Microsoft AZ-104 Online Access

Azure Monitor Agent (AMA) collects monitoring data from the guest operating system of Azure and hybrid virtual machines and delivers it to Azure Monitor for use by features, insights, and other services, such as Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Azure Monitor Agent replaces all of Azure Monitor ' s legacy monitoring agents.

When deploying Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS) using an Azure Resource Manager (ARM) template, you can automatically install and configure applications or services (like NGINX) on the virtual machines using the Azure Custom Script Extension.

According to the Microsoft Azure Administrator documentation, the Custom Script Extension is used to download and execute scripts on Azure virtual machines after deployment. It is ideal for configuration management, application installation, and post-deployment software setup.

The extension can execute PowerShell or Bash scripts stored in Azure Storage or GitHub repositories. When used with an ARM template, you define the extension in the template’s " resources " section under " type " : " Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/extensions " or " Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachineScaleSets/extensions " .

Microsoft’s official documentation notes:

“The Custom Script Extension for Windows and Linux downloads and executes scripts on Azure virtual machines. This extension is useful for post-deployment configuration, software installation, or any other configuration or management tasks.”

In this case, using Azure Custom Script Extension allows automatic installation of NGINX on all VM instances as soon as they are created in the scale set — satisfying the requirement that NGINX is available immediately after deployment.

Other options do not fit:

Application Insights is used for monitoring, not configuration.

Publish-AzVMDscConfiguration and New-AzConfigurationAssignment are used for Desired State Configuration (DSC), not lightweight application installation like NGINX.

Hence, the only verified and cost-efficient solution is Azure Custom Script Extension.

✅ ACR Tasks: ContReg1 and ContReg2 only

✅ Private endpoints: ContReg1 only

Azure Container Registry (ACR) provides multiple service tiers (SKUs)—Basic, Standard, and Premium—each offering different capabilities for scalability, performance, and features. These tiers determine what functionalities are available, including ACR Tasks and Private Link (Private Endpoints) integration.

Here’s how each tier differs according to Microsoft Azure Administrator documentation (AZ-104 Exam Study Guide and Azure Docs):

Feature

Basic

Standard

Premium

ACR Tasks (Build automation, image building, and updating)

✅ Supported

✅ Supported

✅ Supported

Private Link / Private Endpoints (Private access via Azure backbone)

❌ Not Supported

❌ Not Supported

✅ Supported

Geo-replication

❌ Not Supported

❌ Not Supported

✅ Supported

Content trust and RBAC integration

✅ Supported

✅ Supported

✅ Supported

Analysis:

ACR Tasks:

ACR Tasks allow you to automate image builds and updates when base images or application code changes.

Supported in Standard and Premium tiers (as per Microsoft Docs: “ACR Tasks are available in Standard and Premium service tiers.”).

Therefore, ContReg1 (Premium) and ContReg2 (Standard) support ACR Tasks.

ContReg3 (Basic) does not support advanced tasks automation at scale.

✅ Answer: ContReg1 and ContReg2 only

Private Endpoints:

Private Link (Private Endpoints) enables private network connectivity to the ACR from a virtual network.

According to Azure documentation:

“Private Link for Azure Container Registry is supported only in the Premium service tier.”

This ensures that access to the registry occurs via Azure’s backbone, preventing exposure to the public internet.

✅ Answer: ContReg1 only (Premium)

Verified Microsoft Documentation Extract:

From Microsoft Learn: Azure Container Registry service tiers overview:

“The Premium tier provides advanced capabilities such as geo-replication, content trust, customer-managed keys, and Private Link support.”

“ACR Tasks is available in both Standard and Premium tiers for continuous integration workflows and automated image building.”