The IT world is rapidly changing, and IT professionals’ skills and knowledge cover a broad range of topics. Obtaining Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions AZ-305 certification is the best way to stay current and competitive in this ever-changing world. With the Microsoft AZ-305 certification exam, you can easily learn new in-demand skills, upgrade your knowledge, and demonstrate your modern skills to hiring managers and employers.
An Azure Solutions Architect also works with developers, administrators, and other roles involved in the deployment of Azure solutions. Among other responsibilities, this position requires consulting with stakeholders and translating business requirements into designs for secure, scalable, and dependable Azure solutions.
Let’s look at the step-by-step Strategy to pass the Microsoft Azure AZ-305 Exam!
Microsoft Azure AZ-305 Exam Certification Map
It is important to have a preparation strategy to clear any exam so that it is clear in your mind what your next step should be. Here are the steps towards obtaining AZ-305 –
Step 1- Get the exam Details
The Microsoft AZ-305 exam is made up of 40-60 questions. Scenario-based single-answer questions, multiple-choice questions, arrange in the right order type questions, drag & drop questions, and mark review, drag, and drop type questions are all included in the exam. A candidate must obtain a score of 700 or higher to pass the exam. Furthermore, the Microsoft AZ-305 exam is only offered in English and costs USD 165.
Let us now look at other important topics that will help you to get an idea about all the parameters on which the exam will test you –
Step 2- Review Exam Objectives
The various exam objectives or skills that could be tested during the AZ-305 certification exam include –
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)
Next, it is important to gather the right resources that will help you get through the exam –
Step 3- Training with an Instructor
Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions
Azure Solution Architects will learn how to build infrastructure solutions in this course. Governance, computing, application architecture, storage, data integration, authentication, networks, business continuity, and migrations are all covered in this course. The course, on the other hand, combines lectures and case studies to teach fundamental architect design concepts.
Step 4- Join Study Groups Online
When studying for exams, candidates may benefit from online study groups. In other words, joining study groups will keep you in touch with experts and professionals who are already on this path. This group can also be used to discuss any test-related questions or concerns you may have, as well as to study for the Microsoft AZ-305 exam.
Step 5- Practice with Hands-on Labs
The most effective way to prepare for any certification is to try, fail, and learn in a practice setting. Case studies may be used in AZ-305 certification labs to teach you how to solve complex problems.
Step 6- Evaluate yourself with Practice Exams
It is critical to take practice exams in order to improve your preparation. By evaluating yourself with the Microsoft AZ-305 practice exam, you will discover your weak and strong points. You’ll also be able to improve your response skills, which will allow you to save time during the exam. Taking Microsoft AZ-305 exam practice tests after completing a subject is the most effective way to advance. This will also contribute to revision success. Look for the best practice exam tests to help you prepare for the Microsoft AZ-305 exam online.
Essentials for Passing the Microsoft Azure AZ-305 Exam
Before attempting this Azure Cloud Certification, you should have a basic understanding of most Azure services. While all of the topics listed in the exam outline are important, the following are some of the topics on which you should focus your attention because you will see quite a few questions from here –
- Azure Storage services and Azure data solutions including, Azure SQL database and data processing
- Traffic Manager, App Gateway
- Migration scenarios, and identity solutions – including business continuity, high availability
- WAF, Load Balancers, and their differences and features
- Security, Azure key vault scenarios, Azure Active Directory Identity Protection
- Azure Policy, and networking
Last Words
Including this certification on your resume will help you advance in your career and increase your chances of being hired. It is far easier and more efficient to obtain a job with the Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert credential, which is earned after passing the Microsoft AZ-305 test. As a result, you won’t have to struggle to find a job that matches your honed abilities and qualifications. Microsoft, with a 19% market share and constant innovation, tends to bloom, and thus the market for Expert Azure Solution Architect will skyrocket.
