination, and fast content delivery by routing users to the nearest region. Azure Front Door would be the correct choice for global load balancing with session affinity and SSL offload.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Azure Front Door's global capabilities with regional needs, or assume that any service offering SSL termination and load balancing can handle session persistence, overlooking that Front Door's session affinity is based on a cookie and not designed for intra-region VM-level persistence.
Analysis generated from the official AZ-900blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Azure Regions and Geographies
Key term
Availability
Availability is the measure of how often a system or service is operational and accessible when needed, typically expressed as a percentage of uptime.
Key term
Azure Application Gateway
Azure Application Gateway is a cloud-based web traffic load balancer that manages and protects HTTP and HTTPS requests to web applications based on their URL paths and other routing rules.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-900 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-900 exam.