Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company deploys a critical application on Azure virtual machines across three different availability zones in the East US region. The application is designed to handle the failure of one zone by automatically failing over to the remaining healthy zones. Which type of failure does this architecture primarily protect against?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
A regional disaster that affects the entire East US region
This option is incorrect because availability zones are located within the same region. A regional disaster would affect all zones in that region simultaneously. To protect against a regional disaster, you would need to deploy resources to multiple Azure regions (region pairs).
B
Distractor review
A failure of a single physical server
This option is incorrect. While availability zones do provide physical separation, protecting against a single server failure is typically achieved by using fault domains within an availability set or scale set, not by distributing across entire zones. A single server failure would only affect one zone, but the architecture is designed for a larger scope of failure.
C
Best answer
A failure of an entire Azure data center
This option is correct. An availability zone corresponds to one or more data centers with independent infrastructure. By deploying across multiple zones, the application remains available if one entire data center (zone) fails, because the other zones continue to operate.
D
Distractor review
A failure of the Azure network backbone
This option is incorrect. The Azure network backbone is the global network connecting all Azure regions and data centers. Availability zones do not provide specific protection against a backbone failure. Redundant networking paths exist across zones, but the primary purpose of zones is to isolate from physical data center failures, not backbone failures.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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.
Related practice questions
Related AZ-900 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
AZ-900 cloud concepts practice questions
Practise AZ-900 questions linked to AZ-900 cloud concepts.
AZ-900 Azure services practice questions
Practise AZ-900 questions linked to AZ-900 Azure services.
AZ-900 pricing and support practice questions
Practise AZ-900 questions linked to AZ-900 pricing and support.
AZ-900 security and compliance practice questions
Practise AZ-900 questions linked to AZ-900 security and compliance.
AZ-900 governance practice questions
Practise AZ-900 questions linked to AZ-900 governance.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A developer is building a serverless application that requires integration with an on-premises SQL Server database for real-time data processing. The on-premises network is connected to Azure via a site-to-site VPN. Which Azure service would allow the function to securely access the on-premises database without exposing it to the public internet?
Question 2
A solutions architect is designing a storage solution for a large media company. The company needs to store video files that are accessed infrequently but must be retained for several years for compliance. Which two Azure storage options meet these requirements? (Select two.)
Question 3
A company deploys a multi-tier application using Azure virtual machines. The web tier VMs must be evenly distributed across two distinct data centers within an Azure region to avoid a single point of failure from an infrastructure outage. Which Azure construct should they use to meet this requirement?
Question 4
A company wants to enforce a set of security policies across all their Azure subscriptions. They have created several individual policy definitions. Which Azure construct should they use to group these policies together and assign them as a single package?
Question 5
A company deploys a line-of-business application on an Azure virtual machine. The IT team wants to ensure the application remains secure. According to the shared responsibility model, which of the following security tasks is the sole responsibility of the customer (the company)?
Question 6
A company develops a web API that runs on Azure App Service. The development team wants to deploy a new version of the API to a staging environment, run integration tests against it, and then gradually shift production traffic to the new version. If any issues are detected, they want to immediately roll back to the previous version without redeploying. Which Azure App Service feature should the team use to meet these requirements?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-900 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: A failure of an entire Azure data center — An Azure availability zone is a physically separate data center within an Azure region, each with independent power, cooling, and networking. By deploying resources across multiple availability zones, you protect against a single data center failure (zone failure). However, this architecture does not protect against a full regional disaster that affects the entire East US region, because all zones are within the same region. A single-server failure is typically protected by other means such as fault domains, not availability zones. The Azure network backbone is a global infrastructure component whose failure is not specifically addressed by zone-level redundancy.
What should I do if I get this AZ-900 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
Discussion
Loading comments…
Sign in to join the discussion.