Quick Answer
The guaranteed SLA for two VMs in an Azure Availability Set is 99.95%. This high SLA is achieved because the Availability Set physically separates the VMs across multiple fault domains and update domains, ensuring that during planned Azure maintenance or unexpected hardware failures, at least one VM remains running. For the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals AZ-900 exam, this concept tests your understanding of how infrastructure redundancy directly impacts service-level agreements; a common trap is assuming a single VM gets the same SLA, but it only offers 99.9% with premium storage. Remember that the 99.95% guarantee applies only when you have two or more VMs in the same set and all disks are managed disks. A useful memory tip: think of the “95” in 99.95 as a reminder that you need “two or more” VMs—the number 5 is just one more than 4, but the key is the pair.
This AZ-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe cloud concepts. 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 runs a web application on two VMs in the same Availability Set. What is the guaranteed SLA for the VMs?
99.9%
Why wrong: 99.9% is the SLA for a single Premium SSD VM; Availability Sets guarantee 99.95%.
99.95%
Two or more VMs in an Availability Set guarantee at least 99.95% uptime.
99.99%
Why wrong: 99.99% requires deployment across multiple Availability Zones, not just an Availability Set.
100%
Why wrong: No Azure service guarantees 100% uptime.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
99.95%
Microsoft guarantees a 99.95% SLA for two or more virtual machines deployed in the same Availability Set because the set distributes VMs across separate fault domains and update domains, ensuring that at least one VM remains available during planned maintenance or hardware failures. The SLA applies only when all VMs are in the same Availability Set and all disks are managed disks, as per the Azure Compute SLA terms.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
99.9%
Why it's wrong here
99.9% is the SLA for a single Premium SSD VM; Availability Sets guarantee 99.95%.
99.95%
Why this is correct
Two or more VMs in an Availability Set guarantee at least 99.95% uptime.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
99.99%
Why it's wrong here
99.99% requires deployment across multiple Availability Zones, not just an Availability Set.
100%
Why it's wrong here
No Azure service guarantees 100% uptime.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse the 99.9% single-VM SLA with the 99.95% multi-VM Availability Set SLA, or mistakenly think Availability Zones (99.99%) are the same as Availability Sets.
Detailed technical explanation
An Availability Set logically groups VMs into up to 3 fault domains (shared power and network) and up to 20 update domains (for planned maintenance). The 99.95% SLA is calculated based on the assumption that at least one VM remains operational across these domains, but it does not cover application-level availability — only the compute infrastructure. For higher SLAs like 99.99%, you must use Availability Zones, which provide physical separation across different datacenters within a region.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Describe cloud concepts — This question tests Describe cloud concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: 99.95% — Microsoft guarantees a 99.95% SLA for two or more virtual machines deployed in the same Availability Set because the set distributes VMs across separate fault domains and update domains, ensuring that at least one VM remains available during planned maintenance or hardware failures. The SLA applies only when all VMs are in the same Availability Set and all disks are managed disks, as per the Azure Compute SLA terms.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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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