Public cloud
Provider-owned infrastructure shared across customers with logical isolation. Azure’s standard services are public cloud.
Think: rent secure space in a massive provider-run city.AZ-900 MICROSOFT AZURE FUNDAMENTALS
Turn Azure concepts into exam confidence.
A complete study system aligned to the skills measured as of July 20, 2026—with clear mental models, visual lessons, and instant-feedback practice.
25–30% Cloud concepts35–40% Architecture & services30–35% Management & governance
THE EXAM MAP
Three domains. One connected mental model.
Learn the boundaries first: where Azure runs, how it is organized, who manages what, and which tool solves which problem.
Cloud concepts25–30%
Architecture & services35–40%
Management & governance30–35%
Source note · Percentages are the current ranges published in Microsoft’s official AZ-900 study guide. Exact question counts can vary.
01
CLOUD CONCEPTS · 25–30%
Know the model before the product.
Private cloud
Cloud resources dedicated to one organization, hosted in its datacenter or by a provider.
Think: the cloud operating model, but exclusively yours.Hybrid cloud
Public cloud connected with private cloud or on-premises systems, so workloads and data span both.
Exam signal: “keeps some workloads on-premises” points to hybrid.Shared responsibility shifts as you move right
LayerIaaSPaaSSaaS
Data & accessYouYouYou
ApplicationsYouYouMicrosoft
RuntimeYouMicrosoftMicrosoft
Operating systemYouMicrosoftMicrosoft
Physical infrastructureMicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft
Memory hook · IaaS gives the most control and responsibility. PaaS removes platform management. SaaS is a finished application.
SPENDING
CapEx vs. OpEx
CapEx: buy assets up front. OpEx: pay for ongoing consumption. Pay-as-you-go shifts spending toward OpEx.
SCALE
Up vs. out
Scale up: make one resource stronger. Scale out: add instances. Elasticity expands and shrinks with demand.
SERVERLESS
Events, not servers
Deploy event-driven code while the provider handles infrastructure and scaling. Azure Functions is the classic example.
02
ARCHITECTURE & SERVICES · 35–40%
Separate the location map from the management map.
WHERE THINGS RUN
Physical infrastructure
GeographyData-residency boundary
RegionNamed area such as East US
Availability zonePhysically separate location
DatacenterBuildings and hardware
A region contains datacenters. Availability zones are separate physical locations inside a region.
HOW THINGS ARE ORGANIZED
Management infrastructure
Management groupGovern subscriptions
SubscriptionBilling and access boundary
Resource groupLifecycle container
ResourceVM, database, network…
Policies and permissions inherit downward. Resources live in resource groups inside subscriptions.
Exam distinction
Availability zone protects against a datacenter-level failure inside one region. Region pairs support cross-region recovery.
Compute
VM: maximum OS control. App Service: managed web hosting. Containers: portable apps. Functions: serverless events.
Networking
VNet: private network. VPN Gateway: encrypted internet tunnel. ExpressRoute: private dedicated connection. Peering: connect VNets.
Storage
Blob: objects. Files: shares. Queues: messages. Tables: NoSQL. Tiers trade retrieval speed for cost.
Identity
Entra ID: cloud identity. MFA: extra proof. SSO: one sign-in. Conditional Access: signal-based decisions.
STORAGE REDUNDANCY
Choose the failure boundary
LRSOne datacenter
→ZRSMultiple zones
→GRSSecondary region
03
MANAGEMENT & GOVERNANCE · 30–35%
Match the tool to the job.
PO
Enforce rulesPolicy
Audit or deny noncompliant resources; group policies into initiatives.
RB
Control accessRBAC
Assign who can do what at a scope; follow least privilege.
LO
Prevent accidentsLocks
CanNotDelete blocks deletion; ReadOnly blocks changes.
TA
Organize & reportTags
Key-value labels help with cost and policy; they do not grant access.
CO
Track spendingCost Management
Budgets, alerts, analysis, and allocation help control cost.
AZ
Observe resourcesAzure Monitor
Metrics, logs, alerts, Log Analytics, and Application Insights.
SE
Azure incidentsService Health
Personalized issues, maintenance, and advisories.
AD
Improve workloadsAdvisor
Recommendations for reliability, security, cost, operations, and performance.
AZ
Manage anywhereAzure Arc
Extend Azure management to resources outside Azure.
MI
Govern dataMicrosoft Purview
Discover, classify, protect, and manage data across environments.
WAYS TO MANAGE AZURE
Portalvisual GUIorCloud Shellbrowser shellorCLI / PowerShellautomationorARM / Bicepinfrastructure as code
Infrastructure as code makes deployments repeatable and consistent. ARM is Azure’s deployment and management service.
PRACTICE LAB
Prove the mental model.
Options appear first, just how you asked. Then read the scenario and choose the best answer. Every response includes an explanation.
15exam-style questions
QUESTION 01 / 150 correct so far
NOW THE QUESTION
A company wants separate billing and access boundaries for development and production. What should it create?
WATCH + VERIFY
Go deeper with trusted resources.
Microsoft Learn is the source of truth. Use video to strengthen the mental model, then return to the current guide before exam day.
MICROSOFT AZURE
Cloud computing & vocabulary
An official beginner-friendly episode for the language behind AZ-900.
JOHN SAVILL
AZ-900 study cram
A popular whiteboard review. Check changing details against Microsoft’s current guide.
Sources used to build this guide
01Official AZ-900 study guideCurrent exam scope, weights, and skills measured
↗02Azure Fundamentals certificationPractice assessment, sandbox, and exam information
↗03Cloud concepts learning pathDeployment models, responsibility, and service types
↗04Architecture & services pathRegions, compute, networking, storage, identity, and security
↗05AZ-900 course hubMicrosoft's current three-domain course syllabus
↗“Don’t memorize a list of Azure products. Learn the boundary each product manages and the problem it is designed to solve.”
NOVA STUDY PRINCIPLE · A practical memory rule, not a quotation from Microsoft.