This blog will guide you in identifying the key topics to focus on and provide strategies to enhance your practical skills. By following these steps, you will be well-equipped to ace the Microsoft Azure Administrator: AZ-104 exam.
An Overview of the Microsoft Azure Exam AZ-104 Certification
The Microsoft Azure AZ-104 certification functions as the essential step toward completing the Azure certification path. This Azure certification helps professionals develop extensive knowledge about deploying and monitoring vital business functions within Microsoft Azure environments, which include virtual networks together with cloud computing and both storage and identity management and compliance alongside security measures.
You will also develop the skills required to collaborate with the larger team responsible for implementing the company’s cloud environment and contribute to delivering Azure security, networking, database, application development, and primary DevOps applications.
The AZ-104 exam will also test your ability to perform technical tasks like:
- Handling Azure identities and compliance
- Deploying and handling storage
- Implementing and managing Azure compute resources
- Deploying and managing virtual networking
- Maintaining and monitoring Azure resources
AZ-104 Exam Strategies
To help you gain a 360-degree knowledge of managing and tracking Azure resources, handling Azure identities and governance, and complex technical concepts and give an edge to your preparations, here are a few AZ-104 exam strategies to keep up your sleeves.
Understand the core services of the Azure environment
The AZ-104 includes an in-depth exploration of many core Azure services. Learning these services is critical to ensure the accurate deployment of solutions on the Microsoft platform. Here are some of the core Azure services you should begin with.
For compute
- Azure Virtual Machines
- Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets
- Azure App Service
- Azure Functions
For storage
- Azure Blob Storage
- Azure Disk Storage
- Azure Files
- Azure Table Storage
For identity and access management (IAM)
- Microsoft Entra ID is a cloud-based identity and access management service that provides single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and conditional access to secure user identities and resources in the cloud and on-premises.
- Azure Role-Based Access Control is a granular permissions management system that allows you to assign specific roles to users, groups, and services, controlling their access to Azure resources based on job functions.
Be proficient with the Azure skills.
You must be well-versed in some common Azure skills to solve real-world Azure challenges. These skills primarily focus on helping implement resilient and cost-efficient solutions.
Azure Portal
We suggest you develop skills to use the Azure Portal as the primary interface to manage and monitor Azure resources and gain familiarity with working around the portal. Additionally, learn to create and manage resources and utilize built-in tools vital for daily operations.
Azure CLI and PowerShell
You will learn the skills needed to automate tasks through PowerShell and Azure CLI operations. Command-line tools from Azure will assist you in managing resources and executing complex operations to achieve automation of repetitive tasks beyond the portal interface.
High Availability and Disaster Recovery
The certification enables you to establish business continuity systems through disaster recovery and high availability methods. It also enables you to build high availability through redundant systems and Azure availability zones, along with failover planning for reduced downtime.
Azure Backup and Site Recovery
Examine the methods of data and app protection through Azure Backup and Azure Site Recovery services. The services enable you to establish backups and handle recovery points while running site failover operations when data loss or site failures happen.
Troubleshoot common Azure issues
Troubleshooting Azure issues is a critical part of Azure administration. This includes diagnosing connectivity problems and addressing configuration errors. You must also know how to identify and fix issues for a smooth-running cloud environment quickly.
Implement security best practices.
You need to implement security best practices in actual situations when you secure your Azure environment. Security protection requires the setup of firewalls and management of access controls alongside data encryption and routine security setting audits to defend against threats.
Optimize Azure Resource Utilization
Optimizing the use of Azure resources to maximize performance and minimize costs is a knowledge necessity. This involves selecting appropriate resource types, scaling resources based on demand, and utilizing Azure’s cost management tools to monitor and adjust resource usage efficiently.
Pro-tips To Pass The Microsoft Azure Exam AZ-104 Certification
Deep understanding of the exam format
If you are familiar with basic IT concepts, cloud computing, and security principles, it will be a lot easier to understand the AZ-104 exam objectives and details. The best way to begin is to first decode the exam format by studying the exam guide. This will give you a comprehensive overview of the certification and help analyze what skills you already have and what exactly you should focus on.
Breathe and strategize
Do not try to finish the entire course in one go. You may know a few things head-on, and then there will be concepts you might be learning for the first time. Note the topics that you need to dive deeper into and focus on. Then, you may gradually shift to the already-known ones. You can refer to Azure learning paths on the AZ-104 portal or check out our nuanced, thoughtfully designed video lectures from our industry experts. Over 237 video courses offer comprehensive coverage of all the concepts included in the AZ-104 exam syllabus.
Learn Azure skills
Whizlabs offers training for the Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate certification to give you a comprehensive grasp of the critical skills of Azure administration and equips you with all the secret sauces you need to pass this Azure exam successfully. Here are some of the essential services covered in detail in our training course:
- Microsoft Intra ID
- Azure Storage Service
- Monitor & Maintain Azure Resources
- Implement & Manage Azure Infrastructure
- Azure Application Gateway
- Security & Compliance
Get hands-on experience with Azure hands-on labs
Getting hands-on experience for the AZ-104 exam is one of the most important elements of the preparation. Learn how to create and manage Azure resources, optimize resource utilization, troubleshoot basic issues, etc. One of the best ways to do this is to use hands-on labs.
Whizlabs offers Azure Administration training labs developed by subject matter experts from the Azure cloud platform. These guided labs will allow you to practice in the real-time Azure playground to learn Azure Administrator skills. It includes labs for:
- Deploy an ASP.NET app to Azure with Azure SQL Database
- Subscribe to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) events with Azure Event Grid
- Implement DNS name resolution in Azure
- Create a C# function in Azure using Visual Studio Code
- Access and tour the Azure portal
- Create an Azure DNS zone and record using Terraform
- Creating a Secure Site-to-Site VPN Connection Between Two Azure Virtual Networks
In addition to this, you can explore the AZ 104 Cloud Sandbox. It is an Azure Playground with unlimited access to practice, test, and experiment with your ideas to prepare for the Azure Administrator exam.
Closing Thoughts
This blog spoke about the nuances of the Microsoft Azure Exam AZ-104 Certification and explored key AZ-104 exam strategies. By learning the core concepts mentioned in this guide, you will navigate the hurdles of the exam and apply your knowledge effectively in real-world scenarios. With the right resources, becoming a certified Azure Administrator Associate and tackling the challenges of managing and deploying solutions on the Azure platform is a task of ease. Contact us in case of queries!
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