If you are interested in pursuing a certification in Microsoft Azure after completing the AZ-900 exam, the next step depends on your career goals and technical expertise.
If you are interested in cloud administration and management, then the next logical step would be to take the AZ-104 exam, which is focused on Azure Administrator Associate certification.
On the other hand, if you are interested in developing cloud-based solutions using Microsoft Azure, then you may want to consider taking the AZ-204 exam, which is focused on Azure Developer Associate certification.
Both exams are designed to validate your knowledge and skills in different areas of Azure technology and can help you advance your career as an Azure professional. Ultimately, the choice between AZ-104 and AZ-204 will depend on your specific career aspirations and the Azure job roles you are interested in pursuing.
AZ-900 Certification Path
Since Azure-900 certification is the most fundamental certification for cloud, you can additionally upgrade to the associate-level certifications, followed by expert and specialist-level certifications.
The AssociateLlevel certifications include –
- Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator (AZ-104)
- Microsoft Certified Azure Developer (AZ-204)
- Understanding Microsoft Certified Azure AI Engineer Associate (AI-102)
- Microsoft Certified Azure Security Engineer (AZ-500)
- Microsoft Certified Azure Data Scientist (DP-100)
Post that, you can go for Expert-Level Certifications such as:
- Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect (AZ-305)
- Microsoft Certified Azure DevOps Engineer (AZ-400)
Then, you can go for the highest level of the certification pyramid – the Specialist-Level Certification.
- Microsoft Certified Azure for SAP Workloads (AZ-120)
- Microsoft Certified: Azure IoT Developer (AZ-220)
Let us look at AZ-104 and AZ-204 in detail.
Exam AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate
The Microsoft AZ-104 certification exam replaces the AZ-103 exam. The AZ-104 exam is a new route to becoming a Microsoft Azure Administrator. The exam assesses a candidate’s ability to implement, manage, and monitor identity in a cloud environment as an Azure Administrator. The certification exam is a new version that has been loaded with new and updated features. Among the most notable features are:
- The significance of identities
- Next, Concentrate on data management.
- New backup and recovery domain
- The transition from virtual machines to compute resources
Who should take the examination?
The Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) exam is designed to help candidates who want to work as an Azure Administrator. Some of the important information for candidates planning to take this exam is as follows:
- A minimum of six months of hands-on Azure administration experience is required.
- Core Azure services, Azure workloads, security, and governance are all well-understood.
- Knowledge of PowerShell, the Command Line Interface, Azure Portal, and ARM templates.
Exam Format – AZ-104
The Microsoft AZ-104 exam consists of 40-60 questions that you must answer in 120 minutes. During the exam, various types of questions are presented; such as case studies, short answers, multiple-choice, mark review, drag and drop, and so on. In order to pass the exam, the candidate must score at least 700 points. The exam fee for the AZ-104 is $165 USD. Furthermore, the exam is only available in English.
Learning Objectives – AZ-104
Microsoft, as a dominant player, is constantly providing relevant and required documentation to meet the needs of today’s diverse learners, assisting them in building a life in the world of cloud computing. As a result, potential candidates can easily locate the necessary detailed information, as well as the subtopics included in each domain. This role should also be familiar with PowerShell, Azure CLI, Azure portal, and Azure Resource Manager templates.
The Microsoft AZ-104 certification exam is divisible into five sections:
Module 1: Manage Azure identities and governance (20-25%)
1.1 Manage Microsoft Entra users and groups
- Create users and groups (Microsoft Documentation: Add or delete users using Azure Active Directory)
- Manage user and group properties
- Manage licenses in Microsoft Entra ID
- Manage external users
- Configure self-service password reset (SSPR) (Microsoft Documentation: Tutorial: Enable users to unlock their account or reset passwords using Azure Active Directory self-service password reset)
1.2 Manage access to Azure resources
- Manage built-in Azure roles
- Assign roles at different scopes
- Interpret access assignments
1.3 Manage Azure subscriptions and governance
- Implementing and managing Azure policy (Microsoft Documentation: Create and manage policies to enforce compliance)
- Configuring resource locks (Microsoft Documentation: Lock resources to prevent unexpected changes)
- Apply and manage tags on resources (Microsoft Documentation: Use tags to organize your Azure resources and management hierarchy)
- Managing resource groups (Microsoft Documentation: Move resources to a new resource group or subscription)
- Managing subscriptions (Microsoft Documentation: Organize and manage multiple Azure subscriptions)
- Manage costs by using alerts, budgets, and Azure Advisor recommendations (Microsoft Documentation: Use cost alerts to monitor usage and spending)
- Configuring management groups (Microsoft Documentation: Create management groups for resource organization and management)
Module 2: Implement and manage storage (15-20%)
2.1 Configure access to storage
- Configure Azure Storage firewalls and virtual networks
- Create and use shared access signature (SAS) tokens
- Configure stored access policies
- Manage access keys (Microsoft Documentation: Manage storage account access keys)
- Configure identity-based access for Azure Files
2.2 Configure and manage storage accounts
- Create and configure storage accounts
- Configure Azure Storage redundancy (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Storage redundancy)
- Configure object replication (Microsoft Documentation: Configure object replication for block blobs)
- Configure storage account encryption
- Manage data by using Azure Storage Explorer and AzCopy (Microsoft Documentation: Get started with AzCopy)
2.3 Configure Azure files and Azure blob storage
- Create and configure a file share in Azure Storage (Microsoft Documentation: Create an Azure file share)
- Create and configure a container in Blob Storage
- Configure storage tiers (Microsoft Documentation: Hot, Cool, and Archive access tiers for blob data)
- Configure snapshots and soft delete for Azure Files
- Configure blob lifecycle management (Microsoft Documentation: Configure a lifecycle management policy)
- Configure blob versioning
Module 3: Deploy and manage Azure compute resources (20-25%)
3.1 Automate deployment of resources by using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates or Bicep files
- Interpret an Azure Resource Manager template or a Bicep file
- Modify an existing Azure Resource Manager template
- Modify an existing Bicep file
- Deploy resources by using an Azure Resource Manager template or a Bicep file
- Export a deployment as an Azure Resource Manager template or convert an Azure Resource Manager template to a Bicep file
3.2 Create and configure Virtual Machines
- Create a Virtual Machine (Microsoft Documentation: Create a Windows virtual machine)
- Configure Azure Disk Encryption (Microsoft Documentation: Create and encrypt a Windows virtual machine with the Azure portal)
- Move a virtual machine to another resource group, subscription, or region (Microsoft Documentation: Move a Windows VM to another Azure subscription or resource group)
- Manage virtual machines sizes (Microsoft Documentation: Sizes for virtual machines in Azure)
- Add virtual machines disks
- Deploy virtual machines to availability zones and availability sets
- Deploy and configure an Azure Virtual Machines scale sets (Microsoft Documentation: Create a virtual machine scale set in the Azure portal)
3.3 Provision and manage containers in the Azure portal
- Create and manage an Azure container registry
- Provision a container by using Azure Container Instances
- Provision a container by using Azure Container Apps
- Manage sizing and scaling for containers, including Azure Container Instances and Azure Container Apps
3.4 Create and configure Azure App Service
- Provision an App Service plan
- Configure scaling for an App Service plan
- Create an App Service (Microsoft Documentation: App Service overview)
- Configure certificates and Transport Layer Security (TLS) for an App Service
- Map an existing custom DNS name to an App Service
- Configure a backup for an App Service (Microsoft Documentation: Back up and restore your app in Azure App Service)
- Configuring networking settings for an App Service (Microsoft Documentation: Configuring the Network)
- Configure deployment slots for an App Service
Module 4: Implement and manage virtual networking (15–20%)
4.1 Configure and manage virtual networks in Azure
- Create and configure virtual networks and subnets (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Virtual Network)
- Create and configure virtual network peering (Microsoft Documentation: Virtual network peering)
- Configure public IP addresses
- Configure user-defined network routes (Microsoft Documentation: Virtual network traffic routing)
- Troubleshoot network connectivity
4.2 Configure secure access to virtual networks
- Create and configure network security groups (NSGs) and application security groups (Microsoft Documentation: Network security groups)
- Evaluate effective security rules in NSGs (Microsoft Documentation: Effective security rules view in Azure Network Watcher)
- Implement Azure Bastion (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Bastion)
- Configure service endpoints for Azure platform as a service (PaaS)
- Configure private endpoints for Azure PaaS(Microsoft Documentation: private endpoint)
4.3 Configure name resolution and load balancing
- Configure Azure DNS
- Configure an internal or public load balancer (Microsoft Documentation: Create an internal load balancer)
- Troubleshoot load balancing (Microsoft Documentation: Troubleshoot Azure Load Balancer)
Module 5: Monitor and Maintain Azure resources (10-15%)
5.1 Monitor resources in Azure
- Interpret metrics in Azure Monitor (Microsoft Documentation: Metrics in Azure Monitor)
- Configure log settings in Azure Monitor (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Monitor Logs overview)
- Query and analyze logs in Azure Monitor(Microsoft Documentation: Get started with log queries in Azure Monitor)
- Set up alert rules, action groups, and alert processing rules in Azure Monitor (Microsoft Documentation: Create, view, and manage metric alerts using Azure Monitor)
- Configure and interpret monitoring of virtual machines, storage accounts, and networks by using Azure Monitor Insights (Microsoft Documentation: VM insights)
- Use Azure Network Watcher and Connection Monitor
5.2 Implement backup and recovery
- Create a Recovery Services vault (Microsoft Documentation: Create and configure a Recovery Services vault)
- Create Azure backup vault (Microsoft Documentation: Backup vaults overview)
- Create and configure backup policy
- Perform backup and restore operations by using Azure Backup (Microsoft Documentation: restore Azure VM data in Azure portal)
- Configure Azure Site Recovery for Azure resources (Microsoft Documentation: Azure to Azure disaster recovery architecture)
- Perform failover to a secondary region by using Site Recovery (Microsoft Documentation: Failover Azure VMs to a secondary region)
- Configure and interpret reports and alerts for backups (Microsoft Documentation: Configure Azure Backup reports)
Glossary AZ-104
- Azure Portal: A web-based interface for managing and monitoring Azure resources.
- Azure Resource Manager (ARM): A management layer in Azure that enables users to create, deploy, and manage resources as a group.
- Virtual Machines (VMs): A virtualized computer system that runs an operating system and applications in the cloud.
- Virtual Networks (VNETs): A network that is logically isolated from other networks in Azure.
- Azure Active Directory (Azure AD): A cloud-based identity and access management service that provides authentication and authorization for Azure resources.
- Azure Backup: A service that provides data backup and recovery for Azure resources.
- Learn Azure Site Recovery: A service that provides disaster recovery for Azure resources.
- Azure Load Balancer: A service that distributes network traffic across multiple virtual machines or services.
- Learning Azure Monitor: A service that provides real-time monitoring and alerting for Azure resources.
- Azure Security Center: A service that provides security monitoring and threat detection for Azure resources.
Study Guide
Here are some official Microsoft resources that can help you prepare for the Exam AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate:
- Exam page: The official exam page on the Microsoft website provides information on the exam structure, objectives, and skills measured: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/az-104
- Exam skills outline: The skills outline provides a detailed breakdown of the skills measured in the exam, including the percentage of questions dedicated to each skill: https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE4RK44
- Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Learn is a free, interactive learning platform that offers a range of courses and modules on Azure topics. The platform includes learning paths specifically designed to help you prepare for the AZ-104 exam: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/azure-administrator
- Azure Documentation: The official Azure documentation provides comprehensive information on Azure services, features, and best practices. It is an essential resource for learning about Azure and preparing for the exam: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/
- Azure Practice Tests: Microsoft provides official practice tests for the AZ-104 exam, which can help you assess your readiness and identify areas where you need to improve: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/azure-administrator-exam-az-104.aspx
- Azure YouTube Channel: The official Azure YouTube channel offers a variety of videos and tutorials that can help you learn about Azure and prepare for the exam: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0m-80FnNY2Qb7obvTL_2fA
Now that we have complete information about this exam, Let us now move to another exam –
Exam AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure
This Microsoft Azure AZ-204 certification exam is design to assess your ability to complete the following technical tasks: These tasks include creating Azure compute solutions, creating storage solutions for Azure, and implementing Azure security. Further, monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimizing Azure solutions, as is connecting to and consuming Azure and third-party services. Candidates should also have subject matter expertise in designing, building, testing, and maintaining cloud applications and services on Microsoft Azure.
Who should take the examination?
Candidates for this exam must have at least 1-2 years of professional development experience, as well as experience with Microsoft Azure. Furthermore, you should be able to program in an Azure-supported language and have knowledge of Azure SDKs, Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, data storage options, data connections, APIs, app authentication, and authorization, compute and container deployment, debugging, performance tuning, and monitoring.
Candidates for this exam should also have subject matter expertise in designing, building, testing, and maintaining cloud applications and services on Microsoft Azure. An Azure Developer’s Responsibilities Participating in all phases of cloud development; from requirements definition and design to development, deployment, and maintenance, Performance optimization, and monitoring are also in the syllabus.
Exam Format
The Microsoft AZ-104 exam consists of 40-60 questions you must attempt in 120 minutes. During the exam, various types of questions are present; such as case studies, short answers, multiple-choice, mark review, drag and drop, and so on. In order to pass the exam, the candidate must score at least 700 points. The exam fee for the AZ-104 is $165 USD. Furthermore, the exam is only available in English.
Learning Objectives
Candidates must be knowledgeable about Azure SDKs, data storage options, data connections, APIs, app authentication and authorization, compute and container deployment, debugging, performance tuning, and monitoring. Candidates should have 1-2 years of professional development experience as well as Microsoft Azure experience.
The exam domains are –
1. Develop Azure compute solutions (25-30%)
1.1 Implement containerized solutions
- Create and manage container images for solutions (Microsoft Documentation: Build and deploy container images)
- Publish an image to Azure Container Registry (Microsoft Documentation: Push image to Azure Container Registry)
- Run containers by using Azure Container Instance
- Create solutions by using Azure Container Apps (Microsoft Documentation: Deploy a container application to Azure Container Instances)
1.2 Implement Azure App Service Web Apps
- Create an Azure App Service Web App (Microsoft Documentation: Create an ASP.NET Core web app in Azure)
- Configure and implement diagnostics and logging (Microsoft Documentation: Enable diagnostics logging for apps in Azure App Service)
- Deploy code to a web app (Microsoft Documentation: Deploy your app to Azure App Service with a ZIP or WAR file)
- Configure web app settings including Transport Layer Security (TLS), API settings, and connection strings
- Implement autoscaling
- Configure deployment slots
1.3 Implement Azure functions
- Create and deploy Azure Functions apps
- Implement input and output bindings (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Functions triggers and bindings concepts)
- Implement function triggers by using data operations, timers, and webhooks (Microsoft Documentation: Timer trigger for Azure Functions)
2. Develop for Azure storage (15-20%)
2.1 Develop solutions that use Azure Cosmos DB storage
- Perform operations on containers and items by using the SDK
- Set the appropriate consistency level for operations (Microsoft Documentation: Choose the right consistency level)
- Manage change feed notifications Change feed in Azure Cosmos DB)
2.2 Develop solutions that use blob storage
- Set and retrieve properties and metadata (Microsoft Documentation: Setting properties and metadata during the import process)
- Perform operations on data by using the appropriate SDK (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Blob storage client library v12 for .NET)
- Implement storage policies and data lifecycle management
3. Implement Azure security (15-20%)
3.1 Implement user authentication and authorization
- Authenticate and authorize users by using the Microsoft Identity platform (Microsoft Documentation: Microsoft identity platform)
- Authenticate and authorize users and apps by using Microsoft Entra ID (Microsoft Documentation: Configure your App Service or Azure Functions)
- Create and implement shared access signatures (Microsoft Documentation: Grant limited access to Azure Storage resources using shared access signatures (SAS))
- Implement solutions that interact with Microsoft Graph
3.2 Implement secure Azure solutions
- Secure app configuration data by using the App Configuration and Azure Key Vault (Microsoft Documentation: Securely save secret application settings for a web application)
- Develop code that uses keys, secrets, and certificates stored in Azure Key Vault (Microsoft Documentation: Configure and manage secrets in Azure Key Vault)
- Implement Managed Identities for Azure resources (Microsoft Documentation: Use a Windows VM system-assigned managed identity to access Resource Manager)
4. Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure solutions (10-15%)
4.1 Implement caching for solutions
- Configure cache and expiration policies for Azure Cache for Redis configure Azure Cache for Redis)
- Implement secure and optimized application cache patterns including data sizing, connections, encryption, and expiration Caching guidance)
- Implement Azure Content Delivery Network endpoints and profiles
4.2 Troubleshoot solutions by using Application Insights
- Monitor and analyze metrics, logs, and traces Azure Monitor Metrics overview)
- Implement Application Insights Web Test and Alerts (Microsoft Documentation: Creating an Application Insights Web Test and Alert Programmatically)
5. Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services (25-25%)
5.1 Implement API Management
- Create an Azure API Management instance (Microsoft Documentation: Create a new Azure API Management service instance)
- Create and document APIs
- Configure access to APIs
- Implement policies for APIs
5.3 Develop event-based solutions
- Implement solutions that use Azure Event Grid (Microsoft Documentation: Automate resizing uploaded images using Event Grid)
- Implement solutions that use Azure Event Hub (Microsoft Documentation: Visualize data anomalies in real-time events sent to Azure Event Hubs)
5.4 Develop message-based solutions
- Implement solutions that use Azure Service Bus (Microsoft Documentation: Update inventory using PowerShell and topics/subscriptions)
- Implement solutions that use Azure Queue Storage queues (Microsoft Documentation: Work with Azure storage queues)
Glossary
Here are some key terms and concepts that may be useful to know for the Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure certification exam (AZ-204):
- Azure Functions: A serverless computing service that allows you to run code on-demand without the need to provision or manage infrastructure.
- Azure App Service: A platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering that enables you to build, deploy, and manage web and mobile apps in the cloud.
- Learn Azure Logic Apps: A cloud-based service that provides a visual workflow designer for building and automating business processes and integrations.
- Azure Event Grid: A fully managed event routing service that enables you to build event-driven architectures and trigger actions based on events.
- Azure Event Hubs: A big data streaming platform that enables you to ingest and process large volumes of data from multiple sources in real-time.
- Learn Azure Cosmos DB: A globally distributed, multi-model database service that provides low-latency, high-availability access to data.
- Azure SQL Database: A fully managed, cloud-based relational database service that provides high performance, scalability, and security.
- Azure Storage: A scalable, durable, and highly available cloud storage service that provides different types of storage options, including blob, file, queue, and table storage.
- Learn Azure DevOps: A set of development tools and services that enable you to plan, build, test, and deploy applications in the cloud.
- Azure Resource Manager (ARM): A management layer in Azure that enables you to create, deploy, and manage resources as a group.
Study Guide
Here are some official Microsoft resources that can help you prepare for the Exam AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure:
- Exam page: The official exam page on the Microsoft website provides information on the exam structure, objectives, and skills measured: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/az-204
- Exam skills outline: The skills outline provides a detailed breakdown of the skills measured in the exam, including the percentage of questions dedicated to each skill: https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE5ATvg
- Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Learn is a free, interactive learning platform that offers a range of courses and modules on Azure topics. The platform includes learning paths specifically designed to help you prepare for the AZ-204 exam: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/azure-developer
- Azure Documentation: The official Azure documentation provides comprehensive information on Azure services, features, and best practices. It is an essential resource for learning about Azure and preparing for the exam: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/
Let us now look at some resources that will help you ace the exam in one go!
Instructor-Led Training for AZ-104 & AZ-204
It is not easy to obtain Microsoft certification. It takes guts, determination, and the right training. You should be referring to instructor-led training to understand concepts. Furthermore, Instructor-led training is essentially an online training course that assists potential candidates in gaining a basic understanding of the exam skills. Aside from that, the course includes lab scenario questions that can add support and demonstrate the structure of various application scenarios. As a result, getting the best instructor-led training can be extremely beneficial.
Online Forums
Joining online forums to help with your preparation is a great way to meet new people who are on the same path as you. They give you the advantage of asking your questions right away and receiving a prompt response. The majority of online forums are moderate by industry experts or certified professionals. However, the decision to join an online forum is entirely subjective. There is no such requirement for the same.
Practice Tests
Prior to sitting for a certification exam, the candidate should always prioritize practice tests. With expert-curated Microsoft Azure AZ-204 and AZ-104 exam Questions, Microsoft AZ-204 and AZ-104 practice tests can be a validated method for confirming the exam preparation level. This allows the candidate to benefit from improved time management and quick thinking skills.
