6-day study plan for Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900 ) exam

This post will help you to understand, how you can start your journey with Azure (through self learning)

Modules:

→ Describe cloud concepts (25–30%)  

→ Describe Azure architecture and services (35–40%)  

→ Describe Azure management and governance (30–35%)

Day 1: Cloud Concepts

Define Cloud Computing:

 - Understand cloud computing, its characteristics, and key benefits.

Shared Responsibility Model:

 - Learn how cloud service providers and customers share responsibilities.

Cloud Models:

 - Study public, private, and hybrid clouds and use cases for each.

Consumption-Based Model:

 - Understand consumption-based pricing and its benefits.

Cloud Pricing Models & Serverless:

 - Compare pricing models and the advantages of serverless computing.

Benefits of Cloud:

 - High availability, scalability, reliability, security, governance, and manageability.

Cloud Service Types:

 - Define IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, including appropriate use cases for each.

Day 2: Azure Architecture & Compute Services

Core Architectural Components:

 - Explore Azure regions, region pairs, availability zones, and datacenters.

Resources, Groups, and Subscriptions:

 - Learn the hierarchy of resource groups, subscriptions, and management groups.

Azure Compute Services:

 - Compare containers, VMs, and functions. Understand options for VMs like Azure Virtual Machines, Scale Sets, and availability sets.

Application Hosting:

 - Explore hosting options such as web apps, containers, and virtual machines.

Day 3: Azure Networking & Storage Services

Azure Networking:

 - Dive into virtual networking, including Azure VNet, subnets, DNS, VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, public/private endpoints.

Azure Storage Services:

- Compare Azure storage types, redundancy options, and tiers.

- Learn about AzCopy, Storage Explorer, File Sync, and migration tools like Azure Migrate and Data Box.

Day 4: Azure Identity, Access, and Security

Azure Directory Services:

 - Learn about Microsoft Entra ID and Domain Services.

Authentication Methods:

 - Explore SSO, MFA, and passwordless authentication.

External Identities & Conditional Access:

 - Study B2B, B2C identities, and Conditional Access.

Security Concepts:

 - Understand RBAC, Zero Trust, defense-in-depth, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

Day 5: Azure Management and Governance

Cost Management:

 - Learn about cost factors, pricing calculator, and TCO Calculator.

Cost Management Capabilities:

 - Understand tagging, cost alerts, and optimization.

Governance & Compliance:

 - Learn about Microsoft Purview, Azure Policy, and resource locks.

Managing Azure Resources:

 - Explore Azure Portal, Cloud Shell, CLI, PowerShell, and Azure Arc.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC):

Understand Azure Resource Manager (ARM) and ARM templates.

Day 6: Monitoring & Deployment Tools

Monitoring Tools:

 - Study Azure Advisor, Azure Service Health, and Azure Monitor, including Log Analytics, Monitor alerts, and Application Insights.

Managing and Deploying Resources:

 - Learn about infrastructure as code, ARM templates, and management tools.