The AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design exam can help you in grabbing the spotlight and most importantly, can help you in securing your dream job. So, if you’re planning to go for the AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design exam then this is the right site for you. The certifications are way more important for one’s career than a person could think!
This blog will provide you with all the details of the AZ-304 exam along with the preparatory resources that can be used for the preparation. So, stay with us till the end and collect the information that is helpful for cracking the exam. Let us get underway.
About Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ-304)
Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ-304) exam measures your ability to accomplish the following technical tasks: design monitoring; design identity and security; also, design data storage; design business continuity; and design infrastructure.
Who should take this exam?
Candidates for this exam should have subject matter expertise in designing and implementing solutions that run on Microsoft Azure, including aspects like compute, network, storage, and security.
Azure Solution Architects have important roles, such as advising stakeholders and turning business needs into secure, scalable, and dependable cloud solutions. They collaborate with cloud administrators, cloud DBAs, and clients to bring these solutions to life.
Skills Required
For this exam, candidates need extensive expertise in IT operations covering areas like networking, virtualization, identity, security, and more. The role requires managing the impact of decisions across various domains for an overall solution. Additionally, advanced skills in Azure administration, along with experience in Azure development and DevOps processes, are essential for this role.
Exam Format
The exam format for AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design is summarized in a table below followed by a brief description of the same –
- The exam is named Microsoft Azure Architect Design, with the code AZ-304. It includes 40-60 questions of various types like case studies, short answers, multiple-choice, mark review, and drag-and-drop.
- You can take the exam in English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), or Korean, and the cost is USD $165, taxes included.
- You have 150 minutes to complete the exam, and managing your time well is key. To pass, you need a minimum score of 700 out of 1000.
- This certification is the part of the requirements for: Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals
| 1. Exam Name Microsoft Azure Architect Design | 2. Exam Code AZ-304 |
| 3. Exam Duration 150 mins | 4. Exam Format Multiple Choice and Multi-Response Questions |
| 5. Exam Type Cloud Computing | 6. Number of Questions 40-60 Questions |
| 7. Eligibility/Pre-Requisite NIL | 8. Exam Fee $165 USD |
| 9. Exam Language English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean | 10. Pass Score 700 (on a scale of 1-1000) |
There are some policies that in addition to the exam format for AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design that can help you understand the exam in a better way. Let us know about those policies and following them the content outline of the exam in a detailed manner in subsequent paragraphs.
How to register for the exam AZ-304?
Follow the steps written below to register for the exam:
- Firstly, Go to the Microsoft site and find your certificate in the list. Then select schedule exam, to register.
- After checking if the certificate is available in your country, you can choose the exam during the registration process.
- Finally, You will also select the language of the greeter, proctor, and proctoring software.
Academic pricing on the certifications by Microsoft
Academic pricing on Microsoft Certified Professional exams is available in most countries (except India and China). However, You must verify your student status before scheduling your exam in order to be eligible for academic pricing.
Applying student status through your account profile –
- Firstly, Sign in with your Microsoft account credentials.
- Secondly, Select Profile settings from the Account menu at the top of the page.
- Subsequently, In the Job function menu, select, or ensure that you have selected, “Student.”
- Finally, find the academic pricing notice beside the Job function menu. If your student status isn’t validated yet, click “Get verified” to confirm your status.
Now, Applying student status when registering for an exam –
- Firstly, Sign in with your Microsoft account credentials.
- Then, On the exam for which you want to register, click Schedule exam.
- Lastly, on the page confirming your exam registration details, check that the Job function field shows “Student – Verified.” If not, click “Get verified” to confirm your status, or click Edit to make changes.
Verifying your academic status
You can select the methods out of the listed which you wish to use to verify your status. The methods include:
- Firstly, School-issued email account
- Secondly, School network credentials
- Subsequently, International Student Identity Card (ISIC)
- Furthermore, Verification code from a Microsoft representative or your institution’s administrator
- Also, Other Documentation
Exam AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design retake policy
- If you don’t pass the exam on the first try, you need to wait at least 24 hours before attempting it again. However, if you pass, retaking is not allowed.
- Moreover, failing the second time means a minimum wait of 14 days before a retake. This waiting period is consistent for subsequent attempts, up to the fifth.
- Finally, there’s a limit of five attempts per year, starting from your fifth attempt’s failure within a 12-month period. If you aim for more than five attempts, you’ll need to contact Microsoft for further guidance.
At last, Let us go through the exam content outline and know a little about the preparation resources that can help you to sort from where to begin the preparations from.
AZ-304 Content Outline
The content of this exam was updated on January 27, 2021.
Design Monitoring (10-15%)
Design for cost optimization
- recommend a solution for cost management and cost reporting
- recommend solutions to minimize costs Design a solution for logging and monitoring
- determine levels and storage locations for logs
- plan for integration with monitoring tools including Azure Monitor and Azure Sentinel
- recommend appropriate monitoring tool(s) for a solution
- choose a mechanism for event routing and escalation
- recommend a logging solution for compliance requirements
Design Identity and Security (25-30%)
Design authentication
- recommend a solution for single-sign on
- in addition, recommend a solution for authentication
- also, recommend a solution for Conditional Access, including multi-factor authentication
- recommend a solution for network access authentication
- furthermore, recommend a solution for a hybrid identity including Azure AD Connect and Azure AD Connect Health
- recommend a solution for user self-service
- also, recommend and implement a solution for B2B integration
- NOT: federation with ADFS or PingFederate
Design authorization
- choose an authorization approach
- recommend a hierarchical structure that includes management groups, subscriptions and resource groups
- recommend an access management solution including RBAC policies, access reviews, role assignments, physical access, Privileged Identity Management (PIM), Azure AD Identity Protection, Just In Time (JIT) access
Design governance
- recommend a strategy for tagging
- also, recommend a solution for using Azure Policy
- recommend a solution for using Azure Blueprint
- in addition, recommend a solution that leverages Azure Resource Graph
Design security for applications
- recommend a solution that includes KeyVault
- in addition, recommend a solution that includes Azure AD Managed Identities
- recommend a solution for integrating applications into Azure AD
Design Data Storage (15-20%)
Design a solution for databases
- select an appropriate data platform based on requirements
- recommend database service tier sizing
- furthermore, recommend a solution for database scalability
- recommend a solution for encrypting data at rest, data in transmission, and data in use
Design data integration
- recommend a data flow to meet business requirements
- recommend a solution for data integration, including Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Bricks, Azure Data Lake, Azure Synapse Analytics
Select an appropriate storage account
- choose between storage tiers
- recommend a storage access solution
- recommend storage management tools
Design Business Continuity (10-15%)
Design a solution for backup and recovery
- recommend a recovery solution for Azure hybrid and on-premises workloads that meets recovery objectives (RTO, RLO, RPO)
- design and Azure Site Recovery solution
- recommend a solution for recovery in different regions
- also, recommend a solution for geo-redundancy of workloads
- recommend a solution for Azure Backup management
- design a solution for data archiving and retention
Design for high availability
- recommend a solution for application and workload redundancy, including compute, database, and storage
- recommend a solution for autoscaling
- identify resources that require high availability
- identify storage types for high availability
Design Infrastructure (25-30%)
Design a compute solution
- recommend a solution for compute provisioning
- determine appropriate compute technologies, including virtual machines, App Services, Service Fabric, Azure Functions, Windows Virtual Desktop, Batch, HPC and containers
- recommend a solution for containers
- recommend a solution for automating compute management
Design a network solution
- firstly, recommend a network architecture (hub and spoke, Virtual WAN)
- recommend a solution for network addressing and name resolution
- also, recommend a solution for network provisioning
- furthermore, recommend a solution for network security including private Link, firewalls, gateways,
- network segmentation (perimeter networks/DMZs/NVAs)
- recommend a solution for network connectivity to the Internet, on-premises networks, and other Azure virtual networks
- also, recommend a solution for automating network management
- also, recommend a solution for load balancing and traffic routing
Design an application architecture
- recommend a microservices architecture including Event Grid, Event Hubs, Service Bus, Storage Queues, Logic Apps, Azure Functions, Service Fabric, AKS, Azure App
Configuration and webhooks
- recommend an orchestration solution for deployment and maintenance of applications including ARM templates, Azure Automation, Azure Pipelines, Logic Apps, or Azure Functions
- recommend a solution for API integration
Design migrations
- Firstly, assess and interpret on-premises servers, data, and applications for migration
- secondly, recommend a solution for migrating applications and VMs
- thirdly, recommend a solution for migration of databases
- also, determine migration scope, including redundant, related, trivial, and outdated data
- subsequently, recommend a solution for migrating data (Storage Migration Service, Azure Data Box, Azure File Sync-based migration to hybrid file server)
To have more detailed information about the course outline, visit the online tutorials for AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design by Testpreptraining.com!
Microsoft Azure Architect Design AZ-304 Study Guide
There are numerous resources apart from knowing exam format for AZ-204. Furthermore, You can use these resources to prepare – books, online communities, online trainings, instructor-led trainings, preparation guides and sample papers as well as practice tests. Also, You can try a free practice test now too! You can even find the online tutorials by Testpreptraining.com! You can find the official free resources from the Microsoft through the links listed below –
- Firstly, Architect network infrastructure in Azure
- Subsequently, Architect storage infrastructure in Azure
- Furthermore, Architect compute infrastructure in Azure
- Also, Architect infrastructure operations in Azure
- Lastly, Architect a data platform in Azure
