Question 736 of 1,031

Describe Azure management and governance →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

AZ-900 Describe Azure management and governance Practice Question

This AZ-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe azure management and governance. 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 has a critical production resource group that contains several virtual machines and an Azure SQL Database. The IT manager wants to prevent anyone from accidentally deleting the resource group or any of its resources. However, authorized administrators must still be able to add, update, or delete individual resources within the group (except deletion of the group itself). Which Azure feature should the manager apply to the resource group?

Question 1mediummultiple choice

Full question →

A
Apply an Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect to prevent all operations on the resource group.
Why wrong: Azure Policy 'Deny' effect blocks creation or update of resources that do not comply with policy rules, but it does not prevent deletion of existing resources or the resource group itself. Moreover, it is too broad (would block any non-compliant resource modifications) and is not designed for accidental deletion protection. Using a 'Deny' policy is incorrect for this scenario.
B
Apply a Read-Only lock on the resource group.
Why wrong: A Read-Only lock prevents any user (even with Owner permissions) from creating, updating, or deleting resources in the resource group. The requirement explicitly states that administrators must be able to add or modify resources, so this lock is too restrictive and would block those operations. Therefore, it is not the correct solution.
C
Apply a CanNotDelete lock on the resource group.
A CanNotDelete lock allows all operations (read, create, update, delete of individual resources) except the deletion of the locked scope (the resource group in this case). This exactly matches the requirement: authorized administrators can manage resources normally, but the entire resource group and all its resources are protected from accidental deletion. This is the correct choice.
D
Remove the Contributor role from all users and assign the Owner role to the IT manager only.
Why wrong: Changing role assignments does not reliably prevent resource group deletion. Users with the Owner role (or even Contributor role) can delete a resource group unless a resource lock is applied. Removing Contributor roles may still leave owners who can delete, and this approach is complex and does not directly address the requirement to prevent accidental deletion while allowing modifications. It is incorrect.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Apply a CanNotDelete lock on the resource group.

Option C is correct because a CanNotDelete lock on the resource group prevents deletion of the group itself while still allowing authorized administrators to add, update, or delete individual resources within the group. This lock type specifically blocks delete operations on the locked scope, but does not restrict read, write, or other management operations, aligning perfectly with the requirement to protect the resource group from accidental deletion while permitting ongoing resource management.

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.

✗
Apply an Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect to prevent all operations on the resource group.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Policy 'Deny' effect blocks creation or update of resources that do not comply with policy rules, but it does not prevent deletion of existing resources or the resource group itself. Moreover, it is too broad (would block any non-compliant resource modifications) and is not designed for accidental deletion protection. Using a 'Deny' policy is incorrect for this scenario.
✗
Apply a Read-Only lock on the resource group.
Why it's wrong here
A Read-Only lock prevents any user (even with Owner permissions) from creating, updating, or deleting resources in the resource group. The requirement explicitly states that administrators must be able to add or modify resources, so this lock is too restrictive and would block those operations. Therefore, it is not the correct solution.
✓
Apply a CanNotDelete lock on the resource group.
Why this is correct
A CanNotDelete lock allows all operations (read, create, update, delete of individual resources) except the deletion of the locked scope (the resource group in this case). This exactly matches the requirement: authorized administrators can manage resources normally, but the entire resource group and all its resources are protected from accidental deletion. This is the correct choice.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Remove the Contributor role from all users and assign the Owner role to the IT manager only.
Why it's wrong here
Changing role assignments does not reliably prevent resource group deletion. Users with the Owner role (or even Contributor role) can delete a resource group unless a resource lock is applied. Removing Contributor roles may still leave owners who can delete, and this approach is complex and does not directly address the requirement to prevent accidental deletion while allowing modifications. It is incorrect.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Policy with resource locks, mistakenly thinking a Deny policy can be scoped to only block deletion, when in fact Azure Policy effects like 'Deny' apply to all operations defined in the policy rule, not just delete actions, whereas a CanNotDelete lock is specifically designed to block only deletion at the resource group or resource level.

Trap categories for this question

Scenario analysis trap
Azure Policy 'Deny' effect blocks creation or update of resources that do not comply with policy rules, but it does not prevent deletion of existing resources or the resource group itself. Moreover, it is too broad (would block any non-compliant resource modifications) and is not designed for accidental deletion protection. Using a 'Deny' policy is incorrect for this scenario.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Azure resource locks operate at the Azure Resource Manager (ARM) layer, applying to all users and roles within the scope, and are inherited by child resources. The CanNotDelete lock uses the ARM API to deny DELETE calls while allowing PUT, PATCH, and GET operations, meaning administrators can still modify resources via ARM, Azure CLI, PowerShell, or portal, but any attempt to delete the locked resource group will be rejected with a 403 Forbidden error. This lock is often used in production environments to protect critical infrastructure from accidental deletion while maintaining operational flexibility.

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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this AZ-900 question test?

Describe Azure management and governance — This question tests Describe Azure management and governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Apply a CanNotDelete lock on the resource group. — Option C is correct because a CanNotDelete lock on the resource group prevents deletion of the group itself while still allowing authorized administrators to add, update, or delete individual resources within the group. This lock type specifically blocks delete operations on the locked scope, but does not restrict read, write, or other management operations, aligning perfectly with the requirement to protect the resource group from accidental deletion while permitting ongoing resource management.

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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