Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect Expert

Byjaganrajagopalme November 6, 2023December 2, 2023

This project is my study guide to Exams AZ-300: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies and AZ-301: Microsoft Azure Architect Design. Below is a Table of Contents that has links to all different parts of the Exam. Everything on the official site for the exam is found here verbatim. The detailed breakdown of the individual components are in the respective exam directories and are presented in an outline style with links to documentation on each Azure resource in the exams. Enjoy!

Inspired by a similar repo for 70-535 exam and Pixel robots who have put up some additional links that I am consulting for reference.

STATUS: Links updated till first section of AZ-300!

For preparing AZ-300 and AZ-301, along with other new exams for role-based Azure certifications, you can follow the e-learning provided directly by Mircosoft and look for AZ* courses.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Deploy and Configure Infrastructure

Analyze resource utilization and consumption

configure diagnostic settings on resources
create baseline for resources
create and rest alerts
analyze alerts across subscription
analyze metrics across subscription
create action groups
monitor for unused resources
monitor spend
report on spend
utilize Log Search query functions
view alerts in Log Analytics

Create and configure storage accounts

configure network access to the storage account
create and configure storage account
generate shared access signature
install and use Azure Storage Explorer
manage access keys
monitor activity log by using Log Analytics
implement Azure storage replication

Create and configure a Virtual Machine (VM) for Windows and Linux

configure high availability
configure monitoring, networking, storage, and virtual machine size
deploy and configure scale sets

Automate deployment of Virtual Machines (VMs)

modify Azure Resource Manager (ARM) template
configure location of new VMs
configure VHD template
deploy from template
save a deployment as an ARM template
deploy Windows and Linux VMs

Create connectivity between virtual networks

create and configure VNET peering
create and configure VNET to VNET
verify virtual network connectivity
create virtual network gateway

Implement and manage virtual networking

configure private and public IP addresses, network routes, network interface, subnets, and virtual network

Manage Azure Active Directory (AD)

add custom domains
configure Azure AD Identity Protection, Azure AD Join, and Enterprise State Roaming
configure self-service password reset
implement conditional access policies
manage multiple directories
perform an access review

Implement and manage hybrid identities

install and configure Azure AD Connect
configure federation and single sign-on
manage Azure AD Connect
manage password sync and writeback

Implement Workloads and Security

Migrate servers to Azure

migrate by using Azure Site Recovery (ASR)
migrate using P2V
configure storage
create a backup vault
prepare source and target environments
backup and restore data
deploy Azure Site Recovery (ASR) agent
prepare virtual network

Configure serverless computing

create and manage objects
manage a Logic App resource
manage Azure Function app settings
manage Event Grid
manage Service Bus

Implement application load balancing

configure application gateway and load balancing rules
implement front end IP configurations
manage application load balancing

Integrate on-premises network with Azure virtual network

create and configure Azure VPN Gateway
create and configure site to site VPN
configure Express Route
verify on-premises connectivity
manage on-premises connectivity with Azure

Manage role-based access control (RBAC)

create a custom role
configure access to Azure resources by assigning roles
configure management access to Azure
troubleshoot RBAC
implement RBAC policies
assign RBAC roles

Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

enable MFA for an Azure tenant
configure user accounts for MFA
configure fraud alerts
configure bypass options
configure trusted IPs
configure verification methods
manage role-based access control (RBAC)
implement RBAC policies
assign RBAC Roles
create a custom role
configure access to Azure resources by assigning roles
configure management access to Azure

Architect Cloud Technology Solutions

Select an appropriate compute solution

leverage appropriate design patterns
select appropriate network connectivity options
design for hybrid topologies

Select an appropriate integration solution

address computational bottlenecks, state management, and OS requirements
provide for web hosting if applicable
evaluate minimum number of nodes

Select an appropriate storage solution

validate data storage technology capacity limitations
address durability of data
provide for appropriate throughput of data access
evaluate structure of data storage
provide for data archiving, retention, and compliance

Create and Deploy Apps

Create web applications by using PaaS

create an Azure app service web app by using Azure CLI, PowerShell, and other tools
create documentation for the API by using open source and other tools
create an App Service Web App for containers
create an App Service background task by using WebJobs

Create app or service that runs on Service Fabric

develop a stateful Reliable Service and a stateless Reliable Service
develop an actor-based Reliable Service
write code to consume Reliable Collections in your service

Design and develop applications that run in containers

configure diagnostic settings on resources
create a container image by using a Docker file
create an Azure Container Service (ACS/AKS) cluster by using the Azure CLI and Azure Portal
publish an image to the Azure Container Registry
implement an application that runs on an Azure Container Instance
implement container instances by using Azure Container Service (ACS/AKS), Azure Service Fabric, and other tools
manage container settings by using code

Implement Authentication and Secure Data

Implement authentication

implement authentication by using certificates, forms-based authentication, tokens, Windows-integrated authentication
implement multi-factor authentication by using Azure AD options

Implement secure data solutions

encrypt and decrypt data at rest
encrypt data with Always Encrypted
implement Azure Confidential Compute and SSL/TLS communications
manage cryptographic keys in the Azure Key Vault

Develop for the Cloud

Develop long-running tasks

implement large-scale, parallel, and high-performance apps by using batches
implement resilient apps by using queues
implement code to address application events by using web hooks
address continuous processing tasks by using web jobs

Configure a message-based integration architecture

configure an app or service to send emails, Event Grid, and the Azure Relay Service
create and configure a Notification Hub, an Event Hub, and a Service Bus
configure queries across multiple products
configure an app or service with Microsoft Graph

Develop for asynchronous processing

implement parallelism, multithreading, processing, durable functions, Azure logic apps, interfaces with storage, interfaces to data access, and appropriate asynchronous compute models

Develop for autoscaling

implement autoscaling rules and patterns (schedule, operational/system metrics, code that addresses singleton application instances, and code that addresses transient state

Implement distributed transactions

identify tools to implement distributed transactions (e.g., ADO.NET, elastic transactions, multi-database transactions)
manage transaction scope
manage transactions across multiple databases and servers

Develop advanced cloud workloads

develop solutions by using intelligent algorithms that identify items from images and videos
develop solutions by using intelligent algorithms related to speech, natural language processing, Bing Search, and recommendations and decision making
create and integrate bots
integrate machine learning solutions in an app
create and implement IoT solutions

Determine Workload Requirements

Gather Information and Requirements

identify compliance requirements, identity and access management infrastructure, and service-oriented architectures (e.g., integration patterns, service design, service discoverability)
identify accessibility (e.g. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), availability (e.g. Service Level Agreement), capacity planning and scalability, deploy-ability (e.g., repositories, failback, slot-based deployment), configurability, governance, maintainability (e.g. logging, debugging, troubleshooting, recovery, training), security (e.g. authentication, authorization, attacks), and sizing (e.g. support costs, optimization) requirements
recommend changes during project execution (ongoing)
evaluate products and services to align with solution
create testing scenarios

Optimize Consumption Strategy

optimize app service, compute, identity, network, and storage costs

Design an Auditing and Monitoring Strategy

define logical groupings (tags) for resources to be monitored
determine levels and storage locations for logs
plan for integration with monitoring tools
recommend appropriate monitoring tool(s) for a solution
specify mechanism for event routing and escalation
design auditing for compliance requirements
design auditing policies and traceability requirements

Design for Identity and Security

Design Identity Management

choose an identity management approach
design an identity delegation strategy, identity repository (including directory, application, systems, etc.)
design self-service identity management and user and persona provisioning
define personas and roles
recommend appropriate access control strategy (e.g., attribute-based, discretionary access, history-based, identity-based, mandatory, organization-based, role-based, rule-based, responsibility-based)

Design Authentication

choose an authentication approach
design a single-sign on approach
design for IPSec, logon, multi-factor, network access, and remote authentication

Design Authorization

choose an authorization approach
define access permissions and privileges
design secure delegated access (e.g., oAuth, OpenID, etc.)
recommend when and how to use API Keys

Design for Risk Prevention for Identity

design a risk assessment strategy (e.g., access reviews, RBAC policies, physical access)
evaluate agreements involving services or products from vendors and contractors
update solution design to address and mitigate changes to existing security policies, standards, guidelines and procedures

Design a Monitoring Strategy for Identity and Security

design for alert notifications
design an alert and metrics strategy
recommend authentication monitors

Design a Data Platform Solution

Design a Data Management Strategy

choose between managed and unmanaged data store
choose between relational and non-relational databases
design data auditing and caching strategies
identify data attributes (e.g., relevancy, structure, frequency, size, durability, etc.)
recommend Database Transaction Unit (DTU) sizing
design a data retention policy
design for data availability, consistency, and durability
design a data warehouse strategy

Design a Data Protection Strategy

recommend geographic data storage
design an encryption strategy for data at rest, for data in transmission, and for data in use
design a scalability strategy for data
design secure access to data
design a data loss prevention (DLP) policy

Design and Document Data Flows

identify data flow requirements
create a data flow diagram
design a data flow to meet business requirements
design a data import and export strategy

Design a Monitoring Strategy for the Data Platform

design for alert notifications
design an alert and metrics strategy

Design a Business Continuity Strategy

Design a Site Recovery Strategy

design a recovery solution
design a site recovery replication policy
design for site recovery capacity and for storage replication
design site failover and failback (planned/unplanned)
design the site recovery network
recommend recovery objectives (e.g., Azure, on-prem, hybrid, Recovery Time Objective (RTO), Recovery Level Objective (RLO), Recovery Point Objective (RPO))
identify resources that require site recovery
identify supported and unsupported workloads
recommend a geographical distribution strategy

Design for High Availability

design for application redundancy, autoscaling, data center and fault domain redundancy, and network redundancy
identify resources that require high availability
identify storage types for high availability

Design a disaster recovery strategy for individual workloads

design failover/failback scenarios
document recovery requirements
identify resources that require backup
recommend a geographic availability strategy

Design a Data Archiving Strategy

recommend storage types and methodology for data archiving
identify requirements for data archiving and business compliance requirements for data archiving
identify SLA(s) for data archiving

Design for Deployment, Migration, and Integration

Design Deployments

design a compute, container, data platform, messaging solution, storage, and web app and service deployment strategy

Design Migrations

recommend a migration strategy
design data import/export strategies during migration
determine the appropriate application migration, data transfer, and network connectivity method
determine migration scope, including redundant, related, trivial, and outdated data
determine application and data compatibility

Design an API Integration Strategy

design an API gateway strategy
determine policies for internal and external consumption of APIs
recommend a hosting structure for API management

Design an Infrastructure Strategy

Design a Storage Strategy

design a storage provisioning strategy
design storage access strategy
identify storage requirements
recommend a storage solution and storage management tools

Design a Compute Strategy

design compute provisioning and secure compute strategies
determine appropriate compute technologies (e.g., virtual machines, functions, service fabric, container instances, etc.)
design an Azure HPC environment
identify compute requirements
recommend management tools for compute

Design a Networking Strategy

design network provisioning and network security strategies
determine appropriate network connectivity technologies
identify networking requirements
recommend network management tools

Design a Monitoring Strategy for Infrastructure

design for alert notifications
design an alert and metrics strategy

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