AZ-900 Describe Azure architecture and services Practice Question
Which Azure compute option allows you to run code in response to events without provisioning or managing servers, and supports triggers from HTTP, timers, and Azure service events?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse Azure Functions (serverless, event-driven code execution) with Azure Logic Apps (workflow automation with connectors), as both use triggers, but Logic Apps cannot run custom code natively and is designed for integration workflows rather than code execution.
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 Functions
Azure Functions is the correct answer because it is a serverless compute service that executes code in response to events, such as HTTP requests, timer-based schedules, or Azure service events (e.g., Blob Storage or Queue triggers). It abstracts server management entirely, allowing you to focus solely on the code logic, and automatically scales based on demand.
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 Logic Apps
Why it's wrong here
Azure Logic Apps is a cloud integration service for building automated workflows using a visual designer and prebuilt connectors, not a compute platform for running custom code. While it can respond to events, its purpose is orchestrating APIs, systems, and data across enterprise applications. In contrast, Azure Functions executes code directly in response to triggers, making Logic Apps the wrong choice for serverless event-driven code execution.
- ✓
Azure Functions
Why this is correct
Azure Functions is the correct serverless compute service that runs your custom code in response to events such as HTTP requests, timer schedules, or messages from Azure services. It automatically scales with demand and bills you only for execution time, with no need to manage infrastructure. With built-in trigger and binding integrations, Functions is specifically engineered for event-driven workloads, exactly matching the scenario in question.
- ✗
Azure Container Instances
Why it's wrong here
Azure Container Instances (ACI) provides on-demand, hypervisor-isolated containers for running containerized applications or batch jobs without managing virtual machines or an orchestrator. However, ACI does not natively provide event-driven triggers; you would need to build and manage the event-loop and integration layer yourself. Since the scenario requires a managed serverless event-driven compute service, ACI is incorrect because it is a container runtime, not a function-as-a-service offering.
- ✗
Azure App Service WebJobs
Why it's wrong here
WebJobs is a feature of Azure App Service that enables you to run background scripts or programs within an existing App Service plan, sharing its resources and always requiring an active hosting plan. While WebJobs can be triggered by various events, they are not a standalone serverless service — they lack the automatic, granular scaling and per-execution billing of Azure Functions. Because WebJobs are tightly coupled to App Service infrastructure, they are the wrong option for dedicated event-driven serverless compute.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Azure Regions and Geographies
Key term
Blob
A blob is a large piece of unstructured data, like a photo or video, stored in the cloud with a unique identifier.
Key term
Azure Functions
Azure Functions is a serverless compute service that lets you run event-driven code without managing infrastructure, automatically scaling to meet demand.
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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.