Quick reference for the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) exam: cloud concepts, core Azure architecture and services, management and governance, plus exam facts and study tips.
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Questions
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40-60 (multiple choice, multi-select, drag-and-drop, yes/no)
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Time
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45 minutes of exam time (about 65 minutes seat time)
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Passing score
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700 out of 1000 (scaled)
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Cost
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US$99 (varies by country)
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Prerequisites
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None - suitable for non-technical roles
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Validity
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Fundamentals certifications do not expire
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Domains
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Cloud concepts 25-30%; Azure architecture and services 35-40%; Azure management and governance 30-35%
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IaaS
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You manage OS, runtime, apps and data; Azure manages hardware (e.g. Azure Virtual Machines)
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PaaS
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You manage apps and data only (e.g. App Service, Azure SQL Database)
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SaaS
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Provider manages everything; you use the software (e.g. Microsoft 365)
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Shared responsibility
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Customer is ALWAYS responsible for data, devices, accounts and identities
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CapEx vs OpEx
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Cloud swaps upfront capital spend for pay-as-you-go operational spend
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Public / private / hybrid
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Hybrid = on-premises or private cloud connected to public cloud
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Scalability vs elasticity
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Scalability = add resources to meet demand; elasticity = do it automatically
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High availability
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Uptime guaranteed by an SLA, e.g. 99.9% or 99.99%
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Serverless
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No server management; pay per execution (e.g. Azure Functions)
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Region / region pair
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Geographic area of datacenters; pairs give disaster recovery across regions
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Availability zone
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Physically separate datacenters inside one region
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Hierarchy
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Management group > subscription > resource group > resource
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Compute
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VMs, VM Scale Sets, Availability Sets, App Service, Container Instances, AKS, Functions, Azure Virtual Desktop
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Networking
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Virtual Network, peering, VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute (private, not over internet), Azure DNS
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Storage services
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Blob, Files, Queue, Table, Disk
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Access tiers
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Hot, Cool, Cold, Archive (archive = cheapest storage, hours to rehydrate)
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Redundancy
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LRS, ZRS, GRS, GZRS (plus RA- read-access variants)
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Identity
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Microsoft Entra ID, SSO, MFA, Conditional Access, passwordless, Zero Trust, defence in depth
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Migration
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Azure Migrate; Azure Data Box for offline bulk transfer
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Cost tools
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Pricing calculator (estimate new), TCO calculator (compare with on-prem), Cost Management (track and budget)
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Tags
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Name/value metadata for billing and organisation
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Azure Policy
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Enforce or audit rules on resources (e.g. allowed regions)
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Resource locks
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CanNotDelete or ReadOnly protection
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Microsoft Purview
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Data governance, classification and compliance
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Deploy and manage
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Portal, Cloud Shell, CLI, PowerShell, ARM templates and Bicep, Azure Arc
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Monitoring
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Azure Advisor (recommendations), Service Health, Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights
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Plan
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1-3 weeks: work through the free Microsoft Learn AZ-900 path, then drill practice questions
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Focus
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Shared responsibility, service models, cost tools and governance tools are frequent question themes
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Practise
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Take timed sets and read every explanation, right or wrong
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AZ-900 guide
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Free practice test
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More exams
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