1. Introduction

If you're new to Azure and cloud computing, the AZ-900 exam, also known as the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals exam, is the perfect place to start. This guide will help you prepare efficiently and effectively, so you can confidently pass the AZ-900 exam on your first attempt.

2. Getting Started

Before diving into the exam content, it's important to build a foundational understanding of Azure and cloud concepts. Here’s how you should start:

Learn the Fundamentals: If you're an absolute beginner, start by studying the three foundational sections of the AZ-900 syllabus from the Microsoft Learn website. These sections cover the core concepts of cloud computing, the different types of cloud models, and Azure's core services.
Practice Makes Perfect: Once you've grasped the basics, it's essential to test your knowledge. I recommend taking multiple practice tests. Aim to score more than 90% consistently before moving on. Practice tests help familiarize you with the exam format and identify areas where you need improvement.

3. Understanding How Questions Are Asked and Effective Study Techniques

To get a real sense of how questions are framed in the AZ-900 exam, I highly recommend watching this YouTube video series. This video series is an excellent resource for the following reasons:

Comprehensive Explanation: The instructor provides detailed explanations for each question, helping you understand not just the answer, but the underlying concepts.
Question Variations: The videos group similar questions and explore different variations, which ensures you understand the concept rather than just memorizing answers.
Interactive Learning: The best way to use these videos is to actively engage with them. When a question appears on the screen, pause the video, try to answer it yourself, and then resume the video to check your answer. If you get a question wrong, take the time to understand the correct answer and make notes on the concept.

While watching the videos and practicing, here are some study techniques that will help reinforce your learning:

Note-Taking: As you watch the videos and go through the practice tests, take detailed notes on the topics you find challenging or answered incorrectly. Reviewing these notes will reinforce your learning.
Conceptual Understanding: Focus on understanding the concept rather than just memorizing answers. Azure services often have different variations and configurations; understanding these will help you tackle any variation of a question in the exam.
Repetition: Go through your notes and practice questions multiple times. Repetition is key to retaining information and ensuring you’re ready for the exam.

4. When You Are Confident, Take the Exam

When you feel confident in your understanding and consistently score above 90% on practice tests, it's time to take the exam. For me, it took about two weeks of daily studying, dedicating just 30 minutes each day. Everyone's pace is different, so be sure to schedule your exam when you feel ready.

5. Exam Day Tips

Stay Calm: On the day of the exam, make sure you’re well-rested. A clear and focused mind will help you recall information more easily.
Time Management: Keep an eye on the clock during the exam. Allocate your time wisely, making sure you have enough time to review your answers.
Read Carefully: Carefully read each question and the provided options. Sometimes, the difference between the correct answer and a distractor is subtle.

By following this guide, you will be well-prepared to pass the AZ-900 exam. Remember, the key to success is consistent practice and a solid understanding of the fundamental concepts. Good luck on your journey to becoming an Azure certified professional!

Additional Resources

Below are the notes I took during my study. I hope you find them helpful:

Compute Services

Azure Batch
- Enables you to scale thousands of VMs for high-performance computing and large-scale parallel jobs.
Windows Virtual Desktop
- Supports desktop and app virtualization.
Azure Functions
- Refers to the implementation of readily available blocks of code (serverless computing).
Azure IoT Edge
- Feature of IoT Hub used to analyze data on end-users' devices.
Azure App Service
- Enables you to build and host web apps, mobile backends, and RESTful APIs in the programming language of your choice without managing infrastructure.
Azure Virtual Machines
- Azure Advisor can be used to determine underutilized or unused Azure Virtual Machines.
- Just-In-Time (JIT) access protects your Azure Virtual Machine from unauthorized network access.

Networking Services

Azure IoT Hub
- A managed service that provides bidirectional communication between IoT devices & Azure.
Azure Firewall
- A cloud-based network security service that helps protect resources in an Azure Virtual Network.
Point-to-Site VPN
- Enables you to set up a private and secure connection between the user and the virtual network.
Cross-Origin Resource Sharing
- A mechanism that allows domains to give each other permission for accessing each other's resources.

Security and Identity

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)
- Authentication & Identity protection.
- Azure MFA based on a condition (Multi-Factor Authentication).
- SSO can be used without Microsoft Authenticator.
- Conditional access brings signals together to make decisions and enforce organizational policies.
Microsoft Defender
- Used to check your secure score.
- Provides Just-In-Time (JIT) access to protect your Azure Virtual Machine from unauthorized network access.
- Can download a Regulatory Compliance report from Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
Azure Security Center
- Enable (JIT) VM access.
Azure Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
- Monitor threats by using sensors.
Azure Storage Encryption
- Enabled by default and cannot be disabled.
Azure Policy
- Helps organizations enforce organizational standards and assess compliance at scale.
Enterprise Messaging Solution - Service Bus
- Provides messaging between distributed applications.

Data Services

Azure SQL Database
- A managed relational cloud database service.
Azure Synapse Analytics
- A cloud-based service that leverages massively parallel processing to quickly run complex queries across petabytes of data.
Azure Data Lake Analytics
- Run massively parallel data transformation and processing programs across petabytes of data.
Azure HDInsight
- An open-source framework for the distributed processing and analysis of big data sets in clusters.
Cosmos DB
- API selection determines the type.
- Encryption for data at rest is enabled by default.
Azure Log Analytics
- Used to correlate events from multiple resources into a central repository.
- You can collect Windows event log data sources with Log Analytics Agent.

Storage Services

Azure Storage
- Encryption is enabled by default and cannot be disabled.
Azure Data Lake Analytics
- Provides massively parallel data processing and transformation across large data sets.

Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Services

Azure Hybrid Benefit
- Saves on cost while optimizing your hybrid environment by applying your existing Windows Server, SQL Server licenses, or Linux subscriptions.
Azure Arc
- Manages on-premises Windows servers as an Azure resource.

Management and Governance

Azure Resource Manager
- Provides a management layer that allows you to create, update, and delete Azure resources while maintaining consistency across your Azure environment.
Azure Cost Management
- Tool for monitoring, allocating & optimizing Azure cost.
- View costs associated with an import group.
- Available to customers with a Microsoft Customer Agreement.
Azure Advisor
- Does not provide recommendations on improving the security of an Azure AD environment or on configuring settings on Azure VMs.
- Can be used to determine underutilized or unused Azure virtual machines.
Azure Activity Log
- Allows you to view which user turned off a specific virtual machine during the last 14 days.
My Library Feature
- Used to save Microsoft Service Trust Portal documents & resources in a single location.
Azure Tags
- Not inherited by default.
Azure Time Series Insights
- Fully managed analytics, storage & visualization service for exploring and analyzing billions of IoT events.
Management Groups
- Can support up to six levels of depth.
Scalability
- Refers to the ability to increase or decrease resources for a given workload.
Scale In & Scale Out
- Related concepts to horizontal scaling.
Isolated Environment
- For hosting on Azure Virtual Network.

Analytics and Monitoring

Azure Sentinel
- Security analytics data is stored in an Azure Monitor Log Analytics Workspace.
- Can remediate incidents automatically.
- Collects Windows Defender firewall logs from VMs.
Azure Log Analytics
- Used for correlating events from multiple sources.

Miscellaneous

Public Preview
- Excluded from SLA (Service Level Agreement).
MSDN Forums
- Support available for users with any type of Azure subscription.
Azure Cognitive Service
- Used to add artificial intelligence features to applications.
- Two keys available for key safekeeping.

Comprehensive Guide to Passing the AZ-900 Exam: Studying 2 Weeks Daily for 30 Minutes

Pass AZ-900 Exam

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