Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ-304) Practice Test

What is the recommended Azure solution to ensure that virtual machines can only be created using specific Azure Resource Manager templates?

1. Azure Policies

2. Azure Blueprint

3. Resource Locks

4. DevTest Labs

The correct answer is: Azure Policies

Using Azure Policies is the recommended solution for ensuring that virtual machines can only be created using specific Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates. Azure Policy allows organizations to define rules and effects to enforce rules on your resources, ensuring compliance and governance. By implementing Azure Policy, you can create policies that target resource creation and enforce specific configurations or templates. For instance, you can restrict which ARM templates can be used for deploying new virtual machines, ensuring that only approved configurations are utilized. This helps maintain consistency and compliance within your Azure environment. On the other hand, Azure Blueprints is primarily focused on packaging and deploying artifacts in a repeatable way, which includes policies, role assignments, and ARM templates together but doesn’t solely enforce the use of specific templates for VM creation. Resource Locks are designed to prevent accidental deletion or modification of resources, and DevTest Labs offers environments for testing but does not provide direct control over the deployment of resources through ARM templates. Thus, Azure Policies is specifically tailored for enforcement and compliance, making it the most suitable choice for this scenario.