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Microsoft Exam Syllabus

AZ-900 syllabus, skills measured, and exam topics

The AZ-900 exam measures Describe cloud concepts, Describe Azure architecture and services, and Describe Azure management and governance. Use this page to review the current official syllabus, major domains, and source links before exam day.

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Skills measured by domain

Use the weighting table to decide where to spend the most study time.

Domain Weight
Describe cloud concepts 25–30%
Describe Azure architecture and services 35–40%
Describe Azure management and governance 30–35%

Detailed outline

Scan each section as a working study checklist instead of one long wall of text.

Describe cloud concepts (25–30%)

  • Define cloud computing
  • Describe the shared responsibility model
  • Define cloud models, including public, private, and hybrid
  • Identify appropriate use cases for each cloud model
  • Describe the consumption-based model
  • Compare cloud pricing models
  • Describe serverless
  • Describe the benefits of high availability and scalability in the cloud
  • Describe the benefits of reliability and predictability in the cloud
  • Describe the benefits of security and governance in the cloud
  • Describe the benefits of manageability in the cloud
  • Describe infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

Describe Azure architecture and services (35–40%)

  • Describe Azure regions, region pairs, and sovereign regions
  • Describe availability zones
  • Describe Azure datacenters
  • Describe Azure resources and resource groups
  • Describe subscriptions
  • Describe management groups
  • Describe the hierarchy of resource groups, subscriptions, and management groups
  • Compare compute types, including containers, virtual machines, and functions
  • Describe virtual machine options, including Azure virtual machines, Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets, availability sets, and Azure Virtual Desktop
  • Describe the resources required for virtual machines
  • Describe application hosting options, including web apps, containers, and virtual machines
  • Describe virtual networking, including the purpose of Azure virtual networks, subnets, peering, Azure DNS, Azure VPN Gateway, and ExpressRoute

Describe Azure management and governance (30–35%)

  • Describe factors that can affect costs in Azure
  • Explore the pricing calculator
  • Describe cost management capabilities in Azure
  • Describe the purpose of tags
  • Describe the purpose of Microsoft Purview in Azure
  • Describe the purpose of Azure Policy
  • Describe the purpose of resource locks
  • Describe the Azure portal
  • Describe Azure Cloud Shell, Azure CLI, and Azure PowerShell
  • Describe the purpose of Azure Arc
  • Describe infrastructure as code (IaC)
  • Describe Azure Resource Manager (ARM) and ARM templates

Purpose of this document

  • This study guide should help you understand what to expect on the exam and includes a summary of the topics the exam might cover and links to additional resources. The information and materials in this document should help you focus your studies as you prepare for the exam.
  • Useful links: Description
  • Your Microsoft Learn profile: Connecting your certification profile to Microsoft Learn allows you to schedule and renew exams and share and print certificates.
  • Exam scoring and score reports: A score of 700 or greater is required to pass.
  • Exam sandbox: You can explore the exam environment by visiting our exam sandbox.
  • Request accommodations: If you use assistive devices, require extra time, or need modification to any part of the exam experience, you can request an accommodation.
  • Take a free Practice Assessment: Test your skills with practice questions to help you prepare for the exam.

Updates to the exam

  • We always update the English language version of the exam first. Some exams are localized into other languages, and those are updated approximately eight weeks after the English version is updated. Although Microsoft makes every effort to update localized versions as noted, there may be times when the localized versions of an exam are not updated on this schedule. Other available languages are listed in the Schedule Exam section of the Exam Details webpage. If the exam isn't available in your preferred language, you can request an additional 30 minutes to complete the exam.
  • The bullets that follow each of the skills measured are intended to illustrate how we are assessing that skill. Related topics may be covered in the exam.
  • Most questions cover features that are general availability (GA). The exam may contain questions on Preview features if those features are commonly used.

Audience profile

  • As a candidate for this exam, you’re a technology professional who wants to demonstrate foundational knowledge of cloud concepts in general and Microsoft Azure in particular. This exam is a common starting point in a journey towards a career in Azure.
  • You can describe Azure architectural components and Azure services, such as:
  • Compute
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • You can also describe features and tools to secure, govern, and administer Azure.
  • You should have skills and experience working with an area of IT, such as:
  • Infrastructure management
  • Database management
  • Software development