The az 104 is a certification exam by Microsoft for an Azure Administrator. An Azure Administrator is a part of the team that implements the company’s cloud infrastructure. The role of an Azure Administrator involves managing cloud services that include storage, compute, security, networking, and other Azure cloud capabilities. Let’s get into details about this Microsoft Azure Administrator certification.
Skills measured in the az 104 exam
This Microsoft azure certification or az 104 tests a specific set of skills for the candidates to obtain the certification. Each skill has a weightage in the overall exam. These are the skills:
- Manage Azure identities and governance
Weightage: 15-20 %
- Implement and manage storage
Weightage: 15-20 %
- Deploy and manage Azure compute resources
Weightage: 20-25 %
- Configure and manage virtual networking
Weightage: 20-25 %
- Monitor and maintain Azure resources
Weightage: 10-15 %
Each of these skills has various topics that you need to be thorough with to clear the exam.
Requirements for the exam
This certification exam is not meant for beginners in this field. The exam’s level of difficulty can be called intermediate. Some prior knowledge and experience are required to understand the concepts and processes. At least 6 months of experience in Azure management is needed for this exam. The candidates should have sound knowledge of the following:
- Operating systems
- Servers
- Networking
- Virtualization
- Storage
- Cloud computing
Apart from these areas, candidates for the az 104 exam should have experience in the following:
- PowerShell
- Azure portal
- Azure CLI (Command Line Interface)
- ARM (Azure Resource Manager) Models – ARM is a platform for IaC (infrastructure as code) in Azure that allows managing Azure resources.
- ARM (Azure Resource Manager) templates
- Active directory terms that include domains, domain managers, forests, and backups
- Warehouse
- Translation that includes VMs, virtual hard drives, and virtual networks
- Inhibition management that includes recovery and backup
Important things about the exam
The Microsoft azure certification has the following specifications in terms of the exam:
- The exam’s duration is 150 minutes.
- The questions are multiple-choice.
- The exam has 40-60 questions.
- The exam has a score range of 1 to 1000.
- The passing score is 700. The scores are scaled. Therefore, the passing score may not be equivalent to 70%.
- The passing score is based on the difficulty of the questions and the skills and knowledge that show competence.
- The exam is available in English and localized into a few other languages. The list of the other languages is available on the “Exam Details” web page under the “Schedule Exam” section.
- If you have to choose a language that is not your preference, you can ask for an extra 30 minutes for the exam.
- Most questions are based on the “General Availability” features. If “Preview” features are commonly used, the questions can cover them also.
How to prepare for the az 104 exam?
Strategizing can be helpful in preparing for the az 104 exam. Take the below suggestions into consideration to prepare well for this certification exam.
- Assess yourself and work on the required skills:
This exam requires a list of skills along with experience in many areas related to Azure management. Assess the skills you currently possess and their level. If they cover the exam’s requirements, that’s good. If they don’t, you will need to study and practice the new topics and get a grip on the ones you are not well-versed in. Since the skills require experience, the questions may not be basic. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the topics is necessary to clear the exam.
- Go through Microsoft’s material:
Microsoft provides study material on its Microsoft Learn platform in the form of technical documentation, videos, etc. You can study the listed skills from this platform, topic by topic.
- Choose a study method:
To prepare for this Microsoft azure certification, you need to pick a method that suits you. You can learn it on your own online or get paid instructor-led training. The choice depends on how much time you have to spare for the preparation, how much you can spend on it, and your other commitments, especially if you have a full-time job. Consider all these factors and start with the method that you see best.
- Microsoft Learn community can help:
Microsoft has a “Q&A” section on its Microsoft Learn platform. You can ask questions on this platform if you have any doubts when preparing. Microsoft’s community and engineering experts answer the questions posted in this section. You can post a question by clicking on “Ask a question” on the “Q&A” section’s page. When you type your question, you can find matches from the “Q&A” sections, Stack Overflow, TechNet forums, and MSDN. You can read the answers if you find your question on these matches.
- Practice on exam simulators:
You can find many exam simulators for this exam online. They generate questions similar to the ones you will face in the certification exam. Look for reliable websites that do this and practice as much as you can to get accustomed to the questions and their style.
- Go through exam dumps:
Exam dumps are good sources to see the kind of questions that have been asked in the exam. Going through these can equip you better for the exam. You can also understand your strong and weak areas and work on improving yourself.
The az 104 exam requires knowledge of various topics in Azure administration. With consistent and focused studying, you can clear the exam.
