Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Certification and Beyond A complete AZ-900 exam guide with online mock exams, flashcards, and… (Steve Miles)（Z-Library）

Page 1

(This page has no text content)

Page 2

Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Certification and Beyond Third Edition A complete AZ-900 exam guide with online mock exams, flashcards, and hands-on activities Steve Miles

Page 3

Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Certification and Beyond Third Edition Copyright © 2026 Packt Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews. Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing or its dealers and distributors, will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this book. Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information. Portfolio Director: Kartikey Pandey Relationship Lead: Aaron Tanna Project Manager: Sonam Pandey Content Engineer: Apramit Bhattacharya Technical Editors: Sumant Jadhav and Simran Ali Copy Editor: Safis Editing Indexer: Tejal Soni Proofreader: Apramit Bhattacharya Production Designer: Ganesh Bhadwalkar Growth Lead: Shreyans Singh First published: January 2022 Second published: January 2024 Third Edition: March 2026 Production reference: 1170326 Published by Packt Publishing Ltd. Grosvenor House 11 St Paul's Square Birmingham B3 1RB, UK. ISBN 978-1-80670-241-1

Page 4

Foreword When this book was first written, the goal was clear: help people understand Azure well enough to pass the AZ 900 exam and confidently take their first steps into the cloud. The first edition explained the fundamentals. The second refined them. This third edition does something more important: it places Azure fundamentals in the context of how the cloud is actually used today. Cloud computing is no longer just about learning service names or memorizing definitions for an exam. Azure now underpins AI-driven workloads, global platforms, regulated environments, and real operational trade-offs. Fundamentals are obviously still important, but instead of being OK enough to get started, they have also become more consequential. This edition reflects that reality. The single biggest driver for this rewrite was alignment with the latest 2026 Skills Measured updates, but the changes go far beyond exam coverage. Throughout the book, you will notice a shift in tone and structure. The content is more conversational, less mechanical, and intentionally less focused on "exam style answers". Instead, it reflects how experienced practitioners like yourself think, explain, and reason about Azure in real environments. Which makes this third edition even more useful for anyone who not only wants to earn the credential but is also tasked with actually managing the platform. Several chapters have been reworked and expanded to give core Azure building blocks the space they deserve. Compute, storage, and networking are no longer treated as subtopics under a single umbrella; they are explored as distinct decision areas, each with its own trade- offs, operating models, and architectural implications. This allows concepts to be positioned more solution-oriented, interconnected, and overall make sense beyond a checklist of features. You will also see a stronger emphasis on judgment over memorization. Availability, latency, cost, governance, and composite SLAs are discussed as design considerations, not abstract definitions. Storage is framed as an architectural choice, not a menu of options. Azure Compute is explained in terms of operating models, not just service descriptions. These are the kinds of conversations that happen in real projects, and they are now reflected here. Perhaps most importantly, this edition broadens its audience. While it remains an excellent guide for AZ 900 preparation, it is equally written for anyone seeking cloud literacy — business decision makers, technical professionals, and learners who want to understand why

Page 5

Azure works the way it does, not just what to select on an exam. The goal is to help you build reasoning skills that last well beyond a single certification. To me, this is really what a third edition should be. Not just a cosmetic refresh. Not marketing gloss. Not just a new cover and more pages. But a truly genuine evolution. Moving from teaching nouns to teaching understanding, context, and confidence. If you are new to Azure, this book will ground you. If you already work with the cloud, it will sharpen how you think about it. Not just to pass the exam, but to be able to have foundational conversations with your peers, integrate true business value for your cloud workloads, and be able to think broader than resources and services, but truly understand cloud solutions and how to make them work for you and your business. Welcome to the next stage of your Azure journey. Peter De Tender Microsoft Technical Trainer, Redmond, WA - Microsoft Worldwide Learning (WWL)

Page 6

Contributors About the author Steve Miles works in a senior partner technology enablement role within the cloud practice at a multi-billion-dollar revenue European IT distributor. He is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP), Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), and Alibaba Cloud MVP. He has over 25 years of experience in technology, including hosted data center services, hybrid and multi-cloud platforms, as well as a previous military career in engineering, signals, and communications. Steve is the author and technical reviewer of many books on Microsoft technologies, with a focus on security, Azure, AI, and data. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemiles70 I want to thank the people who have been close to me and supported me, professionally and at home, especially my wife, Pippa, aka Mrs. Smiles, and my family.

Page 7

About the reviewers Shabaz Darr is a Senior IT Cloud Consultant, Microsoft MVP, and Microsoft Certified Trainer, with deep expertise in Azure IaaS, AVD, security, and Nerdio. With extensive experience in designing and delivering enterprise cloud solutions, he is recognized for his practical, real- world approach. As the creator of the I Am IT Geek brand, he produces community-focused technical content and speaks regularly at industry events. Shabaz is also the author of multiple books covering Microsoft cloud technologies. I acknowledge the incredible support of the IT community, whose engagement drives my passion for sharing knowledge. I am grateful to everyone who has supported the I Am IT Geek brand, my books, and my journey as an MVP and MCT. Your encouragement continues to inspire me to produce clear, practical, and community-focused content.

Page 8

Table of Contents Preface xvii Free Benefits with Your Book ............................................................................. xxi Unlock Exam Prep Tools and the PDF Copy • 0 Part 1: Cloud Concepts 1 Chapter 1: Introduction to Cloud Computing 3 What is cloud computing? .................................................................................... 5 The NIST definition of cloud computing • 6 How has cloud computing evolved? ....................................................................... 8 Cloud computing architecture models • 10 Why do organizations adopt cloud computing? .................................................... 11 Who uses cloud computing? ................................................................................ 13 What is the cloud computing hierarchy of needs? ................................................. 14 What are the cloud computing delivery models? ................................................... 16 Comparing the cloud computing delivery models • 17 Characteristics of public cloud computing resources • 18 Characteristics of private cloud computing resources • 20 Characteristics of hybrid cloud computing resources • 21 What are the cloud computing service types? ...................................................... 22 A closer look at the cloud computing service models • 23 What is serverless computing? • 25 How do the cloud computing service types compare? ........................................... 27 Characteristics of IaaS • 27 Characteristics of PaaS • 28 Characteristics of FaaS (serverless) • 29 Characteristics of SaaS • 30

Page 9

What is the shared responsibility model? ............................................................. 31 Summary ........................................................................................................... 33 Additional information and study references ....................................................... 34 Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions ............................................... 35 First time accessing the online resources? • 36 Chapter 2: The Benefits of Using Cloud Services 37 How does the cloud enable digital transformation? ............................................. 38 Digital transformation triggers • 39 Migration approach • 40 What is the cloud computing mindset? ................................................................ 41 What is the traditional computing model mindset? • 41 What are the key characteristics of a cloud computing mindset? • 42 What is the cloud operations model? ................................................................... 42 Operational benefits of cloud computing • 44 What is scalability? • 46 What are elasticity and agility? • 48 What is high availability? • 48 What is disaster recovery? • 51 Comparing disaster recovery, HA, and backup • 52 Challenges of implementing business continuity • 53 How does cloud change IT economics? ................................................................ 55 Consumption model • 55 Defining the expenditure models • 55 Applying cost expenditure models to cloud computing • 56 Summary ........................................................................................................... 57 Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions ............................................... 58 First time accessing the online resources? • 59 Table of Contents viii

Page 10

Part 2: Azure Architecture and Services 61 Chapter 3: Azure Core Architectural Components 63 Azure global infrastructure ................................................................................. 64 Azure regions and geographies • 66 Azure Edge Zones • 69 Azure sovereign regions • 71 Availability components • 73 Adopting an availability model • 74 Azure resource management ............................................................................... 85 Azure management scopes • 86 Azure management groups • 87 Azure subscriptions • 89 Relationship between subscriptions and tenants • 91 Multiple subscriptions • 92 ARM • 94 Resource groups • 96 Resource group characteristics • 96 Azure resource group organization • 97 Summary ........................................................................................................... 99 Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions ............................................... 99 First time accessing the online resources? • 100 Join the CloudPro Newsletter with 44000+ Subscribers ..................................... 101 Chapter 4: Azure Compute Services 103 Azure Compute Services overview ..................................................................... 104 Virtual machines in Azure .................................................................................. 105 Physical machines versus virtual machines • 106 VM types • 109 VM deployment considerations • 111 Containers in Azure ........................................................................................... 115 ix Table of Contents

Page 11

Virtualization versus containerization • 115 Traditional approach • 117 Virtualization approach • 117 Containerization approach • 117 Azure Container Instances • 118 Azure Container Apps • 119 Azure Kubernetes Service • 119 Azure App Service .............................................................................................. 122 Azure Functions ................................................................................................ 126 Azure Virtual Desktop ....................................................................................... 126 Summary .......................................................................................................... 129 Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions .............................................. 130 First time accessing the online resources? • 131 Chapter 5: Azure Storage Services 133 Storage account types in Azure ........................................................................... 134 Storage redundancy options .............................................................................. 137 Storage tiers in Azure ......................................................................................... 138 File, object, and disk storage options .................................................................. 139 File storage • 140 Container (Blob) storage • 140 Queue Storage • 141 Disk storage • 141 Moving data into Azure Storage ......................................................................... 141 Data stores • 142 Summary .......................................................................................................... 144 Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions .............................................. 144 First time accessing the online resources? • 146 Chapter 6: Azure Network Services 147 Azure networking overview .............................................................................. 148 Virtual networks and subnets ............................................................................ 151 Table of Contents x

Page 12

VNet segmentation • 154 Internal Virtual Network (VNet) routing • 155 External Virtual Network (VNet) routing • 156 Virtual network peering • 158 Virtual Private Network gateways ..................................................................... 160 Point-to-Site VPN • 162 Site-to-Site VPN • 163 ExpressRoute • 165 Name resolution in Azure .................................................................................. 166 Azure DNS private zones • 167 Azure DNS drawbacks • 167 Windows Server DNS on Azure VMs • 168 Hybrid name resolution • 169 Summary .......................................................................................................... 170 Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions .............................................. 171 First time accessing the online resources? • 172 Chapter 7: Azure Identity and Access 173 Authentication and authorization ...................................................................... 173 Microsoft Entra ID ............................................................................................. 174 Comparing AD and Microsoft Entra ID • 177 Microsoft Entra Domain Services • 178 Single sign-on • 183 MFA and conditional access • 183 Passwordless authentication • 184 Identity and access management in Azure .......................................................... 185 Role-based access control • 185 Azure subscription access control • 187 Azure roles • 188 External identity access • 189 Summary ......................................................................................................... 190 Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions ............................................. 190 xi Table of Contents

Page 13

First time accessing the online resources? • 191 Join the CloudPro Newsletter with 44000+ Subscribers ..................................... 192 Chapter 8: Azure Security 193 Threat landscape ............................................................................................... 194 Common threats • 195 Emerging threats: AI-amplified attacks • 195 Kill chains • 196 What can be done to prevent threats? • 197 Security posture ............................................................................................... 198 Zero Trust ........................................................................................................ 200 Why identity became the new perimeter • 201 Defense in-depth .............................................................................................. 202 Designing for control failure • 202 Microsoft Defender for Cloud ............................................................................ 204 Security posture management versus workload protection • 205 Why security fundamentals still matter • 206 Summary ......................................................................................................... 206 Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions ............................................. 206 First time accessing the online resources? • 208 Part 3: Azure Management and Governance 209 Chapter 9: Azure Cost Management 211 Cost factors in Azure .......................................................................................... 212 Purchasing model • 214 Resource type and selected service tier (SKU) • 215 Location (region) • 215 Usage period • 216 Network traffic • 216 Unused billable resources • 216 Reducing and controlling costs • 217 Table of Contents xii

Page 14

Optimize resources • 218 Azure Hybrid Benefit • 218 Azure reservations • 218 Spot pricing • 219 Azure Cost Management .................................................................................... 219 Azure Pricing Calculator .................................................................................... 221 Summary ......................................................................................................... 223 Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions ............................................. 223 First time accessing the online resources? • 225 Chapter 10: Azure Governance and Compliance 227 Microsoft Purview in Azure .............................................................................. 228 Data classification and sensitivity labels • 229 Protecting sensitive information • 230 Microsoft Purview and Azure governance tools • 230 Microsoft Purview in practice • 230 Azure Policy ...................................................................................................... 231 Azure Policy versus Azure role-based access control • 232 How Azure Policy works • 233 Azure Policy in practice • 235 Azure Resource Locks ....................................................................................... 235 Lock inheritance and scope • 236 Managing Resource Locks • 237 Resource Locks in practice • 237 Tags ................................................................................................................. 238 Tag structure and behavior • 238 Tags and cost management • 240 Tags in practice • 240 Microsoft Trusted Cloud Principles .................................................................... 241 Summary ......................................................................................................... 242 Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions ............................................. 242 First time accessing the online resources? • 244 xiii Table of Contents

Page 15

Chapter 11: Azure Resource Deployment and Management 245 Azure portal ..................................................................................................... 246 Azure PowerShell ............................................................................................. 248 Azure CLI ......................................................................................................... 250 Azure Cloud Shell ............................................................................................. 252 ARM templates in Azure .................................................................................... 255 Azure Arc ......................................................................................................... 256 Microsoft Copilot in Azure ................................................................................. 257 Summary ......................................................................................................... 258 Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions ............................................. 259 First time accessing the online resources? • 260 Join the CloudPro Newsletter with 44000+ Subscribers ..................................... 261 Chapter 12: Azure Monitoring Tools 263 Azure Advisor ................................................................................................... 264 Purpose and role of Azure Advisor • 265 Viewing and managing recommendations • 266 How Azure Advisor generates recommendations • 267 Acting on Azure Advisor recommendations • 267 Azure Advisor in an exam and operational context • 268 Azure Monitor .................................................................................................. 268 Purpose and scope of Azure Monitor • 268 Viewing and managing recommendations • 268 How Azure Monitor generates recommendations • 269 Azure Monitor architecture overview • 270 Logs and metrics as fundamental data types • 270 Alerting and notifications in Azure Monitor • 272 Application Insights within Azure Monitor • 273 Azure Service Health .......................................................................................... 275 Purpose and positioning of Azure Service Health • 275 Azure Service Health and Azure Monitor integration • 275 Table of Contents xiv

Page 16

Types of information provided by Azure Service Health • 276 Azure Service Health versus the Azure status page • 276 Navigating from the Azure status page to Azure Service Health • 276 Summary ......................................................................................................... 278 Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions ............................................. 279 First time accessing the online resources? • 280 Chapter 13: Appendix: Assessing AZ-900 Exam Skills 281 Skills measured ................................................................................................. 281 Chapter 14: Unlock Your Exclusive Benefits 289 Unlock this Book's Free Benefits in 3 Easy Steps ................................................. 290 Other Books You May Enjoy 294 Index 297 xv Table of Contents

Page 17

(This page has no text content)

Page 18

Preface Azure is Microsoft's cloud computing platform, providing organizations with on-demand access to compute, storage, networking, data, and application services at a global scale. At its core, Azure enables businesses to build, deploy, and manage workloads without the constraints of traditional on-premises infrastructure. As Azure has matured, the focus has shifted from simply provisioning resources to operating them responsibly and intelligently. Cost management, security posture, resilience, automation, operational efficiency, and governance are no longer optional considerations—they are essential competencies. Understanding shared responsibility, cloud service models, and Azure's global architecture is critical not only for exam success but for effective day-to-day Azure usage. While the technology landscape continues to evolve rapidly, the skills measured for Azure fundamentals remain centered on how Azure delivers these capabilities reliably, securely, and cost-effectively. This third edition is written with those skills measured firmly in mind and aligned directly to the current certification objectives. Whether you are new to cloud computing or refreshing your knowledge for certification, this book is designed to prepare you for the exam and help you build durable Azure fundamentals that translate into confident, effective skills with the platform long after the exam is complete. Who this book is for This book is for those in commercial, operational, or technical roles looking to pass the Microsoft certification exam AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals. The exam is intended for candidates who are just beginning to work with cloud-based solutions and services or are new to Azure. Importantly, though, this book does not stop at the skills measured. While every chapter is grounded in the official exam objectives, this book also aims to go beyond those objectives. By the end of the book, you will have an additional depth of knowledge that extends beyond the skills measured, offering practical context and insight that is of direct value in a day-to-day Azure-focused role. You can learn more about the certification and exam at https://learn.microsoft.com/en- us/credentials/certifications/azure-fundamentals/.

Page 19

What this book covers This book is aligned with the revised syllabus of AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals exam and encompasses the following topics: Chapter 1, Introduction to Cloud Computing, introduces what cloud computing is, where it has evolved from, why cloud computing emerged, and the target audience. It also takes a look at the delivery and service models of cloud computing, how they compare, and the shared responsibility model. Chapter 2, The Benefits of Using Cloud Services, discusses cloud computing as a digital transformation enabler and the cloud computing mindset, as well as the cloud computing operations model and the economics of cloud computing. Chapter 3, Azure Core Architectural Components, outlines the Azure global infrastructure that comprises the Azure regions, geographies, and availability components. In addition, it covers Azure resource management topics. Chapter 4, Azure Compute Services, focuses on the Azure platform's core building block compute resources: virtual machines, containers, application hosting, serverless, and Azure Virtual Desktop. Chapter 5, Azure Storage Services, covers the core Azure storage offerings, including storage accounts, redundancy options, access tiers, and the different services used for file, object, and disk storage. Chapter 6, Azure Network Services, introduces Azure networking fundamentals, including virtual networks and subnets, public and private connectivity, hybrid networking options, traffic security, and name resolution in Azure. Chapter 7, Azure Identity and Access, explains the concepts of authentication and authorization and identity and access management (IAM), as well as exploring Microsoft Entra ID. Chapter 8, Azure Security, discusses the threat landscape and explains the principles of security posture, Zero Trust, and defense-in-depth (DiD); in addition, it explores cloud posture management and workload protection with Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Microsoft Sentinel security tooling. Chapter 9, Azure Cost Management, explores cost management and the factors that influence costs, as well as explaining the Azure Pricing Calculator. Chapter 10, Azure Governance and Compliance, explores Microsoft's Purview in Azure, Azure Policy, resource locks, and tags, as well as Microsoft's core security, privacy, and security tenets. Preface xviii

Page 20

Chapter 11, Azure Resource Deployment and Management, introduces the Azure portal, as well as Azure PowerShell, the Azure CLI, and Azure Cloud Shell. It also explains Azure Resource Manager templates and Azure Arc. Chapter 12, Azure Monitoring Tools, explores actionable insights into Azure environments using tooling such as Azure Advisor, Azure Monitor, and Azure Service Health. Appendix, Assessing AZ-900 Exam Skills, focuses on the Skills Measured by the certification and potential topics that the exam may cover. As you become competent in each skill area, this can help in tracking progress. To get the most out of this book This book's content is intended for candidates who are just beginning to work with cloud- based solutions and services or are new to Azure; no specific knowledge is assumed or required. To carry out any tasks to further your learning using the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, you will require the following: Access to an internet browser. A Microsoft account. If you do not have a Microsoft account, you can create a free account using this link: https://account.microsoft.com/account. An Azure subscription that has permission to create and delete resources in the subscription. If you do not have an Azure subscription, you can create a free Azure account using this link: https://azure.microsoft.com/free. Download the color images We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. You can download it from here: https://packt.link/gbp/978-1-80670-241-1. Conventions used There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book. CodeInText: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and X (formerly, Twitter) handles. For example: "Family represents the VM family series." Any command-line input or output is written as follows: $PSVersionTable.PSVersion • • • xix Preface