A company uses a single Azure subscription for its development and production workloads. The finance team wants to set a monthly spending limit for the entire subscription and receive an email alert when the costs are projected to exceed 80% of that limit. The company does not want any resources to be automatically stopped or deleted when the limit is reached. Which Azure feature should the finance team configure?
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.
Best answer
Azure Budgets in Azure Cost Management + Billing
Correct. Azure Budgets lets you set a spending limit and configure alerts (e.g., email notifications) when costs exceed a defined threshold. It aligns with the requirement for cost monitoring and notification without automatic remediation.
Distractor review
Azure Policy with the 'deny' effect
Incorrect. Azure Policy enforces compliance rules on resource configurations (e.g., allowed VM sizes) but does not provide cost-based spending limits or alerts. It could block expensive resources but not notify the finance team about overall subscription spending.
Distractor review
Azure Advisor cost recommendations
Incorrect. Azure Advisor analyzes your usage and suggests ways to reduce costs (e.g., right-sizing VMs), but it does not allow you to set a custom monthly spending limit or trigger alerts when that limit is approached.
Distractor review
Azure Service Health alerts
Incorrect. Azure Service Health alerts notify you about Azure service incidents, planned maintenance, or health advisories. They do not track or alert on your subscription's cost spending.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: ACLs stop at the first match
ACLs are processed top to bottom. The first matching entry wins, and an implicit deny usually exists at the end.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
ACL questions test precision: source, destination, protocol, port and direction. A generally correct ACL can still fail if it is applied on the wrong interface or in the wrong direction.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Standard ACLs match source addresses.
- Extended ACLs can match source, destination, protocol and ports.
- The first matching ACL entry is used.
- There is usually an implicit deny at the end.
TExam Day Tips
- Check inbound versus outbound direction.
- Read the ACL from top to bottom.
- Look for a broader permit or deny above the intended line.
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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?
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Budgets in Azure Cost Management + Billing — Azure Budgets, which is a feature within Azure Cost Management + Billing, allows you to set a cost or usage budget and configure alerts based on actual or forecasted costs. Alerts can be sent via email when a specified threshold (e.g., 80%) is reached. In this scenario, only alerting is needed without automated actions, so Azure Budgets is the correct solution. Azure Policy enforces compliance on resources but does not track costs. Azure Advisor provides cost optimization recommendations but not custom spending limits with alerts. Azure Service Health alerts are for Azure platform issues, not cost management.
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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