<p>Preparing for the <strong>AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals</strong> exam? This guide combines the first two lessons of our free mini course. By the end, you’ll understand <strong>what Azure is, why businesses use it, and the core services you need to know for the exam</strong>.</p><p>We’ll also include <strong>practice questions</strong> at the end to test your knowledge.</p><div data-text="What is Microsoft Azure?" data-type="divider" class="divider-component mb-4 sm:mb-6" style="display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 0.5rem;"><div class="divider-icon" style="height: 1.5rem; width: 0.25rem; border-radius: 9999px; background: oklch(0.6 0.118 184.704);"></div><h2 class="divider-title" style="font-size: 1.125rem; font-weight: 700; color: white; margin: 0px;">What is Microsoft Azure?</h2><div class="divider-line" style="height: 1px; flex: 1 1 0%; background: oklch(0.6 0.118 184.704);"></div></div><p>Microsoft Azure is Microsoft’s <strong>cloud computing platform</strong>. Instead of buying and managing your own servers and software, Azure lets you <strong>rent IT resources from Microsoft’s global data centers</strong>.</p><p>You can use Azure for:</p><ul><li><p>Hosting websites and applications</p></li><li><p>Storing and analyzing data</p></li><li><p>Building AI and machine learning solutions</p></li><li><p>Running virtual machines and networks</p></li></ul><p>Think of Azure as <strong>“IT infrastructure on demand.”</strong> You pay only for what you use.</p><div data-text="Core Concepts You Must Know for the AZ-900" data-type="divider" class="divider-component mb-4 sm:mb-6" style="display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 0.5rem;"><div class="divider-icon" style="height: 1.5rem; width: 0.25rem; border-radius: 9999px; background: oklch(0.6 0.118 184.704);"></div><h2 class="divider-title" style="font-size: 1.125rem; font-weight: 700; color: white; margin: 0px;">Core Concepts You Must Know for the AZ-900</h2><div class="divider-line" style="height: 1px; flex: 1 1 0%; background: oklch(0.6 0.118 184.704);"></div></div><ul><li><p><strong>IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service):</strong><br>Rent virtual machines, storage, or networking infrastructure. You manage everything except the physical hardware.</p></li><li><p><strong>PaaS (Platform as a Service):</strong><br>Build and deploy apps without managing servers. Azure takes care of infrastructure and runtime.</p></li><li><p><strong>SaaS (Software as a Service):</strong><br>Ready-to-use apps delivered over the internet (like Microsoft 365 or Dynamics 365).</p></li><li><p><strong>Regions:</strong><br>Physical areas (e.g., <em>East US</em>, <em>West Europe</em>) where Azure data centers are located.</p></li><li><p><strong>Availability Zones:</strong><br>Separate physical data centers within a region for redundancy.</p></li><li><p><strong>Resource Groups:</strong><br>Logical containers to organize your Azure resources.</p></li></ul><div data-text="Why Businesses Choose Azure" data-type="divider" class="divider-component mb-4 sm:mb-6" style="display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 0.5rem;"><div class="divider-icon" style="height: 1.5rem; width: 0.25rem; border-radius: 9999px; background: oklch(0.6 0.118 184.704);"></div><h2 class="divider-title" style="font-size: 1.125rem; font-weight: 700; color: white; margin: 0px;">Why Businesses Choose Azure</h2><div class="divider-line" style="height: 1px; flex: 1 1 0%; background: oklch(0.6 0.118 184.704);"></div></div><ul><li><p><strong>Scalability:</strong> Quickly scale resources up or down.</p></li><li><p><strong>Cost-effectiveness:</strong> Pay-as-you-go model avoids large upfront hardware costs.</p></li><li><p><strong>Security &amp; Compliance:</strong> Microsoft invests billions in cybersecurity and holds global compliance certifications.</p></li><li><p><strong>Global Reach:</strong> Azure operates in over <strong>60+ regions</strong>, more than any other cloud provider.</p></li></ul><div data-text="Core Azure Services" data-type="divider" class="divider-component mb-4 sm:mb-6" style="display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 0.5rem;"><div class="divider-icon" style="height: 1.5rem; width: 0.25rem; border-radius: 9999px; background: oklch(0.6 0.118 184.704);"></div><h2 class="divider-title" style="font-size: 1.125rem; font-weight: 700; color: white; margin: 0px;">Core Azure Services</h2><div class="divider-line" style="height: 1px; flex: 1 1 0%; background: oklch(0.6 0.118 184.704);"></div></div><p>After learning what Azure is, the exam expects you to know the <strong>core building blocks of Azure</strong>. Here are the main categories and services you need to remember:</p><h3><strong>1. Compute Services</strong></h3><p>These are services that run your applications.</p><ul><li><p><strong>Azure Virtual Machines (VMs):</strong> IaaS virtual servers you can configure as needed.</p></li><li><p><strong>App Services:</strong> PaaS for hosting web apps, REST APIs, and mobile apps.</p></li><li><p><strong>Azure Functions:</strong> “Serverless computing” — run small pieces of code on demand without managing infrastructure.</p></li><li><p><strong>Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS):</strong> Orchestrates containers at scale.</p></li></ul><h3><strong>2. Networking Services</strong></h3><p>These help connect and secure resources.</p><ul><li><p><strong>Virtual Network (VNet):</strong> Private network in Azure.</p></li><li><p><strong>Load Balancer:</strong> Distributes traffic across multiple resources.</p></li><li><p><strong>VPN Gateway:</strong> Connects on-premises networks to Azure.</p></li><li><p><strong>Azure CDN (Content Delivery Network):</strong> Delivers content globally with low latency.</p></li></ul><h3><strong>3. Storage Services</strong></h3><p>Where you store and manage data.</p><ul><li><p><strong>Blob Storage:</strong> Unstructured data (images, videos, documents).</p></li><li><p><strong>File Storage:</strong> Managed file shares in the cloud.</p></li><li><p><strong>Disk Storage:</strong> Persistent disks for VMs.</p></li><li><p><strong>Archive Storage:</strong> Low-cost, long-term storage for rarely accessed data.</p></li></ul><h3><strong>4. Database Services</strong></h3><p>Managed databases without the admin headache.</p><ul><li><p><strong>Azure SQL Database:</strong> Fully managed relational database.</p></li><li><p><strong>Cosmos DB:</strong> Globally distributed NoSQL database.</p></li><li><p><strong>Azure Database for PostgreSQL/MySQL:</strong> Managed open-source databases.</p></li></ul><h3><strong>5. Identity &amp; Access Management</strong></h3><p>Security is critical for cloud.</p><ul><li><p><strong>Azure Active Directory (Azure AD):</strong> Identity and access management for users and apps.</p></li><li><p><strong>Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA):</strong> Adds an extra security step.</p></li><li><p><strong>Role-Based Access Control (RBAC):</strong> Assigns fine-grained access to resources.</p></li></ul><h3><strong>6. Monitoring &amp; Management</strong></h3><ul><li><p><strong>Azure Monitor:</strong> Collects and analyzes performance metrics.</p></li><li><p><strong>Azure Advisor:</strong> Personalized best-practice recommendations.</p></li><li><p><strong>Azure Service Health:</strong> Alerts you to service issues.</p></li></ul><div data-text="📝 Practice Questions" data-type="divider" class="divider-component mb-4 sm:mb-6" style="display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 0.5rem;"><div class="divider-icon" style="height: 1.5rem; width: 0.25rem; border-radius: 9999px; background: oklch(0.6 0.118 184.704);"></div><h2 class="divider-title" style="font-size: 1.125rem; font-weight: 700; color: white; margin: 0px;">📝 Practice Questions</h2><div class="divider-line" style="height: 1px; flex: 1 1 0%; background: oklch(0.6 0.118 184.704);"></div></div><p><strong>Q1.</strong> Which Azure service would you use to run an application without managing servers?</p><ul><li><p>A) Virtual Machines</p></li><li><p>B) Azure Functions</p></li><li><p>C) Azure Blob Storage</p></li><li><p>D) Azure SQL Database</p></li></ul><p>✅ <strong>Answer:</strong> B) Azure Functions</p><p><strong>Q2.</strong> A company wants to store large amounts of unstructured video files. Which service should they use?</p><ul><li><p>A) Azure Disk Storage</p></li><li><p>B) Azure Cosmos DB</p></li><li><p>C) Azure Blob Storage</p></li><li><p>D) Azure File Storage</p></li></ul><p>✅ <strong>Answer:</strong> C) Azure Blob Storage</p><p><strong>Q3.</strong> Which Azure service is responsible for managing user identities and single sign-on?</p><ul><li><p>A) Azure AD</p></li><li><p>B) Azure Monitor</p></li><li><p>C) Azure VPN Gateway</p></li><li><p>D) Azure CDN</p></li></ul><p>✅ <strong>Answer:</strong> A) Azure AD</p><div data-text="Next Steps" data-type="divider" class="divider-component mb-4 sm:mb-6" style="display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 0.5rem;"><div class="divider-icon" style="height: 1.5rem; width: 0.25rem; border-radius: 9999px; background: oklch(0.6 0.118 184.704);"></div><h2 class="divider-title" style="font-size: 1.125rem; font-weight: 700; color: white; margin: 0px;">Next Steps</h2><div class="divider-line" style="height: 1px; flex: 1 1 0%; background: oklch(0.6 0.118 184.704);"></div></div><p>Congratulations!  You’ve completed <strong>Lesson 1 &amp; 2 of our AZ-900 mini course</strong>. You now understand:</p><ul><li><p>What Azure is</p></li><li><p>Core concepts like IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, Regions, and Resource Groups</p></li><li><p>The main categories of Azure services</p></li></ul><p>In the next lesson, we’ll cover <strong>Azure Pricing, SLA, and Lifecycle</strong> — another key topic for the exam.</p><p>If you’re ready to challenge yourself, try a <strong>full-length AZ-900 practice test</strong> here:</p><div data-text="Azure Fundamentals Practice Exams" data-url="https://zerotoarchitect.com/certifications/az-900" data-type="source" class="source-component" style="display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 1rem; flex-wrap: wrap; text-decoration: none; color: inherit;"><div class="source-header" style="display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 0.75rem; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span class="source-icon">🔗</span><span class="source-type">External Source</span></div><div class="source-content" style="display: flex; flex-flow: wrap; align-items: center; gap: 1rem; flex: 1 1 0%; min-width: 0px;"><div class="source-text">Azure Fundamentals Practice Exams</div></div></div><p></p>

AZ-900 Study Guide: Lesson 1 & 2 – What is Microsoft Azure + Core Services

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