Study guide for Exam AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator

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
Review the skills measured as of October 26, 2023 This list represents the skills measured AFTER the date provided. Study this list if you plan to take the exam AFTER that date.
Review the skills measured prior to October 26, 2023 Study this list of skills if you take your exam PRIOR to the date provided.
Change log You can go directly to the change log if you want to see the changes that will be made on the date provided.
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Take a free Practice Assessment Test your skills with practice questions to help you prepare for the exam.

Updates to the exam

Our exams are updated periodically to reflect skills that are required to perform a role. We have included two versions of the Skills Measured objectives depending on when you are taking 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. While Microsoft makes every effort to update localized versions as noted, there may be times when 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.

Note

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.

Note

Most questions cover features that are general availability (GA). The exam may contain questions on Preview features if those features are commonly used.

Skills measured as of October 26, 2023

Audience profile

As a candidate for this exam, you should have subject matter expertise in implementing, managing, and monitoring an organization’s Microsoft Azure environment, including virtual networks, storage, compute, identity, security, and governance.

As an Azure administrator, you often serve as part of a larger team dedicated to implementing an organization's cloud infrastructure. You also coordinate with other roles to deliver Azure networking, security, database, application development, and DevOps solutions.

You should be familiar with:

In addition, you should have experience with:

Skills at a glance

Manage Azure identities and governance (20–25%)

Manage Microsoft Entra users and groups

Manage access to Azure resources

Manage Azure subscriptions and governance

Implement and manage storage (15–20%)

Configure access to storage

Configure and manage storage accounts

Configure Azure Files and Azure Blob Storage

Deploy and manage Azure compute resources (20–25%)

Automate deployment of resources by using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates or Bicep files

Create and configure virtual machines

Provision and manage containers in the Azure portal

Create and configure Azure App Service

Implement and manage virtual networking (15–20%)

Configure and manage virtual networks in Azure

Configure secure access to virtual networks

Configure name resolution and load balancing

Monitor and maintain Azure resources (10–15%)

Monitor resources in Azure

Implement backup and recovery

Study resources

We recommend that you train and get hands-on experience before you take the exam. We offer self-study options and classroom training as well as links to documentation, community sites, and videos.

Study resources Links to learning and documentation
Get trained Choose from self-paced learning paths and modules or take an instructor-led course
Find documentation Azure documentation
Microsoft Entra ID
Azure Policy
Azure Storage
Azure Storage Explorer
Azure Blob Storage
ARM templates
Azure Container Instances
Azure Container Apps
App Service
Azure DNS
Azure Bastion
Application Gateway
Azure Monitor
Network Watcher
Azure Site Recovery
Azure Backup service
Ask a question Microsoft Q&A | Microsoft Docs
Get community support Azure Community Support
Follow Microsoft Learn Microsoft Learn - Microsoft Tech Community
Find a video Exam Readiness Zone
Azure Fridays
Browse other Microsoft Learn shows

Change log

Key to understanding the table: The topic groups (also known as functional groups) are in bold typeface followed by the objectives within each group. The table is a comparison between the two versions of the exam skills measured and the third column describes the extent of the changes.

Skill area prior to October 26, 2023 Skill area as of October 26, 2023 Change
Audience profile Minor
Manage Azure identities and governance Manage Azure identities and governance No change
Manage Azure AD users and groups Manage Microsoft Entra users and groups Minor
Manage access to Azure resources Manage access to Azure resources No change
Manage Azure subscriptions and governance Manage Azure subscriptions and governance No change
Implement and manage storage Implement and manage storage No change
Configure access to storage Configure access to storage No change
Configure and manage storage accounts Configure and manage storage accounts No change
Configure Azure Files and Azure Blob Storage Configure Azure Files and Azure Blob Storage No change
Deploy and manage Azure compute resources Deploy and manage Azure compute resources No change
Automate deployment of resources by using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates or Bicep files Automate deployment of resources by using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates or Bicep files No change
Create and configure VMs Create and configure virtual machines No change
Provision and manage containers in the Azure portal Provision and manage containers in the Azure portal No change
Create and configure an Azure App Service Create and configure an Azure App Service No change
Implement and manage virtual networking Implement and manage virtual networking No change
Configure and manage virtual networks in Azure Configure and manage virtual networks in Azure No change
Configure secure access to virtual networks Configure secure access to virtual networks No change
Configure name resolution and load balancing Configure name resolution and load balancing No change
Monitor and maintain Azure resources Monitor and maintain Azure resources No change
Monitor resources in Azure Monitor resources in Azure No change
Implement backup and recovery Implement backup and recovery No change

Skills measured prior to October 26, 2023

Audience profile

Candidates for this exam should have subject matter expertise in implementing, managing, and monitoring an organization’s Microsoft Azure environment, including virtual networks, storage, compute, identity, security, and governance.

An Azure administrator often serves as part of a larger team dedicated to implementing an organization's cloud infrastructure. Azure administrators also coordinate with other roles to deliver Azure networking, security, database, application development, and DevOps solutions.

Candidates for this exam should be familiar with operating systems, networking, servers, and virtualization. In addition, professionals in this role should have experience using PowerShell, Azure Command-Line Interface (CLI), the Azure portal, Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates, and Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), part of Microsoft Entra.

Skills at a glance

Manage Azure identities and governance (20–25%)

Manage Azure AD users and groups

Manage access to Azure resources

Manage Azure subscriptions and governance

Implement and manage storage (15–20%)

Configure access to storage

Configure and manage storage accounts

Configure Azure Files and Azure Blob Storage

Deploy and manage Azure compute resources (20–25%)

Automate deployment of resources by using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates or Bicep files

Create and configure virtual machines

Provision and manage containers in the Azure portal

Create and configure Azure App Service

Implement and manage virtual networking (15–20%)

Configure and manage virtual networks in Azure

Configure secure access to virtual networks

Configure name resolution and load balancing

Monitor and maintain Azure resources (10–15%)

Monitor resources in Azure

Implement backup and recovery