AZ-104 is intended for Azure Administrators who implement, manage, and monitor Azure resources. It fits roles responsible for identity, governance, storage, compute, and virtual networking in a cloud environment.
AZ-104 is built for practitioners who administer Microsoft Azure. If your job includes provisioning and operating cloud resources, this course maps directly to the responsibilities you handle in production environments.The most direct fit is the Azure Administrator role. In that role, you implement, manage, and monitor identity, governance, storage, compute, and virtual networks. You also provision resources, assess sizing, monitor utilization, and adjust configurations based on operational needs.The course is relevant when your responsibilities include identity and access administration, such as managing Azure Active Directory users and groups. It is also relevant if you maintain governance controls, including subscription management, policy enforcement, and permissions assignment through role-based access control.On the infrastructure side, it fits anyone who configures virtual networking and connectivity, such as implementing VNets and subnets, configuring network security controls, and connecting Azure to on-premises environments. If you work with network traffic patterns and platform routing decisions, the traffic management segment is directly applicable.It also suits administrators who manage storage and compute. That includes creating and operating storage accounts, blob and file services, and handling storage security and tools. For compute, the course covers virtual machine planning and deployment, availability settings, and extensions, plus common platform compute options for web applications and containers.Finally, if you are responsible for reliability and visibility, the protection and monitoring content matters. Backup, restore, and monitoring with Azure Monitor and Log Analytics are part of the scope. If you plan to sit the AZ-104 exam, the course aligns with the exam and the associated certification, but it is also practical for day-to-day administration work.
Use AZ-104 when you need breadth across the administrator surface area. Many teams grow into Azure by specializing early: one person handles identity, another handles networking, another handles compute. In practice, incidents and changes cross boundaries. This course helps you build a working mental model that spans those layers.If you are coming from an on-premises background, pay attention to governance and networking concepts. Subscription structure, RBAC design, and policy enforcement shape how safely teams can move. Networking decisions determine what can communicate, how it is secured, and how failures present.If you are already experienced, focus on the operational tooling segment. Consistency often comes from how you deploy and manage resources over time, and the course references Portal, Cloud Shell, ARM templates, PowerShell, and CLI as administrator tools.
“This course is for Azure Administrators responsible for provisioning, monitoring, and adjusting Azure resources.”
AZ-500 is a four-day course for IT security professionals who secure Microsoft Azure environments. It focuses on implementing security controls, maintaining security posture, and identifying and remediating vulnerabilities.
View courseAZ-900 is a one-day course that builds foundational knowledge of Microsoft Azure. It covers cloud concepts, core Azure services, and the solutions and management tools used to run workloads.
View courseAZ-204 is a five-day developer-focused course covering the design and implementation of end-to-end solutions on Microsoft Azure. It addresses compute services, web apps, Azure Functions, storage, security, and integration patterns.
View courseAZ-104 focuses on operating Azure environments: identity, governance, networking, storage, and compute. You also cover backup and monitoring so you can run workloads reliably day to day.
byChristophe MAZZOLA
AZ-500 is for Azure Security Engineers who perform security tasks in Azure environments or plan to take the AZ-500 certification exam. It is also relevant for engineers specializing in securing Azure-based platforms and organizational data.
byLekë ZOGAJ
If you’re new to Microsoft Azure, the best starting point is the Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) course. It provides a broad understanding of cloud concepts, Azure services, pricing, governance, and security. From there, you can specialize: AZ-104 for administrators, AZ-204 for developers, or AZ-500 for security professionals. In short: begin with AZ-900 to build your foundation, then progress toward a role-based certification aligned with your career path and technical experience.
AZ-104 focuses on operating Azure environments: identity, governance, networking, storage, and compute. You also cover backup and monitoring so you can run workloads reliably day to day.
The page lists the AZ-104 exam name and the associated certification: Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate. It also states a passing score of 700 and lists available languages, while noting exam fees are not included.
AZ-104 covers virtual networks, subnetting, IP addressing, DNS, and security controls such as NSGs and Azure Firewall. It also addresses connectivity options like VNet peering and gateway-based links for Azure and on-premises integration.
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