AZ-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Question
A company's field employees use a custom mobile app to upload sales data from their smartphones while at client sites. The app connects to an Azure-hosted backend API. The company's IT team notes that the mobile app can connect to the Azure service using standard HTTPS from any location with internet connectivity, without requiring a VPN. This ability to access cloud resources over the internet from various devices and locations is an example of which key characteristic of cloud computing?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse 'broad network access' with 'rapid elasticity' because both involve scaling or reach, but broad network access is about the variety of devices and network paths (no VPN required), not about automatic resource scaling.
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
✓
Broad network access
Broad network access means cloud resources can be accessed over standard network protocols (like HTTPS) from a wide range of devices (smartphones, laptops, tablets) and locations without requiring a private connection such as a VPN. In this scenario, the mobile app uses HTTPS to reach the Azure backend API from any internet-connected location, which directly matches the NIST definition of broad network access.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Rapid elasticity
Why it's wrong here
Rapid elasticity is the cloud characteristic that deals with quickly and often automatically scaling resources, such as virtual machines or app services, to handle fluctuating demand. In the scenario, field employees upload files from mobile devices, which is about remote connectivity and access from various clients, not about dynamically adding or removing compute or storage capacity. Thus, although the application may generate workload changes, the defining feature being described is not resource scaling.
When this WOULD be correct
A company's e-commerce website experiences sudden traffic spikes during flash sales, and the cloud platform automatically provisions additional virtual machines to handle the load and deprovisions them after the sale. This scenario demonstrates rapid elasticity.
- ✗
Measured service
Why it's wrong here
Measured service means that cloud systems automatically monitor, control, and optimize resource usage through metering capabilities, typically supporting pay-per-use billing and usage reporting. The scenario focuses on field employees accessing a custom app over the network from smartphones, which demonstrates Broad network access, not metering or chargeback of cloud resources. While uploads might consume bandwidth, the central characteristic described is remotability and protocol-based access, not usage metering or cost optimization.
When this WOULD be correct
A question asks: 'A company uses a cloud service that automatically tracks and bills based on the number of API calls made. Which cloud characteristic does this represent?'
- ✓
Broad network access
Why this is correct
Broad network access is the characteristic that cloud resources are available over the network and can be accessed by standard protocols from a wide variety of client devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops). The scenario explicitly describes this capability.
- ✗
Resource pooling
Why it's wrong here
Resource pooling refers to the cloud provider's computing resources being combined into a single pool and dynamically assigned to multiple customers via a multi-tenant model, often with location independence. The scenario only describes employees using a custom mobile app to upload data; there is no mention of sharing infrastructure among multiple tenants or provider-side aggregation of resources. The key capability illustrated is network-based access from mobile devices, not pooled resource allocation.
When this WOULD be correct
A question asks: 'A cloud provider serves thousands of customers from the same physical servers, automatically allocating resources based on demand. Which characteristic does this describe?' Resource pooling would be correct because it highlights multi-tenancy and shared infrastructure.
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.
✓Broad network accessCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Broad network access is the characteristic that cloud resources are available over the network and can be accessed by standard protocols from a wide variety of client devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops). The scenario explicitly describes this capability.
✗Rapid elasticityWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Rapid elasticity refers to the ability to quickly scale resources up or down based on demand, not to the network accessibility from various devices and locations over the internet.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company's e-commerce website experiences sudden traffic spikes during flash sales, and the cloud platform automatically provisions additional virtual machines to handle the load and deprovisions them after the sale. This scenario demonstrates rapid elasticity.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse the ability to access resources from anywhere with the idea of scaling resources dynamically, as both involve flexibility and on-demand capabilities.
✗Measured serviceWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Measured service refers to the metering and billing of cloud resource usage (pay-per-use), not the ability to access cloud services over the internet from various devices and locations.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question asks: 'A company uses a cloud service that automatically tracks and bills based on the number of API calls made. Which cloud characteristic does this represent?'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse 'measured service' with any measurable aspect of cloud computing, such as network access, because both involve monitoring or tracking.
✗Resource poolingWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Resource pooling refers to the provider's computing resources being pooled to serve multiple customers, with physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned. This question describes network accessibility from various devices and locations, not multi-tenant resource sharing.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question asks: 'A cloud provider serves thousands of customers from the same physical servers, automatically allocating resources based on demand. Which characteristic does this describe?' Resource pooling would be correct because it highlights multi-tenancy and shared infrastructure.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse resource pooling with broad network access because both involve shared resources, but pooling is about multi-tenant infrastructure, not network connectivity.
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?”
Quick reference
VPN Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port | Encryption | Authentication | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEv2 / IPsec | UDP 500 / 4500 | AES-256 | Certificates / PSK | Site-to-site & remote access |
| SSL / TLS VPN | TCP 443 | TLS 1.3 | Certificates / MFA | Clientless remote access |
| L2TP / IPsec | UDP 1701 | AES (IPsec) | PSK / Certificates | Legacy remote access |
| WireGuard | UDP 51820 | ChaCha20 | Public keys | Modern high-performance VPN |
| PPTP | TCP 1723 | MPPE (weak) | MS-CHAPv2 | Legacy — avoid in production |
PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This AZ-900 question is part of Courseiva's 981-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.