Today, the Microsoft Azure Administrator AZ-104 is one of the most sought-after certifications for aspiring cloud professionals. It validates an individual’s proficiency in managing cloud services like networking, storage, computing, and security.
This certification acts as a gateway to securing Azure Administrator job roles, along with serving as a base on which candidates can go for higher-level certifications down the line. However, given the vast syllabus, clearing this exam can be quite challenging. That's why it's crucial to have the right AZ 104 study material to ensure thorough preparation.
Thus, to help aspirants systematically navigate through the syllabus, here is an AZ-104 study guide for them to follow.
Azure Fundamentals
Under Azure fundamentals, you will gain a basic understanding of how to work with cloud solutions. It includes the following:
- Gaining an insight into different cloud models like private, public, and hybrid.
- Understanding the difference between Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
- Grasping the core Azure services like Azure management tools, Azure Architecture components, etc.
- Overview of security, compliance, and privacy across various Azure solutions.
- Understanding the Azure Service lifecycle – Service Level Agreements (SLAs), pricing, and subscriptions.
Now, only reading the official study material will not be enough for you to gain a comprehensive overall idea of the Azure platform. For that, you need practical experience in using the cloud platform, which you can easily get by availing of Microsoft Azure-104 training courses.
Identity and Access Management
This part of the Azure-104 study guide deals with one of the most advanced security features of this platform. Azure Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a set of solutions that helps users/companies protect access to their resources and applications on the cloud as well as the corporate data center.
In short, this service allows individuals to set strategies that allow the right people to gain access to the right set of resources with the appropriate permissions.
It offers the following features:
- Integrating multi-factor authentication and conditional access to both cloud and on-premises applications.
- Advanced security monitoring, reporting, auditing, and alerting.
- Creating and managing a single identity for every employee.
- Providing secure remote access options to on-premises web applications.
Virtual Machines in Azure
Azure virtual machines are an on-demand service that allows users to create and run virtual machines (VMs). It allows them to have a higher degree of control over their computing environment in comparison to other computing resources.
For instance, Azure VMs are highly scalable and enable users to run multiple operating systems like Mac, Windows, or Linux. Additionally, they can use a wide array of programming languages like Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, .Net, C#, etc.
Organizations can use Azure virtual machines for the following purposes:
- Back up their existing operating systems.
- Develop, test, and deploy applications on the cloud.
- Run apps and software on operating systems other than their native ones.
- Developers can set up new environments, which makes it easier for them to run dev-test scenarios.
- Test new operating systems before their public release.
Azure Networking
In this part of the AZ-104 study material, you learn how Azure apps and resources connect with each other. Azure networking or Azure virtual networking acts as a base on which Azure private networks function. It enables various Azure resources to securely connect with one other, on-premises networks, as well as the internet.
Furthermore, it facilitates routing and filtering of network traffic, along with integration with other Azure services. Here are some of the benefits it provides to users:
- High network connectivity to Azure virtual machines, which enables users to run multiple applications on the same VM without any downtime, network issues, or congestion.
- Isolated environments for all the applications of an organization, preventing interference between them or any other software in its cloud infrastructure.
- Options to establish communication between different virtual machines via public Windows networks (VIRTUAL_NETWORK), private networks (VNETs), etc.
- Ease of directing traffic from various resources, applications, subnets, and virtual machines.
- High network security with layer 2 connections between virtual machines and firewalls to prevent unauthorized access.
Azure Storage
As the name suggests, Azure storage deals with data storage solutions on the Microsoft cloud. It is highly secure and scalable and can be used to store a variety of data objects. For those preparing for certifications, the AZ 104 exam study guide can provide comprehensive insights into Azure storage and its capabilities. Additionally, companies can access it from any part of the world using REST API, HTTP, or HTTPS.
Following are some of the benefits of Azure storage:
- Allows developers to build applications with numerous programming languages like Python, Java, .NET, C++, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, etc.
- They can also use Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell for configuring tasks and data management.
- Scalable infrastructure designed to meet the changing data storage needs of organizations.
- Managed storage service that caters to software and hardware updates during scheduled maintenance hours.
- High level of data encryption along with fine-grained user access control.
Monitoring and Management
This part of the AZ-104 exam guide deals with the monitoring and management features of Azure. This platform offers a comprehensive monitoring solution called Azure Monitor. Companies can use it to collect, analyze, and respond to data collected from both cloud and on-premises resources.
This helps them stay updated on the performance and availability of their Azure services and applications, enabling them to maximize their performance and availability. For those preparing for certifications, the AZ 104 preparation guide can be a valuable resource in this context. Furthermore, Azure Monitor collects data across every component and layer of the client’s system. This is also applicable for non-Azure tenants and subscriptions, allowing users to integrate and monitor a wide array of non-Microsoft tools.
Azure Management includes a set of services and tools that can help organizations maintain their business applications and resources on Azure, on-premises, and even on other cloud systems.
It provides the following functions:
- Monitor
- Govern
- Secure
- Configure
- Protect
- Migrate
Data Services
Azure data services are a set of managed data-related services like searching, analysis, relational databases, file storage, time-series data, text searching, etc. Some of the major services are as follows:
- Microsoft Purview: Microsoft Purview acts as an index for all data sources. It helps employees find any data registered on the catalog using the Purview Governance portal.
- Data Warehouses: This service is used for storing relational, structured tables. It is generally used for business reporting.
- Azure Data Lake : Azure data lake can store both structured and unstructured data. It is mainly used for data analytics and exploration.
- Security and Compliance: In this part of the Microsoft AZ-104 study material, you get to learn the security, compliance, and governance capabilities of the Azure platform. The available tools in this regard are as follows:
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud: This governance tool allows users to collect and analyze security data from various sources, provides security recommendations, and applies policies to maintain compliance.
- Azure Policy: Azure Policy allows companies to manage, assign, and create policies for their Azure resources in order to ensure that they comply with service-level agreements and corporate standards.
- Azure Blueprints: This service helps cloud architects make a repeatable set of Azure resources that adhere to their organization’s requirements, standards, and patterns. It helps developers rapidly create new environments as they are using a predefined set of in-built components. Thus, they ramp up their speed and meet strict deadlines while adhering to the company’s compliances.
Exam Preparation
This section of the Azure AZ-104 study guide contains some tips to help you pass the exam. They are as follows:
- Take note of the exam's basic details like total marks, passing score, language options, etc.
- Go through the exam study guide to gain a thorough understanding of the topics.
- Use Microsoft Learning Paths to get official AZ-104 test resources.
- Join online study groups and communities.
- Go for practice tests.
- Opt for Cloud Computing courses with placement options.
Conclusion
By following the AZ-104 study guide, you can make an effective study plan to prepare for this certification exam. However, for in-depth understanding, experts always recommend seeking professional guidance.
In this regard, the KnowledgeHut Microsoft Azure-104 certification course can be an excellent choice. It features instructor-led training classes, module-end assessments, mock tests, job support, and more.
So, what are you waiting for?
Visit KnowledgeHut today and take the first step to acing the AZ-104 test!
