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What Methods Support Zero-Downtime Key Rotation in Azure Key Vault?
For your AZ-500 exam, learn how Azure Key Vault’s key versioning enables zero-downtime rotation. Discover how to rotate keys manually, via the REST API, or with Azure Automation without impacting application behavior.
Question
You can rotate keys in Azure Key Vault without affecting behavior of your application.
A. Manually
B. via the REST API
C. with Azure Automation
D. All of the above
Answer
D. All of the above
Explanation
The correct answer is D. All of the above. The ability to rotate keys in Azure Key Vault without affecting application behavior is a core feature enabled by its versioning system, and this rotation can be initiated through manual actions, direct API calls, or automated processes.
You can rotate keys in Key Vault manually, with the REST API, with Azure Automation, or other automation platforms.
The Key to Zero-Downtime: Key Versioning
The reason application behavior is not affected has less to do with how the key is rotated and more to do with how Key Vault and the client application are designed to work together.
- Key Versioning: When you “rotate” a key in Key Vault, you are not overwriting the old key. Instead, you are creating a new version of that key. Each key in the vault has a base identifier, and multiple versions can exist under it. The old version is retained (but can be disabled), and the new version becomes the latest, active one.
- Application Integration Best Practice: A properly configured application does not hardcode a specific key version in its configuration. Instead, it references the key’s base URI (e.g., https://myvault.vault.azure.net/keys/my-app-key). The Azure SDK or client library used by the application is responsible for automatically fetching the latest active version of the key.
Because the old key version remains available for a short period to service in-flight requests while the application fetches the new version, there is no moment when a valid key is unavailable. This design ensures a seamless transition with zero downtime.
Triggering the Rotation
All the methods listed in the options are valid ways to initiate the creation of a new key version:
A. Manually: An administrator can navigate to the key in the Azure Portal and click the “New Version” button. This is the simplest way to perform a manual rotation.
B. via the REST API: You can programmatically create a new version of a key by making a direct call to the Key Vault REST API. This is common for custom integration scenarios.
C. with Azure Automation: An Azure Automation runbook, running on a schedule, can execute a PowerShell or Python script that uses Azure cmdlets (like Add-AzKeyVaultKey) or the REST API to create a new key version. This is a common pattern for enforcing regular, automated key rotation policies.
Since all these methods simply trigger the underlying versioning mechanism in Key Vault, and a well-designed application automatically fetches the latest version, any of them can be used to rotate keys without service interruption.
Microsoft Certified Azure Security Engineer Associate AZ-500 certification exam assessment practice question and answer (Q&A) dump including multiple choice questions (MCQ) and objective type questions, with detail explanation and reference available free, helpful to pass the Microsoft Certified Azure Security Engineer Associate AZ-500 exam and earn Microsoft Certified Azure Security Engineer Associate AZ-500 certification.