AZ-900 Describe Azure architecture and services Practice Question
What is Azure Disk Storage used for?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse Azure Disk Storage with Azure Files or Blob Storage because all three are storage services, but Disk Storage is exclusively block-level storage for VMs, not for file sharing or web hosting.
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
✓
Providing persistent block storage volumes for Azure Virtual Machines
Azure Disk Storage provides durable, high-performance block storage for Azure Virtual Machines. Each disk is a virtual hard disk (VHD) that can be attached to a VM as an OS disk or data disk, offering persistent storage that survives VM reboots and re-deployments. It is the primary storage option for IaaS workloads requiring low-latency, random-access I/O.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Hosting static websites and web content
Why it's wrong here
Azure Disk Storage does not serve static websites or web content. Static website hosting is a feature of Azure Blob Storage, which can expose content over HTTP(S) using a configured endpoint and optional custom domain. Disk Storage lacks an HTTP layer entirely; it only presents raw block devices that must be attached to a running VM to be accessed.
- ✓
Providing persistent block storage volumes for Azure Virtual Machines
Why this is correct
Azure Disk Storage provides persistent block-level storage volumes that attach to Azure Virtual Machines as virtual hard disks. These managed or unmanaged disks are used to store the OS and data of a VM, can be either HDD or SSD, and support features like snapshots and encryption. The persistence ensures that data survives VM reboots, reimages, or even redeployments when using managed disks.
- ✗
Sharing files between multiple computers via SMB protocol
Why it's wrong here
Sharing files between multiple computers via SMB protocol is a capability of Azure Files, not Disk Storage. Azure Files offers fully managed SMB/NFS file shares accessible from multiple clients simultaneously over the network. In contrast, an Azure Disk Storage volume is a block-level disk that can only be attached to a single VM at a time (unless using specialized shared-disk clusters), so it does not natively provide multi-client file sharing.
- ✗
Archiving infrequently accessed data at low cost
Why it's wrong here
Azure Disk Storage is not designed for low-cost archival of infrequently accessed data. Archival storage is provided by Azure Blob Storage's Archive access tier, which offers extremely low storage costs at the expense of retrieval latency (hours) and a rehydration fee. Disk Storage, by contrast, is meant for high-performance block access by VMs and would be far too expensive and operationally inappropriate for cold data.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Azure Regions and Geographies
Key term
IaaS
IaaS stands for Infrastructure as a Service, which means renting virtual computing resources like servers, storage, and networking from a cloud provider instead of buying and managing physical hardware yourself.
Key term
Disk storage
Disk storage is the hardware or cloud-based service that persistently saves digital data on spinning magnetic platters or solid-state memory for a computer or server to use.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-900 exam.