Like many of you I have been experimenting with virtual machines (VMs) in the cloud recently. Building cloud based labs, cloud storage and running certain services in the cloud (such as my Unifi controller) makes sense for me from a cost and performance perspective. The more I’ve explored cloud offerings and capabilities the more my interest has grown in cloud certifications.
Beyond the personal interest in the cloud there is also some motivation professionally to understand the cloud and gain certification. Moving resources from on-premises to the cloud is an increasingly common task. The ability to scale horizontally and vertically without worrying about up-front costs is a huge upside for many businesses so possessing the skills to help migrate to, and support cloud-based infrastructure is valuable.
As Microsoft Azure is the second most popular cloud service -the most popular being Amazon Web Services (AWS)- along with Microsoft offering a voucher to take the exam for free it seemed like a good step into cloud certifications.
What is Azure Fundamentals AZ-900?
Azure Fundamentals AZ-900 is an exam offered by Microsoft which covers the core concepts of cloud computing and the basics of implementing those concepts via Azure. It is the base exam In this exam you will cover concepts such as:
- OpEx Vs. CapEx
- High Availability (HA), Fault Tolerance (FT), Disaster Recovery. Scalability
- Public, Private, and Hybrid cloud
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Regions, Availability Zones, Availability sets, Management groups, Resource Groups, Resources, Subscriptions etc.
- Azure products including Azure AD, Azure Machine Learning, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure IoT Hub, Azure Functions, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Virtual Desktop, Key Vault, Azure Blueprints, Azure DevTest Labs, etc.
The number of questions on the test can vary from one person to the next as questions are weighted and the passing score is 700 or above out of 1000. The normal cost of this exam is $99 USD (though the price can differ depending on geographic location).
Study Materials for AZ-900
I used three resources to study for the exam. The first and most important resource was Microsoft Virtual Training Days. By completing 2 two-hour training sessions (which are free) Microsoft offers a voucher to take the AZ-900 exam for free. Unfortunately the only sessions available that worked for me were 11:40 AM CET, part one on a Monday and Part 2 on a Tuesday. It was unfortunate because I live in an area which is EST. This means that I had to compete the training at about 4:30 AM each morning.
The sessions covered the topics on the exam at what I would call a general overview level. I felt these sessions acted as a good introduction to the concepts needed for the exam but that the content was a little light on details that the exam could touch on. Even though AZ-900 is a fundamental exam I wanted to be well-prepared and to truly understand the concepts rather than just pass a test.
Next I watched a video series on Youtube to fill in some gaps left by the Training day sessions. This series is John Savill’s AZ-900 Certification Course. John covers everything on the exam in great detail and really brings all of the concepts together in an understandable way. This series alone would likely be enough to both past the test and get a good grip on the basics of Azure.
Lastly, I wanted to get some hands on “lab” experience specific to the AZ-900 concepts so I headed over to Microsoft’s own training site Microsoft Learn. At this point I completed the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Learning Paths which included some sandbox learning. I completed a few other modules beyond these learning paths on Microsoft Learn as I enjoy the Azure platform but for the test these are the modules that mattered.
Of course you can also set up an Azure account and receive a $200 credit so that you can get some hands on experience as well. I would highly recommend this if you don’t have previous experience with Azure.
Taking the Test
Feeling prepared, I registered for the test the following day after completing the above mentioned materials. I used Pearson OnVUE as I’ve had positive experiences with OnVUE previously and don’t like attending shady testing centers if I can help it.
After checking in via the usual OnVUE process Microsoft asks the test-taker to fill our a short survey about their experience with Azure and their familiarity with various aspects of the platform. The next step is to start the exam.
The exam itself was short, most of the questions were in the form of multiple yes/no questions per question with some fill in the blanks sprinkled in. Matching definitions to terms is also something the test-taker will face. Overall I felt way over-prepared but I’d much rather be over-prepared and know the material when it’s time to put it to real-world use.
Upon finishing your score is presented to you with a breakdown of the different areas and how you scored in them.
Was it Worth it?
For me it’s hard to say a free certification isn’t worth it. Especially a certification in an area as valuable as cloud computing. It took minimal studying and is a stress-free step into cloud computing certifications so yes, for me it was worth it. If Microsoft continues to offer vouchers for the test I will continue to recommend that everyone go out and get this qualification.
