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I passed AZ-900 on my first attempt in 2024 — and I’ve since helped 200+ students do the same. This study guide is the exact roadmap, including what to study, what to skip, and the traps that fail people.
AZ-900 is a beginner certification. No coding, no hands-on labs required. It’s 40% concepts, 60% Azure service knowledge. You can pass in 4 weeks studying 1-2 hours per day.
AZ-900 Exam Overview
Exam Details
- Questions: 40-60 questions
- Time: 45-60 minutes
- Passing Score: 700 out of 1000
- Cost: $99 (approximately ₹8,200)
- Format: Multiple choice, drag-drop, case studies
Skills Measured
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| Cloud Concepts | 20-25% |
| Azure Architecture and Services | 35-40% |
| Azure Management and Governance | 35-40% |
Week 1: Cloud Concepts
Day 1-2: What is Cloud Computing?
Key concepts you MUST understand:
Cloud Models
- Public Cloud: Azure, AWS, GCP — shared infrastructure
- Private Cloud: Your own data center, virtualized
- Hybrid Cloud: Mix of public and private
Service Models
- IaaS: Infrastructure as a Service (VMs, storage) — You manage OS and apps
- PaaS: Platform as a Service (App Service, SQL Database) — You manage apps only
- SaaS: Software as a Service (Office 365, Gmail) — Just use it
Day 3-4: Shared Responsibility Model
Memorize this table — it appears on the exam:
| Responsibility | On-Premises | IaaS | PaaS | SaaS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Security | You | Microsoft | Microsoft | Microsoft |
| Network Control | You | You | Microsoft | Microsoft |
| Operating System | You | You | Microsoft | Microsoft |
| Applications | You | You | You | Microsoft |
| Data | You | You | You | You |
Day 5-7: Cloud Benefits
Exam keywords:
- High Availability: Uptime SLAs (99.9%, 99.95%, etc.)
- Scalability: Add resources when needed (vertical/horizontal)
- Elasticity: Auto-scale up and down
- Agility: Deploy resources in minutes, not weeks
- Geo-distribution: Deploy to multiple regions
- Disaster Recovery: Backup and restore across regions
Week 2: Azure Architecture and Services
Day 1-2: Azure Regions and Availability
This WILL be on the exam:
Regions
- 54+ regions worldwide
- India has 3: Central India, South India, West India
- Each region has multiple data centers
Availability Zones
- Physically separate data centers within a region
- Each zone has independent power, cooling, networking
- Min 3 zones per region
- Use zones for high availability
Region Pairs
- Each region is paired with another (at least 300 miles apart)
- South India ↔ Central India
- Used for disaster recovery
Day 3-4: Core Azure Services
Compute Services
- Virtual Machines: IaaS, you manage everything above the hypervisor
- App Service: PaaS for web apps, mobile backends
- Azure Functions: Serverless code execution
- AKS: Azure Kubernetes Service for containers
- Container Instances: Run containers without VMs
Storage Services
- Blob Storage: Unstructured data (images, videos, backups)
- Disk Storage: Virtual hard disks for VMs
- Azure Files: File shares in the cloud
- Queue Storage: Message queue for decoupling
Storage Tiers
- Hot: Frequently accessed data, higher storage cost
- Cool: Infrequently accessed, 30-day minimum
- Archive: Rarely accessed, hours to retrieve
Day 5-7: Networking Services
Virtual Network (VNet)
- Isolate your Azure resources
- Define subnets, IP ranges
- Connect to on-premises via VPN or ExpressRoute
Network Security Group (NSG)
- Filter traffic to/from resources
- Allow/deny rules by port, IP, protocol
Load Balancer vs Application Gateway
| Feature | Load Balancer | Application Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| OSI Layer | Layer 4 (Transport) | Layer 7 (Application) |
| Protocol | TCP/UDP | HTTP/HTTPS |
| SSL Termination | No | Yes |
| URL Routing | No | Yes |
| Use Case | Any TCP traffic | Web applications |
Week 3: Azure Management and Governance
Day 1-2: Azure AD (Entra ID)
Azure AD is now called Microsoft Entra ID — exam uses both names.
Key Concepts
- Identity: User accounts, groups
- Authentication: Verifying who you are
- Authorization: What you can access
- MFA: Multi-factor authentication
- SSO: Single sign-on across applications
Day 3-4: Azure RBAC
Role-Based Access Control — controls who can do what in Azure.
Built-in Roles
- Owner: Full access including delegation
- Contributor: Full access except delegation
- Reader: View only
- User Access Administrator: Manage user access
Day 5-7: Cost Management
Tools
- Pricing Calculator: Estimate costs before deploying
- TCO Calculator: Compare on-premises vs Azure
- Cost Management: Track and analyze spending
- Azure Advisor: Recommendations for cost optimization
Cost Factors
- Region — Different regions have different prices
- Resource type — VM size, storage tier, etc.
- Usage — Pay for what you use (consumption)
- Reserved Instances — Save up to 72% with 1-3 year commitment
Week 4: Practice Tests and Review
Practice Questions
Do at least 100 practice questions. Focus on:
- Service comparisons (IaaS vs PaaS vs SaaS)
- Storage tier selection
- RBAC scenarios
- Cost optimization choices
Exam Tips
- Read questions twice — Azure exams have tricky wording
- Eliminate obviously wrong answers first
- If two answers seem correct, choose the most specific one
- Don’t overthink — first instinct is usually right
Next Steps
📞 Need help? Call +91 8610964691
