STUDY TOOL
AZ-900
Syllabus Map
Every skill measured on the AZ-900 exam, organised by domain with official weightings and an exam tip for each topic. Drill any domain directly from its header.
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⚡ Drill this domain →Cloud Concepts
25–30% of examDescribe cloud computing
Define cloud computing and the shared responsibility model
EXAM TIP: Know which responsibilities NEVER transfer to Microsoft: your data, devices, and identities — in every service model.
Cloud models: public, private, hybrid — and use cases for each
EXAM TIP: Hybrid scenarios are heavily tested: regulated data on-premises + scalable workloads in Azure.
Consumption-based model and cloud pricing
EXAM TIP: CapEx → OpEx is the exam's favourite finance concept. Pay-as-you-go = no upfront, no idle capacity cost.
Benefits of cloud services
High availability and scalability (vertical vs horizontal, elasticity)
EXAM TIP: Scalability = CAN grow. Elasticity = grows AUTOMATICALLY with demand. Single-instance legacy apps can only scale vertically.
Reliability, predictability, security, and governance in the cloud
EXAM TIP: Composite SLAs multiply: three 99.9% services ≈ 99.7% combined — always LOWER than the weakest link.
Manageability of the cloud
EXAM TIP: Two flavours: management OF the cloud (Azure tools) and management IN the cloud (portal, CLI, PowerShell, APIs).
Cloud service types
IaaS, PaaS, SaaS — and appropriate use cases
EXAM TIP: Memorise the responsibility ladder: IaaS = you manage from OS up; PaaS = you manage apps + data; SaaS = you manage only data, devices, identities.
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⚡ Drill this domain →Azure Architecture & Services
35–40% of examCore architectural components
Regions, region pairs, sovereign regions, and Availability Zones
EXAM TIP: Zones protect against DATACENTRE failure (min 3 per enabled region). Region pairs protect against REGIONAL disaster.
Datacentres, resources, resource groups, subscriptions, management groups
EXAM TIP: Hierarchy exam favourite: Management groups → Subscriptions → Resource groups → Resources. Policy and RBAC inherit downward.
Compute and networking
VMs, VM Scale Sets, availability sets, Azure Virtual Desktop
EXAM TIP: Full OS control needed = VM. Fleet of identical auto-scaling VMs = Scale Set. Cloud-delivered Windows desktops = AVD.
Containers (ACI, AKS) and serverless (Functions)
EXAM TIP: Single quick container = ACI. Orchestrating many = AKS. Event-triggered code billed per execution = Functions.
App Service and app hosting options
EXAM TIP: Deploy code without managing servers = App Service (PaaS). Know when VM vs App Service vs Functions each fit.
VNets, subnets, peering, VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, DNS
EXAM TIP: ExpressRoute = private circuit, never touches internet. VPN = encrypted over internet. Peering = private VNet-to-VNet over Microsoft backbone.
Public and private endpoints
EXAM TIP: Private endpoints give PaaS services an IP inside your VNet — a recurring security-hardening answer.
Storage services
Storage services: Blob, Files, Queues, Disks
EXAM TIP: Unstructured objects = Blob. SMB shares = Files. Async messages = Queues. VM volumes = Disks.
Storage tiers (Hot, Cool, Archive) and redundancy (LRS, ZRS, GRS, GZRS)
EXAM TIP: Archive = cheapest, hours to retrieve, compliance retention. GRS = survives regional disaster. Tier + redundancy questions are near-guaranteed.
Migration options: Azure Migrate and Azure Data Box
EXAM TIP: Terabytes over slow internet = Data Box (physical shipment). Discovery + assessment of servers = Azure Migrate.
Identity, access, and security
Microsoft Entra ID, authentication methods (SSO, MFA, passwordless)
EXAM TIP: MFA = something you know + have + are. Conditional Access = context-aware policy (location, device, risk).
External identities, Conditional Access, RBAC
EXAM TIP: RBAC = WHO can do WHAT at WHICH scope. Least privilege: narrowest role at narrowest scope.
Zero Trust, defence in depth, Microsoft Defender for Cloud
EXAM TIP: Zero Trust = never trust, always verify, assume breach. Defence in depth layers: physical → identity → perimeter → network → compute → app → data.
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⚡ Drill this domain →Management & Governance
30–35% of examCost management
Factors affecting costs; Pricing and TCO calculators
EXAM TIP: Pricing Calculator = estimate YOUR planned Azure build. TCO Calculator = compare on-premises costs vs Azure. Distinct tools, distinct purposes.
Cost Management: budgets, alerts, cost analysis, tags for cost grouping
EXAM TIP: Budgets ALERT, they don't stop resources. Tags enable departmental chargeback — and tags do NOT auto-inherit from resource groups.
Governance and compliance
Microsoft Purview and Azure Policy (definitions, initiatives, compliance)
EXAM TIP: Policy governs WHAT can exist (deny non-compliant deployments). Initiative = bundle of policies assigned together.
Resource locks (ReadOnly, CanNotDelete)
EXAM TIP: Locks apply to EVERYONE — even Owners. ReadOnly blocks changes AND deletion; CanNotDelete blocks only deletion.
Managing and deploying resources
Azure portal, Cloud Shell, Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell
EXAM TIP: Cloud Shell = browser terminal, nothing to install, pre-authenticated. All tools hit the same ARM API.
Azure Arc and Infrastructure as Code (ARM templates, Bicep)
EXAM TIP: Arc = manage on-prem/other-cloud servers from Azure. IaC = declarative, repeatable, version-controlled deployments.
Monitoring
Azure Advisor (5 pillars of recommendations)
EXAM TIP: Free advice across cost, security, reliability, performance, operational excellence.
Azure Service Health vs Resource Health
EXAM TIP: Service Health = Azure platform issues affecting YOU. Resource Health = the health of YOUR individual resources.
Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, alerts, Application Insights
EXAM TIP: Monitor collects metrics + logs. Log Analytics queries with KQL. App Insights = deep application performance telemetry.
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