Question 739 of 1,031

Describe Azure management and governance →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect, as it is the only Azure feature that proactively blocks non-compliant resource deployments at the moment of creation or update. This works by evaluating each VM deployment against a policy rule—such as restricting VM SKUs to only Standard_D2s_v3 and Standard_D4s_v3—and immediately denying any request that violates the rule, returning a clear error message to the user. On the AZ-900 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Azure Policy enforces governance rules, often appearing as a trap where you might confuse it with RBAC (which controls who can act) or Azure Blueprints (which packages templates). Remember that Azure Policy is about what resources are allowed, not who can deploy them. A simple memory tip: "Deny effect = Door bouncer for SKUs"—it checks every VM at the door and turns away the wrong sizes before they enter your subscription.

AZ-900 Describe Azure management and governance Practice Question

This AZ-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe azure management and governance. 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 company has a production Azure subscription used by multiple teams. The governance team wants to enforce a rule that only virtual machines (VMs) of specific SKU sizes (e.g., Standard_D2s_v3 and Standard_D4s_v3) can be deployed. If a team attempts to deploy a VM of a different SKU size, the deployment must be blocked immediately and the user must see an error message explaining the restriction. Which Azure feature should the governance team use?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "immediately / without restart"
Why it matters: Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.

Question 1mediummultiple choice

Full question →

A
Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) with a custom role that denies the 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/write' action
Why wrong: This is incorrect because Azure RBAC controls who can perform actions on resources (authorization), but it does not evaluate the configuration or properties of the resource being created. A Deny assignment for the write action would block all VM creations, not just those with disallowed SKU sizes. RBAC is not designed for policy enforcement based on resource properties.
B
Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect
Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect is the correct solution. A policy definition can specify allowed VM SKU sizes using conditions. When assigned to a scope (e.g., subscription or resource group), any deployment of a VM that does not comply with the condition is blocked before the resource is created. This is the appropriate service for enforcing rules on resource configuration.
C
Azure Blueprints with a resource lock
Why wrong: Azure Blueprints is used to deploy a set of repeatable and governed environments, including policies, role assignments, and resource groups. However, a resource lock only prevents deletion or modification of existing resources; it does not block the creation of new resources with disallowed properties. Additionally, Blueprints alone cannot enforce a deny on SKU sizes without an accompanying Azure Policy.
D
Azure resource locks at the resource group level
Why wrong: Resource locks are used to prevent accidental deletion or modification of critical resources. A 'CanNotDelete' or 'ReadOnly' lock on a resource group would block all deletions or modifications, but it does not evaluate the properties of new resources being deployed. It cannot prevent the creation of a VM with a disallowed SKU size.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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 Policy with the 'Deny' effect

Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect is the correct choice because it allows the governance team to define and enforce rules that prevent the deployment of non-compliant resources, such as VMs with disallowed SKU sizes. When a policy with the 'Deny' effect is assigned, any attempt to create or update a resource that violates the policy is blocked immediately, and the user receives a clear error message explaining the restriction. This is the only Azure feature that provides proactive, resource-level enforcement with a built-in denial mechanism.

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 Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) with a custom role that denies the 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/write' action
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect because Azure RBAC controls who can perform actions on resources (authorization), but it does not evaluate the configuration or properties of the resource being created. A Deny assignment for the write action would block all VM creations, not just those with disallowed SKU sizes. RBAC is not designed for policy enforcement based on resource properties.
✓
Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect
Why this is correct
Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect is the correct solution. A policy definition can specify allowed VM SKU sizes using conditions. When assigned to a scope (e.g., subscription or resource group), any deployment of a VM that does not comply with the condition is blocked before the resource is created. This is the appropriate service for enforcing rules on resource configuration.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "immediately / without restart" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Azure Blueprints with a resource lock
Why it's wrong here
Azure Blueprints is used to deploy a set of repeatable and governed environments, including policies, role assignments, and resource groups. However, a resource lock only prevents deletion or modification of existing resources; it does not block the creation of new resources with disallowed properties. Additionally, Blueprints alone cannot enforce a deny on SKU sizes without an accompanying Azure Policy.
✗
Azure resource locks at the resource group level
Why it's wrong here
Resource locks are used to prevent accidental deletion or modification of critical resources. A 'CanNotDelete' or 'ReadOnly' lock on a resource group would block all deletions or modifications, but it does not evaluate the properties of new resources being deployed. It cannot prevent the creation of a VM with a disallowed SKU size.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Policy with Azure RBAC, thinking that RBAC can filter by resource properties, but RBAC only controls access to actions (e.g., write) at a scope, not the specific configuration of the resource being created.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Azure Policy uses a JSON-based policy definition that includes a 'policyRule' with 'if' and 'then' clauses, where the 'if' condition evaluates resource properties (e.g., 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/sku.name') against allowed values, and the 'then' clause specifies the 'Deny' effect. Under the hood, Azure Policy intercepts the resource creation or update request at the Azure Resource Manager (ARM) layer before the resource is provisioned, ensuring that non-compliant deployments are blocked immediately. In a real-world scenario, this is critical for cost control and security compliance, as it prevents teams from accidentally deploying expensive or unapproved VM sizes without requiring manual review.

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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this AZ-900 question test?

Describe Azure management and governance — This question tests Describe Azure management and governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect — Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect is the correct choice because it allows the governance team to define and enforce rules that prevent the deployment of non-compliant resources, such as VMs with disallowed SKU sizes. When a policy with the 'Deny' effect is assigned, any attempt to create or update a resource that violates the policy is blocked immediately, and the user receives a clear error message explaining the restriction. This is the only Azure feature that provides proactive, resource-level enforcement with a built-in denial mechanism.

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.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "immediately / without restart". Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026

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