Complete Azure 104 Study Guide for Certification

The Azure 104 study guide is a comprehensive resource for anyone looking to get certified in Azure. You'll need to have a good understanding of cloud computing and Azure services to succeed.

Azure 104 covers the core Azure services, including Azure Storage, Azure Compute, and Azure Networking.

You'll also need to know how to implement and manage Azure resources, including Azure Active Directory and Azure Security Center.

The Azure 104 study guide will walk you through the key concepts and skills you need to know to pass the exam.

To be eligible for the Azure 104 exam, you should have at least six months of practical experience in handling Azure. You should also have a good understanding of core Azure services, how Azure works, its security, and governance.

You'll need to be familiar with tools like PowerShell, Command Line Interface, Azure Portal, and ARM templates. As an Azure administrator, your job will involve setting up, controlling, and monitoring various things like identity, storage, computers, and networks in the cloud.

To prepare for the exam, start by learning and practicing core Azure cloud services and concepts. You can check out the Azure study guide for beginners or take a free practice test on the AZ-104 exam.

The AZ-104 exam is challenging, but it's an entry-level exam, so you can still tackle it with the right preparation.

You should expect multiple types of questions, including multiple choice, scenarios, and labs.

Make sure to get hands-on experience by following along with the demos and trying things out for yourself in your own lab.

The exam is not something to be overwhelmed by, you can often come back to questions you didn't fully grasp at first.

As a candidate for the AZ-104 exam, you should have subject matter expertise in implementing, managing, and monitoring an organization's Microsoft Azure environment.

You should be familiar with various technical areas, including operating systems, networking, servers, and virtualization.

As an Azure administrator, you often serve as part of a larger team dedicated to implementing an organization's cloud infrastructure.

You should be able to coordinate with other roles to deliver Azure networking, security, database, application development, and DevOps solutions.

To be successful in this role, you should have at least six months of practical experience in handling Azure.

Here are some key technical areas to focus on:

As a Microsoft Entra administrator, you'll want to know how to effectively manage users. To create a new user, you can use the Microsoft Entra interface to create users and groups.

Managing user properties is a crucial aspect of user management. You can manage user and group properties to ensure that your users have the necessary permissions and access to the resources they need.

Microsoft Entra also allows you to manage licenses in Microsoft Entra ID. This is essential for ensuring that your users have the necessary licenses to access the features and services they need.

You can also manage external users, which is useful for collaborating with users from other organizations. This can be done through the Microsoft Entra interface.

To make password management easier for your users, you can configure self-service password reset (SSPR). This allows users to reset their own passwords without needing to contact the IT department.

Here are some key tasks related to Microsoft Entra users:

To prepare for the Azure 104 exam, it's essential to have the right study materials. Microsoft Learn provides a comprehensive learning path for Azure Administrator Associate, which includes hands-on labs and interactive content.

You can also take advantage of Microsoft's free online courses, such as the Azure Administrator Associate learning path, which covers topics like Azure subscription and service management, Azure storage, and Azure networking.

The Azure 104 exam requires a strong understanding of Azure services and features, so make sure to review the exam objectives and focus on the topics that are most relevant to the exam.

As you start preparing for your exams, it's essential to have the right study materials. A good textbook can make all the difference in your learning journey.

Textbooks are a fundamental part of any student's study materials. They provide a comprehensive overview of the subject matter and are often written by experts in the field.

You can also use online resources, such as e-books and digital textbooks, which can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection.

When managing study materials, having a reliable file storage system is crucial. You can create and configure a file share in Azure Storage to store and manage your files.

Azure Storage offers a range of storage tiers to suit your needs. This means you can choose the right tier for your files based on their size, access frequency, and other factors.

To ensure your files are secure, you can configure snapshots and soft delete for Azure Files. This will allow you to recover deleted files and maintain a record of changes made to your files.

Here are the key steps to configure Azure Files and Blob Storage:

By following these steps, you can set up a robust file storage system that meets your needs and helps you stay organized.

The course is structured to help you learn and prepare for the AZ-104 exam in a practical way. This is achieved through a combination of lectures and walk-through demos that illustrate how to implement the concepts you're learning.

The course is broken down into 12 sections that match the Microsoft curriculum. These sections cover topics such as accessing Azure, creating and managing accounts and subscriptions, and implementing governance for your Azure subscriptions.

Here are the 12 sections of the course, which will help you solidify your knowledge:

In Module 1: Identities, you'll learn about managing Azure identities and governance. This is a crucial part of being an Azure Administrator, as it involves understanding how to manage users, groups, and subscriptions.

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) objects are a key part of this module. You'll learn how to create users and groups, manage user and group properties, and perform bulk user updates. You'll also learn about managing device settings and device identity.

Here are some specific skills you'll learn in this module:

In addition to managing Azure AD objects, you'll also learn about custom role-based access control (RBAC) and Azure AD roles. This includes creating custom roles and providing access to Azure resources by assigning roles at different scopes.

Managing subscriptions and governance is also a key part of this module. You'll learn how to configure and manage Azure policies, configure resource locks, and apply and manage tags on resources. You'll also learn about managing resource groups, managing subscriptions, and managing costs by using alerts, budgets, and recommendations.

In Module 2, you'll dive into implementing and managing storage in Azure. This module covers about 10-15% of the course material and is divided into three main sections: configuring access to storage, managing data in Azure storage accounts, and configuring Azure files and Azure blob storage.

You'll learn how to configure network access to storage accounts, create and configure storage accounts, and generate shared access signature tokens. You'll also discover how to manage access keys and configure Azure AD authentication for a storage account.

One key concept in this module is managing data in Azure storage accounts, which involves creating import and export jobs, managing data using Azure Storage Explorer and AzCopy, implementing Azure Storage redundancy, and configuring object replication.

Additionally, you'll explore configuring Azure files and Azure blob storage, including creating an Azure file share, configuring Azure blob storage, and configuring storage tiers and blob lifecycle management.

Here's a list of key topics covered in Module 2:

* Configuring access to storage

+ Configuring network access to storage accounts

+ Creating and configuring storage accounts

+ Generating shared access signature tokens

+ Managing access keys

+ Configuring Azure AD authentication for a storage account

* Managing data in Azure storage accounts

+ Creating import and export jobs

+ Managing data using Azure Storage Explorer and AzCopy

+ Implementing Azure Storage redundancy

+ Configuring object replication

* Configuring Azure files and Azure blob storage

+ Creating an Azure file share

+ Configuring Azure blob storage

+ Configuring storage tiers

+ Configuring blob lifecycle management

In Module 3, you'll learn how to deploy and manage Azure compute resources. This module is divided into four main skills: automating deployment of resources, configuring VMs for high availability and scalability, creating and configuring VMs, and creating and configuring containers.

The first skill, automating deployment of resources, involves using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates or Bicep files. You'll learn how to interpret and modify existing templates, deploy resources using them, and export a deployment as a template.

To automate deployment, you'll need to use Azure PowerShell or the Azure CLI. For example, you can use the Azure CLI to deploy a virtual machine from a template. The Azure CLI is a powerful tool that allows you to manage Azure resources from the command line.

Here's a list of key skills you'll learn in this module:

In the section on configuring VMs for high availability and scalability, you'll learn about availability options for virtual machines in Azure and how to manage the availability of Windows virtual machines. You'll also learn how to deploy and configure scale sets.

To create and configure VMs, you'll need to use Azure Resource Manager templates. You can create a Windows virtual machine from a template and configure its settings, such as disk encryption and network settings.

Finally, in the section on creating and configuring containers, you'll learn about Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and Azure Container Instances (ACI). You'll learn how to create and configure AKS and ACI, and how to deploy containerized applications using these services.

In Module 5, you'll focus on maintaining Azure resources. This involves monitoring and troubleshooting issues to ensure your environment runs smoothly.

The module is divided into two main sections: Monitor resources and Implement backup and recovery. You'll learn how to configure and interpret metrics, logs, and alerts using Azure Monitor.

To monitor resources effectively, you'll need to configure metrics, logs, and alerts. This includes setting up alerts and actions, configuring monitoring of VMs, storage accounts, and networks, and querying and analyzing logs.

Here's a breakdown of the key tasks in this module:

Implementing backup and recovery is also crucial in maintaining Azure resources. You'll learn how to create an Azure Recovery Services vault, create Azure backup vault, and perform backup and restore operations using Azure Backup.

To implement backup and recovery, you'll need to:

By mastering these skills, you'll be able to maintain your Azure resources efficiently and ensure your environment is secure and recoverable.

Azure Fundamentals is the foundation of Azure networking. Azure Virtual Network is a key component, allowing you to create and configure virtual networks and subsets.

To create a virtual network, you'll need to configure virtual network peering, private and public IP addresses, and user-defined network routes. You can also configure Azure DNS for domain name resolution.

Azure networking also involves configuring secure access to virtual networks, which includes creating and configuring network security groups (NSGs) and application security groups (ASGs). This helps evaluate effective security rules and implement Azure Bastion for secure access.

Here are the key components of Azure networking:

Managing identities in Azure is a crucial aspect of securing your cloud infrastructure. You can create users and groups in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) to manage access to your resources.

To create a new user in Azure AD, you can use the Azure portal or the Azure CLI command `New-AzureADUser`. You can also add or delete users using Azure Active Directory. For example, you can use the Azure portal to add a new user and then configure their properties, such as their profile information and device settings.

Azure AD also allows you to manage device identities using the Azure portal. This includes managing stale devices and performing bulk user updates. You can also configure self-service password reset to allow users to reset their own passwords.

In addition to managing users and groups, you can also create custom roles in Azure AD to provide fine-grained access control. This allows you to assign roles at different scopes, such as at the subscription level or at the resource group level. You can also interpret access assignments to understand who has access to your resources.

Here are some key tasks to manage identities in Azure:

By following these steps, you can effectively manage identities in Azure and ensure that your resources are secure and accessible only to authorized users.

Managing Azure subscriptions is a crucial aspect of Azure governance. You can manage subscriptions by implementing and managing Azure Policy, which helps enforce compliance and security across your organization's resources.

Resource locks are also a key feature in subscription management. By configuring resource locks, you can prevent accidental deletions or modifications to your critical resources.

Tags are another essential tool for subscription management. You can apply and manage tags on resources to categorize and track them across your organization.

Here's a quick rundown of the key tasks involved in managing subscriptions:

By following these best practices, you can effectively manage your Azure subscriptions and ensure that your organization's resources are secure, compliant, and optimized for performance.

To deploy compute resources in Azure, you'll need to automate deployment of virtual machines (VMs) by using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates. This involves modifying ARM templates, deploying from templates, and saving deployments as templates.

To create and configure VMs, you'll need to configure Azure Disk Encryption, move VMs from one resource group to another, manage VM sizes, and add data disks. You can also deploy VMs to availability zones and availability sets, and deploy and configure Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets.

Here's a quick rundown of the key skills you'll need to master:

As you deploy compute resources in Azure, managing access is crucial to ensure that the right people have the right level of access to your resources.

To manage access to Azure resources, you can manage built-in Azure roles, assign roles at different scopes, and interpret access assignments.

When it comes to configuring access to storage, you'll want to configure Azure Storage firewalls and virtual networks, create and use shared access signature (SAS) tokens, configure stored access policies, manage access keys, and configure identity-based access for Azure Files.

Here are some key considerations for configuring access to storage:

To configure secure access to virtual networks, you'll want to create and configure network security groups (NSGs) and application security groups, evaluate effective security rules in NSGs, implement Azure Bastion, configure service endpoints for Azure platform as a service (PaaS), and configure private endpoints for Azure PaaS.

Deploying compute resources is a crucial step in setting up your Azure infrastructure. You can automate deployment of virtual machines (VMs) by using Azure Resource Manager templates.

To configure VMs for high availability and scalability, you need to understand the availability options for virtual machines in Azure. This includes managing the availability of Windows virtual machines in Azure and deploying highly available virtual machines with Azure PowerShell.

Automating deployment and configuration of VMs is essential for efficient management. You can modify Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates to configure VHD templates, deploy from templates, and save deployments as ARM templates. Custom script extensions can also be used for automation.

To create and configure VMs, you need to consider Azure Disk Encryption, moving VMs from one resource group to another, managing VM sizes, and adding data discs. You should also configure networking and redeploy VMs as needed.

When it comes to creating and configuring containers, you can create and configure Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and Azure Container Instances (ACI). This includes configuring sizing and scaling for containers, including AKS and ACI.

Here's a summary of the key steps for deploying compute resources:

By following these steps, you can efficiently deploy and manage your compute resources in Azure.