Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) · 27% practice allocation

Azure AZ-900: Describe cloud concepts Practice Questions

5 free sample questions from the Describe cloud concepts domain, with answers and explanations. The full AZ-900 bank has 60 questions across 3 domains. Questions are scenario-based and written from the official Azure exam guide.

1.

Which statement correctly compares IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS in terms of customer management burden, from MOST customer responsibility to LEAST?

  • A. IaaS → SaaS → PaaS
  • B. PaaS → IaaS → SaaS
  • C. IaaS → PaaS → SaaS✓ Correct
  • D. SaaS → PaaS → IaaS
Explanation

IaaS leaves the most to the customer (OS, runtime, apps, data), PaaS shifts OS and runtime management to the provider, and SaaS leaves the customer managing only data, users, and devices — the least burden. The other orderings misplace at least one model; remember the burden decreases as you move from infrastructure to platform to software.

2.

A government agency must keep certain workloads on hardware that is not shared with any other organization, but wants to burst seasonal reporting workloads to Azure. Which cloud model fits this requirement?

  • A. Public cloud only
  • B. Private cloud only
  • C. Hybrid cloud✓ Correct
  • D. Community SaaS
Explanation

A hybrid cloud combines a private environment (dedicated hardware for the sensitive workloads) with public cloud capacity (Azure) for burst or seasonal demand. Option A fails the dedicated-hardware requirement; option B fails the burst-to-Azure requirement. Option D is not one of the standard cloud deployment models tested on AZ-900.

3.

A software team wants to deploy a custom web application without managing operating systems, patching, or runtime updates — but they still control the application code and its configuration. Which service type does this describe, and which Azure service is an example?

  • A. SaaS — Microsoft 365
  • B. PaaS — Azure App Service✓ Correct
  • C. IaaS — Azure Virtual Desktop
  • D. IaaS — Azure Virtual Machines
Explanation

Platform as a service gives developers a managed platform (OS, runtime, middleware handled by Azure) while they keep control of their application and configuration — Azure App Service is the canonical example. Option D would make the team responsible for OS patching. Option A is a finished application, with no custom code deployment. Option C is a desktop virtualization offering, and the team would still manage images.

4.

A startup expects unpredictable growth and wants to avoid guessing capacity in advance. Their CFO's top concern is avoiding paying for idle servers. Which TWO cloud benefits directly address these concerns? (Select 2)

  • A. Elastic scaling that matches resources to actual demand✓ Correct
  • B. Fixed-capacity provisioning agreed at contract signing
  • C. Consumption-based billing so cost tracks actual usage✓ Correct
  • D. Multi-year hardware depreciation schedules
  • E. Manual quarterly capacity reviews
Explanation

Elasticity removes the need to guess capacity (resources grow and shrink with demand), and consumption-based billing means idle capacity isn't being paid for. Option D is an on-premises accounting concept for owned hardware. Option B reintroduces exactly the capacity-guessing problem they want to avoid. Option E is a slow, manual process the cloud's automatic scaling replaces.

5.

A development team deploys an API using Azure Functions. They write only the function code and pay per execution; they never configure or see the underlying servers. Which TWO characteristics describe this serverless approach? (Select 2)

  • A. The team must still patch the guest operating system monthly
  • B. The team must pre-provision a fixed number of VM instances
  • C. Compute resources are automatically allocated and scaled by the platform✓ Correct
  • D. Billing is based on actual executions and resource consumption rather than reserved capacity✓ Correct
  • E. The code can only run on Windows Server hosts
Explanation

Serverless computing abstracts servers away entirely: the platform allocates and scales compute automatically (C), and you pay for actual consumption such as per-execution billing (D). Option A is wrong — there is no guest OS for the customer to patch in serverless. Option B describes IaaS capacity planning, exactly what serverless removes. Option E is false; the underlying host OS is invisible and irrelevant to the customer.

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