How to prepare for AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer Certification?

Microsoft Azure / By Dharmendra Digari

Are you looking to become a certified Microsoft Azure IoT Developer? If so, you need to pass the AZ-220 exam.

In this blog, we will cover everything you need to know in order to prepare for the AZ-220 exam on Microsoft Azure IoT developer certification, including the skills you will need to master, the resources available to help you prepare, and our top tips for success in AZ-220 exam.

Let us dive into the topic!

Latest updates: AZ-220: Microsoft Azure IoT Developer certification is retired on July 31st, 2023.

Table of Contents

All about AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer Certification

The AZ-220: Microsoft Azure IoT Developer is an specialty level certification that validates your skills with subject matter expertise in creation and maintenance of the cloud and device portions of an IoT solution.

This AZ-220 certification would require you to have experience with how to create and configure IoT Hubs, as well as how to connect devices to them. Device management is another important topic on the AZ-220 exam. You will need to know how to provision and manage devices, as well as how to troubleshoot the common issues.

Finally, security is a critical component of any Azure IoT solution. You will need to know how to secure IoT devices and data, as well as how to implement security best practices.

The exam AZ-220 will test your ability to:

Implementing design specifications for IoT solutions
Plan and deploy modules and configuring device networking for the Azure IoT Edge
Managing data streams by implementing designs for solutions

Candidates appearing for this AZ-220 exam should have the basic understanding of:

Device types and Azure services, including data storage options, data processing, data analysis, AI, and other platform as a service (PaaS) option.
They must be able to program in at least one Azure IoT software development kit–supported by SDK-supported language.

What will you learn from the AZ-220 exam?

The AZ-220 exam will help you gain an in-depth knowledge of developing solutions for the Microsoft Azure IoT platform. You will also learn how to set up Azure IoT, including how devices can be connected for send and receive information, and how to manage IoT deployments.

So, what can you expect to learn from the AZ-220 exam? Here are some of the key topics you will learn from this AZ-220 certification:

Connecting devices to Azure IoT
Sending and receiving data with Azure IoT
Managing Azure IoT deployments
Debugging and troubleshooting Azure IoT applications

As an Azure IoT Developer, you will need to be able to accomplish the following technical tasks:

Develop IoT solutions that ingest, process, and store data
Develop solutions that connect devices to the cloud
Develop solutions that use Azure IoT Edge
Develop solutions that use Azure IoT Hub
Develop solutions that use Azure Time Series Insights

Passing the AZ-220 exam will not only give you a recognized certification, but also help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful IoT developer. Will look at some of the key skills you will gain from passing the exam.

Create, manage, and configure an Azure IoT hub.
Provision devices by using IoT Hub and DPS, including provisioning at scale.
Establishing a secure two-way communication between devices and IoT Hub.
By using IoT Hub routing and Azure Stream Analytics implement message processing
Support business integration requirements by configuring the connection to Time Series Insights
Implementation of IoT Edge scenarios using marketplace modules and various edge gateway patterns.
Implementing IoT Edge scenarios that require developing and deploying custom modules and containers.
Implementing device management using device twins and direct methods.
Implementation of solution monitoring, logging, and diagnostics testing.
Recognizing the address security concerns and implement Microsoft Defender for IoT.
Build an Azure Digital Twins solution that integrates upstream and downstream services.
By using Azure IoT Central build an IoT Solution and recognize SaaS opportunities for IoT.
Plan for the Azure IoT Hub solution architecture
Best practices for implementation of security

Know about: Azure Certification path in 2022

Who should take the AZ-220 Exam?

The AZ-220 exam is intended for Microsoft Azure IoT developers who design, build, test, and maintain IoT solutions. Candidates for this exam should have experience developing cloud-based solutions and working with Azure IoT Hub.

If you are a developer who wants to learn how to build IoT solutions using Azure, then this exam is for you. It will test your knowledge of IoT development and Azure services. So, if you are an Azure developer or an IoT developer looking to get certified, then you should take the AZ-220 exam.

What is the prerequisite for the AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer Specialty exam?

You need to fulfill some prior requirements before diving headlong into the AZ-220 certification exam.

To start, you should have a strong understanding of the Azure IoT platform and how to develop applications that work with it. You should also be familiar with the various services that Azure IoT offers, and how to use them to set up IoT solutions.

In addition, you should have experience working with the

Azure IoT SDK and be able to write code in C#.
Experience with other programming languages (such as Java or Python) is also helpful.
Finally, you should have a good understanding of IoT security.

Exam Overview of AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer Specialty exam

Exam Domains of AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer Specialty exam

The AZ-220 certification exam covers seven domains and carries specific weightage in the exam. Here is what the AZ-220 exam breakup looks like:

Domain	Weightage
Build the Azure IoT Hub solution infrastructure	10-15%
Provisioning and managing devices	15-20%
Implementation of IoT Edge	15-20%
Implementation of business integration	5-10%
Manage and process data	15-20%
Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize IoT solutions	5-10%
Best practices to implement security	5-10%

Each of these AZ-220 domains has several subtopics that includes:

Build the Azure IoT Hub solution infrastructure (10-15%)

Create and construct an IoT hub
Create a device messaging and communication
Configure the physical IoT devices

Provisioning and managing devices (15-20%)

Establish the device provisioning service
Control the device lifecycle
Run IoT devices by using IoT Hub
Control IoT devices by using Azure IoT Central

Implementation of IoT Edge (15-20%)

Create an IoT Edge device
Set an IoT Edge device
Begin to develop IoT Edge modules
Build an IoT Edge device

Implementation of business integration (5-10%)

Merge with upstream and downstream systems
Construct an IoT solution that uses Azure Digital Twins

Manage and process data (15-20%)

By using Azure IoT Hub configure message routing
By using IoT data configure stream processing
Build Azure Stream Analytics queries
By using Azure Time Series Insights process the real-time data

Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize IoT solutions (5-10%)

Customize health monitoring
Fine-Tune device communication

Best practices to implement security (5-10%)

Implementing the security for IoT devices and services
Implementing the Microsoft Defender for IoT

Study materials to refer for the AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer Specialty exam?

When it comes to studying for the AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer Specialty exam, there are a few key resources that you should definitely make use of.

First and foremost, the official Microsoft Azure documentation is a great place to start. This will give you a solid understanding of all the different services and concepts that you need to know for the exam.

Secondly, the Microsoft Learning path is a great resource for learning about Azure IoT specifically. This path includes a variety of resources, including official Microsoft documentation, instructor-led training, and practice tests. They have a bunch of different modules that you can work through at your own pace, and each one covers a different topic that you need to know for the exam.

This Microsoft path covers more advanced topics, such as working with Azure IoT Hub device Provisioning Service and Azure IoT Edge modules.

Both learning paths include hands-on labs so you can practice what you are learning. After completing these learning paths, you should have the skills and knowledge you need to pass the AZ-220 exam.

Try our Free test on AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer exam

Third, the paid instructor-led video tutorials are a great way to delve into the nitty-gritty of the Azure cloud infrastructure and administration. The AZ-220T00: Microsoft Azure IoT Developer course covers basics of Azure IoT services such as IoT Hub, Device Provisioning Services, Azure Stream Analytics, Time Series Insights, and so on.

Fourth, if you want to get hands-on experience with the Azure IoT infrastructure and learn how to use them in a real-world scenario, go for Github’s AZ-220 hands-on labs. They have updated content and help you learn Azure IoT infrastructure inside out.

Fifth, once you finish the theoretical and practical aspects of the AZ-220 exam, you can go for AZ-220 practice exams and Microsoft’s Exam Sandbox. These highly nuanced mock-up tests & azure sandbox will help you calculate and gamify your preparations.

Lastly, if you want to know more about AZ-220 exam objectives or network with Azure professionals, you can explore Microsoft Learn Community.

How to prepare for the AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer exam?

To help you prepare, we have put together a few preparation tips on what you can do to make sure you are ready for the AZ-220.

Understand the Azure IoT platform

The first step to preparing for the AZ-220 is to make sure you have a strong understanding of the Azure IoT platform. You will need to know how to work with Azure IoT Hubs, Devices, and Services. If you are not already familiar with Azure IoT, we recommend checking out the Azure IoT Developer Center. This is a great resource for learning about the platform and getting started with development.

Review the exam objectives

Once you have a good understanding of the Azure IoT platform, you should take some time to review the exam objectives. This will give you a better idea of what topics will be covered on the test. You can find the exam objectives on the Microsoft website. Make sure you understand each objective and what you need to know to be successful on the exam. You will also find numerous AZ-220 exam dumps and practice papers in the market.

Get hands-on experience

One of the best ways to prepare for the AZ-220 is to get some hands-on experience with Azure IoT development. If you can build a few IoT solutions, you will be in good shape when it comes time to take the exam

Experiment Azure services

Experiment with different Azure services. The more experience you have with Azure, the better equipped you will be to answer questions on the exam.

FAQ for AZ-220 exam

If you are planning on taking the AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer exam, you might be wondering what to expect. Here are some FAQs to help you get started.

1. What topics are covered on the exam?

The AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer exam covers a wide range of topics related to developing solutions for the Azure IoT platform. This includes topics such as device connectivity, device management, data processing, and security.

2. What type of questions can I expect to see on the exam?

The AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer exam consists of multiple-choice and scenario-based questions.

3. How long is the exam?

The AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer exam is two hours long

4. What is the passing score for the exam?

The passing score for the AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer exam is 700 out of 1000.

5. How much does the AZ-220 exam cost?

The cost of the AZ-220 exam is $165.

We hope this FAQ has been helpful as you prepare for the AZ-220 exam. For more information on the exam, be sure to check out the official Microsoft Azure IoT Developer website.

Sample practice exam questions for AZ-220

Here comes, some lists of sample AZ-220 practice exam questions from Whizlabs practice tests. Do you wish to access the full length practice exam then, please purchase it from Whizlabs.

Domain : Implement IoT Edge

Question 1 : As part of an IoT solution, you have to deploy image recognition logic to certain field devices, to complete computation-intensive tasks locally. The devices are already registered in the IoT Hub as edge devices. Your task is to go on with their configuration and deploy the runtime logic. You have to deploy 3 interdependent custom modules to your device.

Which two properties should you configure in the deployment manifest to have your device operate properly?

startupOrder in the custom modules
StartupOrder in the EdgeHub module
routes property of EdgeHub module
startupOrder of the EdgeAgent module
Configuration.id in of the EdgeAgent module

Correct Answers: A and C

Explanation

Option A is CORRECT because the startupOrder desired property of the modules must be set to determine the order the IoT Edge agent should start the modules when they are first deployed.
Option B is incorrect because the startupOrder is a desired property of the EdgeAgent and the modules. It is not applicable for EdgeHub.
Option C is CORRECT because it is the IoT Edge hub that orchestrates the communication between other modules, IoT Hub, and leaf devices. The edgeHub module twin contains the desired property route that defines how messages flow within a deployment.
Option D is incorrect because The edgeAgent module doesn’t have a startup order parameter. After all, it always starts first.
Option E is incorrect because this property is set by IoT Hub when the manifest is applied during the deployment. It is not part of a deployment manifest.

References:

Domain : Process and manage data

Question 2 : You are building an industrial IoT solution where using several IoT hubs, you collect telemetry data from several field sensors. The ingested data must be distributed through a Service Bus, so you need to establish a route to forward messages from your IoT hubs to a Service Bus topic. Besides, each message needs to be stamped with the name of the IoT hub ($iothubname) which it originates from, in order to enable further classification. You decide to use IoT hub’s message routing with enrichment options.

Does it help you to achieve your goal?

Yes
No

Correct Answer: A

Explanation

Option A is CORRECT because, with IoT hub’s routing capability, you can forward incoming messages to other Azure services as custom endpoints, like Blob Storage or Service Bus. Enrichment of message also can be applied as part of the routing.
Option B is incorrect Azure Service Bus (both topics and queues) are possible custom endpoints for IoT Hub, hence they are valid targets in message routing.

References:

Domain : Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize IoT solutions

Q3 : As part of your industrial IoT solution, you have 10 wind turbines equipped with several sensors. All of these sensors send thousands of telemetry data to an IoT hub. You have built a solution that provides real-time visibility, on-the-fly analysis of key data for the operations. For troubleshooting and further analysis, you are told that you can use the Connections and Device telemetry logs collected and sent to Log Analytics automatically by Azure Monitor.

Is that sufficient to solve the problem?

Yes
No

Correct Answer: B

Explanation

Option A is incorrect because, to make resource log data available for later use, a diagnostic setting must be configured in the IoT Hub for redirecting data into one of the three destinations: Log Analytics, Event hubs, Storage account. No automatic log collection takes place.
Option B is CORRECT because, by default, resource logs are not collected. Resource logs (like Connections and Device telemetry) are generated automatically by Azure resources (like IoT Hub), but for them to be collected, you also need to configure a diagnostic setting in IoT Hub.

Diagram:

References:

Domain : Provision and manage devices

Question 4 : You are operating the IoT infrastructure of a company manufacturing chemical compounds in five geographical locations. In the previous years, all the sites were equipped with a number of field sensors which are now registered to Azure IoT hubs, via the automatic provisioning service. One of the lines of businesses being sold, devices at site B must be decommissioned from the system and they must be prevented from provisioning again in the future.

Which two of the following steps should you execute to meet the requirement?

Disable the X.509 certificate in Device Provisioning Service
Delete the device identities from IoT Hub
Delete the enrollment group from DPS
Disable the enrollment group in DPS
Disable the devices on the IoT Hub

Correct Answers: B and C

Explanation

Option A is incorrect because you cannot disable the X.509 certificate in DPS. What you can do is disable the enrollment group (which invalidates the certificate, implicitly).
Option B is CORRECT because of the change of ownership, you need to permanently remove the devices from the IoT hub’s registry, in order to prevent future communications and data transfer. Therefore, you need to delete the device’s entry from the identity registry.
Option C is CORRECT because, in order to prevent devices from automatically re-enrolling to DPS, their entry must be permanently removed from the provisioning service.
Option D is incorrect because, for the given scenario, you have to ensure that the devices will not be able to re-provision after being decommissioned. The enrollment entries must be deleted instead of getting disabled.
Option E is incorrect because, for the given scenario, you have to ensure that the devices will not be present in the IoT hub any more, after being decommissioned. The identities entries must be deleted from IoT hub.

Reference:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/iot-dps/how-to-unprovision-devices

Domain : Provision and manage devices

Question 5 : You need to connect 100 distributed sensors to your Azure IoT infrastructure. Most of the devices are Azure certified smart sensors developed by a major manufacturer but there are several devices developed in-house, by your engineering department. You want to use the bulk provisioning process supported by IoT Central.

Which of the following steps cannot be skipped for your in-house devices?

Export device data to CSV
Create a device template
Configure device capabilities
Import list of devices from CSV

Correct Answer: C

Explanation

Option A is incorrect because during bulk provisioning, the device list, together with the credentials can be exported to CSV, which then can be used to update the code of the devices. (This step must be preceded by the “Import list of devices from CSV” step.)
Option B is incorrect because when creating “standard” devices, selecting a device template is required. For certified equipment, it is created automatically.
Option C is CORRECT because Azure certified device templates come fully pre-configured and they are ready to use. For your own devices, however, the capabilities (as well as other properties of the device template) must be manually defined and configured.
Option D is incorrect during bulk provisioning of devices, the list of device ID-s and names can be imported from CSV. IoT Central then automatically generates the devices with the necessary SAS keys. Imported devices are created as “Unassigned”, i.e. not having a template associated.

Reference:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/iot-central/core/howto-manage-devices#import-devices

Summary

This AZ-220 exam preparation guide article, covered with complete preparation tips, that will help you to pass the AZ-220 Microsoft Azure IoT Developer Specialty Certification exam!

So, if you are aspiring to pass the AZ-220 certification exam, we at Whizlabs level up your preparation by providing you with all the training resources like video courses, practice tests and hands-on-labs, Azure sandboxes for real-time experiments that you need to pass the certification successfully.

We hope this blog has helped you to get started on your journey to becoming a Microsoft Azure IoT Developer. Connect with us for further updates on AZ-220 exam.

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About Dharmendra Digari

Dharmendra Digari carries years of experience as a product manager. He pursued his MBA, which honed his skills of seeing products differently than others perceive. He specialises in products from the information technology and services domain, with a proven history of expertise. His skills include AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Customer Relationship Management, IT Business Analysis and Customer Service Operations. He has specifically helped many companies in the e-commerce domain establish themselves with refined and well-developed products, carving a niche for themselves.

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