This SC-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe the capabilities of microsoft entra. 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 multiple on-premises directories and wants to synchronize them to Microsoft Entra ID. However, you must avoid duplicate user objects. Which feature should you configure?
Password Hash Sync
Why wrong: Password Hash Sync synchronizes password hashes, not identity resolution.
Pass-through Authentication
Why wrong: Pass-through Authentication validates passwords on-premises.
Active Directory Federation Services
Why wrong: ADFS is for federation, not duplicate prevention.
Source anchor attribute
Source anchor uniquely identifies objects across directories, preventing duplicates.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Source anchor attribute
The source anchor attribute (often the objectGUID in on-premises directories) is used during synchronization to uniquely identify each object and prevent duplicates. By mapping each on-premises object to a single, immutable source anchor, Microsoft Entra Connect ensures that even if multiple directories contain the same user, only one corresponding object is created in Entra ID.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Password Hash Sync
Why it's wrong here
Password Hash Sync synchronizes password hashes, not identity resolution.
Pass-through Authentication
Why it's wrong here
Pass-through Authentication validates passwords on-premises.
Active Directory Federation Services
Why it's wrong here
ADFS is for federation, not duplicate prevention.
Source anchor attribute
Why this is correct
Source anchor uniquely identifies objects across directories, preventing duplicates.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse features that handle authentication (Password Hash Sync, Pass-through Authentication, AD FS) with the identity-mapping mechanism (source anchor) that prevents duplicate objects during synchronization.
Detailed technical explanation
The source anchor is selected during the initial configuration of Microsoft Entra Connect and defaults to the on-premises objectGUID, which remains immutable for the lifetime of the object. If multiple forests have the same user, you must use a common attribute (e.g., ms-DS-ConsistencyGUID) as the source anchor to avoid duplicates, and this requires careful planning to ensure consistency across directories.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
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FAQ
Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra — This question tests Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Source anchor attribute — The source anchor attribute (often the objectGUID in on-premises directories) is used during synchronization to uniquely identify each object and prevent duplicates. By mapping each on-premises object to a single, immutable source anchor, Microsoft Entra Connect ensures that even if multiple directories contain the same user, only one corresponding object is created in Entra ID.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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