The Microsoft Azure AZ-305 exam, also known as the Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Certification Transition exam, is a certification exam that is designed for candidates who have already passed one of the qualifying Azure exams, such as the AZ-300 or AZ-301, and want to transition their certification to the updated Azure Solutions Architect certification.
The AZ-305 exam assesses the candidate’s knowledge and skills in migrating and designing solutions in Azure, managing Azure resources and subscriptions, implementing and managing storage solutions, securing and managing identities, and monitoring and troubleshooting solutions in Azure.
Microsoft AZ-305 Exam Glossary
- Azure Active Directory (Azure AD): A cloud-based identity and access management service provided by Microsoft Azure.
- Azure CLI: Azure Command-Line Interface is a tool used to manage Azure resources using the command line.
- Azure DNS: A service used to manage domain name systems (DNS) and map domain names to IP addresses.
- Azure Resource Manager (ARM): A management framework used to deploy and manage Azure resources.
- Azure Virtual Network (VNet): A virtual private network (VPN) used to connect Azure resources together securely.
- Azure Virtual Machines (VMs): A service that provides virtual machines for running applications and services.
- Azure Load Balancer: A service used to distribute incoming traffic across multiple virtual machines or services.
- Azure App Service: A platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that enables developers to build, deploy, and run web and mobile apps.
- Azure Storage: A service used to store and manage data in the cloud.
- Azure Site Recovery: A disaster recovery solution that replicates virtual machines and services to a secondary location.
- Azure Security Center: A service used to monitor and protect Azure resources against potential threats.
- Azure Key Vault: A service used to store and manage cryptographic keys, secrets, and certificates.
- Azure Monitor: A service used to monitor and analyze the performance and health of Azure resources and services.
- Azure PowerShell: A tool used to manage Azure resources using PowerShell scripts.
- Azure Traffic Manager: A service used to route incoming traffic to the best-performing endpoint based on traffic-routing methods and health checks.
Microsoft AZ-305 Study Guide
- Exam page: The official Microsoft Azure AZ-305 exam page provides an overview of the exam format, objectives, and study resources.
Link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/az-305
- Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Learn provides a range of free online courses and learning paths to help candidates prepare for the AZ-305 exam. These courses cover key Azure concepts and provide hands-on practice with Azure technologies.
Link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/az-305#prepare-for-exam
- Microsoft Azure Documentation: The Microsoft Azure documentation provides a wealth of information on Azure services, features, and solutions. It can be a great resource to deepen your understanding of Azure technologies and prepare for the exam.
Link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/
- Exam Replay: Exam Replay is a special offer from Microsoft that allows candidates to purchase an exam voucher that includes one exam retake, in case they don’t pass on the first attempt. This can be a great way to reduce exam anxiety and increase your chances of passing.
Link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-replay.aspx
- Practice Exam: Microsoft offers a practice exam that simulates the actual exam environment and provides an opportunity to test your knowledge and identify areas where you need to focus your study efforts.
Link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-az-305.aspx
Microsoft AZ-305 Exam Tips and Tricks
- Understand the exam objectives: The Microsoft Azure AZ-305 exam covers a broad range of topics related to designing and implementing solutions in Azure. Study the exam objectives carefully to understand what you need to know for the exam.
- Gain hands-on experience: The best way to prepare for the AZ-305 exam is to gain hands-on experience with Azure technologies. Practice creating, managing, and deploying Azure resources and solutions to develop your practical skills.
- Use official study resources: Microsoft provides a range of official study resources, including online courses, documentation, and practice exams. Use these resources to supplement your hands-on experience and deepen your understanding of Azure technologies.
- Focus on key concepts: The AZ-305 exam covers a broad range of topics, but some concepts are more important than others. Focus your study efforts on key concepts such as Azure compute, storage, networking, security, and identity management.
- Manage your time: The AZ-305 exam consists of 40-60 multiple-choice questions that must be completed in 150 minutes. Manage your time carefully to ensure that you have enough time to answer all the questions.
- Read the questions carefully: Read each exam question carefully and make sure you understand what is being asked. Pay attention to key details and avoid making assumptions about the question.
- Practice with Azure tools: Familiarize yourself with Azure tools such as Azure Portal, Azure CLI, and Azure PowerShell. These tools can help you manage Azure resources and solutions more efficiently and effectively.
Microsoft AZ-305 Exam Course Outline
Microsoft provides a course outline that covers the important components to help you prepare for the AZ-305 exam. Find that below –
1. Design Identity, Governance, and Monitoring Solutions (25-30%)
Design a solution for logging and monitoring
- Recommend a logging solution
- Recommend a solution for routing logs (Microsoft Documentation: Gateway Routing pattern)
- Recommend a monitoring solution
Design authentication and authorization solutions
- Recommend an authentication solution
- recommending an identity management solution (Microsoft Documentation: Microsoft Identity Manager 2016 news and updates)
- Recommend a solution for authorizing access to Azure resources
- Recommend a solution to manage secrets, certificates, and keys
Design governance
- Recommend a structure for management groups, subscriptions, and resource groups, and a strategy for resource tagging
- Recommend a solution for managing compliance
- Recommend a solution for identity governance
2. Design Data Storage Solutions (20-25%)
Design a data storage solution for relational data
- Recommend a solution for storing relational data
- Recommend a database service tier and compute tier
- recommending a solution for database scalability (Microsoft Documentation: Dynamically scale database resources with minimal downtime)
- Recommend a solution for data protection
Design data storage solutions for semi-structured and unstructured data
- Recommend a solution for storing semi-structured data (Microsoft Documentation: Choose a big data storage technology in Azure)
- Recommend a solution for storing unstructured data
- Recommend a data storage solution to balance features, performance, and costs
- Recommend a data solution for protection and durability (Microsoft Documentation: Azure customer data protection)
Design data integration
- recommending a solution for data integration (Microsoft Documentation: Integrate data into Microsoft Dataverse)
- recommend a solution for data analysis (Microsoft Documentation: Advanced analytics architecture)
3. Design Business Continuity Solutions (15-20%)
Design a solution for backup and disaster recovery
- Recommend a recovery solution for Azure and hybrid workloads that meets recovery objectives
- recommend a backup and recovery solution for compute (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Backup service)
- recommending a backup and recovery solution for databases (Microsoft Documentation: Back Up and Restore of SQL Server Databases)
- recommend a backup and recovery solution for unstructured data (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Storage archive, backup, and disaster recovery partners)
Design for high availability
- recommend a high availability solution for compute (Microsoft Documentation: Build solutions for high availability using availability zones)
- recommend a high availability solution for relational data storage (Microsoft Documentation: High availability for Azure SQL Database and SQL Managed Instance)
- Recommend a high availability solution for semi-structured and unstructured data
4. Design Infrastructure Solutions (30-35%)
Design a compute solution
- Specify components of a compute solution based on workload requirements
- recommend a virtual machine-based compute solution (Microsoft Documentation: Windows virtual machines in Azure)
- recommend a container-based compute solution (Microsoft Documentation: Choose an Azure compute service for your application)
- recommending a serverless-based compute solution (Microsoft Documentation: Serverless computing)
- Recommend a compute solution for batch processing
Design an application architecture
- recommend a messaging architecture (Microsoft Documentation: Asynchronous messaging options in Azure)
- recommending an event-driven architecture (Microsoft Documentation: Event-driven architecture style)
- recommend a solution for API integration (Microsoft Documentation: API Management)
- recommend a caching solution for applications (Microsoft Documentation: Caching)
- recommend an application configuration management solution (Microsoft Documentation: Configuration Manager)
- recommending an automated deployment solution for your applications (Microsoft Documentation: Deployment considerations for DevOps)
Design migrations
- evaluate a migration solution that leverages the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure (Microsoft Documentation: Get started with the Cloud Adoption Framework)
- Evaluate on-premises servers, data, and applications for migration
- Recommend a solution for migrating workloads to infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS)
- recommending a solution for migrating databases (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Database Migration Service)
- recommend a solution for migrating unstructured data (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Storage migration overview)
Design network solutions
- recommend a connectivity solution that connects Azure resources to the internet (Microsoft Documentation: Azure networking services overview)
- recommending a connectivity solution that connects Azure resources to on-premises networks (Microsoft Documentation: Connect an on-premises network to a Microsoft Azure virtual network)
- Recommend a solution to optimize network performance
- recommend a solution to optimize network security (Microsoft Documentation: Azure best practices for network security)
- recommend a load balancing and routing solution (Microsoft Documentation: Understand Azure load balancing)
Let us now look at why you should take the exam –
Why choose the Microsoft Azure AZ-305 exam?
Every person who obtains a certification hopes to advance their career by obtaining a higher-level position or sharpening their skills. Obtaining a job with the Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, which is obtained after passing the Microsoft AZ-305 exam, is much easier and more efficient. As a result, you won’t have to struggle to find a job that matches the acquired skills and certifications listed on your resume. You can apply for jobs as a Solution Architect, Cloud Architect, Technical Architect, Azure Architect, and Data Architect after passing the Microsoft AZ-305 exam.
The Microsoft AZ-305 exam is a difficult exam, and passing it demonstrates that you are dedicated. It also implies that you are determined and committed to your work; as a result, you will benefit because every organization will regard you as capable of going the extra mile and providing the required solution and even more!
Let us now look at some resources that will help you ace the exam in one go!
Microsoft Learning Paths
Microsoft provides access to learning paths with a variety of modules to assist you in exam preparation. Visit the Microsoft website to learn everything there is to know about the Microsoft AZ-305 exam and how to prepare for it. As a result, candidates will benefit in terms of better studying subjects and passing the test. The AZ-305 learning path, on the other hand, includes:
- Planning identity, governance, and monitoring solutions
- Designing data storage solutions
- Designing business continuity solutions
- Planning infrastructure solutions build great solutions with the Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework
- Accelerating cloud adoption with the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure
Instructor-led Training
Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions
This course will teach Azure Solution Architects how to build infrastructure solutions. This course covers governance, computing, application architecture, storage, data integration, authentication, networks, business continuity, and migrations. The course, however, combines lectures and case studies to teach core architect design concepts.
Online Study Groups
Candidates may benefit from online study groups when studying for exams. Joining study groups, in other words, will keep you in touch with experts and professionals who are already on this path. This group can also be used to discuss your test-related question or concern, as well as to study for the Microsoft AZ-305 exam.
Practice Tests
Taking practice exams is essential for improving your preparation. You will discover your weak and strong points by assessing yourself with Microsoft AZ-305 practice exams. You will also be able to improve your response skills, allowing you to save time during the exam. Taking the Microsoft AZ-305 exam practice tests after finishing a subject is the best way to progress. This will also help with revision success. Go online and look for the best practice exam tests to help you prepare for the Microsoft AZ-305 exam.
