Introduction
The AZ900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals certification exam has quickly become one of the most popular entry points into the world of Azure and cloud computing. This beginner-level exam measures foundational knowledge across key areas like cloud concepts, Azure services, Azure workloads, and security and privacy in Azure.
Earning the AZ-900 certification validates technical skills and ability to describe cloud concepts like public, private and hybrid cloud models; pick and identify the most appropriate Azure products and services for given scenarios; understand Azure architectural components and services; and describe features to secure, govern and administer Azure.
This blog post serves as a comprehensive guide to help IT professionals, administrators, and developers prepare for and pass the AZ900 exam. It provides tips, resources, and recommendations on developing an effective study plan.
Overview of the AZ900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Exam
The AZ900 exam focuses on knowledge needed to evaluate cloud solution requirements and provide technical advice about Azure products and services to stakeholders.
It tests skills across three key domains:
- Cloud concepts (25-30%) – Terminology and concepts like cloud computing, public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, cloud models, shared responsibility model etc.
- Azure architecture and services (35–40%) – Components of Azure architecture, and ability to identify most appropriate Azure products/services for given scenarios
- Azure management and governance (30-35%) – Concepts of governance, privacy, compliance, security, administration, reporting and Service-Level Agreements
The exam has about 40-60 questions that need to be completed in 85 minutes. It is available in English and Japanese initially, with plans to expand to other languages over time.
Why Get Azure Fundamentals Certified?
Here are some key reasons why IT professionals should consider getting the Azure Fundamentals certification:
- Validate broad foundational knowledge – The certification validates core understanding of concepts around the Azure cloud platform.
- Prepares for role-based certifications – It serves as a stepping stone towards more advanced, role-based Azure certifications like Azure Administrator.
- Enhances career prospects – Cloud computing skills are in great demand, and the AZ900 certification helps stand out.
- Fulfills training requirements – Many companies now require employees to be Azure certified. The AZ900 meets baseline requirements.
Understanding Cloud Concepts
Cloud computing refers to provision of computing services like servers, storage, databases, networking and software over the internet. The AZ900 exam covers the following key concepts around cloud:
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services like storage, servers, networking, software, analytics and intelligence over the Internet to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale.
Some key characteristics of cloud computing include:
- On-demand self-service – Users can provision resources as needed without human interaction from service provider
- Broad network access – Services can be accessed over the network from anywhere using devices like laptops, mobiles etc.
- Resource pooling – Provider pools computing resources to serve multiple customers, with dynamic assignment
- Rapid elasticity – Capabilities can scale out and in quickly and elastically to match demand
- Measured service – Resource usage is monitored, reported and billed transparently
Cloud Computing Models
There are three main types of cloud computing models:
Public cloud
- Services owned and operated by third-party cloud service providers
- Delivered over the public internet
- Examples – Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud
Private cloud
- Computing services hosted within internal data center of a business
- Not exposed publicly over the internet
- Offers greater control and security options
Hybrid cloud
- Mix of public and private clouds
- Allow workloads to move between them
- Provides flexibility and interoperability
Shared Responsibility Model
The shared responsibility model defines what aspects of security and controls are handled by the Cloud Service Provider (CSP) and those by the customer across the technology stack.
Shared Responsibility Model
In the public cloud, the CSP is responsible for security OF the cloud while customers are responsible for security IN the cloud.
Use Cases for Different Cloud Models
| Cloud Model | Use Cases |
|---|---|
| Public | Applications where scalability and rapid innovation are key. Startups and businesses testing new ideas. |
| Private | Workloads involving sensitive data and regulatory compliance. Large enterprises. |
| Hybrid | Organizations transitioning from private cloud to public cloud. Production applications across public and private cloud. |
Exploring Azure Architecture and Services
Microsoft Azure provides over 200 products and cloud services to build, run and manage applications across data centers in over 60 regions globally.
Components of Azure Architecture
These are the main architectural components of Azure:
- Regions – Geographical areas containing multiple datacenters for redundancy and localization.
- Availability Zones – Unique physical locations with independent power and cooling within regions for high availability.
- Resource Groups – Logical containers to group related Azure resources for management and billing.
- Subscriptions – Billing containers that hold user accounts and consumed services.
- Management Groups – Containers above subscriptions to manage governance, policy and compliance across multiple subscriptions.
Overview of Azure Services
Microsoft Azure offers a multitude of services across categories like compute, storage, database, networking, analytics, machine learning and Internet of Things (IoT).
Here is an overview of some foundational Azure services:
Compute Services
- Virtual Machines – On-demand scalable computing resources hosting OS and apps
- Azure App Service – Quickly build, deploy and scale web apps, mobile back ends and RESTful APIs
- Azure Container Instances – Easily run containers with simplicity and speed without managing servers
- Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) – Managed Kubernetes service to deploy and manage containerized applications
Storage Services
- Azure Blob Storage – Storage service for unstructured data like documents, media files, backups etc.
- Azure File storage – Managed file shares accessible via network protocols like SMB and NFS
- Azure Queue Storage – Service for storing large number of messages to be processed asynchronously
- Azure Table Storage – NoSQL storage service using semi-structured datasets across tables
Database Services
- Azure Cosmos DB – Globally distributed database service with multi-model capabilities
- Azure SQL Database – Fully managed relational database with auto-scaling capabilities
- Azure Database for MySQL – Fully managed and scalable MySQL relational database
Networking Services
- Azure Virtual Network – Provision private networks, optionally connect to on-prem datacenters
- Azure Load Balancer – Deliver high availability and network performance to applications
- Azure Application Gateway – Optimize app server farm delivery while increasing application security
This covers just a glimpse into key Azure services – the possibilities are endless!
Real-World Usage of Azure Services
Here are some examples of how Azure services are used in the real-world:
- Azure Virtual Machines and Azure Kubernetes Service provide the computing backbone for many enterprise applications. They allow easy deployment and management of virtual compute resources.
- Azure Cosmos DB provides the database layer for many web and mobile applications that need to scale rapidly, due to its high availability and throughput capabilities.
- The Azure Content Delivery Network speeds up delivery of static web content across the globe by caching content at strategically placed edge locations.
- Azure Machine Learning enables many retail companies to detect fraud in real-time by analyzing transactions and recognizing patterns.
- Azure IoT Hub allows industrial companies to easily connect and remotely monitor millions of IoT devices like sensors and equipment.
There are countless more examples of innovative ways organizations use Azure services – only your imagination sets the limits!
Azure Management and Governance
To deploy workloads and applications on Azure while meeting business requirements around compliance, security and operational excellence, organizations need to implement management and governance capabilities.
The AZ900 exam covers the following concepts around governing and securing the Azure environment:
Azure Management Services
Azure provides many built-in services and tools for managing and administering cloud resources, which form the foundation for governance. These include:
- Azure Portal – This unified graphical user interface allows deployment and management of Azure resources and services.
- Azure PowerShell – Command line tool and scripting language helps manage Azure programmatically at scale.
- Azure CLI – Cross-platform command line tools for managing Azure resources via textual commands.
- Azure Mobile App – Mobile application to monitor and manage Azure resources from iOS and Android devices.
- Azure Advisor – Personalized recommendations to optimize deployments across cost, performance, reliability and security.
Securing and Controlling Access
Azure implements various capabilities to secure access to resources and data:
- Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) – Allows fine-grained access management for Azure resources based on user roles and permissions.
- Azure Multi-Factor Authentication – Provides additional layer of identity verification like biometrics, one-time passcodes etc.
- Azure Key Vault – Centrally manages encryption keys, certificates and secrets like passwords.
- Azure Dedicated Hosts – Provides physical servers dedicated to hosting Azure virtual machines for extra data isolation.
Monitoring and Reporting
Azure offers tools to gain visibility into resource usage, performance and health:
- Azure Monitor – Enables monitoring of Azure resources by collecting metrics, activity logs and diagnostics data.
- Azure Service Health – Allows checking health status of Azure services across regions.
- Azure Advisor – Offers personalized recommendations for cost savings, performance, reliability, and security.
- Azure Usage and Charges API – Programmatically extract usage and resource consumption data for analysis and integration with third-party systems.
Azure Policy and SLAs
Additional governance capabilities in Azure include:
- Azure Policy – Govern resources by allowing or denying deployments based on compliance rules across different subscription levels.
- Service-Level Agreements – Defines performance standards for Azure services regarding uptime and connectivity.
- Azure Blueprints – Allows packaging, defining and deploying collections of Azure resources together as a blueprint.
Exam Preparation Tips and Resources
Preparing for the AZ900 exam requires developing knowledge across various aspects of the Azure cloud platform.
Here are some tips and resources to help with your preparation:
Study Tips
- Go through the AZ-900 study guide and skills measured to understand topics covered in the exam.
- Focus your study plan around the three key domains – cloud concepts, Azure services, and management/governance.
- Take online courses and hands-on training to reinforce concepts.
- Attempt mock tests to evaluate your knowledge gaps.
- Read technical documents around Azure architecture and services.
- Join online communities and forums to clarify doubts and discuss with peers.
Recommended Training Resources
Here are some recommended online training courses and books:
- Microsoft Learn AZ-900 training – Free interactive modules and tutorials
- Linux Academy’s AZ-900 Certification Prep Course – Video course and labs
- Skylines Academy AZ-900 Video Course – Comprehensive AZ-900 exam prep videos
- Microsoft Press Exam Ref AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals – Official exam guide and practice test book
Utilize these tips and resources to give you the best chance of success in passing the AZ-900 exam.
Conclusion
The AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals certification serves as a great starting point for anyone interested in learning about the Azure cloud platform. It validates skills across cloud concepts, Azure services, architecture, management and governance.
This blog post provided a comprehensive guide to help you prepare and pass the AZ-900 exam. It covered an overview of the exam, details around cloud computing models, popular Azure services, management and security features, and finally tips and resources to help build an effective study plan.
The blog writing tips from are also handy for creating exam prep content, as things like utilizing engaging headlines, telling a story, and appealing directly to readers can help make study resources more impactful. Proper planning is also emphasized, which applies to developing an effective overall study plan.
