- A
Azure Load Balancer (Standard)
Why wrong: 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.
- B
Azure Application Gateway v2
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.
- C
Azure Traffic Manager
Why wrong: 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.
- D
Azure Front Door
Why wrong: Azure Front Door is a global Layer 7 service that offers SSL termination and session affinity, but it is optimized for multi-region deployments. In this scenario, the VMs are in different availability zones within a single region, so Front Door is more complex and costly than needed. Azure Application Gateway is the appropriate regional solution.
Quick Answer
The answer is Azure Application Gateway v2. This is correct because it operates at Layer 7, handling HTTP/HTTPS traffic, and provides both SSL/TLS termination to offload encryption from the backend VMs and cookie-based session persistence to ensure all requests from a user session stick to the same VM. On the AZ-900 exam, this question tests your understanding of when to choose a Layer 7 load balancer over a Layer 4 one; a common trap is selecting Azure Load Balancer, which only handles TCP/UDP traffic and cannot terminate SSL or inspect HTTP headers. Remember that if the scenario mentions HTTP, SSL offloading, or sticky sessions for web apps, you should immediately think of Application Gateway. A simple memory tip: “App Gateway for app-layer traffic; Basic Load Balancer for network-layer speed.”
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. A key principle to apply: azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) load balancer.. 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 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?
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.
Key principle: Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) load balancer.
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.
- ✓
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.
Related concept
Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) load balancer.
- ✗
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.
- ✗
Azure Front Door
Why it's wrong here
Azure Front Door is a global Layer 7 service that offers SSL termination and session affinity, but it is optimized for multi-region deployments. In this scenario, the VMs are in different availability zones within a single region, so Front Door is more complex and costly than needed. Azure Application Gateway is the appropriate regional solution.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing 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.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Azure Front Door is a global Layer 7 service that offers SSL termination and session affinity, but it is optimized for multi-region deployments. In this scenario, the VMs are in different availability zones within a single region, so Front Door is more complex and costly than needed. Azure Application Gateway is the appropriate regional solution.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Application Gateway v2 uses a cookie-based session affinity mechanism (Application Gateway Affinity Cookie) to bind a user session to a specific backend server, ensuring all requests from that session hit the same VM. SSL/TLS termination offloads the encryption/decryption overhead from the VMs, reducing CPU load and allowing the VMs to focus on application logic. The gateway supports HTTP/2 and WebSocket protocols, and its autoscaling capability adjusts to traffic patterns without manual intervention.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) load balancer.
- It supports SSL/TLS termination (offload) to decrypt traffic at the gateway.
- It offers cookie-based session affinity for persistent user sessions.
- Application Gateway is a regional service, ideal for multi-zone deployments within a single region.
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
Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) load balancer.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) load balancer., then practise related AZ-900 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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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 — Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) load balancer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: 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.
What should I do if I get this AZ-900 question wrong?
Review azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) load balancer., then practise related AZ-900 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) load balancer.
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
2 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. Which Azure service provides application-level, request-based routing with session persistence for web workloads?
medium- A.Azure Load Balancer
- ✓ B.Azure Application Gateway
- C.Azure Traffic Manager
- D.Azure Front Door
Why B: Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) load balancer that provides application-level, request-based routing based on URL path, host headers, or other HTTP attributes. It also supports session persistence (also known as sticky sessions) using cookies, which ensures that all requests from a client during a session are directed to the same backend server. This makes it the correct choice for web workloads requiring request-level routing and session affinity.
Variation 2. A company runs an e-commerce application on multiple Azure virtual machines in a single region. The IT team needs to distribute incoming web traffic across the VMs, offload SSL/TLS termination to improve VM performance, and route requests based on URL path (for example, /images to one pool of VMs and /api to another). The solution must handle these requirements within a single Azure region. Which Azure service should the company use?
medium- ✓ A.Azure Application Gateway
- B.Azure Traffic Manager
- C.Azure Load Balancer
- D.Azure Front Door
Why A: Azure Application Gateway is a layer 7 load balancer that can distribute incoming web traffic based on URL path, offload SSL/TLS termination to reduce VM CPU overhead, and route requests to different backend pools (e.g., /images and /api) within a single Azure region. It supports HTTP/HTTPS traffic and provides Web Application Firewall (WAF) capabilities, making it the correct choice for this scenario.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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