The answer is Azure Bastion, the fully managed PaaS service that enables secure RDP and SSH browser access to Azure virtual machines without requiring any public IPs on the VMs. This is correct because Azure Bastion provisions a hardened jump box directly within your virtual network, tunneling all remote desktop and SSH traffic over TLS through the Azure backbone network, so RDP/SSH ports are never exposed to the internet. On the AZ-900 exam, this question tests your understanding of secure connectivity options and the principle of minimizing attack surfaces; a common trap is confusing Bastion with a VPN gateway or a jump box you have to manage yourself. Remember, Bastion is serverless and browser-based—you don’t install anything on the VM. A helpful memory tip: think of Bastion as a “secure portal” that lets you RDP or SSH through the Azure portal itself, keeping your VMs completely off the public internet.
AZ-900 Describe Azure architecture and services Practice Question
This AZ-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe azure architecture and services. 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.
Which Azure service enables you to connect to an Azure virtual machine using a web browser without exposing RDP/SSH ports to the internet?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Azure Bastion
Azure Bastion is a fully managed PaaS service that provides secure and seamless RDP/SSH connectivity to Azure virtual machines directly from the Azure portal using a web browser. It eliminates the need for public IP addresses on VMs and does not expose RDP/SSH ports to the internet, as all traffic is tunneled through the Azure backbone network over TLS.
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.
✗
Azure VPN Gateway Point-to-Site
Why it's wrong here
P2S VPN creates an encrypted VPN tunnel; Bastion provides browser-based access without VPN setup.
✓
Azure Bastion
Why this is correct
Bastion provides browser-based RDP/SSH to VMs over SSL without exposing RDP/SSH ports publicly.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Azure AD Application Proxy
Why it's wrong here
Application Proxy provides access to on-premises web apps; Bastion handles VM RDP/SSH access.
✗
Azure Firewall Just-In-Time access
Why it's wrong here
Just-In-Time VM access (via Defender for Cloud) opens ports temporarily; Bastion provides permanent browser-based access.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Bastion with Just-In-Time (JIT) VM access or VPN solutions, mistakenly thinking any method that 'secures' RDP/SSH is equivalent, but only Bastion completely eliminates public port exposure and provides browser-based access.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Azure Bastion deploys a hardened RDP/SSHgateway inside the Azure VNet, using a dedicated subnet named 'AzureBastionSubnet' with a minimum /27 prefix. When a user connects via the Azure portal, the browser establishes a WebSocket connection over HTTPS (port 443) to the Bastion host, which then proxies the RDP (port 3389) or SSH (port 22) traffic to the target VM over the private network, ensuring no public IP or inbound firewall rules are needed on the VM. In real-world scenarios, this is critical for compliance with security policies that forbid any public-facing management ports, such as PCI DSS or HIPAA requirements.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-900 question in full detail.
Describe Azure architecture and services — This question tests Describe Azure architecture and services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Bastion — Azure Bastion is a fully managed PaaS service that provides secure and seamless RDP/SSH connectivity to Azure virtual machines directly from the Azure portal using a web browser. It eliminates the need for public IP addresses on VMs and does not expose RDP/SSH ports to the internet, as all traffic is tunneled through the Azure backbone network over TLS.
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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Question Discussion
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