The correct answer is to add sales.contoso.com as an accepted domain in Exchange Online and create a transport rule to redirect emails to the shared mailbox. This works because an accepted domain in Exchange Online defines the email address spaces for which your organization accepts inbound messages, and a transport rule then allows you to conditionally route those messages based on the recipient domain. On the MS-102 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the distinction between custom domains in the Microsoft 365 admin center (which require verification and DNS records) and accepted domains in the Exchange admin center (which do not require separate verification for subdomains of a verified parent domain). A common trap is to try adding the subdomain as a new custom domain or to configure an MX record, but neither is necessary since the parent domain contoso.com is already verified. Remember the two-step rule: accept the domain, then route the mail—think of it as “accept first, redirect second.”
MS-102 Deploy and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant Practice Question
This MS-102 practice question tests your understanding of deploy and manage a microsoft 365 tenant. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.
Your organization has a Microsoft 365 tenant with a custom domain contoso.com. You have configured Exchange Online to accept emails for contoso.com. You now need to add a subdomain sales.contoso.com and ensure that email sent to sales.contoso.com is delivered to a specific shared mailbox. What should you do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Add sales.contoso.com as an accepted domain in Exchange Online and create a transport rule to redirect emails to the shared mailbox.
Option B is correct because to route email for a subdomain to a specific mailbox, you must first add the subdomain as an accepted domain in Exchange Online (not as a custom domain in the admin center, since the parent domain is already verified). Then, you create a transport rule that matches recipients in that accepted domain and redirects the messages to the target shared mailbox. This ensures that all emails sent to sales.contoso.com are delivered to the designated mailbox without requiring additional MX records or domain verification.
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.
✗
Add sales.contoso.com as a custom domain in the Microsoft 365 admin center and verify ownership.
Why it's wrong here
Subdomains do not need to be added as custom domains; they are managed as accepted domains.
✓
Add sales.contoso.com as an accepted domain in Exchange Online and create a transport rule to redirect emails to the shared mailbox.
Why this is correct
Accepted domains allow receiving email for the subdomain, and a transport rule can redirect.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Configure an auto-expanding archive for the shared mailbox.
Why it's wrong here
This is for storage, not email routing.
✗
Create a distribution group named sales@contoso.com and add the shared mailbox as a member.
Why it's wrong here
This does not accept email for the subdomain.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse adding a subdomain as a custom domain (which requires unnecessary DNS verification) with adding it as an accepted domain in Exchange Online, which is the correct approach for routing email to a specific mailbox without altering the parent domain's verification status.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Exchange Online, accepted domains define the SMTP namespaces for which the organization accepts inbound email. When you add a subdomain as an accepted domain, you do not need to verify it if the parent domain is already verified—this is because DNS delegation inherently covers subdomains. Transport rules in Exchange Online can use conditions like 'the recipient address matches patterns' with the subdomain (e.g., @sales.contoso.com) and an action to 'redirect the message to' the shared mailbox's SMTP address, ensuring the message is delivered without modifying the original recipient address.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this MS-102 question in full detail.
Deploy and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant — This question tests Deploy and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Add sales.contoso.com as an accepted domain in Exchange Online and create a transport rule to redirect emails to the shared mailbox. — Option B is correct because to route email for a subdomain to a specific mailbox, you must first add the subdomain as an accepted domain in Exchange Online (not as a custom domain in the admin center, since the parent domain is already verified). Then, you create a transport rule that matches recipients in that accepted domain and redirects the messages to the target shared mailbox. This ensures that all emails sent to sales.contoso.com are delivered to the designated mailbox without requiring additional MX records or domain verification.
What should I do if I get this MS-102 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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