AZ-900 Study Guide (Microsoft Azure Fundamentals) - Updated August 2024

In this AZ-900 Study Guide, I will share free and paid options, whether books, video training, or links to articles and blog posts.

Watch the AZ-900 Study Guide Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Video. 👇🏾

AZ-900 Microsoft Learning Path

Don’t miss these free, self-paced online resources to help you gain the skills needed to earn your certification. AZ-900 online learning path.

AZ-900 Instructor-led training (Microsoft Official Courses)

This two-day course will provide foundational level knowledge on core Azure concepts; core Azure services; core solutions and management tools; general security and network security; governance, privacy, and compliance features; Azure cost management, and service level agreements.

This course is suitable for IT personnel who are just beginning to work with Azure. This audience wants to learn about our offerings and get hands-on experience with the product. This course primarily uses the Azure portal to create services and does not require scripting skills. Students in this course will gain confidence to take other role-based courses and certifications, such as Azure Administrator. This course provides an Azure pass and an optional lab environment. This course combines lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on labs.

Tech Simplified University Course

Tech Simplified University Course will also help prepare you for the AZ-900 exam. $50 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals - AZ-900 Course

AZ-900 Practice Exams

Microsoft Official Practice Tests are self-study tools that prepare candidates for the Microsoft-required exams. $99.00 - $109.00 Microsoft Official Practice Test Fundamentals - Microsoft Official Practice Test

Free Microsoft sample questions

Another practice test and sample questions. Free Examtopics.com Microsoft AZ-900 Exam

Audience Profile and Exam Details

Candidates for this exam should have foundational knowledge of cloud services and how those services are provided with Microsoft Azure. The exam is intended for candidates who are just beginning to work with cloud-based solutions and services or are new to Azure.

Azure Fundamentals exam is an opportunity to prove knowledge of cloud concepts, Azure services, Azure workloads, security and privacy in Azure, as well as Azure pricing and support. Candidates should be familiar with the general technology concepts, including concepts of networking, storage, compute, application support, and application development.

Azure Fundamentals can be used to prepare for other Azure role-based or specialty certifications, but it is not a prerequisite for any of them.

Passing score

A passing score is 700. Learn more about exam scores.

What to expect on the exam

Are you new to Microsoft certification exams? You can explore the exam environment by visiting the Microsoft exam sandbox. Microsoft created the sandbox so you have an opportunity to experience an exam before you take it. In the sandbox, you can interact with different question types, such as build lists, case studies, and others that you might encounter in the user interface when you take an exam. Additionally, it includes the introductory screens, instructions, and help related to the different types of questions that your exam might include and the non-disclosure agreement that you must accept before you can launch the exam

Skills measured

For the complete list of the skills that the exam measures and the level of experience and expertise you’ll need as an exam candidate, check out the Exam AZ-900 skills outline.

Objective domains

This section itemizes the topics covered in the Exam Prep session and links to Microsoft documentation so you can review the topics in detail.

• Describe cloud concepts (25–30%)

• Describe Azure architecture and services (35–40%)

• Describe Azure management and governance (30–35%)

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 serverless

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, including the purpose of Azure Virtual Networks, Azure virtual subnets, peering, Azure DNS, Azure VPN Gateway, and 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 Microsoft Entra ID and Microsoft Entra Domain Services

• Microsoft Entra Domain Services

• 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 Microsoft Purview in Azure

• Describe the purpose of Azure Policy

• Describe the purpose of resource locks

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