Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A development team lead needs to quickly provision a new Azure virtual machine for a short-term testing project. Instead of submitting a ticket to the IT procurement team and waiting several days for hardware approval and setup, the lead directly signs into the Azure portal, configures the VM settings, and has it running within 15 minutes. The entire process required no human interaction from the cloud provider's staff. Which cloud computing characteristic does this scenario primarily demonstrate?
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
Best answer
On-demand self-service
Correct. The team lead provisioned the VM directly through the portal without any human intervention from the provider, demonstrating on-demand self-service.
B
Distractor review
Broad network access
Incorrect. Broad network access refers to resources being available over the network and accessible from a variety of client platforms (e.g., laptops, smartphones). While the lead accessed the Azure portal over the internet, the core focus of the scenario is the ability to provision resources without waiting, not the method of access.
C
Distractor review
Measured service
Incorrect. Measured service means cloud providers meter and monitor resource usage for billing and optimization purposes. The scenario does not mention any tracking or metering of the VM usage; it emphasizes the speed and lack of human interaction in provisioning.
D
Distractor review
Resource pooling
Incorrect. Resource pooling refers to the provider's physical resources being shared among multiple customers (multi-tenancy). The scenario focuses on the customer's experience of instant provisioning, not on how the underlying resources are shared.
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.
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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: On-demand self-service — This scenario illustrates on-demand self-service, one of the five essential characteristics defined by NIST for cloud computing. On-demand self-service allows users to provision and manage computing resources (such as virtual machines, storage, and networks) as needed without requiring human interaction with the cloud service provider. The other options are also important cloud characteristics: Broad network access (B) refers to resources being accessible over the network from various devices; Measured service (C) involves metering usage for billing and optimization; and Resource pooling (D) describes multi-tenant sharing of physical resources. In this example, the key differentiator is the ability to self-provision instantly without any manual approval or setup by the provider's IT team.
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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