Fundamental
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Fundamental
Prepare and test your skills
Azure IaaS Compute Storage and Networking Components
Free sample question, answered and explained below. The AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Exam practice bank has 688 more like it. Try 10 free: instant score, no account.
An IT department is deploying a new line-of-business application in Azure using an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model. The workload requires dedicated compute processing, persistent storage for transactional data, and connectivity to an internal subnet.
Which combination of Azure resources represents the core IaaS components required for this deployment?
Explanations
An Azure Functions app, an Azure Files storage share, and an Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN) profile
An Azure Functions app, an Azure Files storage share, and an Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN) profile
What the option is/does
Azure Functions, Azure Files, and Azure CDN are cloud services focused on serverless compute execution, cloud file shares, and edge content caching.
Why it doesn't meet the requirement
- Event-driven compute vs. persistent host: Azure Functions runs code snippets in response to event triggers on a serverless compute model rather than hosting persistent IaaS virtual servers.
- Network architecture mismatch: Azure CDN distributes web content to globally distributed edge nodes and does not establish internal subnet communication for private VMs.
- PaaS management boundary: The serverless nature of Functions abstracts server provisioning, OS maintenance, and virtual hardware configuration.
Key characteristics and limitations
- Event-driven billing: Functions scales automatically based on request triggers without dedicated CPU reservation.
- Stateless execution: Standard Functions execution is designed to be ephemeral and short-lived.
- Edge caching: Azure CDN caches static assets across global points of presence rather than providing internal network interface connectivity.
This answer would be correct if
The organization required an event-driven serverless architecture that mounts a network file share and accelerates static web assets for global end users.
A Virtual Machine, a Managed Data Disk, and a Network Interface (NIC) connected to a Virtual Network
A Virtual Machine, a Managed Data Disk, and a Network Interface (NIC) connected to a Virtual Network
What the solution is
An Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) deployment in Azure provides fundamental computing building blocks—specifically compute capacity, persistent block storage, and virtual networking infrastructure—that give administrators full control over the operating system and software stack.
How it meets the requirements
- Compute processing: The Azure Virtual Machine (VM) delivers the CPU and memory processing power required to host the custom application environment.
- Persistent application storage: A Managed Data Disk provides persistent virtual hard disk (VHD) storage attached to the VM, ensuring data remains intact across VM restarts and lifecycle events.
- Private network connectivity: A Network Interface (NIC) connects the virtual machine directly to a dedicated subnet within an Azure Virtual Network (VNet), enabling secure internal network communication.
Key advantages and capabilities
- Full administrative control: Provides complete OS-level access (such as Remote Desktop or SSH) to configure custom middleware and software.
- Independent lifecycle management: Disks and network interfaces can be detached, resized, or moved independently of the virtual machine instance.
- Configurable compute sizing: VM size families allow tailoring of CPU cores, memory limits, storage IOPS, and network bandwidth to application demands.
- Persistent storage reliability: Azure Managed Disks handle high availability and redundancy behind the scenes without requiring manual storage account configuration.
Why this is optimal
This combination aligns directly with the core pillars of IaaS: compute (Virtual Machine), storage (Managed Disk), and networking (NIC and Virtual Network). It gives the organization the required infrastructure foundation while maintaining standard cloud flexibility.
An Azure App Service plan, an Azure Blob Storage container, and an Azure Front Door profile
An Azure App Service plan, an Azure Blob Storage container, and an Azure Front Door profile
What the option is/does
Azure App Service, Azure Blob Storage, and Azure Front Door represent Platform as a Service (PaaS) and cloud edge delivery services. App Service provides a fully managed hosting platform for web applications without managing underlying virtual machines or operating system configurations.
Why it doesn't meet the requirement
- Not an IaaS model: This stack abstracts server infrastructure, virtual hardware sizing, and underlying OS administrative control.
- Object storage vs. block storage: Azure Blob Storage is an unstructured object storage service accessed over HTTP/HTTPS APIs, rather than a mounted persistent block data disk for standard OS file systems.
- Global edge vs. local compute connectivity: Azure Front Door is a global web traffic routing and load-balancing service, not a direct local network interface for a VM.
Key characteristics and limitations
- Managed runtime: Azure automatically manages patching, operating systems, and hardware provisioning in App Service.
- Limited OS customization: Administrators cannot install arbitrary Windows services or drivers that require root/system-level host access.
- API-driven storage: Applications must interact with Blob Storage via REST APIs or SDKs rather than traditional file system paths.
This answer would be correct if
A development team needed a managed web application hosting platform (PaaS) with global CDN/routing and cloud object storage, without managing virtual servers or operating system maintenance.
An Azure Logic Apps workflow, an Azure SQL Database instance, and an Azure API Management gateway
An Azure Logic Apps workflow, an Azure SQL Database instance, and an Azure API Management gateway
What the option is/does
Azure Logic Apps, Azure SQL Database, and Azure API Management are cloud integration and Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions designed for enterprise application orchestration, relational database services, and API lifecycle management.
Why it doesn't meet the requirement
- No IaaS compute infrastructure: Logic Apps is a serverless workflow engine that executes automated business logic rather than running an operating system.
- Managed database service: Azure SQL Database provides a managed database engine where Microsoft oversees the operating system, hardware, and database patching.
- API gateway layer: API Management acts as an HTTP proxy and policy enforcement layer, not a network adapter or host networking fabric.
Key characteristics and limitations
- Serverless orchestration: Logic Apps charges per action execution and abstracts all server infrastructure.
- No virtual machine host access: Users cannot access the underlying guest OS or virtual hardware hosting Azure SQL Database.
- Application-layer focus: These components operate at the application and integration layers rather than the infrastructure layer.
This answer would be correct if
The scenario required building a serverless integration workflow with an API proxy and managed relational database backend rather than an IaaS server deployment.
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