Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company has an Azure subscription used by several development teams. The governance team wants to identify any virtual machines that are not tagged with a mandatory 'CostCenter' tag. The team does not want to block the creation of untagged VMs; they only want to report on non-compliant resources in Azure Policy's compliance dashboard. Which Azure Policy effect should they use in their policy definition?
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
Distractor review
Deny
The 'Deny' effect blocks the creation or modification of resources that do not comply with the policy. Since the team wants to allow untagged VMs to be created and only report on them, this effect is too restrictive.
B
Best answer
Audit
The 'Audit' effect logs a compliance warning and marks resources as non-compliant without preventing their creation or modification, which matches the team's requirement for reporting only.
C
Distractor review
Append
The 'Append' effect automatically adds specified fields (such as tags) to a resource during creation or update. While it can enforce tagging, it modifies the resource, which goes beyond just reporting.
D
Distractor review
Disabled
The 'Disabled' effect turns off the policy definition, meaning it performs no evaluation or enforcement. This would not produce any compliance reports.
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.
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.
AZ-900 cloud concepts practice questions
Practise AZ-900 questions linked to AZ-900 cloud concepts.
AZ-900 Azure services practice questions
Practise AZ-900 questions linked to AZ-900 Azure services.
AZ-900 pricing and support practice questions
Practise AZ-900 questions linked to AZ-900 pricing and support.
AZ-900 security and compliance practice questions
Practise AZ-900 questions linked to AZ-900 security and compliance.
AZ-900 governance practice questions
Practise AZ-900 questions linked to AZ-900 governance.
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: Audit — Azure Policy effects define what action to take when a resource is evaluated against the policy rule. The 'Audit' effect generates a warning in the activity log and marks the resource as non-compliant in the compliance dashboard, without blocking the resource creation or modification. This is ideal for reporting-only scenarios. 'Deny' would block deployment, which is not desired here. 'Append' would add the missing tag automatically, altering the resource. 'Disabled' turns off the policy entirely, providing no enforcement or reporting.
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.
Discussion
Loading comments…
Sign in to join the discussion.