Exam (elaborations) TEST BANK FOR Microsoft Certified Azure Fundamentals Study Guide (EXAM AZ-900) By Jim Boyce
Azure Fundamentals
Study Guide
Exam
... [Show More] AZ-900
Jim Boyce
Contents at a Glance
Introduction xix
Assessment Test xxxii
Chapter 1 Cloud Concepts 1
Chapter 2 Azure Core Services 25
Chapter 3 Azure Core Networking Services 59
Chapter 4 Security, Compliance, Privacy, and Trust 75
Chapter 5 Azure Solutions 123
Chapter 6 Azure Pricing, Service Levels, and Lifecycle 137
Chapter 7 Creating and Managing Azure Resources 157
Appendix Answers to Review Questions 179
Index 193
Contents
Introduction xix
Assessment Test xxxii
Chapter 1 Cloud Concepts 1
Understanding Cloud Computing 2
Benefits of Cloud Computing 4
Economic Benefits 4
Scalability and Elasticity 5
High Availability 7
Fault Tolerance 7
Disaster Recovery 8
Human Resources 9
Financial Models 9
Cloud Computing Models and Responsibilities 10
Software-as-a-Service 10
Infrastructure-as-a-Service 12
Platform-as-a-Service 13
Shared Responsibility 15
Public, Private, and Hybrid Cloud Models 16
Public Cloud 16
Private Cloud 17
Hybrid Cloud 17
Summary 18
Exam Essentials 18
Review Questions 21
Chapter 2 Azure Core Services 25
Core Azure Architectural Components 26
Geographies and Regions 26
Availability Zones 28
Bringing It All Together 30
Resources and Resource Groups 31
Azure Resource Manager 33
Azure Subscriptions and Billing Scope 33
Azure Subscriptions 33
Azure Billing Accounts 34
Billing Scope 35
Azure Tenants 37
Core Azure Services 37
Virtual Machines 38
xiv Contents
Virtual Machine Scale Sets 39
Availability Sets 40
Azure App Service 42
Azure Container Instances 42
Azure Kubernetes Service 43
Windows Virtual Desktop 44
Core Azure Storage 44
Blob Storage 44
Blob Storage Tiers 45
Disk Storage 45
File Storage 46
Storage Accounts 46
Core Data Services 47
Structured and Unstructured Data 47
Azure SQL Database 47
SQL Managed Instance 48
Cosmos DB 48
Azure Database for MySQL 49
Azure Database for PostgreSQL 49
Azure Database Migration Service 49
Microsoft Marketplace 50
Summary 50
Exam Essentials 51
Review Questions 53
Chapter 3 Azure Core Networking Services 59
Networking Concepts 60
Client-Server and Serverless Computing 60
Network Addressing 61
Domain Name System 61
Routing 63
Virtual Networks 63
Load Balancers 64
VPN Gateway 66
Azure VPN Gateway 67
ExpressRoute 68
Content Delivery Networks 69
Summary 70
Exam Essentials 71
Review Questions 72
Chapter 4 Security, Compliance, Privacy, and Trust 75
Network Security 77
Defense in Depth 77
Contents xv
Azure Firewall 78
Web Application Firewall 80
Network Security Groups 81
Application Security Groups 83
User-Defined Routes 83
Azure DDoS Protection 84
Authentication and Authorization 84
Azure Active Directory 84
Authentication and Authorization 86
Azure Multifactor Authentication 87
Conditional Access 87
Single Sign-On (SSO) 88
Security Tools and Features 88
Azure Security Center 88
Azure Key Vault 90
Azure Information Protection 91
Azure Advanced Threat Protection 91
Azure Sentinel 92
Azure Dedicated Hosts 92
Azure Governance Methodologies 93
Azure Policies 93
Azure Initiatives 94
Role-Based Access Control 94
Resource Locks 97
Azure Blueprints 97
Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure 99
Azure Monitoring and Reporting Options 100
Azure Monitor 100
Azure Service Health 102
Azure Advisor 103
Compliance and Data Protection
Standards 105
Industry Compliance Standards and Terms 105
Microsoft Privacy Statement 106
Online Service Terms 107
Data Protection Addendum 107
Trust Center 107
Service Trust Portal 107
Compliance Manager 108
Azure Government 109
Azure China 109
Summary 110
Exam Essentials 111
Review Questions 114
xvi Contents
Chapter 5 Azure Solutions 123
Internet of Things (IoT) 124
Azure IoT Hub 124
Azure IoT Central 125
Azure Sphere 126
Artificial Intelligence 126
Azure Machine Learning 127
Azure Cognitive Services 128
Azure Bot Service 128
Serverless Computing 128
Azure Functions 129
Azure Logic Apps 129
DevOps 130
Azure DevOps Services 130
GitHub and GitHub Actions 130
Azure DevTest Labs 131
Summary 131
Exam Essentials 131
Review Questions 133
Chapter 6 Azure Pricing, Service Levels, and Lifecycle 137
Purchasing Azure Services 138
Azure Subscriptions 138
Purchasing Services 139
Factors Affecting Cost 139
Billing Zones 141
Planning and Managing Azure Costs 141
TCO Calculator 141
Pricing Calculator 143
Managing and Minimizing Azure Cost 144
Azure Cost Management + Billing 148
Service Level Agreements 149
Composite SLAs 150
Availability Zones 150
Service Lifecycles 151
Preview 151
General Availability 151
Summary 152
Exam Essentials 152
Review Questions 154
Chapter 7 Creating and Managing Azure Resources 157
Azure Management Tools 158
Azure Portal 158
Contents xvii
Azure PowerShell 160
Azure CLI 161
Azure Cloud Shell 161
Azure Mobile App 162
Using ARM Templates 163
Bringing It All Together 163
Creating and Managing Resources 163
Creating a Free Subscription 164
Creating Resource Groups 165
Creating Azure Resources and Services 166
Deleting Resources and Services 174
Summary 175
Exam Essentials 175
Review Questions 177
Appendix Answers to Review Questions 179
Chapter 1: Cloud Concepts 180
Chapter 2: Azure Core Services 181
Chapter 3: Azure Core Networking Services 184
Chapter 4: Security, Compliance, Privacy, and Trust 185
Chapter 5: Azure Solutions 189
Chapter 6: Azure Pricing, Service Levels, and Lifecycle 190
Chapter 7: Creating and Managing Azure Resources 192
Index 193
Introduction
I currently manage the support and proactive services experience for a portfolio of
Microsoft customers, many of whom have either already made a significant transition from
on-premises to Azure or are in the process of evaluating a move to Azure. I field questions
daily about Azure services, deployment strategies, and proactive services designed to not only
educate our customers on Azure and Microsoft 365, but also assist them in planning, deploying,
and supporting their Azure and M365 workloads.
Continuing technical training is one of the commitments that most Microsoft employees
make in addition to the core responsibilities of their roles. As part of that commitment,
I completed the AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Certification. The certification
helped broaden my background across the entire Azure service portfolio. It also reinforced
my understanding that not only highly technical roles benefit from the training and
certification—less technical roles benefit from the certification as well.
That’s the approach we’ve taken for this book. The content is intended to help you understand
the requirements of the AZ-900 Fundamentals exam and prepare to successfully
pass the exam. The book does not go deep into Azure but rather focuses on core concepts,
services, and resources in Azure that are covered by the exam objectives. The goal of the
AZ-900 exam is not to give you a technical depth in Azure, but rather to give you a broad
understanding that will enable you to understand the benefits that Azure offers and begin to
integrate Azure into your role, whether technical or not.
Microsoft AZ-900 Certification Exam
Microsoft currently offers 17 certifications at many levels across the Azure cloud offering,
ranging from fundamental to very technical. The AZ-900 exam and certification should
be the first certification step in your Azure certification path if you do not yet have a
fundamental understanding of cloud offerings and Azure in particular. So, whether you are
interested in certification in Azure solutions, data, AI, or other areas, your certification path
often begins with AZ-900.
The following section explores the certification paths and process in more detail.
How Do You Become Certified in Azure?
As explained earlier, Microsoft currently offers 17 certifications for Azure. Obviously, fundamentals
is one certification area, but there are multiple certification paths for Azure
administration, app development, data, AI, security, DevOps, IoT, and Azure Stack. These
certifications are currently supported by 39 exams. Even if you plan to pursue certification
in, for example, Azure IoT development, you should consider AZ-900 Fundamentals to give
you a broader understanding of Azure; the knowledge you gain will supplement your understanding
of your selected certification. It will also help you leverage and integrate additional
Azure workloads in your area of specialization.
xx Introduction
Becoming certified in Azure is relatively simple. Choose the certification you want to
achieve, work through the prescribed learning path for the certification, prepare for the
exam, and pass it. Preparation can take many forms, and this book is intended to be your
primary one. People have different learning styles, varying backgrounds and experiences,
differing amounts of time to study, and so on. So, this book might be one of a handful of
resources you use to prepare for the exam.
To begin, work through the chapters of this book and develop a strong understanding
of the questions and answers offered in each one. Practice does make perfect, so consider
working through additional practice test options before taking the exam. Microsoft offers
some knowledge checks online within the content at the following URL:
You will also find other sample test options online, some for free and some for a fee.
All of them provide good additional preparation for the exam. The more questions you
work through before taking the exam, the more likely you are to be successful on your
first attempt.
Types of Exam Questions
We have tried to model the sample questions in this book on the types of questions you will
see in the official AZ-900 exam. Because the test is online, however, some types of questions
are difficult to model in print. The following sections explore the types of questions you will
experience in the official, online AZ-900 exam.
Multiple Choice
These are generally straightforward and come in two variants. The first is a simple question
followed by a selection of possible answers. The test question indicates whether there is a
single answer or multiple correct answers. Each correct response counts toward your point
total. Example (you would choose one answer):
1. Which one of the following provides container orchestration services for containers in Azure?
A. Azure Container Instances (ACI)
B. Azure Kubernetes
C. Azure Logic Apps
D. Azure Container Orchestration Services
Many multiple-choice questions are scenario based, describing a planning, deployment, or
management scenario, followed by a question about the scenario. Example:
2. You are the IT director for Contoso Corporation. Your CIO has asked you to recommend a
solution that will enable the development team to quickly deploy VMs for testing applications.
The solution must provide flexibility but also result in the lowest cost. Which of the
following solutions meets these requirements? (You would choose one or more correct solutions.)
Introduction xxi
Drag-and-Drop and Select Questions
Drag-and-drop questions provide a list of answers that you must match with a
corresponding description. For example, the answers might include Disaster Recovery, Fault
Tolerance, Low Latency, and Dynamic Scalability. You would drag each of these answers
into a box beside the correct description of each.
Select questions describe a scenario and you must choose the correct answer from a dropdown
list that typically offers three possible answers. Example:
3. Which cloud deployment model is used for Azure VMs and Azure SQL Database instances?
(You would choose Infrastructure-as-a-Service from a drop-down list beside Azure VMs and
choose Platform-as-a-Service from the drop-down list beside Azure SQL Database.)
Yes/No Questions
These questions typically include three questions related to a specific topic. You answer by selecting
either Yes or No beside each one. Example (for each you would select either Yes or No):
4. Azure resources can access other resources only in the resource group in which they
reside. Yes No
Deleting a resource group also deletes all resources in the group. Yes No
A resource group can include resources from multiple Azure regions. Yes No
Text Replacement Questions
These questions offer a statement with part of the statement underlined. The statements
sometimes include leading sentences providing additional information. The question offers
four options, A through D. Three offer alternative text that you would use in place of the
underlined text to make it correct. Or, you choose the answer No change is needed if the
underlined text is correct. Example:
5. Azure Data Lake Analytics is a PaaS solution that enables you to query data in a data lake
and build visualizations without deploying hardware or supporting services.
A. is built on SQL Managed Service to provide analytics for large SQL implementations.
B. is a component of Azure IoT Central that provides deep analysis of IoT telemetry.
C. integrates with Azure DevTest Labs to provide code analysis capabilities.
D. No change is needed.
In this example, the underlined text makes the statement correct, so the appropriate answer
is D (no change is needed). But, if Azure Data Lake Analytics were instead a component of
Azure IoT that provided deep analysis of IoT telemetry (it is not), then you would choose B.
Achieving AZ-900 Fundamentals Certification
The previous sections have explored the concepts surrounding AZ-900 certification. The following
sections offer guidance on preparing and registering for the exam, and for taking the exam.
xxii Introduction
Preparing for the Exam
Each person has a unique learning style, and one preparation method is not necessarily the
best for everyone. However, the following list of preparation methods will help anyone be
successful if used as a whole:
■■ Studying: This book obviously provides a great set of resources for learning about Azure
fundamentals, but you might prefer a deeper discussion of some topics to help you
better understand them. Many online sources are available, but Microsoft’s website is
perhaps the best, most authoritative source. When I need to go deeper into a particular
topic, I usually open Bing in a browser and use a search similar to the following, specifying
where to confine the search and the search terms (replace Service Health with the
topic you need to find): site: Azure Service Health.
■■ Hands-on experience: You can create a free Azure subscription that provides a monthly
credit that you can use to deploy and experiment with Azure resources and services.
Although you can’t feasibly experience all of Azure this way (you’re unlikely to deploy
Azure Data Lake and begin mining data), but you can at least explore basic concepts
and resources such as VMs, virtual networking, and so on. Equally important, you can
gain understanding of and experience with the Azure portal and other management
tools covered by the AZ-900 exam.
■■ Sample tests: The test questions in this book are designed to cover the exam objectives
outlined by Microsoft for the AZ-900 exam. However, it’s a good idea to use additional
sample test resources to prepare for the test. Not only does this expose you to a broader
base of questions, but it helps avoid the “memorize the question and answer” issue that
often arises from using a single sample source.
Registering for the Exam
When you feel confident in your ability to pass the exam, your next step is to register for the
exam. To do so, navigate to [Show Less]