All virtual machines are connected to a single virtual network and you must expose the hosted applications to the internet while ensuring the VMs share one public IP address. Which Azure resource should you use?

A public load balancer is the correct choice because it distributes incoming internet traffic to multiple virtual machines (VMs) and can be configured with a single public IP address. This allows all VMs to share that public IP for outbound connections as well, fulfilling the requirement to expose applications to the internet with one public IP. An internal load balancer only distributes traffic within a virtual network and doesn't provide internet exposure. Azure Application Gateway is a Layer 7 load balancer with advanced routing and WAF capabilities, which is more than what's strictly required for basic public IP sharing. A NAT gateway provides outbound internet connectivity for VMs within a subnet but doesn't distribute inbound traffic to multiple VMs or expose applications directly.