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How to prepare for the Microsoft Azure AZ-140 exam?

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Configuring and Operating Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop

If you have decided to prepare and pass the Microsoft AZ-140: Configuring and Operating Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop exam, then get ready to explore the future of technology. The Microsoft Azure AZ-140 exam, also known as the “Configuring and Operating Windows Virtual Desktop on Microsoft Azure” exam, is designed for IT professionals who are responsible for configuring, deploying and managing Windows Virtual Desktop environments in Azure.

Where Azure Virtual Desktop is the key to obtaining remote access to your desktop and apps. To allow safe remote work, you may set up Azure Virtual Desktop (previously Windows Virtual Desktop) in minutes. Moreover, this provides your end customers with the familiarity and compatibility of Windows 11 together with a new scaled multi-session experience while saving money by repurposing current qualified Windows licenses. But, the question that arises is how to start the AZ-140 exam preparation.

For this, we will cover all the essential areas, concepts, and useful study methods that will lead you toward passing the AZ-140 exam and becoming Microsoft Certified: Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty.

What is the Microsoft AZ-140 Exam?

Microsoft AZ-140: Configuring and Operating Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop exam is designed for those who have the administrator’s skills and knowledge for planning, delivering, and managing virtual desktop experiences and remote apps, for any device, on Azure. However, the Microsoft AZ-140 exam validates your skills for executing various tasks such as:

  • Firstly, designing an Azure Virtual Desktop architecture
  • Secondly, applying an Azure Virtual Desktop infrastructure
  • Thirdly, managing access and security, user environments, and apps
  • Lastly, monitoring and maintaining an Azure Virtual Desktop infrastructure.

Further, this comes with various responsibilities which include:

  • Firstly, deploying virtual desktop experiences and apps to Azure.
  • Secondly, deploying and optimizing applications for multi-session virtual environments on Azure Virtual Desktop
  • Thirdly, for delivering these experiences, working closely with,
    • Azure administrators
    • Architects
    • Microsoft 365 administrators.

Knowledge requirement for the AZ-140 exam:

If you want to take the AZ-140 exam then, it is essential to cover all the knowledge requirements that include:

  • Firstly, Virtualization, networking, identity, storage, backups, resilience, and disaster recovery are all required skills for this exam.
  • Secondly, it is necessary to have knowledge and understanding of on-premises virtual desktop infrastructure technologies as they relate to moving to Azure Virtual Desktop. 
  • Thirdly, you must know the process of using the Azure portal and Azure Resource Manager templates for accomplishing many tasks. 
  • Fourthly, it is important to have familiarity with using PowerShell and Azure Command-Line Interface (CLI) for more efficient automation.
  • Lastly, this exam also requires expert Azure administration skills.
Microsoft AZ-140 Exam Format

The Microsoft AZ-140: Configuring and Operating Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop exam will have 40-60 questions with a minimum passing score of 700. The exam costs $165 USD* and can be taken in English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Chinese (Traditional), and Italian language. 

Moving on to the exam study area!

Step 1 – Understanding Microsoft AZ-140 Exam Objectives

This is a major element of your preparation. That is to say, every exam includes topics that are quite essential. To have a better understanding of the subject, it’s also necessary to go through each portion. The Microsoft AZ-140 exam covers a wide range of topics, each of which has its own set of sections and subsections. Let’s have a look at them.

Plan and implement an Azure Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (40-45%)

Plan, implement, and manage networking for Azure Virtual Desktop

Plan and implement storage for Azure Virtual Desktop user data

Plan host pools and session hosts

Implement host pools and session hosts

Create and manage session host images

Microsoft Azure AZ-140 exam
Plan and implement identity and security (15—20%)

Plan and implement identity integration

  • Select an identity scenario for Azure Virtual Desktop, including Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), Microsoft Entra ID, and Microsoft Entra Domain Services
  • Specify requirements to configure the Azure Virtual Desktop session host for an identity scenario
  • Plan and implement Azure roles and role-based access control (RBAC) for Azure Virtual Desktop (Microsoft documentation: Built-in Azure RBAC roles for Azure Virtual Desktop)
  • Plan and implement Conditional Access policies for connections to Azure Virtual Desktop
  • Plan and implement authentication options in Azure Virtual Desktop, including passwordless, smart card, and multifactor authentication
  • Manage roles, groups, and rights assignments on Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts (Microsoft documentation: Built-in Azure RBAC roles for Azure Virtual Desktop)
  • Configure single sign-on

Plan and implement security

  • Plan, implement, and manage security for Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts by using Microsoft Defender for Cloud (Microsoft documentation: Security best practices)
  • Configure session host protection by using Microsoft Defender Antivirus
  • Configure session host protection by using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, including onboarding and scanning options
  • Implement and manage network security for connections to Azure Virtual Desktop, including user defined routes (UDRs), network security groups (NSGs), and Azure Firewall
  • Configure Azure Bastion or just-in-time (JIT) for administrative access to session hosts
  • Plan and implement Windows threat protection features on Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts, including Windows Defender Application Control and Controlled Folder Access
  • Plan for and implement Confidential VM and Trusted Launch security features for Azure Virtual Desktop session host provisioning
Plan and implement user environments and apps (20—25%)

Plan and implement FSLogix

Plan and implement user experience and client settings

Install and configure apps on a session host

  • Choose a method for deploying an app to Azure Virtual Desktop (Microsoft documentation: Deploy Azure Virtual Desktop with the getting started feature)
  • Create and configure an application group
  • Assign users to application groups
  • Publish an application as a RemoteApp
  • Implement and manage Microsoft 365 apps on Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts (Microsoft documentation: Azure Virtual Desktop)
  • Implement and manage OneDrive, including multisession environments
  • Implement and manage Microsoft Teams, including the Remote Desktop WebRTC Redirector Service
  • Implement and manage browsers for Azure Virtual Desktop sessions
  • Configure dynamic application delivery by using app attach or MSIX app attach
  • Create an application package for app attach or MSIX app attach
Monitor and maintain an Azure Virtual Desktop infrastructure (10— 15%)

Monitor and manage Azure Virtual Desktop services

Plan and implement updates, backups, and disaster recovery

Step 2: Get Familiar with the basic terms

Here are some key terms and concepts that are relevant to the Microsoft Azure AZ-140 exam:

  • Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD): A virtual desktop infrastructure service provided by Microsoft that allows users to access Windows desktops and applications remotely from a variety of devices.
  • Azure Resource Manager (ARM): A management framework used to deploy and manage Azure resources, including virtual machines, storage accounts, and networking resources.
  • Remote Desktop Services (RDS): A role in Windows Server that allows multiple users to access desktops and applications hosted on a remote server.
  • Azure Active Directory (AAD): A cloud-based identity and access management service provided by Microsoft that allows users to authenticate and access resources across various applications and services.
  • Virtual machine (VM): A software emulation of a computer system that runs on a physical machine and can be used to run applications and operating systems.
  • Load balancing: The process of distributing network traffic across multiple servers or resources to improve availability and performance.
  • Azure Monitor: A monitoring service provided by Microsoft that allows users to monitor the performance and health of Azure resources and applications.
  • Remote Desktop client: A software application that allows users to access remote desktops and applications from a variety of devices.
  • Application Group: A collection of RemoteApp applications that can be accessed by a specific user or group of users.
  • Conditional Access: A policy-based approach to controlling access to resources based on specific conditions, such as user location, device type, or application used.

Step 3 – Exploring the Microsoft Learning Path

Microsoft provides a number of resources to help candidates prepare for the AZ-140 exam. The following are examples of this:

Microsoft has come up with some innovative methods for teaching the topic. That is, Microsoft offers a range of study paths for each exam, each of which covers exam subjects in modules. These include all crucial data as well as useful reference links for each topic. However, for the Microsoft AZ-140 exam, the learning paths include:

Using Azure Virtual Desktop to deliver remote desktops and apps

Azure Virtual Desktop is a cloud-based desktop and app virtualization solution by Microsoft. Azure Virtual Desktop is available on a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, and includes full-featured applications for accessing remote desktops and apps.

Prerequisites:

For this learning path, you must have familiarity with:

  • Firstly, server and client management concepts and tools
  • Secondly, Windows virtualization technologies, like Remote Desktop Services
Modules for this learning path
1. Overview of Azure Virtual Desktop

In this, you will learn the process of using Azure Virtual Desktop for providing remote desktop and remote app experiences in Microsoft Azure. However, the topics include:

  • What is Azure Virtual Desktop?
  • How does Azure Virtual Desktop work?
  • When to use Azure Virtual Desktop

Reference – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/m365-wvd-intro/

2. Preparing for Azure Virtual Desktop

In this module, you will learn the process of preparing for Azure Virtual Desktop. However, Azure Virtual Desktop is a cloud-based desktop and app virtualization solution by Microsoft. This can be considered as an elastically scalable service used for providing remote desktop and remote app experiences – without any need for managing the underlying server infrastructure. However, the topics in this module include:

  • Provisioning an Azure Active Directory tenant
  • Combining Azure AD with Active Directory Domain Services
  • Setting up Azure resources, assigning roles, and licenses
  • Registering Azure Virtual Desktop provider with the subscription

Reference – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/m365-prepare-for-wvd/

3. Deploying Azure Virtual Desktop

In this module, we will learn the process of:

  • Firstly, deploying Azure Virtual Desktop. 
  • Secondly, creating a connection to a remote resource with Azure Virtual Desktop.
  • Thirdly, making a desktop and apps available to users by using application groups. 
  • Fourthly, customizing the user’s workspace.
  • Lastly, installing the Azure Virtual Desktop client for Windows and connecting to the workspace.

However, this module covers the following topics:

  • Overview of Azure Virtual Desktop deployment
  • Creating and sharing a desktop with users
  • Configuring apps for users
  • Customizing the Azure Virtual Desktop workspace

Reference – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/m365-deploy-wvd/

4. Optimizing Azure Virtual Desktop

In this, we will learn the process for optimizing Azure Virtual Desktop, including steps for customizing a basic environment for taking advantage of new storage, file management, and automated scaling options. This module covers the following topics:

  • FSLogix profiles for separating user profiles from virtual machines.
  • Creating FSLogix profile for Azure Virtual Desktop users
  • Moving files from local file shares into Azure storage by using Azure File Sync
  • Automating depth and breadth scaling for Azure Virtual Desktop host pools

Reference – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/m365-optimize-wvd/

5. Securing an Azure Virtual Desktop deployment

This module will provide you with a general overview of Microsoft security technologies that can help you keep your Azure Virtual Desktop deployment’s apps and data safe. This module covers the following topics:

  • Allowing security services for an Azure Virtual Desktop deployment
  • Allowing data security
  • Securing the user identity that accesses the Azure Virtual Desktop environment
  • Securing session hosts and applications
  • Protecting network access
  • Allowing AppLocker on an Azure-hosted Windows Server 2016 VM

Reference – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/m365-wvd-security/

6. Deploying applications by using the MSIX app attach for Azure Virtual Desktop

In this module, we will learn the process of delivering applications by using the MSIX app attach. However, the MSIX app attach refers to an application delivery technology used for separating applications and their state from the operating system and allocating applications to users dynamically. This module covers the following topics:

  • What is MSIX?
  • What is the MSIX app attach?
  • Managing MSIX app attach
  • Deploying MSIX app attach

Reference – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/m365-wvd-application-management/

7. Securing your Azure Virtual Desktop deployment by using Azure Firewall

In this module, we will understand the process of deploying Azure Firewall, routing all network traffic via Azure Firewall, and configuring rules. The Azure Virtual Desktop host pool’s outgoing network traffic is routed through Azure Firewall to the service. This module covers the following topics:

  • Protecting Azure Virtual Desktop installations using Azure Firewall.
  • Setting up the host pool and registering virtual machine host
  • Planning Azure Firewall deployment
  • Deploying Azure Firewall
  • Enabling outbound network access for Azure Virtual Desktop
  • Routing network traffic through Azure Firewall

Reference – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/m365-wvd-security/

8. Disaster recovery and business continuity for Azure Virtual Desktop

Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop is a cloud solution that enables you to provide customers with a secure remote desktop that they can use from any location. You can design proper business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) plans with Azure Virtual Desktop to assist defend against both accidental and planned failures while also providing redundancy. This module covers the following topics:

  • Identifying the components to protect
  • Developing a BCDR plan for Azure Virtual Desktop
  • Identifying the correct disaster-recovery scenario

Reference – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/protect-virtual-desktop-deployment-azure-firewall/

Reference – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/business-continuity-disaster-recovery-azure-virtual-desktop/

Step 4 – Microsoft Documentation

The Microsoft documentation helps in the comprehension and familiarisation with exam topics. You’ll get the opportunity to study various methods for designing, delivering, and managing virtual desktop experiences and remote apps for any device on Azure for the Microsoft AZ-140 exam. You’ll also learn about Microsoft’s Azure Virtual Desktop, a cloud-based desktop, and app virtualization solution. Azure Virtual Desktop is a full-featured application for accessing remote desktops and apps that is accessible on a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.

Step 5 – Microsoft Instructor-led Training

Configuring and Operating Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop

This course teaches Azure administrators how to plan, implement, and manage virtual desktop and remote app experiences for any device on the Azure platform. Moreover, this will help in learning the process of deploying virtual desktop experiences and apps on Azure Virtual Desktop, as well as optimizing them for multi-session virtual environments, through a combination of demonstrations and hands-on lab experiences.

Target Audience:

If you are preparing for AZ-140: Configuring and Operating Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop exam then:

  • Firstly, you should be able to provide applications on Azure Virtual Desktop and optimize them for multi-session virtual environments.
  • Secondly, as an Azure Virtual Desktop administrator, you will closely operate with the Azure Administrators and Architects, along with Microsoft 365 Administrators. 
  • Thirdly, you will be responsible for planning, deploying, packaging, upgrading, and managing the Azure Virtual Desktop infrastructure as an Azure Virtual Desktop administrator.
  • Lastly, skills for creating session host images, implementing and managing FSLogix, monitoring Azure Virtual Desktop performance, and automating Azure Virtual Desktop management tasks are required.
Step 6 – Joining Online Study Groups

Candidates can profit from online study groups while studying for exams. To put it another way, joining study groups will allow you to stay in touch with experts and professionals who have already taken this route. This group can also be used to discuss any test-related issues or concerns you may have, as well as to prepare for the AZ-140 exam. Furthermore, these forums will help you acquire confidence by connecting and engaging with professionals who have already passed the AZ-140 test. This can help determine what steps you need to do next for passing the exam.

Step 7 – Examining yourself using Practice tests

Exam practice tests are vital for improving your exam preparation. You will discover your weak and strong points by taking Microsoft AZ-140 practice exams. You’ll also be able to increase your reaction abilities, which will help you to save a significant amount of time on the test. Taking the AZ-140 exam practice tests once you’ve completed a topic, on the other hand, is a wise strategy. This can also help in strong revision.

Quick Exam Studying Tips:

Here are some tips to help you pass the Microsoft Azure AZ-140 exam:

  • Review the exam skills outline: The exam skills outline provided by Microsoft is a great starting point for preparing for the exam. Make sure you understand the topics and skills that will be covered on the exam, and use this information to focus your study efforts.
  • Get hands-on experience: Azure Virtual Desktop is a complex platform, and hands-on experience is crucial for understanding how it works. Set up a test environment and practice deploying and managing a virtual desktop infrastructure.
  • Take advantage of online resources: There are many online resources available that can help you prepare for the exam, including online courses, tutorials, and forums. Take advantage of these resources to supplement your study efforts.
  • Manage your time wisely: The AZ-140 exam consists of 40-60 multiple-choice questions, and you will have 150 minutes to complete the exam. Make sure you manage your time wisely and pace yourself throughout the exam.
  • Read the questions carefully: Make sure you read each question carefully and understand what is being asked. Pay attention to key phrases such as “not” or “except,” as these can change the meaning of the question.
  • Eliminate wrong answers: If you are unsure of the correct answer, try to eliminate the wrong answers first. This will increase your chances of selecting the correct answer.
  • Stay calm and focused: The exam can be stressful, but it’s important to stay calm and focused throughout the exam. Take deep breaths and don’t rush through the questions.

Expert’s Corner

The details of the Microsoft AZ-140 exam, as well as the major study guide, are described above. This examination will put your knowledge, expertise, and collaboration abilities to the test. As a result, in order to increase your preparation, you must focus on all of the crucial areas. Make a study plan and understand exam patterns based on the information provided above to have step-by-step preparation. We’ve also gone through the Azure Virtual Desktop learning modules to have a clearer understanding of the service. Finally, use practice examinations and evaluations to have a strong revision.

Microsoft Azure AZ-140 exam practice tests
Pulkit Dheer
With a background in Engineering and a great enthusiasm for writing, Pulkit focuses on intensive research to create targeted content. He brings his years of learning and experience to his current role. With a zeal towards technological research and powerful use of words dedicated to inspire and help professionals onset their career.
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