Is Microsoft Azure AZ-700 Exam difficult?

The Microsoft Azure AZ-700 Exam is a certification exam for cloud professionals who have experience in designing and implementing solutions using Microsoft Azure technologies. The exam measures the candidate’s knowledge of Azure governance, security, and compliance, as well as their ability to design and implement Azure solutions.

Obtaining the Microsoft Azure AZ-700 certification can be beneficial for cloud professionals in several ways. It can enhance their knowledge and expertise in designing and implementing Azure solutions, making them more valuable to their organizations. The certification can also increase their career opportunities and earning potential, as many employers require or prefer candidates with Azure certifications. Finally, the certification can help build credibility and trust with clients and customers, demonstrating a commitment to best practices and a high level of expertise in Azure technologies.

Microsoft Azure AZ-700 Exam Overview

The Microsoft Azure AZ-700 exam is intended for candidates with in-depth knowledge of designing, implementing, and managing Azure networking systems, including hybrid networking, connectivity, routing, security, and private access to Azure services. You must possess advanced Azure administration abilities in addition to a wealth of networking, hybrid connection, and network security expertise and understanding.

Exam Format:

• The Microsoft AZ-700 test will consist of 40–60 questions. However, this test certifies the candidate’s skills for carrying out operations such as organizing and implementing private access to Azure Services, designing and building core networking architecture, and safeguarding networks.
• For $165 USD*, this exam is offered in the following languages: Arabic (Saudi Arabia), German, English, Spanish, French, Indonesian (Indonesia), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Chinese (Simplified), and Chinese (Traditional).
• Additionally, candidates must have a minimum score of 700 to pass the AZ-700 test.

How to overcome the AZ-700 exam difficulty?

The difficulty level of the Microsoft Azure AZ-700 Exam is influenced by several factors, including the breadth and depth of the topics covered, the complexity of the exam questions, and the amount of hands-on experience required to succeed. Additionally, the exam may be challenging for those who lack experience with Azure governance, security, and compliance, or who have not taken the time to adequately prepare.

In simple words, the level of difficulty of an exam depends on the knowledge and expertise you have in the area of study or career you wish to pursue. When it comes to the AZ-700 exam, you are essentially being evaluated on your ability to suggest, develop, and implement Azure networking solutions. The professionals in this position oversee the performance, resilience, scalability, and security solutions. Utilizing the Azure Portal and other tools like PowerShell, the Azure Command-Line Interface (CLI), and templates for Azure Resource Manager required an understanding of how to install networking solutions (ARM templates).

Understanding your role in collaborating to provide Azure solutions with solution architects, cloud administrators, security engineers, application developers, and DevOps engineers is crucial as an Azure network engineer.

To get knowledgeable in this, you need to grasp your understanding of skills that are measured in the AZ-700 exam. So, let’s begin our study guide by exploring all these areas to get perfection in the concepts and pass the exam.

Step 1: Understand the exam topics

Consider this an essential component of your planning. Every exam has a vital set of exam subjects. To comprehend the subject fully, it is also essential to investigate each part in its entirety. The Microsoft AZ-700 test has a number of topics, each with parts and subsections. Let’s look at them now!

Design and implement core networking infrastructure (20–25%)

Design and implement private IP addressing for Azure resources

• Plan and implement network segmentation and address spaces (Microsoft Documentation: Implement network segmentation patterns on Azure)
• Create a virtual network (VNet) (Microsoft Documentation: Create a virtual network using the Azure portal)
• Plan and configure subnetting for services, including VNet gateways, private endpoints, firewalls, application gateways, VNet-integrated platform services, and Azure Bastion (Microsoft Documentation: Integrate your app with an Azure virtual network, Create a site-to-site VPN connection in the Azure portal, Azure networking services overview)
• Plan and configure subnet delegation (Microsoft Documentation: What is subnet delegation, Add or remove a subnet delegation)
• Create a prefix for public IP addresses (Microsoft Documentation: Public IP address prefix)
• Choose when to use a public IP address prefix
• Plan and implement a custom public IP address prefix (bring your own IP) (Microsoft Documentation: Custom IP address prefix (BYOIP))
• Create a new public IP address (Microsoft Documentation: Create, change, or delete an Azure public IP address)
• Associate public IP addresses to resources (Microsoft Documentation: Associate a public IP address to a virtual machine)

Design and implement name resolution

• Design name resolution inside a VNet (Microsoft Documentation: Name resolution for resources in Azure virtual networks)
• Configure DNS settings for a VNet
• Design public DNS zones (Microsoft Documentation: Overview of DNS zones and records)
• Design private DNS zones (Microsoft Documentation: What is a private Azure DNS zone)
• Configure a public or private DNS zone (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Private Endpoint DNS configuration)
• Link a private DNS zone to a VNet (Microsoft Documentation: What is a virtual network link)
• Design and implement DNS private resolver

Design and implement VNet connectivity and routing

• Design service chaining, including gateway transit (Microsoft Documentation: Virtual network peering, Configure VPN gateway transit for virtual network peering)
• Design virtual private network (VPN) connectivity between VNets (Microsoft Documentation: Configure a VNet-to-VNet VPN gateway connection)
• Implement VNet peering
• Design and implement user-defined routes (UDRs) (Microsoft Documentation: Virtual network traffic routing)
• Associate a route table with a subnet (Microsoft Documentation: Create, change, or delete a route table)
• Configure forced tunneling
• Diagnose and resolve routing issues (Microsoft Documentation: Diagnose a virtual machine routing problem)
• Design and implement Azure Route Server (Microsoft Documentation: What is Azure Route Server)
• Identify appropriate use cases for a network address translation (NAT) gateway in the virtual network (Microsoft Documentation: What is Virtual Network NAT, Design virtual networks with NAT gateway)
• Implement a NAT gateway (Microsoft Documentation: Create a NAT gateway using the Azure portal)

Monitor networks

• Configure monitoring, network diagnostics, and logs in Azure Network Watcher (Microsoft Documentation: What is Azure Network Watcher)
• Monitor and repair network health by using Azure Network Watcher
• Activate and monitor distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) protection (Microsoft Documentation: What is Azure DDoS Protection)
• Activate and monitor Microsoft Defender for DNS (Microsoft Documentation: Overview of Microsoft Defender for DNS)

Design, implement, and manage connectivity services (20–25%)

Design, implement, and manage a site-to-site VPN connection

• Design a site-to-site VPN connection, including for high availability (Microsoft Documentation: Highly Available cross-premises and VNet-to-VNet connectivity)
• Select an appropriate VNet gateway stock-keeping unit (SKU) for site-to-site VPN requirements (Microsoft Documentation: What is Azure VPN Gateway)
• Implement a site-to-site VPN connection (Microsoft Documentation: Create a site-to-site VPN connection)
• Identify when to use a policy-based VPN versus a route-based VPN connection
• Create and configure an IPsec/Internet Key Exchange (IKE) policy (Microsoft Documentation: Configure custom IPsec/IKE connection policies for S2S VPN and VNet-to-VNet: PowerShell)
• Diagnose and resolve virtual network gateway connectivity issues
• Implement Azure Extended Network (Microsoft Documentation: Extend your on-premises subnets into Azure)

Design, implement, and manage a point-to-site VPN connection

• Select an appropriate virtual network gateway SKU for point-to-site VPN requirements
• Select and configure a tunnel type
• Select an appropriate authentication method
• Configure RADIUS authentication (Microsoft Documentation: Plan NPS as a RADIUS server, RADIUS authentication with Azure Active Directory)
• Configure certificate-based authentication (Microsoft Documentation: How to configure Azure AD certificate-based authentication)
• Configure authentication by using Microsoft Entra ID (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Active Directory authentication)
• Implement a VPN client configuration file (Microsoft Documentation: Configure the Azure VPN Client)
• Diagnose and resolve client-side and authentication issues
• Specify Azure requirements for Always On authentication
• Specify Azure requirements for Azure Network Adapter (Microsoft Documentation: Use Azure Network Adapter to connect a server to an Azure Virtual Network)

Design, implement, and manage Azure ExpressRoute

• Select an ExpressRoute connectivity model (Microsoft Documentation: ExpressRoute connectivity models)
• Select an appropriate ExpressRoute SKU and tier (Microsoft Documentation: ExpressRoute virtual network gateways)
• Design and implement ExpressRoute to meet requirements, including cross-region connectivity, redundancy, and disaster recovery (Microsoft Documentation: Designing for disaster recovery with ExpressRoute private peering, Designing for high availability with ExpressRoute)
• Design and implement ExpressRoute options, including Global Reach, FastPath, and ExpressRoute Direct (Microsoft Documentation: ExpressRoute FastPath, About ExpressRoute Direct, ExpressRoute Global Reach)
• Choose between private peering only, Microsoft peering only, or both
• Configure private peering
• Configure Microsoft peering (Microsoft Documentation: Create and modify peering for an ExpressRoute)
• Create and configure an ExpressRoute gateway (Microsoft Documentation: Configure a virtual network gateway for ExpressRoute)
• Connect a virtual network to an ExpressRoute circuit (Microsoft Documentation: Connect a virtual network to an ExpressRoute)
• Recommend a route advertisement configuration
• Configure encryption over ExpressRoute (Microsoft Documentation: ExpressRoute encryption)
• Implement Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (Microsoft Documentation: Configure BFD over ExpressRoute)
• Diagnose and resolve ExpressRoute connection issues (Microsoft Documentation: Verify ExpressRoute connectivity)

Design and implement an Azure Virtual WAN architecture

• Select a Virtual WAN SKU (Microsoft Documentation: What is Azure Virtual WAN)
• Design a Virtual WAN architecture, including selecting types and services
• Create a hub in Virtual WAN
• Choose an appropriate scale unit for each gateway type (Microsoft Documentation: Scaling Application Gateway v2 and WAF v2)
• Deploy a gateway into a Virtual WAN hub
• Configure virtual hub routing (Microsoft Documentation: How to configure virtual hub routing)
• Create a network virtual appliance (NVA) in a virtual hub (Microsoft Documentation: How to create a Network Virtual Appliance in an Azure Virtual WAN hub)
• Integrate a Virtual WAN hub with a third-party NVA (Microsoft Documentation: About NVAs in a Virtual WAN hub)

Design and implement application delivery services (20–25%)

Design and implement an Azure Load Balancer

• Map requirements to features and capabilities of Azure Load Balancer (Microsoft Documentation: What is Azure Load Balancer)
• Identify appropriate use cases for Azure Load Balancer
• Choose an Azure Load Balancer SKU and tier (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Load Balancer SKUs)
• Choose between public and internal
• Choose between regional and global
• Create and configure an Azure Load Balancer (Microsoft Documentation: Create a public load balancer to load balance VMs using the Azure portal)
• Implement a load balancing rule (Microsoft Documentation: Manage rules for Azure Load Balancer using the Azure portal)
• Create and configure inbound NAT rules (Microsoft Documentation: Create a single virtual machine inbound NAT rule using the Azure portal)
• Create and configure explicit outbound rules, including source network address translation (SNAT) (Microsoft Documentation: Use Source Network Address Translation (SNAT) for outbound connections)

Design and implement Azure Application Gateway

• Map requirements to features and capabilities of Azure Application Gateway (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Application Gateway features)
• Identify appropriate use cases for Azure Application Gateway
• Choose between manual and autoscale
• Create a back-end pool (Microsoft Documentation: Backend pool management)
• Configure health probes (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Load Balancer health probes)
• Configure listeners (Microsoft Documentation: Application Gateway listener configuration)
• Configure routing rules
• Configure HTTP settings (Microsoft Documentation: Application Gateway HTTP settings configuration)
• Configure Transport Layer Security (TLS) (Microsoft Documentation: Transport Layer Security (TLS) registry settings)
• Configure rewrite sets (Microsoft Documentation: Rewrite URL with Azure Application Gateway)

Design and implement Azure Front Door

• Map requirements to features and capabilities of Azure Front Door (Microsoft Documentation: What is Azure Front Door)
• Identify appropriate use cases for Azure Front Door
• Choose an appropriate tier
• Configure an Azure Front Door, including routing, origins, and endpoints (Microsoft Documentation: Origins and origin groups in Azure Front Door, What is Azure Front Door)
• Configure SSL termination and end-to-end SSL encryption (Microsoft Documentation: Overview of TLS termination and end to end TLS with Application Gateway)
• Configure caching
• Configure traffic acceleration (Microsoft Documentation: Load-balancing options)
• Implement rules, URL rewrite, and URL redirect (Microsoft Documentation: Creating Rewrite Rules for the URL Rewrite Module)
• Secure an origin by using Azure Private Link in Azure Front Door (Microsoft Documentation: Secure your Origin with Private Link in Azure Front Door Premium)

Design and implement Azure Traffic Manager

• Identify appropriate use cases for Azure Traffic Manager (Microsoft Documentation: What is Traffic Manager)
• Configure a routing method
• Configure endpoints

Design and implement private access to Azure services (5–10%)

Design and implement Azure Private Link service and Azure private endpoints

• Plan private endpoints
• Create private endpoints
• Configure access to private endpoints
• Create a Private Link service
• Integrate Private Link and Private Endpoint with DNS
• Integrate a Private Link service with on-premises clients

Design and implement service endpoints

• Choose when to use a service endpoint (Microsoft Documentation: Virtual Network service endpoints)
• Create service endpoints (Microsoft Documentation: Create, change, or delete service endpoint policy using the Azure portal)
• Configure service endpoint policies
• Configure access to service endpoints

Secure network connectivity to Azure resources (15–20%)

Implement and manage network security groups

• Create a network security group (NSG) (Microsoft Documentation: Create, change, or delete a network security group)
• Associate an NSG to a resource
• Create an application security group (ASG) (Microsoft Documentation: Application security groups)
• Associate an ASG to a network interface card (NIC) (Microsoft Documentation: Create, change, or delete a network interface)
• Create and configure NSG rules
• Interpret NSG flow logs (Microsoft Documentation: Introduction to flow logs for network security groups)
• Validate NSG flow rules
• Verify IP flow
• Configure an NSG for remote server administration, including Azure Bastion (Microsoft Documentation: Working with NSG access and Azure Bastion)

Design and implement Azure Firewall and Azure Firewall Manager

• Map requirements to features and capabilities of Azure Firewall (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Firewall Standard features)
• Select an appropriate Azure Firewall SKU
• Design an Azure Firewall deployment (Microsoft Documentation: Deploy and configure Azure Firewall using the Azure portal)
• Create and implement an Azure Firewall deployment
• Configure Azure Firewall rules (Microsoft Documentation: What is Azure Firewall?)
• Create and implement Azure Firewall Manager policies (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Firewall Manager policy overview)
• Create a secure hub by deploying Azure Firewall inside an Azure Virtual WAN hub (Microsoft Documentation: Configure Azure Firewall in a Virtual WAN hub)

Design and implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) deployment

• Map requirements to features and capabilities of WAF
• Design a WAF deployment (Microsoft Documentation: What is Azure Web Application Firewall on Azure Application Gateway?)
• Configure detection or prevention mode
• Configure rule sets for WAF on Azure Front Door (Microsoft Documentation: Create a Web Application Firewall policy on Azure Front Door)
• Configure rule sets for WAF on Application Gateway
• Implement a WAF policy (Microsoft Documentation: Create Web Application Firewall policies for Application Gateway)
• Associate a WAF policy

Step 2: Use the Official Microsoft Study resources

Microsoft offers a variety of preparation tools to assist students in passing the AZ-700 test. This comprises:

– Discover Microsoft Learning Path

Microsoft provides fresh methods for learning the concepts. Microsoft offers a number of learning paths that cover the test’s topics in modules for each exam, in other words. These include all the necessary details as well as helpful reference links. Learn how to set up the hybrid connection, routing, private access to Azure services, and monitoring in Azure, as well as how to build and deploy a secure network architecture in Azure.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/design-implement-microsoft-azure-networking-solutions-az-700/

Prerequisites for the learning path:

• Routing, the Domain Name System (DNS), and other networking principles should be familiar to you.
• You must be familiar with WAN or VPN-based network communication techniques.
• You should have no difficulty navigating the Azure portal.
• Both Azure PowerShell and the Azure site should be familiar to you.

Modules in the learning paths are:

• Overview of Azure Virtual Networks:
  • Designing and implementing basic Azure Networking resources including virtual networks, public and private IP addresses, DNS, virtual network peering, routing, and Azure Virtual NAT will be covered in this course.
• Create and use hybrid networking:
  • You will gain knowledge in the planning and execution of hybrid networking systems, including Virtual WAN hubs, Azure Virtual WAN, and Site-to-Site and Point-to-Site VPN connections.
• Create and set up Azure ExpressRoute:
  • You will discover how to build and install Azure ExpressRoute, ExpressRoute Global Reach, and ExpressRoute FastPath as well as when to employ each service depending on the needs of your environment.
• Azure load balance non-HTTP(S) traffic:
  • You will gain knowledge of the various Azure load balancer choices as well as how to pick and use the best Azure solution for non-HTTP(S) traffic.
• HTTP(S) traffic load balancing in Azure:
  • You will learn how to use Azure Application Gateway and Azure Front Door, as well as how to design load balancer solutions for HTTP(S) traffic.
• Create and set up network security:
  • You will gain knowledge on how to develop and deploy network security solutions including Web Application Firewall, Network Security Groups, Azure Firewall, and Azure DDoS.
• Design and set up the private access to Azure Services:
  • With the help of Azure Private Link and virtual network service endpoints, you will learn how to plan and deploy private access to Azure Services.
• Create and set up network monitoring:
  • You will learn how to create and use network monitoring programs like Network Watcher and Azure Monitor.

– Utilize Microsoft Instructor-led Training

Designing and Implementing Microsoft Azure Networking Solutions

Network engineers may learn how to develop, build, and manage Azure networking solutions through this course. The design, implementation, and management of the fundamental Azure networking architecture, Hybrid Networking connections, traffic load balancing, network routing, private access to Azure services, network security, and network monitoring are all covered in this course. Learn how to set up the hybrid connection, routing, private access to Azure services, and monitoring in Azure, as well as how to build and operate a secure, dependable network architecture in Azure.

Network Engineer Audience Description:

• Network engineers looking to specialize in Azure networking solutions should take this course.
• A fundamental Azure networking architecture, hybrid networking connections, load balancing traffic, network routing, private access to Azure services, network security, and monitoring are all designed and implemented by an Azure network engineer.
• Azure network engineers are responsible for managing networking solutions for the best possible performance, resiliency, scale, and security.

Step 3: Build hands-on experience

Building hands-on experience with Azure technologies is an important aspect of preparing for the Microsoft Azure AZ-700 Exam. This can help candidates gain a deeper understanding of the concepts and principles covered on the exam, and provide practical experience in designing and implementing Azure solutions.

There are several ways to build hands-on experience with Azure technologies, including:

1. Creating a free Azure account: Microsoft offers a free Azure account that provides access to many Azure services and resources. Candidates can use this account to experiment with different Azure features and gain practical experience.
2. Working on Azure projects: Candidates can work on real-world Azure projects to gain practical experience in designing and implementing Azure solutions. This can be done through personal or professional projects, or through volunteer work.
3. Participating in Azure training and workshops: Microsoft and other organizations offer Azure training and workshops that provide hands-on experience with Azure technologies. Candidates can attend these sessions to gain practical experience and learn from experts in the field.

Step 4: Take AZ-700 Practice Exams

The greatest way to increase your level of preparation is to start evaluating yourself by utilizing the practice examinations. You can take these tests once you’ve finished the topics. This will provide you with a fast review of your strengths and shortcomings in addition to aiding you in improving your responding skills. To get you started, there are several companies that provide original and cost-free AZ-700 practice exams.

Step 5: Join the Microsoft Community

Join the groups of professionals as they offer advice on how to study for a Microsoft Certification exam. Utilizing the conversations, abilities, and knowledge you get from the readings can help you much throughout your study time. The experts here will draw attention to goals that many test-takers find challenging. Additionally, you may submit any questions you have about a subject in the AZ-700 exam to discover the best answer.

Quick Ways to Pass the AZ-700 Exam

The difficulty level of the Microsoft Azure AZ-700 exam depends on several factors, including an individual’s prior experience with cloud computing and Azure services, as well as the level of preparation and study they have done.

Here are some general observations that can help you gauge the difficulty of the exam:

1. Exam Format: The AZ-700 exam is a multiple-choice and scenario-based exam. If you’re comfortable with this format, the exam may not be too difficult for you.
2. Prerequisites: Some basic knowledge of cloud computing, including concepts such as virtualization, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS), is required for the exam.
3. Exam Content: The exam covers a wide range of Azure services and technologies, from Azure storage and virtual machines to security and compliance. If you have prior experience with these technologies, you may find the exam relatively straightforward.
4. Exam Preparation: Preparing for the exam by studying the official Microsoft Azure Administrator certification guide, taking online courses, or practicing with Azure services can significantly improve your chances of passing the exam.

Final Words

Overall, the Microsoft Azure AZ-700 Exam is considered to be of moderate difficulty. While it requires a solid understanding of Azure governance, security, and compliance, it is not as complex or challenging as some other cloud certification exams. However, it is important to note that the exam’s difficulty level may vary depending on the individual’s level of experience and preparation.

To succeed on the Microsoft Azure AZ-700 Exam, adequate preparation is crucial. This includes studying the exam guide, practicing with sample questions, building hands-on experience with Azure technologies, and collaborating with peers, and joining study groups. By putting in the time and effort to prepare, candidates can increase their chances of passing the exam and obtaining the certification.