- A
High availability
Why wrong: High availability focuses on keeping services running continuously, often through redundancy, not on automatically starting and stopping resources based on workload demand.
- B
Elasticity
Elasticity is the ability to dynamically scale resources up and down, including automatically starting resources when needed and shutting them down when idle, which directly meets the cost-saving requirement in this scenario.
- C
Fault tolerance
Why wrong: Fault tolerance ensures that a system continues to operate after a component failure, but it does not address the automatic start/stop of resources based on workload.
- D
Scalability
Why wrong: Scalability is the ability to increase resources to handle growing demand, but it does not inherently include automatic de-provisioning when demand drops, which is essential for this scenario.
AZ-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Question
This AZ-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe cloud concepts. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 nightly data processing job that requires high CPU usage for only 15 minutes. During the day, the compute resources are idle. The company wants to reduce costs by automatically starting compute resources only when the job runs and shutting them down after completion, without manual intervention. Which cloud computing characteristic directly meets this requirement?
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
Elasticity
Elasticity is the cloud computing characteristic that enables resources to be automatically provisioned and de-provisioned in response to workload demands. In this scenario, the nightly job requires high CPU for only 15 minutes, and elasticity allows the compute resources to scale up exactly when the job starts and scale down to zero after completion, eliminating idle costs without manual intervention.
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.
- ✗
High availability
Why it's wrong here
High availability focuses on keeping services running continuously, often through redundancy, not on automatically starting and stopping resources based on workload demand.
- ✓
Elasticity
Why this is correct
Elasticity is the ability to dynamically scale resources up and down, including automatically starting resources when needed and shutting them down when idle, which directly meets the cost-saving requirement in this scenario.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Fault tolerance
Why it's wrong here
Fault tolerance ensures that a system continues to operate after a component failure, but it does not address the automatic start/stop of resources based on workload.
- ✗
Scalability
Why it's wrong here
Scalability is the ability to increase resources to handle growing demand, but it does not inherently include automatic de-provisioning when demand drops, which is essential for this scenario.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse scalability (ability to handle growth, often manual or planned) with elasticity (automatic, real-time scaling to match demand), leading them to pick scalability even though the requirement explicitly calls for automatic start/stop without intervention.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Scalability is the ability to increase resources to handle growing demand, but it does not inherently include automatic de-provisioning when demand drops, which is essential for this scenario.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, elasticity in Azure is often implemented using Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets with autoscale rules based on metrics like CPU percentage, or via serverless compute like Azure Functions that automatically allocate instances per event. A subtle behavior is that elasticity can scale to zero instances, completely stopping costs, whereas traditional scaling often maintains a minimum baseline. In a real-world scenario, a company might use Azure Batch with auto-scaling pools to spin up VMs only during the 15-minute job, then terminate them, achieving near-zero idle cost.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-900 question test?
Describe cloud concepts — This question tests Describe cloud concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Elasticity — Elasticity is the cloud computing characteristic that enables resources to be automatically provisioned and de-provisioned in response to workload demands. In this scenario, the nightly job requires high CPU for only 15 minutes, and elasticity allows the compute resources to scale up exactly when the job starts and scale down to zero after completion, eliminating idle costs without manual intervention.
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.
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
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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