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AZ-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Question
Arrange the steps to create a virtual machine in Azure in the correct order.
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
1. Sign in to Azure portal, 2. Create a new virtual machine resource, 3. Configure VM settings (name, region, size, etc.), 4. Review and create
Creating a VM starts with portal access, then resource creation, configuration, and final validation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
1. Sign in to Azure portal, 2. Create a new virtual machine resource, 3. Configure VM settings (name, region, size, etc.), 4. Review and create
Why this is correct
Signing in to the Azure portal first establishes an authenticated session required by Azure Resource Manager; without it, you cannot access subscriptions or create resources. From there, selecting 'Create a virtual machine' initiates the resource creation wizard, which presents the configuration tabs for name, region, size, and admin credentials. After specifying those settings, the 'Review + create' step validates the configuration and deploys the VM. This is the exact order the portal's UI enforces, making it the correct sequence.
- ✗
1. Create a new virtual machine resource, 2. Configure VM settings, 3. Sign in to Azure portal, 4. Review and create
Why it's wrong here
This ordering is invalid because placing 'Create a new virtual machine resource' before 'Sign in to the Azure portal' is impossible—the portal redirects unauthenticated users to a sign-in page, and Azure Resource Manager rejects any API calls without a valid bearer token. You cannot create or configure any resource until authenticated. Furthermore, even if you somehow reached a creation form, your identity and subscription context would not exist, so the resource creation would fail. Therefore, signing in must always be the first step in the Azure portal.
- ✗
1. Sign in to Azure portal, 2. Configure VM settings, 3. Create a new virtual machine resource, 4. Review and create
Why it's wrong here
This sequence is incorrect because VM settings such as name, region, size, and admin credentials are entered within the resource creation wizard, not before it. There is no standalone 'configure VM' page associated with a non-existent resource; you must first initiate the 'Create a virtual machine' flow to access those tabs. Attempting to configure settings prior to starting the creation process is conceptually impossible, as the form fields are only presented after you click 'Create'.
- ✗
1. Sign in to Azure portal, 2. Create a new virtual machine resource, 3. Review and create, 4. Configure VM settings
Why it's wrong here
This option mistakenly places the 'Review and create' step before configuration. In the Azure portal, 'Review + create' is the final stage of the VM creation wizard, where Azure validates all the settings you've provided (such as VM size, disk type, and network security group rules) and then deploys the resource. You cannot meaningfully review and deploy a VM without having specified its configuration, because the deployment would fail validation or produce a VM with default or incomplete settings. Hence, configuration must occur before the review step, not after.
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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.