AZ-900 Study Guide

Markdown-only workbook for Exam AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals.

Last updated: August 2026. Aligned to the July 20, 2026 skills update.

This version is organized around the official AZ-900 domains. Each domain explains the concepts, shows how they appear in Azure, and includes examples you should be able to recognize and explain in plain language.

Public sharing note: this guide is not an exam dump and does not contain real exam questions or answer choices. It is a structured study workbook built from official Microsoft documentation, with practical examples written for learning and review.

Primary sources:

• AZ-900 Microsoft Learn study guide: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/resources/study-guides/az-900
• Azure fundamentals learning path: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/microsoft-azure-fundamentals-describe-cloud-concepts/
• Azure architecture and services learning path: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/azure-fundamentals-describe-azure-architecture-services/
• Azure management and governance learning path: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/describe-azure-management-governance/
• Free practice assessment: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/exams/az-900/practice/assessment?assessment-type=practice&assessmentId=23

Pass score: 700 out of 1000. No prerequisites. Designed for anyone new to Azure or cloud computing.

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1. Exam Map And Study Model

The exam domains:

The largest domain is Azure architecture and services. Start there. It is over a third of the exam.

What the exam tests:

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2. Domain 1: Describe Cloud Concepts (25–30%)

What Cloud Computing Is

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services over the internet. Instead of buying and maintaining physical servers, you rent compute, storage, and networking from a provider like Microsoft Azure and pay for what you use.

Key benefits:

• No upfront capital expense for hardware.
• Scale up or down instantly based on demand.
• Access resources from anywhere.
• Provider handles hardware maintenance and physical security.

The Shared Responsibility Model

In cloud computing, responsibility for security and management is split between the cloud provider and the customer. The split depends on which service type you're using.

The customer always owns their data. The provider always owns the physical datacenter. Everything in between depends on the service type.

Cloud Models

Public cloud: Resources owned and operated by a cloud provider (like Azure), shared across multiple customers. No capital expense. Pay only for what you use. Best for most workloads.

Private cloud: Resources used exclusively by one organization. Can be on-premises or hosted by a provider. More control and customization. Higher cost. Best for regulated industries with strict data requirements.

Hybrid cloud: Combines public and private clouds. Lets organizations keep sensitive workloads on-premises while using public cloud for flexibility. Most flexible but most complex to manage.

The Consumption-Based Model

Traditional IT: you buy servers upfront (capital expense) whether you need them or not. Cloud: you pay for what you consume (operational expense). No wasted spend on idle hardware. No upfront investment.

Cloud pricing models:

• Pay-as-you-go: Pay for exactly what you use, billed by the second or hour.
• Reserved: Commit to 1 or 3 years in advance, get a significant discount (up to 72%).
• Spot: Use unused Azure capacity at a deep discount, but workloads can be interrupted.

Serverless

Serverless computing means you write and deploy code without managing any servers. The cloud provider handles all infrastructure. You only pay when your code runs. Azure Functions is the primary serverless compute service in Azure.

Benefits of Cloud Services

Cloud Service Types

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): You rent raw infrastructure — virtual machines, storage, networking. You manage the OS, middleware, and applications. Most flexible. Most responsibility. Example: Azure Virtual Machines.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): You focus on building and deploying applications. Microsoft manages the OS and infrastructure. Example: Azure App Service, Azure SQL Database.

Software as a Service (SaaS): You use a fully managed application. Microsoft manages everything. Example: Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365.

When to use each:

Domain 1 Traps

• The shared responsibility model changes based on the service type — it is not fixed.
• Hybrid cloud is not the same as multicloud. Hybrid = public + private. Multicloud = multiple public clouds.
• Serverless does not mean no servers — it means you don't manage servers.
• SaaS customers still own and are responsible for their data.

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