Microsoft Azure Certification Guides

This section covers current Microsoft Azure certification guide roots for fundamentals, administration, development, and architecture. The pages focus on the operational and design choices Microsoft exams repeatedly test: scope selection, identity boundaries, private connectivity, governance controls, continuity planning, and service-fit trade-offs.

Published exam roots currently include AZ-900, AZ-104, AZ-204, and AZ-305. Start with the exam aligned to your target role, then use the cheat sheet for last-mile recall, the FAQ for format and recurring weak spots, and the resources page for Microsoft Learn and the current official exam materials.

In this section

• Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)
  Free exam-focused coverage of cloud concepts, Azure services, pricing, governance, and review strategy for Microsoft Azure Fundamentals.
  • AZ-900 Cheatsheet — Azure Fundamentals High-Yield Tables & Quick Rules
    Last-mile AZ-900 review: cloud models, Azure global infrastructure, core services, identity/security/governance, pricing, and SLA math. Includes fast pickers and exam-style heuristics.
  • AZ-900 FAQ — Common Questions About Azure Fundamentals
    Clear answers to the most common questions about Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900): format, passing score, prerequisites, study time, labs, differences from AZ-104, and exam-day tips.
• Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104)
  Free exam-focused coverage of Azure administration across identity, storage, compute, networking, monitoring, and recovery for AZ-104.
  • AZ-104 Study Plan — A Practical 6-Week Path Through Azure Administration
    A practical AZ-104 study plan that sequences the guide, official Microsoft resources, labs, and mock practice into a manageable weekly flow.
  • Manage Azure Identities and Governance for AZ-104
    Scope the Entra, RBAC, policy, tagging, subscription, and cost-control decisions that AZ-104 expects Azure administrators to make.
    • Manage Microsoft Entra Users, Groups, and SSPR for AZ-104
      Learn the user, group, licensing, guest-access, and self-service password reset decisions that matter for AZ-104.
    • Manage Azure RBAC and Scope for AZ-104
      Understand built-in roles, assignment scope, inherited access, and effective permissions for the Azure RBAC questions that appear on AZ-104.
    • Manage Policy, Tags, Locks, and Cost Control for AZ-104
      Learn how Azure Policy, tags, locks, management groups, subscriptions, and cost controls fit together for AZ-104 governance scenarios.
  • Implement and Manage Storage for AZ-104
    Cover the storage-account, data-protection, private-access, and redundancy decisions that AZ-104 expects Azure administrators to make.
    • Configure Storage Account Design, Redundancy, and Encryption for AZ-104
      Choose storage account settings, replication options, encryption behavior, and supporting tools for AZ-104 storage design questions.
    • Configure Storage Access, SAS, and Private Connectivity for AZ-104
      Understand SAS, stored access policies, keys, storage firewalls, Azure Files identity-based access, and private connectivity for AZ-104.
    • Configure Azure Files, Blob Lifecycle, and Recovery Features for AZ-104
      Understand containers, file shares, tiers, lifecycle rules, versioning, soft delete, and snapshots for AZ-104 storage administration.
  • Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Resources for AZ-104
    Build the deployment, VM, container, and App Service judgment that AZ-104 expects from Azure administrators.
    • Use ARM Templates and Bicep Deployment Workflows for AZ-104
      Read, modify, export, and deploy ARM templates and Bicep files with the level of fluency AZ-104 expects.
    • Manage Virtual Machines, Disks, and Scale Sets for AZ-104
      Learn the VM sizing, disk, resilience, migration, and scale-set choices that appear repeatedly on AZ-104.
    • Manage Container Registries and Containers for AZ-104
      Understand Azure Container Registry, Container Instances, Container Apps, and container sizing and scaling for AZ-104.
    • Create and Configure Azure App Service for AZ-104
      Understand App Service plans, scaling, TLS, custom domains, backups, networking settings, and deployment slots for AZ-104.
  • Implement and Manage Virtual Networking for AZ-104
    Learn the VNet, routing, private-access, DNS, and load-balancing choices that dominate AZ-104 networking questions.
    • Configure VNets, Subnets, Peering, Public IPs, and Routing for AZ-104
      Understand the core virtual network topology, peering, addressing, public-IP, and user-defined-route choices that AZ-104 tests.
    • Configure Secure Private Access Patterns for AZ-104
      Learn NSGs, ASGs, Bastion, service endpoints, private endpoints, and the DNS implications that matter on AZ-104.
    • Configure Azure DNS and Load Balancing for AZ-104
      Cover Azure DNS, internal versus public load balancers, health probes, and troubleshooting patterns relevant to AZ-104.
  • Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources for AZ-104
    Focus on the monitoring, alerting, backup, failover, and operational-troubleshooting work that AZ-104 expects from Azure administrators.
    • Use Azure Monitor, Insights, and Alerting for AZ-104
      Learn the metrics, logs, alerting, and insights behaviors that matter most for AZ-104 operational scenarios.
    • Use Backup, Site Recovery, and Network Watcher for AZ-104
      Understand Azure Backup, Site Recovery, vault choices, failover, reporting, and Network Watcher troubleshooting for AZ-104.
  • AZ-104 Cheatsheet — High-Yield Defaults, Tables, and Quick Commands
    Fast reference for Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104): RBAC scopes, Policy vs Locks, storage redundancy & tiers, private access patterns, load-balancing choices, VM/VMSS tips, monitoring/KQL snippets, backup/restore gotchas.
  • AZ-104 Glossary — Core Terms Azure Administrators Should Not Mix Up
    Quick definitions for the AZ-104 terms that candidates most often confuse across identity, storage, compute, networking, and monitoring.
  • AZ-104 FAQ — Common Questions About the Azure Administrator Exam
    Answers to common questions about Microsoft Azure Administrator, including format, scoring, renewal, retakes, labs, and study strategy.
• Microsoft Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)
  Free exam-focused coverage of Azure compute, storage, identity, messaging, monitoring, and application integration for AZ-204.
  • AZ-204 Study Plan (30 / 60 / 90 Days)
    A practical AZ-204 study plan you can follow: 30-day intensive, 60-day balanced, and 90-day part-time schedules with weekly focus by domain, suggested hours/week, and tips for using the IT Mastery practice app.
  • AZ-204 Cheatsheet — Code Snippets, Tables, and High-Yield Azure Developer Patterns
    Comprehensive AZ-204 quick reference: App Service, Functions, containers, Cosmos DB, Blob Storage, Entra ID auth, Key Vault/App Configuration, API Management policies, Event Grid/Hubs, Service Bus/Queues, and Application Insights. Includes code, tables, charts, and diagrams.
  • AZ-204 FAQ — Common Questions About the Azure Developer Associate Exam
    Answers to the most common questions about AZ-204: what’s tested, prerequisites, how long to study, labs, common weak spots, and exam-day tactics.
• Azure Solutions Architect (AZ-305)
  Free exam-focused coverage of identity, governance, data, continuity, and infrastructure design trade-offs for AZ-305.
  • AZ-305 Cheatsheet — Architecture Pickers, Tables, and High-Yield Trade‑offs
    Fast reference for AZ-305: service selection tables for compute, networking, data, messaging, and governance; Private Link and DNS gotchas; RTO/RPO patterns; and design heuristics that match Microsoft’s blueprint.
  • AZ-305 FAQ — Common Questions About the Azure Solutions Architect Exam
    Answers to the most common questions about AZ-305: what’s tested, prerequisites, how it differs from AZ-104, how long to study, labs, and exam-day tactics.