AZ-305 Question 160
Single answerYou are designing a new IoT data-processing solution where sensor data must be transformed in near real-time, stored securely, and made available for downstream analytics. The team wants to minimize infrastructure management, scale dynamically based on traffic, and pay only for the compute resources used. Which of the following services is best suited for creating a serverless data-processing pipeline?
- A
Deploy an Azure Function in the Consumption plan to handle event-driven data transformations.
- B
Set up Azure Virtual Machines with an auto-scale set to dynamically manage compute capacity.
- C
Configure an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster for containerized, highly available data processing.
- D
Build a traditional Azure App Service web app with manual scaling rules.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
A true serverless approach requires minimal infrastructure management, automatic scaling, and pay-per-execution billing. Azure Functions Consumption plan meets these requirements, making it suitable for rapidly transforming and processing large volumes of incoming IoT data in near real-time. Refer to the Azure Functions documentation for best practices and detailed implementation guidance: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-functions/
- A. Correct.
Option 1 is correct. Azure Functions in the Consumption plan allows you to run event-driven code without managing infrastructure, and you only pay for the execution time. It can automatically scale based on incoming events, making it an ideal serverless choice for near real-time data transformation scenarios. (Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-functions/functions-overview)
- B. Incorrect.
Option 2 is incorrect. While Azure Virtual Machines with an auto-scale set can adjust to some extent, you are still responsible for managing and patching the virtual machines, and you pay for the VM even when idle. This does not fit a fully serverless architecture.
- C. Incorrect.
Option 3 is incorrect. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is a managed Kubernetes environment, which still requires cluster management and can be more complex to set up and maintain. It is not considered a fully serverless service like Azure Functions or Logic Apps.
- D. Incorrect.
Option 4 is incorrect. Azure App Service supports auto-scaling, but in a traditional web app scenario you pay for the underlying App Service plan continuously, whether it is used or not. This contrasts with serverless billing models where you are charged only for the actual compute executed.