Exam AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure

This Microsoft Azure AZ-204 certification exam has been built to measure your ability to accomplish the defined technical tasks: These tasks include developing Azure compute solutions; developing for Azure storage; implementing Azure security. As well as include monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimizing Azure solutions; and thereby connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services. Also, for candidates planning to take this exam should have subject matter expertise in designing, building, testing, and maintaining cloud applications and services on Microsoft Azure.

The core responsibilities for an Azure Developer include participating in all phases of cloud development from defining the requirements and designing. Together with development, deployment, maintenance. performance tuning, and monitoring. Also, Azure Developers partner with cloud solution architects, cloud DBAs, cloud administrators, and clients for implementing the solutions.

Why choose Microsoft Azure AZ-204 exam ?

Since you have decided to go for Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure Exam (AZ-204) exam it is very important to understand its importance and the benefits that comes along.

• The Microsoft Azure AZ-204 exam regulates the ability of a candidate to accomplish the technical tasks such as; Develop for Azure storage; implementing Azure security; Develop Azure compute solutions; monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimizing Azure solutions; and connecting to and consume Azure assistance and third-party services.
• Also, Once a candidate successfully passes the Microsoft Azure (Beta) AZ-204. they will receive the Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate certification.
• Moreover, The Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate is a component of a job-role based reorganizing of the Microsoft certifications that started back in late 2018.
• This particular certification is prepared for candidates who are Azure Developers in their regular job in building and designing cloud-based software solutions using the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.

Who should take the AZ-204 exam?

As prescribed, candidates for this exam should have at least 1-2 years of professional development experience together with experience with Microsoft Azure. In addition, you should be able to perform programming in a language supported by Azure and proficiency in Azure SDKs, Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, data storage options, data connections, APIs, app authentication and authorization, compute and container deployment, debugging, performance tuning, and monitoring.

It is also suggested for candidates taking this exam to have subject matter expertise in designing, building, testing, and maintaining cloud applications and services on Microsoft Azure. Responsibilities for an Azure Developer. Further, it includes participating in all phases of cloud development from requirements definition and design, to development, deployment, and maintenance. performance tuning, and monitoring.

Requirements for the Microsoft Azure AZ-204 Exam

In general, there are no special requirements for the AZ-204 exam. But, applicants are suggested to match the recommended knowledge and experience requirements to have better probabilities of qualifying for the exam. The AZ-204 exam prerequisites include –

• Applicants should have a minimum of 1-2 years of experience in the advancement of cloud solutions and Microsoft Azure.
• Candidates should have encouraging fluency in programming in a high-level programming language which is supported by Azure.

Learning Objectives

Exam Details 

Now let’s take a look at the basic details of the Microsoft Azure (Beta) AZ-204 exam. The  Microsoft Azure AZ-204 exam gives 150 minutes to a candidate to complete the exam, make sure that you complete and recheck the exam within the given time period. And, the format of the exam is Multi-Response and Multiple Choice Questions. 

The Microsoft AZ-204 questions are in number 40-60, this can may vary depending on the nature of the exam. Also, the AZ-204 certification exam cost is $165 USD* Further, The Microsoft Azure (Beta) AZ-204 exam is available in the English language. Moreover, the Microsoft Azure (Beta) AZ-204 exam has no retirement date. 

AZ-204 Course Outline

Preparing for the exams always bring anxiety and nervousness. You don’t really know how to go about it at first but with appropriate learning resources and preparation guide it becomes a easy sail. It is extremely important for you to have an in-depth understanding of the subject and course outline so that you do not miss on important details. So lets begin by understanding the topics covered and respective documentation to support your learning.

The updated Microsoft AZ-204 course outline includes:

1. Develop Azure compute solutions (25-30%)

1.1 Implement containerized solutions

• Create and manage container images for solutions (Microsoft Documentation: Build and deploy container images)
• Publish an image to Azure Container Registry (Microsoft Documentation: Push image to Azure Container Registry)
• Run containers by using Azure Container Instance
• Create solutions by using Azure Container Apps (Microsoft Documentation: Deploy a container application to Azure Container Instances)

1.2 Implement Azure App Service Web Apps

• Create an Azure App Service Web App (Microsoft Documentation: Create an ASP.NET Core web app in Azure)
• Enable diagnostics logging (Microsoft Documentation: Enable diagnostics logging for apps in Azure App Service)
• Deploy code to a web app (Microsoft Documentation: Deploy your app to Azure App Service with a ZIP or WAR file)
• Configure web app settings including Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), API settings, and connection strings (Microsoft Documentation: Configuring web app settings with SSL, Configuring web app settings with connection strings and Host Restful APIs in Azure App Service)

• Implement autoscaling

1.3 Implement Azure functions

• Create and deploy Azure Functions apps
• Implement input and output bindings (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Functions triggers and bindings concepts)
• Implement function triggers by using data operations, timers, and webhooks (Microsoft Documentation: Timer trigger for Azure Functions)

2. Develop for Azure storage (15-20%)

2.1 Develop solutions that use Azure Cosmos DB storage

• Perform operations on containers and items by using the SDK
• Set the appropriate consistency level for operations (Microsoft Documentation: Choose the right consistency level)
• Manage change feed notifications Change feed in Azure Cosmos DB)

2.2 Develop solutions that use blob storage

• Set and retrieve properties and metadata (Microsoft Documentation: Setting properties and metadata during the import process)
• Perform operations on data by using the appropriate SDK (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Blob storage client library v12 for .NET)
• Implement storage policies and data lifecycle management
• Implement static site hosting

3. Implement Azure security (20-25%)

3.1 Implement user authentication and authorization

• Authenticate and authorize users by using the Microsoft Identity platform (Microsoft Documentation: Microsoft identity platform)
• Authenticate and authorize users and apps by using Microsoft Entra ID (Microsoft Documentation: Configure your App Service or Azure Functions)
• Create and implement shared access signatures (Microsoft Documentation: Grant limited access to Azure Storage resources using shared access signatures (SAS))
• Implement solutions that interact with Microsoft Graph

3.2 Implement secure Azure solutions

• Secure app configuration data by using the App Configuration and Azure Key Vault (Microsoft Documentation: Securely save secret application settings for a web application)
• Develop code that uses keys, secrets, and certificates stored in Azure Key Vault (Microsoft Documentation: Configure and manage secrets in Azure Key Vault)
• Implement Managed Identities for Azure resources (Microsoft Documentation: Use a Windows VM system-assigned managed identity to access Resource Manager)

4. Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure solutions (15-20%)

4.1 Implement caching for solutions

• Configure cache and expiration policies for Azure Cache for Redis configure Azure Cache for Redis)
• Implement secure and optimized application cache patterns including data sizing, connections, encryption, and expiration Caching guidance)
• Implement Azure Content Delivery Network endpoints and profiles

4.2 Troubleshoot solutions by using metrics and log data

• Configure an app or service to use Application Insights Application Insights overview)
• Monitor and analyze metrics, logs, and traces Azure Monitor Metrics overview)

• Implement Application Insights Web Test and Alerts (Microsoft Documentation: Creating an Application Insights Web Test and Alert Programmatically)

5. Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services (15-20%)

5.1 Implement API Management

• Create an Azure API Management instance (Microsoft Documentation: Create a new Azure API Management service instance)
• Create and document APIs
• Configure access to APIs
• Implement policies for APIs

5.3 Develop event-based solutions

• Implement solutions that use Azure Event Grid (Microsoft Documentation: Automate resizing uploaded images using Event Grid)
• Implement solutions that use Azure Event Hub (Microsoft Documentation: Visualize data anomalies in real-time events sent to Azure Event Hubs)

5.4 Develop message-based solutions

• Implement solutions that use Azure Service Bus (Microsoft Documentation: Update inventory using PowerShell and topics/subscriptions)
• Implement solutions that use Azure Queue Storage queues (Microsoft Documentation: Work with Azure storage queues)

Prepare for Azure: AZ-204 interview now!

Microsoft Azure Exam AZ-204 Preparation Guide

Let us discuss some necessary steps in order to prepare for the Microsoft Azure (Beta) AZ-204 exam.  Therefore, the first action for every candidate should be to hit the official certification page. The certification page gives the candidate details about the availability and scoring system of the beta exam. The following are some steps that the candidate should follow. 

Revise the Exam Objectives 

A denser look at each and every domain of the Microsoft Azure AZ-204 exam can give a further indication regarding the aspirations of the exam. Here is an outline of the domains of the AZ-204 exam. Candidates should learn the objectives, if they know what exam wants to test then it will be easy to prepare for them. 

• First of all, Develop Azure compute solutions (25-30%)
• Secondly, Develop for Azure storage (10-15%)
• Subsequently, Implement Azure security (15-20%)
• In addition, Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimizing the Azure solutions (10-15%)
• Lastly, Connect to and Utilise Azure services and third-party services (25-30%)

Refer the Blueprint

The next step for the effective preparation of candidates is to go for the study guide. The study guide or the exam guide is available for download on the official certification page. Candidates should download the blueprint of the exam and find the objectives and relevant information for the exam. The blueprint is a reliable tool to study only for the necessary content for the exam and for better AZ-204 exam review.

Effective Study Material 

Finding effective Microsoft AZ-204 exam study material is a challenging task. Here, we are providing a list of the books for the Microsoft Azure (Beta) AZ-204 exam which the candidate can refer to. 

• Exam Ref AZ-203 Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure 1st Edition by Santiago Fernández Muñoz
• Microsoft Azure Cloud – Complete Practical Guide for Ultimate Beginners: Step By Step Azure Cloud Lab Manual by ProTechGurus
• Learn Microsoft Azure: Build, manage, and scale cloud applications using the Azure ecosystem by Mohamed Wali

Training Program by Microsoft 

Candidates should opt for suitable training courses by reliable certification training providers. The principal benefit of such online AZ-204 training courses is apparent in the ability of expert direction by subject matter experts. Furthermore, the knowledge of all exam topics in appealing tutorial videos with practical demonstrations gives easier and effective learning opportunities.  The candidates also opt for hands-on labs as often as they can to complete their lessons in real situations.  Hands-on labs allow improvement in the abilities to approach technical tasks in certification exams. The candidate can register for the Azure free tier and make them try the hands-on practice. 

AZ-204 Practice Test

Practise tests should constantly be at the greatest priority of the candidate before appearing for a certification exam. The Microsoft AZ-204 practice tests can be the validated method for confirming the level of preparation for the exam with expert-curated Microsoft Azure AZ-204 exam questions. This helps the candidate to gain the benefit of improving their skills in time management and quick thinking. 

Subsequently, the candidate can improve their chances of qualifying the exam easily. The candidate can find many free AZ-204 practice tests online.  

Start preparing for Microsoft Azure AZ-204 Developing solution for Microsoft Azure Now!