The answer is a WindowsEventLog element with ProviderName set to 'Security' and a query of '*'. This is correct because the Azure Diagnostics extension for Windows VMs relies on the diagnostics.json configuration file to define which Windows Event Log channels to collect; the WindowsEventLog element specifically targets event logs by provider name, and setting ProviderName to 'Security' with a query of '*' captures all security events from the Security log, which are then forwarded to the Log Analytics workspace. On the Microsoft Security Operations Analyst SC-200 exam, this tests your understanding of how to configure data collection for security events using the Azure Diagnostics extension, a common task for incident detection. A frequent trap is confusing the WindowsEventLog element with the EtwProvider element, which is for ETW providers, not the Security log. Remember the memory tip: "Security star collects all from the log" — the ProviderName must be 'Security' and the query must be '*' to gather every security event.
SC-200 Manage a security operations environment Practice Question
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of manage a security operations environment. 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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
```powershell
Set-AzVMDiagnosticsExtension -ResourceGroupName "RG1" -VMName "VM1" -DiagnosticsConfigurationPath "C:\Diagnostics\diagnostics.json"
```
You run the PowerShell command shown in the exhibit to enable diagnostics on an Azure VM. The VM is running Windows Server 2022. You want to collect security events and send them to a Log Analytics workspace. What should you include in the diagnostics.json configuration file?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
A WindowsEventLog element with ProviderName set to 'Security' and a query of '*'.
Option B is correct because the Azure Diagnostics extension for Windows VMs uses a WindowsEventLog element in the diagnostics.json configuration to specify which Windows Event Log channels to collect. Setting ProviderName to 'Security' and query to '*' collects all security events from the Security log, which are then forwarded to the Log Analytics workspace.
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.
✗
An EtwProvider element with provider GUID for Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing.
Why it's wrong here
ETW is not the standard way for Windows event logs in Azure diagnostics.
✓
A WindowsEventLog element with ProviderName set to 'Security' and a query of '*'.
Why this is correct
This collects all security events.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
A Syslog element with facility set to 'auth' and severity set to 'info'.
A PerformanceCounter element with a counter for security incidents.
Why it's wrong here
Performance counters do not collect security events.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse ETW providers (EtwProvider) with standard Windows Event Log channels, or mistakenly apply Linux-centric concepts like Syslog to a Windows VM, leading them to choose incorrect options A or C.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The Azure Diagnostics extension (WAD) on Windows uses a schema where WindowsEventLog entries map to log names as they appear in Event Viewer (e.g., 'Security', 'System', 'Application'). The query attribute supports XPath 1.0 expressions for filtering events, but '*' collects all events. Under the hood, the extension reads the Event Log using the Windows Event Log API and forwards events to the specified Log Analytics workspace via the OMS (Operations Management Suite) endpoint, using a sink configuration in the PrivateConfig element.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SC-200 question in full detail.
Manage a security operations environment — This question tests Manage a security operations environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: A WindowsEventLog element with ProviderName set to 'Security' and a query of '*'. — Option B is correct because the Azure Diagnostics extension for Windows VMs uses a WindowsEventLog element in the diagnostics.json configuration to specify which Windows Event Log channels to collect. Setting ProviderName to 'Security' and query to '*' collects all security events from the Security log, which are then forwarded to the Log Analytics workspace.
What should I do if I get this SC-200 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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