The answer is Azure Bastion. This service is the correct choice because it provides secure RDP and SSH connectivity to Azure virtual machines directly from the Azure portal over SSL, without requiring any public IP addresses on the VMs or a VPN connection. Azure Bastion deploys a hardened bastion host inside the same virtual network as the target VMs, proxying all traffic through TLS on port 443, which perfectly satisfies the requirement for browser-based, seamless remote access. On the AZ-900 exam, this question tests your understanding of secure access solutions under the “secure network connectivity” objective; a common trap is confusing Azure Bastion with a jump box or VPN gateway, but remember that Bastion eliminates the need for public IPs entirely and works natively in the browser. A helpful memory tip: think of Bastion as a “secure portal” that lets you RDP/SSH without exposing your VMs to the internet—no public IP, no VPN, just SSL.
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 that host a critical internal application. The IT team needs to provide secure remote desktop access to these VMs for system administrators without assigning public IP addresses to the VMs or maintaining a VPN connection. The solution must provide seamless, browser-based RDP connectivity using SSL. Which Azure service should the IT team use?
Correct. Azure Bastion is designed exactly for secure, browser-based RDP/SSH access to Azure VMs without public IPs. It connects over SSL and does not require a VPN.
B
Azure Front Door
Why wrong: Azure Front Door is a global load balancer and application delivery service for web applications. It does not provide direct RDP/SSH access to VMs.
C
Azure Application Gateway
Why wrong: Azure Application Gateway is a regional load balancer for HTTP/HTTPS traffic. It is not designed for remote desktop connectivity to VMs.
D
Azure Virtual Network NAT
Why wrong: Azure Virtual Network NAT provides outbound internet connectivity for VMs in a virtual network. It does not enable inbound RDP/SSH access.
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, seamless RDP/SSH connectivity to Azure virtual machines directly from the Azure portal over SSL, without requiring public IP addresses on the VMs or a VPN connection. It uses a hardened bastion host deployed inside the same virtual network, proxying traffic via TLS on port 443, which satisfies the requirement for browser-based, secure remote access.
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
Correct. Azure Bastion is designed exactly for secure, browser-based RDP/SSH access to Azure VMs without public IPs. It connects over SSL and does not require a VPN.
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 load balancer and application delivery service for web applications. It does not provide direct RDP/SSH access to VMs.
✗
Azure Application Gateway
Why it's wrong here
Azure Application Gateway is a regional load balancer for HTTP/HTTPS traffic. It is not designed for remote desktop connectivity to VMs.
✗
Azure Virtual Network NAT
Why it's wrong here
Azure Virtual Network NAT provides outbound internet connectivity for VMs in a virtual network. It does not enable inbound RDP/SSH access.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Bastion with Azure Application Gateway or Front Door, assuming any 'gateway' service can handle RDP, but only Bastion is purpose-built for secure, browser-based RDP/SSH access without public IPs or VPNs.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Bastion deploys a dedicated, fully managed PaaS bastion host within the same virtual network as the target VMs, using a separate subnet named 'AzureBastionSubnet' (minimum /27). It leverages the Azure portal's HTML5 web client to render RDP/SSH sessions over TLS, eliminating the need for any client software or public IP exposure. A real-world scenario is a financial services firm that must comply with strict security policies forbidding public IPs on production VMs; Bastion allows admins to manage VMs from any browser without VPN complexity.
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 provides secure, seamless RDP/SSH connectivity to Azure virtual machines directly from the Azure portal over SSL, without requiring public IP addresses on the VMs or a VPN connection. It uses a hardened bastion host deployed inside the same virtual network, proxying traffic via TLS on port 443, which satisfies the requirement for browser-based, secure remote access.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company has deployed several Windows and Linux virtual machines in an Azure virtual network. For security reasons, the virtual machines have no public IP addresses assigned. The IT administrators need to securely connect to these VMs using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) for Windows and Secure Shell (SSH) for Linux without deploying any additional agents on the VMs. The connection must be established directly from the Azure portal, and the service must provide protection against port scanning and brute-force attacks. Which Azure service should the company use?
medium
A.Just-in-time (JIT) VM access (Microsoft Defender for Cloud)
✓ B.Azure Bastion
C.Azure Firewall
D.Azure VPN Gateway
Why B: Azure Bastion is the correct choice because it provides secure, seamless RDP and SSH connectivity to virtual machines directly from the Azure portal over TLS, without requiring any public IP addresses on the VMs or additional agent installations. It uses a hardened bastion host inside the virtual network, and by default it protects against port scanning and brute-force attacks by not exposing the VMs' RDP/SSH ports to the internet.
Variation 2. 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?
medium
✓ A.Azure Bastion
B.Azure Front Door
C.Azure VPN Gateway
D.Azure ExpressRoute
Why A: 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.
Variation 3. A company has deployed several virtual machines in an Azure virtual network. The IT administrators need to connect to these VMs using RDP and SSH from the internet. However, the company's security policy prohibits assigning any public IP addresses to the VMs and also prohibits exposing the VMs directly to the internet. The solution must be fully managed by Azure and require no additional infrastructure in the virtual network. Which Azure service should the company use?
easy
A.Azure Virtual Network Peering
✓ B.Azure Bastion
C.Azure VPN Gateway
D.Azure ExpressRoute
Why B: Azure Bastion is a fully managed PaaS service that provides secure and seamless RDP/SSH connectivity to virtual machines directly in the Azure portal over TLS. It eliminates the need for public IP addresses on the VMs and does not require any additional infrastructure in the virtual network, as it is deployed inside the virtual network and uses a private IP to connect to the VMs.
Variation 4. A company has deployed several Azure virtual machines in a VNet. The security policy requires that no VM has a public IP address. However, administrators need to connect to the VMs using RDP and SSH for management. The administrators currently use the Azure portal and must not install any additional client software on their local workstations. Which Azure service should they use to meet these requirements?
medium
✓ A.Azure Bastion
B.Azure VPN Gateway
C.Azure Firewall
D.Azure ExpressRoute
Why A: Azure Bastion provides secure, seamless RDP and SSH connectivity to Azure VMs directly from the Azure portal over TLS, without exposing any public IP addresses on the VMs. It uses a browser-based HTML5 client, so administrators do not need to install any additional client software on their local workstations, meeting all stated requirements.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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