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The Ultimate AZ-104 Azure Administrator Study Guide
The NEW AZ-104 exam was released in 2020 and now replaces the AZ-103 exam provided previously. This guide now reflects those updates to the new improved curriculum, as the previous version of this exam (AZ-103) has now been retired. This guide focuses on all the specific information you need to know to pass your AZ-104 exam. It also covers links to training courses, books and other content you can use to perfect your study approach. Lastly, we also include links to practice exams and cover typical questions Azure students have as they embark upon their first adventures into Microsoft Azure.
If you are completely unsure where to begin in your certification journey, make sure to check out our post on certification paths.
If you like this guide, be sure to check out our other Azure Study Guides
FAQ
How hard is the AZ-104 exam?
The AZ-104 exam, while an entry level exam, is still challenging! You should go into the exam expecting multiple types of questions. Multiple choice, scenarios, labs etc. One key is not to be overwhelmed as you get into the exam. You will have lots of questions to go through and you can often come back to questions you didn’t fully grasp at first. Make extra sure to get hands on experience by following along with the demos and trying things out for yourself in your own lab. If you are looking for ways to keep your costs down while learning Azure, check out this article
Is the AZ-104 Azure exam worth taking?
Absolutely! Ideally you will go on to take the expert certifications after but this certification serves as a very important milestone. Even if certification is not your goal, you will gain an incredible amount of experience learning Azure at a deep level that will help you land your first job in Azure or help you be an even better cloud administrator.
What is the pass mark for the AZ-104 test?
Microsoft certification exams are scored out of 1000. You need a 700 or higher to pass the AZ-104 exam and gain your Azure Administrator Badge.
How do I take the AZ-104 test?
Once you have completed your preparation, you will need to schedule your test online. Under normal circumstances you would take your test at a test center or online, but currently with the Covid-19 situation, only online testing is available. You can find details about the online test centers here.
Does the AZ-104 exam expire?
The AZ-104 exam will typically need to be renewed every 18 months. Microsoft will from time to time retire certifications however, and you may also find exam numbers evolve over time (this is what happened with the previous exam AZ-103) when Microsoft changes the curriculum substantially for the certification.
Are you ready to do this? Are you committed? You won’t regret it! Let’s look at all the study material available.
AZ-104 Study Material
AZ-104 Certification Course
The Refactored AZ-104 training course released in 2020 now has hours of video content which focuses on the exam curriculum. The course is broken out into the following sections to match up with the Microsoft curriculum.
Access Azure and how you’ll be using Azure PowerShell and CLI to administer the environment
Create and allocate accounts and subscriptions as a starting point
Manage AD identity objects and verify user credentials
Enforce governance for your Azure subscriptions
Implement and allocate various storage types
Spin up virtual machines (VMs) based on the needs of your use case
Utilize Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates application deployment efficiencies
Run containerized applications to cut costs
Create and configure web apps
Implement a network standard as the backbone of your Azure environment
Monitor the Azure platform to detect threats and inefficiencies
Deploy a backup policy to ensure your environment is recoverable
This is the most structured way to work through the curriculum as it combines lectures with walk-through demos so you can learn about the topic before seeing how it is implemented.
In addition to the training videos, lab guides and practice questions, as well as the PowerShell Guide will help solidify your knowledge.
Study links and documents
Now for the major pieces of reading material. Below you will find all the links to relevant Refactored blog posts and Microsoft documentation to cover the key topics. Consider all the links below essential reading for the exam unless they are marked as optional. Even if they are marked as optional, consider reading them to further clarify the subject matter and help you continue your learning path beyond the architect certification.
Manage Azure Identities and Governance
Manage Azure Identities and Governance (15-20%)
Manage Azure AD objects
Create users and groups • manage user and group properties • manage device settings • perform bulk user updates • manage guest accounts • configure Azure AD Join • configure self-service password reset
Create a basic group and add members using Azure Active Directory
Add or update a user’s profile information using Azure Active Directory
Bulk import group members (preview) in Azure Active Directory
Quickstart: Add guest users to your directory in the Azure portal
Licensing requirements for Azure AD self-service password reset
Tutorial: Configure hybrid Azure Active Directory join for managed domains
Manage role-based access control (RBAC)
Create a custom role • provide access to Azure resources by assigning roles • interpret access assignments • manage multiple directories
Tutorial: Create a custom role for Azure resources using Azure CLI
Tutorial: Create a custom role for Azure resources using Azure PowerShell
Add or remove role assignments using Azure RBAC and the Azure portal
Understand how multiple Azure Active Directory tenants interact
Manage subscriptions and governance
Configure Azure policies • configure resource locks • apply tags • create and manage resource groups • manage subscriptions • configure Cost Management • configure management groups
Quickstart: Create a policy assignment to identify non-compliant resources
Manage Azure Resource Manager resource groups by using the Azure portal
Create management groups for resource organization and management
Implement and Manage Storage
Implement and Manage Storage (10-15%)
Manage storage accounts
Configure network access to storage accounts • create and configure storage accounts • generate shared access signature • manage access keys • implement Azure storage replication • configure Azure AD Authentication for a storage account
Manage data in Azure Storage
Export from Azure job • import into Azure job • install and use Azure Storage Explorer • copy data by using AZCopy
Use the Azure Import/Export service to export data from Azure Blob storage
Use the Azure Import/Export service to import data to Azure Blob Storage
Configure Azure Files and Azure Blog Storage
Create an Azure file share • create and configure Azure File Sync service • configure Azure blob storage • configure storage tiers for Azure blobs
Quickstart: Create and manage Azure file shares with the Azure portal
Quickstart: Upload, download, and list blobs with the Azure portal
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Resources
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Resources (25-30%)
Configure VMs for high availability and scalability
Configure high availability • deploy and configure scale sets
Manage the availability of Windows virtual machines in Azure
Tutorial: Create and deploy highly available virtual machines with Azure PowerShell
Automate deployment and configuration of VMs
Modify Azure Resource Manager (ARM) template • configure VHD template • deploy from template • save a deployment as an ARM template • automate configuration management by using custom script extensions
Tutorial: Create and deploy your first Azure Resource Manager template
Create a Windows virtual machine from a Resource Manager template
Quickstart: Create and deploy Azure Resource Manager templates by using the Azure portal
Use the Azure Custom Script Extension Version 2 with Linux virtual machines
Create and configure VMs
Configure Azure Disk Encryption • move VMs from one resource group to another • manage VM sizes • add data discs • configure networking • redeploy VMs
Quickstart: Create and encrypt a Windows virtual machine with the Azure portal
Move a Windows VM to another Azure subscription or resource group
Attach a managed data disk to a Windows VM by using the Azure portal
How to open ports to a virtual machine with the Azure portal
Create and manage a Windows virtual machine that has multiple NICs
Create and configure containers
Create and configure Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) • create and configure Azure Container Instances (ACI)
Quickstart: Deploy an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster using the Azure portal
Quickstart: Deploy a container instance in Azure using the Azure CLI
Quickstart: Deploy a container instance in Azure using the Azure portal
Create and configure Web Apps
Create and configure App Service • create and configure App Service Plans
Configure and Manage Virtual Networking
Configure and Manage Virtual Networking (30-35%)
Implement and manage virtual networking Create and configure VNET peering • configure private and public IP addresses, network routes, network interface, subnets, and virtual network
Tutorial: Connect virtual networks with virtual network peering using the Azure portal
Configure private IP addresses for a virtual machine using the Azure portal
Configure name resolution
Configure Azure DNS • configure custom DNS settings • configure a private or public DNS zone
Use Azure DNS to provide custom domain settings for an Azure service
Quickstart: Configure Azure DNS for name resolution using the Azure Portal
Quickstart: Create an Azure private DNS zone using the Azure portal
Secure access to virtual networks
Create security rules • associate an NSG to a subnet or network interface • evaluate effective security rules • deploy and configure Azure Firewall • deploy and configure Azure Bastion Service
Configure load balancing
Configure Application Gateway • configure an internal load balancer • configure load balancing rules • configure a public load balancer • troubleshoot load balancing
Quickstart: Direct web traffic with Azure Application Gateway using Azure PowerShell
Tutorial: Balance internal traffic load with a Basic load balancer in the Azure portal
Create an internal load balancer by using the Azure PowerShell module
Quickstart: Create a Load Balancer to load balance VMs using the Azure portal
Monitor and troubleshoot virtual networking
Monitor on-premises connectivity • use Network Performance Monitor • use Network Watcher • troubleshoot external networking • troubleshoot virtual network connectivity
Step-By-Step: Monitoring On-Premise Active Directory via Azure AD Connect Health
Network Performance Monitor solution: Performance monitoring
Troubleshoot Virtual Network Gateway and Connections using Azure Network Watcher Azure CLI
Troubleshoot connections with Azure Network Watcher using the Azure portal
Integrate an on-premises network with an Azure virtual network
Create and configure Azure VPN Gateway • create and configure VPNs • configure ExpressRoute • configure Azure Virtual WAN
Tutorial: Create a Site-to-Site connection using Azure Virtual WAN
Connect a VPN Gateway (virtual network gateway) to Virtual WAN
Monitor and Back Up Azure Resources
Monitor and Back up Azure Resources (10-15%)
Monitor resources by using Azure Monitor
Configure and interpret metrics • configure Log Analytics o implement a Log Analytics workspace • query and analyze logs • set up alerts and actions • configure Application Insights
Implement backup and recovery
Configure and review backup reports • perform backup and restore operations by using Azure Backup Service • create a Recovery Services Vault • create and configure backup policy • perform site-to-site recovery by using Azure Site Recovery
You made it this far? Fantastic. You learned a lot!
NEED HELP?
Make sure to join the Azure Study Group on Facebook and ask questions if you get stuck at all. Thousands of people are preparing to take this exam and there’s nothing better than helping each other out?
Good luck!
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