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Updated: 22/05/2020 (v4.0)
My experience with Azure parallels my experience of driving. Today, I am one of those people who absolutely loves it; out on the road every single day and now I can’t quite understand how I managed to get by without a set of wheels. But there was a time – and it was a long time – and during that time I had a lot of preconceptions that it wasn’t for me; so much so I thought I was simply a person who was suited and destined to public transport. So explaining all this to my wife she told me to get over myself and get on with it – and that’s exactly what I had needed all along. This was the case with Azure too – as someone who had spent many years in what is now called Modern Workplace and SaaS, I had to deconstruct all those preconceptions that Azure – and I mean here the aspects beyond what is used with Microsoft 365 (Azure AD, Intune etc) – weren’t for me. In the end all that had stopped me embracing Azure was force of habit
But it’s never too late!
Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900), like it’s equivalent Microsoft 365 Fundamentals (MS-900), is an optional exam. Now, whatever side of the fence you sit on in respect to whether it is worth it for more experienced technicians, there is value here. Having personally taught the MOC (AZ-900T01A) over a dozen times, the general consensus from technicians has been that it’s beneficial to have a broad baseline understanding of the concepts, services and solutions which underpin Azure; then move on to depth. AZ-900, a breadth exam, very much sets up shop for AZ-103 and if you can’t make an AZ-900T01A course all the material is easily sourced between Microsoft Learn and Docs.com. All the links here will aim at these resources. Having been out now for a year, there is also a ton of paid resources around the course including the Official Practice Test, the Official book, EDX and Udemy courses – these are all good for self learning or supplementing learning after a MOC course
Whether you are a technician starting out, or a more experienced technician looking to realign, or a technical seller or business owner looking to understand more about Microsoft’s cloud computing platform and experience new opportunities – AZ-900 is good for one and all. By the time you get your certificate you’ll be thinking where you can go, what you can do and how did you ever get by without Azure in your life
But enough with all the driving analogies. As my wife said – just go do it!
Best of luck – but I very much doubt you will need it
Link to Exam: Here
Released: 31st December 2018
Official Practice Test: Here
MOC Course: AZ-900T01A (1 Day) AZ-900TO0A (2 Day)
Microsoft Learn: Here
Official Book: Here
Open EDX: Here
Udemy: Here
Important Note: this exam prep guide should be used to supplement your own resources and should not be used for the whole of your learning. Some of the resources may be not completely cover the requirements especially if the requirement is vague. If you find better articles than the ones below, please feel free to reach out and I’ll amend
Status: I passed this exam on 03/01/2019 shortly after its release. I had 50 questions in this particular paper. Questions covered all areas pretty equally but I would recommend getting to know the paid support models and the differences between them
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Describe Cloud Concepts (15 – 20%)
Describe the benefits and considerations of using Cloud Services
Describe terms such as High Availability, Scalability, Elasticity, Agility, Fault Tolerance and Disaster Recovery
Describe the Principle of Economies of Scale
Describe the differences between Capital and Operational Expenditure
Describe the consumption based model
Describe the differences between Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
Describe Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
Describe Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)
Describe Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
Compare and contrast the three different service types
Describe the differences between Public, Private and Hybrid cloud models
Describe Public cloud
Describe Private cloud
Describe Hybrid cloud
Compare and contrast the three different cloud models
Describe Core Azure Services (30 – 35%)
Describe the core Azure architectural components
Describe Regions
Describe Availability Zones
Describe Resource Groups
Describe Azure Resource Manager
Describe the benefits and usage of core Azure architectural components
- See previous sections and common themes (flexibility, scalability, resiliency, etc.)
Describe some of the core products available in Azure
Describe products available for Compute such as Virtual Machines, Virtual Machine Scale Sets, App Service, , Azure Container Instances (ACI) and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
- Essential Azure Compute Concepts
- Explore Azure Virtual Machines
- What are Virtual Machine Scale Sets?
- Explore Containers in Azure
- What is Azure Container Instances?
- Azure Kubernetes Service
- Explore Azure App Service
- Explore Serverless Computing in Azure
- An Introduction to Azure Functions
Describe products available for Networking such as Virtual Network, Load Balancer, VPN Gateway, Application Gateway and Content Delivery Network
- What is an Azure Virtual Network?
- Deploy your Site to Azure
- Explore Azure Virtual Networking
- Scale with Azure Load Balancer
- Reduce latency with Azure Traffic Manager
- Azure VPN Gateway
- Explore Azure VPN Gateway
- What is Azure Application Gateway?
- Application Gateway and encryption
- What is a Content Delivery Network?
- CDN Introduction
- Create an Azure CDN
Describe products available for Storage such as Blob Storage, Disk Storage, File Storage, and Archive Storage
- Benefits of using Azure to Store Data
- How Azure Storage can meet your Azure Data Needs
- Comparison between Azure Storage and On Premises Storage
Describe products available for Databases such as CosmosDB, Azure SQL Database, Azure Database for MySQL, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Azure Database Migration service
- Benefits of using Azure to Store Data
- How Azure Storage can meet your Azure Data Needs
- Welcome to Azure Cosmos DB
- What is Azure Database for MySQL?
- What is Azure Database for PostgreSQL?
- What is Azure Database Migration Service?
Describe the Azure Marketplace and its usage scenarios
Describe some of the solutions available on Azure
Describe Internet of Things (IoT) and products that are available for IoT on Azure such as IoT Hub and IoT Central
- Why Azure for IoT?
- Innovate with Azure IoT Solutions
- Azure IoT Services
- What is Azure IoT Central?
- What is Azure IoT Hub?
Describe Big Data and Analytics and products that are available for Big Data and Analytics such as Azure Synapse Analytics, HDInsight and Azure Databricks
- Understand Azure SQL Warehouse
- What is Azure Synapse Analytics?
- What is Azure HDInsight?
- What is Azure Data Lake Analytics?
- What is Azure Databricks?
Describe Artificial Intelligence (AI) and products that are available for AI such as Azure Machine Learning Service and Studio
- Introduction to Azure Artificial Intelligence
- Machine Learning
- AI Impact and Ethics
- What is Azure Machine Learning Service?
- What is Azure Machine Learning Studio?
- Azure Machine Learning vs Studio
Describe Serverless computing and Azure products that are available for serverless computing such as Azure Functions, Logic Apps and Event grid
- Explore Serverless Computing in Azure
- An Introduction to Azure Functions
- What is Azure Logic Apps?
- What is Azure Event Grid?
Describe DevOps solutions available on Azure such as Azure DevOps and Azure DevTest Labs
- What is Azure DevOps?
- What features and services do I get with Azure DevOps?
- An Introduction to Azure Lab Services
- About DevTest Labs
Describe the benefits and outcomes of using Azure solutions
- Individual Pages Above ^
Describe Azure management tools
Describe Azure tools such as Azure Portal, PowerShell, Azure CLI and Cloud Shell and Azure Mobile
- Azure Management Options
- Azure Portal overview
- Get started with Azure Powershell
- Get started with Azure CLI
- Overview of Azure Cloud Shell
- Azure Mobile App
Describe Azure Advisor
Describe Security, Compliance, Privacy and Trust (25 – 30%)
Describe securing network connectivity in Azure
Describe Network Security Group (NSG)
Describe Application Security Group (ASG)
Describe User Defined Routes (UDR)
Describe Azure Firewall
Describe Azure DDoS Protection
Choose an appropriate Azure security solution
- Cloud Security is a Shared Responsibility
- Get Tips from the Azure Security Centre
- Introduction to Azure Advisor
Describe core Azure Identity services
Describe the difference between authentication and authorization
Describe Azure Active Directory
Describe Azure Multi-Factor Authentication
Describe security tools and features of Azure
Describe Azure Security Centre
Describe Azure Security centre usage scenarios
Describe Key Vault
Describe Azure Information Protection (AIP)
Describe Azure Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
Describe Azure governance methodologies
Describe policies and initiatives with Azure Policy
- Overview of Azure Policy
- Use policies to enforce standards
- Define IT Compliance with Azure Policy
- Organise Policy with Initiatives
- Overview of Azure Policy
Describe Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Describe Locks
Describe Azure Advisor security assistance
Describe Azure Blueprints
Describe monitoring and reporting options in Azure
Describe Azure Monitor
Describe Azure Service Health
Describe the use cases and benefits of Azure Monitor and Azure Service Health
Describe privacy, compliance and data protection standards in Azure
Describe industry compliance terms such as GDPR, ISO and NIST
Describe the Microsoft Privacy Statement
Describe the Trust centre
Describe the Service Trust Portal
- Explore your Service Compliance
- Microsoft Service Trust Portal
- Get Started with the Service Trust Portal
Describe Compliance Manager
Determine if Azure is compliant for a business need
Describe Azure Government Cloud services
Describe Azure China cloud services
Describe Azure Pricing and Support (20 – 25%)
Describe Azure subscriptions
Describe an Azure Subscription
Describe the uses and options with Azure subscriptions such access control and offer types
- Azure Accounts and Subscriptions
- Understanding Azure Billing
- Scale with multiple Azure Subscriptions
- Enterprise Governance Management (Management Groups)
- Organise your resources with Management Groups
Describe subscription management using Management groups
Describe planning and management of costs
Describe options for purchasing Azure products and services
Describe options around Azure Free account
Describe the factors affecting costs such as resource types, services, locations, ingress and egress traffic
Describe Zones for billing purposes
Describe the Pricing calculator
Describe the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) calculator
Describe best practices for minimizing Azure costs such as performing cost analysis, creating spending limits and quotas, using tags to identify cost owners, using Azure reservations and using Azure Advisor recommendations
- Tags
- Enterprise Governance Management (Management Groups)
- Save on Infrastructure Costs
- Save on Licencing Costs
- Azure Advisor
- Introduction to Azure Advisor
- Predict and Optimise with Azure Cost Management
- Azure Monitor Overview
Describe Azure Cost Management
Describe Azure Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Describe a Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Describe Composite SLA’s
Describe how to determine an appropriate SLA for an application
Describe service lifecycle in Azure
Describe Public and Private Preview features
Describe the term General Availability (GA)
Understand how to monitor feature updates and product changes
Understand support plans that are available such as Dev, Standard, Professional Direct and Premier
Understand how to open a support ticket
Understand available support channels outside of support plan channels
Describe the Knowledge Centre
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