The answer is to configure the analytics connector to ingest these events as basic logs. This is correct because Microsoft Sentinel offers a basic logs tier specifically designed for high-volume, verbose data sources like Windows Event ID 4624, allowing you to reduce Sentinel data ingestion cost with basic logs while retaining security-relevant metadata for incident investigation. Basic logs are stored in a separate table with a default 30-day retention, which is shorter than the standard analytics tier, but they remain fully queryable for security events, ensuring you don’t lose critical visibility. On the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect exam, this scenario tests your understanding of Sentinel’s cost optimization features and the trade-offs between retention and expense; a common trap is to assume you must filter or drop these logs entirely, which would violate compliance requirements. Remember the memory tip: “Basic logs for basic noise” — use the cheaper tier for high-volume, low-security-value events like logon successes, not for critical alerts.
SC-100 Practice Question: Design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities
This SC-100 practice question tests your understanding of design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 uses Microsoft Sentinel as a SIEM. You need to reduce the cost of data ingestion while ensuring that security-relevant events are retained. You have identified that Windows Event ID 4624 (successful logon) produces a high volume of logs. 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
✓
Configure the analytics connector to ingest these events as basic logs
Option D is correct because Microsoft Sentinel supports 'basic logs' ingestion, which is a lower-cost tier designed for high-volume, verbose logs like Windows Event ID 4624. Basic logs are stored in a separate table with a reduced retention period (default 30 days) but still retain security-relevant metadata, enabling cost savings while preserving the ability to query for security incidents. This approach avoids the need to filter or drop events entirely, ensuring compliance with security monitoring requirements.
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.
✗
Reduce the retention period for all logs to 30 days
Why it's wrong here
Retention does not affect ingestion cost.
✗
Ingest the events into a separate Log Analytics workspace with a shorter retention
Why it's wrong here
Separate workspace adds management overhead.
✗
Filter out Event ID 4624 at the source using Windows Event Forwarding
Why it's wrong here
Filtering removes the data entirely, which may be needed for forensics.
✓
Configure the analytics connector to ingest these events as basic logs
Why this is correct
Basic logs cost less than analytics logs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'reducing retention' with 'reducing ingestion cost,' not realizing that ingestion cost is based on data volume, not retention length, and that basic logs provide a separate, cheaper ingestion tier specifically for high-volume, low-value logs.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Basic logs in Microsoft Sentinel are stored in the 'ASimAuditEventLogs' or custom tables with a reduced retention of 30 days by default, and they support a subset of KQL operators (e.g., project, where, summarize) but not full analytics rules or scheduled queries. This tier is ideal for verbose security events like Windows Event ID 4624, where the raw data is rarely needed for deep investigation but can still be used for summary statistics or anomaly detection. In a real-world scenario, an organization might use basic logs for all successful logons while keeping failed logons (Event ID 4625) in the standard analytics tier to preserve full query capabilities for security alerts.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SC-100 question in full detail.
Design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities — This question tests Design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure the analytics connector to ingest these events as basic logs — Option D is correct because Microsoft Sentinel supports 'basic logs' ingestion, which is a lower-cost tier designed for high-volume, verbose logs like Windows Event ID 4624. Basic logs are stored in a separate table with a reduced retention period (default 30 days) but still retain security-relevant metadata, enabling cost savings while preserving the ability to query for security incidents. This approach avoids the need to filter or drop events entirely, ensuring compliance with security monitoring requirements.
What should I do if I get this SC-100 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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