Exam AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
This exam is designed for candidates looking to demonstrate foundational knowledge on the considerations and benefits of adopting cloud services in general and the Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud model. This exam will also cover knowledge of available options and benefits gained by implementing Microsoft 365 cloud service offerings.
This exam can be taken as a precursor to cloud computing and technologies exams such as Office 365, Microsoft Intune, Azure Information Protection (AIP), and Windows 10.
Skills measured
Audience profile
As a candidate for this exam, you’re a technology professional who wants to demonstrate foundational knowledge of cloud concepts in general and Microsoft Azure in particular. This exam is a common starting point in a journey towards a career in Azure.
You can describe Azure architectural components and Azure services, such as:
- Compute
- Networking
- Storage
You can also describe features and tools to secure, govern, and administer Azure.
You should have skills and experience working with an area of IT, such as:
- Infrastructure management
- Database management
- Software development
Skills at a glance
- Describe cloud concepts (25–30%)
- Describe Azure architecture and services (35–40%)
- Describe Azure management and governance (30–35%)
Describe cloud concepts (25–30%)
Describe cloud computing
- Define cloud computing
- Describe the shared responsibility model
- Define cloud models, including public, private, and hybrid
- Identify appropriate use cases for each cloud model
- Describe the consumption-based model
- Compare cloud pricing models
- Describe serverless
Describe the benefits of using cloud services
- Describe the benefits of high availability and scalability in the cloud
- Describe the benefits of reliability and predictability in the cloud
- Describe the benefits of security and governance in the cloud
- Describe the benefits of manageability in the cloud
Describe cloud service types
- Describe infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
- Describe platform as a service (PaaS)
- Describe software as a service (SaaS)
- Identify appropriate use cases for each cloud service type (IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS)
Describe Azure architecture and services (35–40%)
Describe the core architectural components of Azure
- Describe Azure regions, region pairs, and sovereign regions
- Describe availability zones
- Describe Azure datacenters
- Describe Azure resources and resource groups
- Describe subscriptions
- Describe management groups
- Describe the hierarchy of resource groups, subscriptions, and management groups
Describe Azure compute and networking services
- Compare compute types, including containers, virtual machines, and functions
- Describe virtual machine options, including Azure virtual machines, Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets, availability sets, and Azure Virtual Desktop
- Describe the resources required for virtual machines
- Describe application hosting options, including web apps, containers, and virtual machines
- Describe virtual networking, including the purpose of Azure virtual networks, Azure virtual subnets, peering, Azure DNS, Azure VPN Gateway, and ExpressRoute
- Define public and private endpoints
Describe Azure storage services
- Compare Azure Storage services
- Describe storage tiers
- Describe redundancy options
- Describe storage account options and storage types
- Identify options for moving files, including AzCopy, Azure Storage Explorer, and Azure File Sync
- Describe migration options, including Azure Migrate and Azure Data Box
Describe Azure identity, access, and security
- Describe directory services in Azure, including Microsoft Entra ID and Microsoft Entra Domain Services
- Describe authentication methods in Azure, including single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and passwordless
- Describe external identities in Azure, including business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C)
- Describe Microsoft Entra Conditional Access
- Describe Azure role-based access control (RBAC)
- Describe the concept of Zero Trust
- Describe the purpose of the defense-in-depth model
- Describe the purpose of Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Describe Azure management and governance (30–35%)
Describe cost management in Azure
- Describe factors that can affect costs in Azure
- Compare the pricing calculator and the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Calculator
- Describe cost management capabilities in Azure
- Describe the purpose of tags
- Describe the purpose of Microsoft Purview in Azure
- Describe the purpose of Azure Policy
- Describe the purpose of resource locks
- Describe the Azure portal
- Describe Azure Cloud Shell, including Azure Command-Line Interface (CLI) and Azure PowerShell
- Describe the purpose of Azure Arc
- Describe infrastructure as code (IaC)
- Describe Azure Resource Manager (ARM) and ARM templates
- Describe the purpose of Azure Advisor
- Describe Azure Service Health
- Describe Azure Monitor, including Log Analytics, Azure Monitor alerts, and Application Insights
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