Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company runs a web application in Azure that experiences variable traffic throughout the day. During peak hours, the application becomes slow because the existing virtual machine (VM) cannot handle the increased load. The solution architect proposes adding more VMs of the same size and distributing incoming requests across all of them to balance the load. Which scaling concept does this approach represent?
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
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Vertical scaling
Vertical scaling (scaling up) means increasing the capacity of a single resource, such as upgrading the existing VM to a larger SKU with more CPU cores or memory. The scenario describes adding more VMs, not enhancing the existing one.
B
Best answer
Horizontal scaling
Horizontal scaling (scaling out) involves adding more instances of the same resource type and distributing the workload among them. This is exactly what is described: adding more VMs of the same size and using load balancing to distribute traffic.
C
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Elastic scaling
Elastic scaling is the ability of a system to automatically scale resources up or down based on real-time demand. While the scenario involves scaling to meet increased load, it is a manual, planned addition of VMs rather than an automatic adjustment.
D
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Disaster recovery
Disaster recovery refers to strategies and processes used to recover from catastrophic failures, such as data center outages. It does not describe the act of adding resources to handle increased load.
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
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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: Horizontal scaling — Horizontal scaling (also called scaling out) involves adding more instances of resources, such as virtual machines, to handle increased load. In this scenario, adding additional VMs of the same size and distributing traffic across them is a textbook example of horizontal scaling. This approach improves both performance and availability. Vertical scaling (scaling up) would mean upgrading the existing VM to a larger size with more CPU or memory. Elastic scaling refers to the ability to automatically adjust resources based on demand, but the question specifically describes manually adding more VMs rather than automatic adjustment. Disaster recovery is unrelated to scaling techniques.
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.
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