Question 931 of 1,031

Describe Azure architecture and services →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

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.

A company has deployed several Azure virtual machines in a virtual network. The security policy requires that administrators must be able to connect to these VMs using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) from the Azure portal, but the VMs must not have any public IP addresses assigned. The company wants to minimize management overhead and avoid deploying additional jump-box virtual machines. Which Azure service should they use?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

Question 1mediummultiple choice

Full question →

A
Azure Bastion
Azure Bastion is a fully managed PaaS service that provides secure RDP and SSH access to Azure virtual machines directly from the Azure portal, without exposing the VMs via public IP addresses. It eliminates the need for a separate jump-box VM and reduces management overhead, making it the correct choice for this scenario.
B
Azure Front Door
Why wrong: Azure Front Door is a global content delivery network and application load balancer designed to optimize web traffic and provide web application firewall capabilities. It does not provide RDP or SSH connectivity to individual virtual machines.
C
Azure VPN Gateway
Why wrong: Azure VPN Gateway establishes encrypted connectivity between on-premises networks and Azure virtual networks. While it allows secure private access, administrators would still need a jump-box or a VM with a public IP to initiate RDP from the portal, and the VMs themselves would typically require private IP connectivity, not portal-based RDP without a public IP.
D
Azure ExpressRoute
Why wrong: Azure ExpressRoute provides a dedicated private network connection from on-premises to Azure, bypassing the public internet. However, it does not offer direct RDP/SSH access from the Azure portal; administrators would still need a jump-box or a VM with a public IP, and it adds complexity and cost unrelated to the stated requirements.

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

✓

Azure Bastion

Azure Bastion provides secure and seamless RDP/SSH connectivity to virtual machines directly from the Azure portal over TLS, without requiring public IP addresses on the VMs. It is a fully managed PaaS service that is deployed inside the virtual network, eliminating the need for a jump-box or additional management overhead. This meets the security policy by ensuring VMs remain isolated from the internet while administrators can still connect via the portal.

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 Bastion
Why this is correct
Azure Bastion is a fully managed PaaS service that provides secure RDP and SSH access to Azure virtual machines directly from the Azure portal, without exposing the VMs via public IP addresses. It eliminates the need for a separate jump-box VM and reduces management overhead, making it the correct choice for this scenario.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Azure Front Door
Why it's wrong here
Azure Front Door is a global content delivery network and application load balancer designed to optimize web traffic and provide web application firewall capabilities. It does not provide RDP or SSH connectivity to individual virtual machines.
✗
Azure VPN Gateway
Why it's wrong here
Azure VPN Gateway establishes encrypted connectivity between on-premises networks and Azure virtual networks. While it allows secure private access, administrators would still need a jump-box or a VM with a public IP to initiate RDP from the portal, and the VMs themselves would typically require private IP connectivity, not portal-based RDP without a public IP.
✗
Azure ExpressRoute
Why it's wrong here
Azure ExpressRoute provides a dedicated private network connection from on-premises to Azure, bypassing the public internet. However, it does not offer direct RDP/SSH access from the Azure portal; administrators would still need a jump-box or a VM with a public IP, and it adds complexity and cost unrelated to the stated requirements.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Bastion with a VPN gateway, assuming any remote access requires a VPN tunnel, but Azure Bastion provides a simpler, browser-based solution without the complexity of VPN configuration or public IPs.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Azure Bastion uses a hardened RDP/SSH gateway that is provisioned directly into the Azure virtual network, leveraging TLS 1.2+ to encapsulate the remote desktop protocol. It authenticates users via Azure AD and RBAC, and the VM's private IP is accessed without any exposure to the public internet. In a real-world scenario, this is critical for compliance frameworks like PCI-DSS or HIPAA that forbid public IPs on management interfaces.

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

An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.

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 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 provides secure and seamless RDP/SSH connectivity to virtual machines directly from the Azure portal over TLS, without requiring public IP addresses on the VMs. It is a fully managed PaaS service that is deployed inside the virtual network, eliminating the need for a jump-box or additional management overhead. This meets the security policy by ensuring VMs remain isolated from the internet while administrators can still connect via the portal.

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.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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