How to Ace the AZ-104: Azure Administrator Associate

Question 1 · Manage Azure identities and governance

You need to ensure that users can reset their own passwords without administrator intervention. Which feature should you configure?

• Azure AD Conditional Access
• Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR)
• Azure AD Privileged Identity Management
• Azure AD Identity Protection

Correct answer: Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR)

Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) allows users to reset their passwords without contacting IT. Users register authentication methods (phone, email, security questions) and can use them to verify identity and reset passwords.

Question 2 · Implement and manage storage

You have data that is accessed frequently for the first 30 days, then rarely accessed after that. Which storage solution is most cost-effective?

• Provision Premium block blob storage for the entire dataset
• Move all blobs straight into the Archive tier on upload
• Use lifecycle management to transition from Hot to Cool after 30 days
• Store everything permanently in the Hot tier for fast access

Correct answer: Use lifecycle management to transition from Hot to Cool after 30 days

Lifecycle management policies automatically transition blobs between tiers based on age. Data starts in Hot tier (low access cost), then moves to Cool after 30 days (lower storage cost, higher access cost). Optimizes costs based on access patterns.

Question 3 · Deploy and manage Azure compute resources

You need to deploy 20 identical virtual machines that can automatically scale based on CPU usage. Which feature should you use?

• Availability Sets spreading the VMs across fault domains
• Availability Zones placing VMs in separate datacenters
• Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS)
• Proximity Placement Groups co-locating the instances

Correct answer: Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS)

Virtual Machine Scale Sets allow deploying and managing a set of identical VMs. Supports auto-scaling based on metrics like CPU, manual scaling, and integration with Azure Load Balancer.

Question 4 · Implement and manage virtual networking

You need to create a private network in Azure where resources can communicate securely. What is the fundamental building block?

• Network Security Group
• Virtual Network (VNet)
• Application Gateway
• Load Balancer

Correct answer: Virtual Network (VNet)

Azure Virtual Network (VNet) is the fundamental building block for private networks. Provides isolation and segmentation. Scoped to a single region; multiple VNets can be connected via peering.

Question 5 · Monitor and maintain Azure resources

You need to collect and analyze logs from multiple Azure resources in a central location. Which component of Azure Monitor should you use?

• Service Health summarizing platform incident notices
• Application Insights tracing a single web app's logs
• Log Analytics Workspace
• Metrics Explorer aggregating numeric time-series only

Correct answer: Log Analytics Workspace

Log Analytics Workspace collects and stores log data from various sources. Query using Kusto Query Language (KQL). Can aggregate logs from multiple subscriptions and resource types.