The answer is to assign the Azure Policy built-in initiatives for enabling Auditing on Azure SQL Database and for configuring Firewall and virtual network settings. Auditing is correct because it captures all database events and writes them to an audit log in your Azure storage account, Log Analytics workspace, or Event Hubs, providing a fundamental security control for compliance and forensic analysis by recording who did what and when. The firewall policy is equally essential as it enforces network-level access restrictions, preventing unauthorized connections from public endpoints. On the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect exam, this pairing tests your understanding that secure configuration requires both detective controls (auditing) and preventive controls (network isolation), with a common trap being to select only one policy or to confuse auditing with threat detection. Remember the mnemonic “Audit the Access, Lock the Network” to recall that you need both event logging and firewall rules to enforce secure configuration of Azure SQL Database with Azure Policy.
SC-100 Design security solutions for infrastructure Practice Question
This SC-100 practice question tests your understanding of design security solutions for infrastructure. 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.
Which TWO Azure policies should you assign to enforce secure configuration of Azure SQL Database? (Select two.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Ensure that 'Auditing' is set to 'On' for SQL Database
Option A is correct because enabling Auditing on Azure SQL Database captures all database events and writes them to an audit log in your Azure storage account, Log Analytics workspace, or Event Hubs. This is a fundamental security control for compliance and forensic analysis, as it provides a record of who did what and when, which is essential for detecting and investigating unauthorized access or changes.
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.
✓
Ensure that 'Auditing' is set to 'On' for SQL Database
Why this is correct
This policy enables auditing for Azure SQL Database.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Ensure that 'TDE' is enabled for SQL Server VMs
Why it's wrong here
This policy applies to SQL Server on VMs, not Azure SQL Database.
✗
Audit SQL Server level audit setting
Why it's wrong here
This policy is for SQL Server level, not Azure SQL Database.
✓
Ensure that 'Firewall and virtual network settings' for SQL Database are configured
Why this is correct
This policy enforces network security rules.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Ensure secure transfer to storage accounts is enabled
Why it's wrong here
This policy applies to storage accounts, not SQL Database.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse SQL Server VM policies (like TDE or SQL Server-level audit settings) with Azure SQL Database policies, or they mistakenly apply storage account policies to SQL Database, which is a separate Azure service with its own security controls.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure SQL Database auditing works by intercepting SQL operations and writing audit logs to a destination you specify; the audit logs include detailed information such as the exact T-SQL statement executed, the principal that executed it, and the timestamp. The 'Firewall and virtual network settings' policy (Option D) enforces that SQL Database only accepts connections from specified IP ranges or virtual network subnets, which is critical for reducing the attack surface by preventing public internet access. Under the hood, Azure Policy evaluates these configurations using Azure Resource Manager REST API calls and can automatically remediate non-compliant resources if a 'DeployIfNotExists' effect is used.
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 SC-100 question in full detail.
Design security solutions for infrastructure — This question tests Design security solutions for infrastructure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Ensure that 'Auditing' is set to 'On' for SQL Database — Option A is correct because enabling Auditing on Azure SQL Database captures all database events and writes them to an audit log in your Azure storage account, Log Analytics workspace, or Event Hubs. This is a fundamental security control for compliance and forensic analysis, as it provides a record of who did what and when, which is essential for detecting and investigating unauthorized access or changes.
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.
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. Your organization uses Azure SQL Database with Azure AD authentication. You need to ensure that database administrators (DBAs) can only perform management tasks from a specific Azure region and only during business hours. Which solution should you use?
hard
✓ A.Azure AD Conditional Access policies
B.Azure RBAC with custom roles
C.Azure Policy with custom policy
D.Azure SQL Database firewall rules
Why A: Option A is correct because Conditional Access can enforce location and time restrictions for Azure AD authenticated users. Option B is wrong because Azure SQL Firewall rules filter by IP, not user identity. Option C is wrong because Azure Policy cannot enforce time-based access. Option D is wrong because Azure RBAC cannot enforce location or time.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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This SC-100 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SC-100 exam.
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