- A
Azure Traffic Manager
Why wrong: Azure Traffic Manager provides DNS-based traffic routing to distribute traffic across regions based on performance, geographic, or priority methods, but it does not include built-in DDoS protection and does not act as a reverse proxy at the application layer.
- B
Azure Load Balancer
Why wrong: Azure Load Balancer is a regional, layer 4 load balancer that distributes traffic within a single Azure region. It does not route users to the closest region globally and does not provide built-in DDoS protection at the network layer (only supports DDoS protection if a standard SKU and a DDoS protection plan is enabled separately, but it is not a global service).
- C
Azure Application Gateway
Why wrong: Azure Application Gateway is a regional layer 7 load balancer with URL-based routing and Web Application Firewall (WAF) capabilities. It does not provide global geographic routing across regions and does not include built-in network-layer DDoS protection.
- D
Azure Front Door
Azure Front Door is a global, scalable entry point that uses Microsoft's global edge network to route users to the nearest healthy application endpoint based on latency or geography. It offers built-in DDoS protection at the network layer (L3/L4) as a standard feature, meeting both requirements.
Quick Answer
The answer is Azure Front Door. This service is the correct choice because it combines global load balancing with automatic user routing to the closest healthy endpoint based on geographic location, ensuring low latency for a worldwide user base, while also providing built-in DDoS protection at the network layer (L3/L4) as part of Azure’s infrastructure. On the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals AZ-900 exam, this question tests your understanding of how Azure Front Door differs from regional services like Application Gateway or Traffic Manager; a common trap is confusing it with Azure Traffic Manager, which offers DNS-based routing but lacks integrated DDoS mitigation. Remember that Azure Front Door is the only service that natively bundles global HTTP/S load balancing, latency-based routing, and network-layer DDoS protection into a single solution. A helpful memory tip: think of Front Door as your global front door that both directs traffic to the nearest room and keeps out unwanted visitors at the doorstep.
AZ-900 Describe Azure architecture and services Practice Question
This AZ-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe azure architecture and services. 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 multinational company runs a web application that must serve users from around the world with low latency. The application is deployed in multiple Azure regions. The company also requires built-in protection against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks at the network layer. The solution must automatically route users to the closest healthy endpoint based on geographic location. Which Azure service should the company use?
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 Front Door
Azure Front Door is correct because it provides global load balancing with automatic routing to the closest healthy endpoint based on geographic location (latency-based routing), and it includes built-in DDoS protection at the network layer (L3/L4) as part of the Azure infrastructure. This combination of global routing and integrated DDoS mitigation directly matches the requirements for a multinational application serving users worldwide.
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.
- ✗
Azure Traffic Manager
Why it's wrong here
Azure Traffic Manager provides DNS-based traffic routing to distribute traffic across regions based on performance, geographic, or priority methods, but it does not include built-in DDoS protection and does not act as a reverse proxy at the application layer.
- ✗
Azure Load Balancer
Why it's wrong here
Azure Load Balancer is a regional, layer 4 load balancer that distributes traffic within a single Azure region. It does not route users to the closest region globally and does not provide built-in DDoS protection at the network layer (only supports DDoS protection if a standard SKU and a DDoS protection plan is enabled separately, but it is not a global service).
- ✗
Azure Application Gateway
Why it's wrong here
Azure Application Gateway is a regional layer 7 load balancer with URL-based routing and Web Application Firewall (WAF) capabilities. It does not provide global geographic routing across regions and does not include built-in network-layer DDoS protection.
- ✓
Azure Front Door
Why this is correct
Azure Front Door is a global, scalable entry point that uses Microsoft's global edge network to route users to the nearest healthy application endpoint based on latency or geography. It offers built-in DDoS protection at the network layer (L3/L4) as a standard feature, meeting both requirements.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Traffic Manager's DNS-based global routing with Azure Front Door's Anycast-based global routing, overlooking that Traffic Manager lacks built-in network-layer DDoS protection and that Front Door provides both global routing and integrated DDoS mitigation.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Front Door uses Anycast protocol to route traffic to the nearest point of presence (PoP) based on the user's IP address, ensuring low latency by directing requests to the closest healthy backend. Under the hood, it integrates with Azure's global network and provides DDoS protection at the network layer (L3/L4) automatically, without requiring additional configuration, while also offering Layer 7 features like SSL offload and URL-based routing. In a real-world scenario, a company with endpoints in US East, Europe West, and Southeast Asia would see users in Japan automatically routed to Southeast Asia, and if that region fails, traffic is redirected to the next closest healthy region.
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 healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-900 question test?
Describe Azure architecture and services — This question tests Describe Azure architecture and services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Front Door — Azure Front Door is correct because it provides global load balancing with automatic routing to the closest healthy endpoint based on geographic location (latency-based routing), and it includes built-in DDoS protection at the network layer (L3/L4) as part of the Azure infrastructure. This combination of global routing and integrated DDoS mitigation directly matches the requirements for a multinational application serving users worldwide.
What should I do if I get this AZ-900 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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on AZ-900
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A global e-commerce company has web applications deployed on Azure virtual machines in the West US and West Europe regions. The company needs a single, global HTTP-based entry point that can perform SSL offloading, route requests based on the URL path (e.g., /api to one backend pool, /images to another), and provide a web application firewall (WAF) to protect against common web attacks. Additionally, the solution must automatically direct users to the closest regional deployment to minimize latency. Which Azure service should the company use?
medium- A.Azure Traffic Manager
- B.Azure Application Gateway
- C.Azure Load Balancer
- ✓ D.Azure Front Door
Why D: Azure Front Door is the correct choice because it provides a global, HTTP/HTTPS-based entry point with SSL offloading, URL path-based routing to different backend pools, and a built-in web application firewall (WAF). It also uses Anycast-based routing to automatically direct users to the closest regional deployment, minimizing latency.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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