Help with AZ-104

Question

Hey guys, i am looking at studying for the AZ-104. If anyone has any guidance on what i need to look and study please let me know!

Answer 1

For AZ-104 preparation, focus on three things: understanding the skills measured, following the official learning paths, and getting hands-on practice.

1. Review what the exam covers Use the official study guide to understand the scope and weight of each area. AZ-104 is organized into these skill domains:
   • Manage Azure identities and governance (20–25%)
     • Microsoft Entra ID users, groups, licenses, external users, and self-service password reset
     • Role-based access control (RBAC) and access assignments
     • Subscriptions, management groups, Azure Policy, resource locks, tags, and cost management
   • Implement and manage storage (15–20%)
     • Storage firewalls and VNets, SAS tokens, stored access policies, access keys, identity-based access for Azure Files
     • Storage accounts, redundancy, object replication, encryption, AzCopy/Storage Explorer
     • Azure Files and Blob Storage: file shares, containers, tiers, soft delete, snapshots, lifecycle management, versioning
   • Deploy and manage Azure compute resources (20–25%)
     • ARM templates/Bicep: read, modify, deploy, export/convert
     • Virtual machines: create, disk encryption, move across scopes, sizes, disks, availability sets/zones, scale sets
     • Containers: Azure Container Registry, Container Instances, Container Apps, scaling
     • App Service: plans, scaling, TLS/certificates, custom DNS, backup, networking, deployment slots
   • Implement and manage virtual networking (15–20%)
     • VNets, subnets, peering, public IPs, user-defined routes, connectivity troubleshooting
     • NSGs and ASGs, effective rules, Azure Bastion, service endpoints, private endpoints
     • Azure DNS, internal/public load balancers, load-balancing troubleshooting
   • Monitor and maintain Azure resources (10–15%)
     • Azure Monitor metrics and logs, alerts, action groups, Insights
     • Network Watcher and Connection Monitor
     • Backup and recovery: Recovery Services vault, Azure Backup vault, backup policies, backup/restore, Site Recovery, failover, backup reports/alerts
   These sections are detailed in the official study guide and should drive the study plan.
2. Follow the official Microsoft Learn paths Work through the AZ-104-aligned learning paths in order:
   • "AZ-104: Prerequisites for Azure administrators" – covers Azure portal, Cloud Shell, Bash, PowerShell, and ARM templates basics.
   • "AZ-104: Manage identities and governance in Azure" – Entra ID, RBAC, subscriptions, governance.
   • "AZ-104: Implement and manage storage in Azure" – storage accounts, blobs, files, security, redundancy.
   • "AZ-104: Deploy and manage Azure compute resources" – VMs, containers, App Service, ARM/Bicep.
   • "AZ-104: Configure and manage virtual networks for Azure administrators" – VNets, NSGs, DNS, peering, load balancers, Network Watcher.
   • "AZ-104: Monitor and back up Azure resources" – monitoring, backup, and recovery.
   Before starting, it helps to complete the Azure Fundamentals learning paths listed as prerequisites (cloud concepts, Azure architecture and services, management and governance).
3. Get hands-on practice Reading modules alone is not enough. Hands-on work is strongly recommended:
   • Use an Azure subscription (trial or pay-as-you-go) to practice:
     • Creating and managing VNets, subnets, NSGs, peering, and load balancers
     • Creating storage accounts, configuring firewalls, SAS, lifecycle management, and replication
     • Deploying VMs, configuring disks, availability sets/zones, and scale sets
     • Creating App Service plans and apps, configuring scaling, TLS, custom domains, and deployment slots
     • Setting up Azure Monitor metrics/logs, alerts, and using Network Watcher
     • Configuring Recovery Services vaults, backup policies, and testing backup/restore and Site Recovery
4. Use additional prep resources From the official study guide and Q&A recommendations:
   • Take the free official practice assessment for AZ-104 to gauge readiness and identify weak areas.
   • Watch Exam Readiness Zone videos for AZ-104 to understand exam format, common pitfalls, and topic emphasis.
   • Use community and Q&A resources if specific questions arise during study.
5. Check exam logistics and scoring
   • Passing score is 700 or greater.
   • Use the exam sandbox to get familiar with the exam interface.
   • Track progress and schedule the exam from the Microsoft Learn profile.

A practical way to proceed is:

1. Complete Azure Fundamentals paths if needed.
2. Work through each AZ-104 learning path in sequence.
3. For each module, immediately reproduce the tasks in an Azure subscription.
4. Review the official skills list and ensure at least one hands-on experience for every bullet.
5. Finish with the practice assessment and fill any gaps found.

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References:

• Study guide for Exam AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator
• AZ-104: Prerequisites for Azure administrators
• AZ-104: Manage identities and governance in Azure
• AZ-104: Configure and manage virtual networks for Azure administrators
• Guidance for AZ-104 exam preparation - Microsoft Q&A