AZ-900 is a certification exam designed to test the candidate's knowledge and understanding of cloud computing concepts, services, and solutions offered by Microsoft Azure. It is intended for individuals who want to demonstrate their foundational understanding of cloud services and how those services are provided with Microsoft Azure. The exam covers topics such as cloud concepts, security, privacy, compliance, and trust, as well as Azure services such as virtual machines, storage solutions, and networking. The certification is intended for individuals who want to demonstrate their understanding of the Azure platform and its services, but who do not have a technical background.
The passing score for the AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals exam is 700 on a scale of 100-1000.
Prerequisites of AZ-900
The Microsoft AZ-900 exam is an entry-level certification exam that measures the fundamentals of cloud computing and the knowledge required to work with Microsoft Azure services. There are no prerequisites for the AZ-900 exam. However, it is recommended that individuals who plan to take the exam have a basic understanding of cloud computing concepts, as well as an understanding of the benefits and risks associated with cloud computing. Additionally, having some experience with Azure services and a general understanding of IT services (such as networking, virtualization, and identity) may be helpful, but is not required.
Skills measured
The Microsoft AZ-900 exam measures your fundamental knowledge of cloud services and how those services are provided with Microsoft Azure. The skills measured by the AZ-900 exam include the following topics:
- Understanding of cloud computing and its benefits
- Knowledge of Azure services and its architecture
- Understanding of security, privacy, compliance and trust in Azure
- Understanding of Azure pricing and support models
- Understanding of core Azure services, including computing, storage, network and database services
- Understanding of Azure management tools, including the Azure portal, Azure CLI, and Azure PowerShell
- Understanding of Azure solutions, including IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and the Azure Marketplace.
The aim of the AZ-900 exam is to assess your basic understanding of cloud computing and the capabilities of Microsoft Azure.
Functional groups
Describe cloud concepts
(25—30%)
Describe cloud computing
- Define cloud computing
- Describe the shared responsibility model
- Define cloud models, including public, private, and hybrid
- Identify appropriate use cases for each cloud model
- Describe the consumption-based model
- Compare cloud pricing models
Describe the benefits
of using cloud services
- Describe the benefits of high availability and scalability in the cloud
- Describe the benefits of reliability and predictability in the cloud
- Describe the benefits of security and governance in the cloud
- Describe the benefits of manageability in the cloud
Describe cloud service
types
- Describe infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
- Describe platform as a service (PaaS)
- Describe software as a service (SaaS)
- Identify appropriate use cases for each cloud service (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS)
Describe Azure architecture and services (35—40%)
Describe the core architectural components of Azure
- Describe Azure regional, regional pairs, and sovereign regions
- Describe availability zones
- Describe Azure datacenters
- Describe Azure resources and resource groups
- Describe subscriptions
- Describe management groups
- Describe the hierarchy of resource groups, subscriptions, and management groups
Describe Azure compute
and networking services
- Compare compute types, including container instances, virtual machines (VMs), and functions
- Describe VM options, including Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets, availability sets, and Azure Virtual Desktop
- Describe resources required for virtual machines
- Describe application hosting options, including the Web Apps feature of Azure App Service, containers, and virtual machines
- Describe virtual networking, Azure Virtual Networks, Azure virtual subnets, peering, Azure DNS, Azure VPN Gateway,Azure ExpressRoute
- Define public and private endpoints
Describe Azure storage
services
- Compare Azure storage services
- Describe storage tiers
- Describe redundancy options
- Describe storage account options and storage types
- Identify options for moving files, including AzCopy, Azure Storage Explorer, and Azure File Sync
- Describe migration options, including Azure Migrate and Azure Data Box
Describe Azure identity, access, and security
- Describe directory services in Azure, including Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) and Azure Active Directory Domain Services (Azure AD DS)
- Describe authentication methods in Azure, including single sign-on (SSO), multifactor authentication, and passwordless
- Describe external identities and guest access in Azure
- Describe Azure AD Conditional Access
- Describe Azure role-based access control (RBAC)
- Describe the concept of Zero Trust
- Describe the purpose of the defense in depth model
- Describe the purpose of Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Describe Azure management and governance
(30—35%)
Describe cost management in Azure
- Describe factors that can affect costs in Azure
- Compare the Pricing calculator and the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) calculator
- Describe the Azure Cost Management and Billing tool
- Describe the purpose of tags
Describe features and tools in Azure for governance and compliance
- Describe the purpose of Azure Blueprints
- Describe the purpose of Azure Policy
- Describe the purpose of resource locks
- Describe the purpose of the Service Trust Portal
Describe features and tools for managing
and deploying Azure resources
- Describe the Azure portal
- Describe Azure Cloud Shell, including Azure CLI and Azure PowerShell
- Describe the purpose of Azure Arc
- Describe Azure Resource Manager and Azure Resource Manager templates (ARM templates)
Describe monitoring tools in Azure
- Describe the purpose of Azure Advisor
- Describe Azure Service Health
- Describe Azure Monitor, including Log Analytics, Azure Monitor alerts, and Application Insights
Reference - Microsoft Learning path / Medium stories
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