AZ-305 Question 46
Single answerA multinational organization has multiple divisions, each requiring separate cost visibility, compliance controls, and operational oversight in Azure. They also want distinct resource isolation for production, development, and test environments. Finally, they aim to implement a consistent tagging strategy to track ownership, cost centers, and environments across all resources. Which approach should you recommend to meet these requirements?
- A
Create a single management group at the root of the organization, place all resources in one subscription, and apply environment tags only at the resource group level.
- B
Create a root management group for the entire organization, then establish child management groups for each division. Within each division, create separate subscriptions for production, development, and test. Organize resources in resource groups per workload or application, and implement a tagging policy with standardized tags (e.g., cost center, owner, environment).
- C
Create a single subscription for each environment (production, development, and test) across all divisions, nest resource groups by team, and rely on Azure Policy to assign tags to all resources without structuring management groups.
- D
Create separate subscriptions only for production and development across all divisions. Combine all test resources in a shared subscription and assign tags for cost center at the subscription level, omitting environment tags.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Following Microsoft best practices, creating a clear hierarchy of management groups helps apply governance and compliance requirements at different organizational levels. Assigning separate subscriptions for each environment (production, development, and test) provides isolation and clarity in billing. Within those subscriptions, grouping resources by application or workload in resource groups is a recommended approach. Finally, using a well-defined tagging strategy (e.g., cost center, owner, environment) ensures consistent reporting and management of resources. Refer to the Microsoft Learn documentation on 'Organize your resources with Azure management groups, subscriptions, and resource groups' and 'Use tagging to organize your Azure resources' for further guidance.
- A. Incorrect.
Incorrect. While a single management group can simplify governance at a large scale, placing all resources in one subscription does not meet cost accountability or isolation requirements for different divisions. It also fails to provide robust separation between dev/test and production. Environment tags alone at the resource group level do not adequately enforce compliance or structured cost tracking across all resources.
- B. Correct.
Correct. This option aligns with best practices by organizing the hierarchy at scale: using a root management group and child management groups by division for tailored access, policies, and compliance. Separate subscriptions by environment (production, development, test) ensure clear boundaries and cost tracking. Resource groups grouped by application or workload and standardized tags like environment, cost center, and owner provide structured oversight and consistent governance.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Although creating a subscription per environment may help isolate dev/test from production, it does not address the unique compliance and budgeting needs of each division. Further, omitting dedicated child management groups for each division makes it harder to apply division-specific access, governance, and compliance policies. Relying solely on Azure Policy for tagging without proper hierarchical structure can become unwieldy.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. While splitting production and development into their own subscriptions allows some isolation, grouping all test resources in a single subscription across divisions can create entangled cost management and compliance overhead. Not using environment tags for resources can make it difficult to track resource ownership or environment-specific usage accurately.