What is new in the latest update of AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator?

In a world where trends keep changing and technology keeps advancing from time to time, the competition in the market is also rising. And to benchmark any achievements, updated certifications are important. To keep up with the market trends, Microsoft Azure, one of the dominators of the IT industry, has made a big change as well. Last year, it replaced the AZ-103 exam with a newer upgraded version – AZ-104.

This AZ-104 certification was recently updated on March 26, 2021.

In this blog, we will discuss all the latest changes in the AZ-104 certification exam.

What’s new in the AZ-104 Certification Exam?

We will mention the new features of the exam, including the audience profile, skills measured, and the topics.

The good news is that not much has changed. Microsoft Azure has removed a couple of topics and added some. With this, they have broken down the vague topics into more specific ones. Well, let’s get down to it.

AZ-104 Exam DetailsFor every exam, it is important for you to know the small details and what the exam requires. So, here are some basic exam details that will help you understand the requirements –

• The AZ-104 certification exam is associated with the Microsoft Azure Administrator
• The exam’s total time duration is 120 minutes.
• There is a total of 40-60 questions in the AZ-104 exam.
• The examination fee is USD 165, which varies from country to country.
• The total passing score required is 700 out of 1000.
• The AZ-104 examination is available in the English language.

Updated Audience Profile & Prerequisites

The Azure Administrator should be able to implement, manage, as well as monitor identity, storage, governance – compute virtual networks in a cloud environment. Further, the candidates are required to provision, monitor, size as well as adjust resources as required.

Candidates for this exam should have the following expertise or skills –

• The candidate should have at least 6 months of hands-on experience in administering Azure workloads.
• The job role requires a strong understanding of core Azure services, workloads, security, as well as governance.
• The candidate must be proficient in PowerShell, Azure portal, Azure CLI, and Azure Resource Manager templates.
• It requires you the candidate to have extensive knowledge of networking, cloud infrastructure, operating systems, virtualization, and storage structures.

Updated Course Outline – Changes in Domains

1. Manage Azure identities & governance

   This domain has 15-20% of weightage in the exam and has the following sections –

   • Manage Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) objects
   • Manage role-based access control i.e, RBAC
   • Manage subscriptions and governance

2. Implement & manage storage

   This domain has 15-20% of weightage in the exam and has the following sections –

   • Secure storage
   • Manage storage
   • Configure Azure files and Azure Blob Storage

3. Deploy & manage Azure compute resources

   This 3^rd domain covers 20-25% of weightage and has the following sections –

   • Automate deployment of virtual machines by using Azure Resource Manager templates
   • Configure Virtual Machines (VMs)
   • Create & configure containers
   • Create & configure Azure App Service

4. Configure & manage virtual networking

   This domain covers 25-30% of weightage and has the following sections –

   • Implement & manage virtual networking
   • Secure access to virtual networks
   • Configure load balancing
   • Monitor & troubleshoot virtual networking
   • Integrate an on-premises network with an Azure virtual network

5. Monitor & back up Azure resources

   This domain has 10-15% of weightage in the exam and has the following sections –

   • Monitor resources using Azure Monitor
   • Implement backup & recovery

Benefits of Latest AZ-104 Exam

The one question that individuals mostly ask is if it is worth becoming an Azure administrator. The answer is – YES!

Azure has an amazing reputation in the market and getting a certification can help you earn a well-organized position in the top organizations of the industry. Moreover, you add value to your career on a global scale. The AZ-104 exam will not only make you proficient in new technology and refresh your skills, but it will also help you boost your self-confidence with career advancement.

Now, let’s talk about the Azure administrator’s range of tasks skills –

• The Azure administrator can restart the Azure components, clusters as well as virtual machines.
• They can create & manage the swap space on deployed cloud systems according to the customer policies included in cloud systems & environments.
• They automate support processes by creating custom scripts, having the ability to power off the unused virtual machines.
• They can identify the issues at the Azure level and come up with solutions to resolve them.
• The Azure subscriptions, as well as profiles, are managed by the Azure administrator.

Microsoft provides the aspirants with documentation that helps them prepare for the exam. The documentation covers the theoretical aspects that the aspirants need to understand subtopics in the exam. The Microsoft documentation provides them with doc files for each subtopic for preparation. However, the candidates need to have hands-on practice of each subject, do labs, solve problems, and for that, opting for an online course is the best option. With this, the candidates will have reliable study material, expert assistance, and practical knowledge of each subject.

Final Words

At present, Microsoft is the world’s second most sought-after cloud platform after AWS. Microsoft constantly works on improving its platform and is currently working on increasing its cloud capacity to keep up with the increasing demand for Azure & Microsoft cloud services. The demand for Microsoft Azure is extremely high in the global public cloud market, and it is increasing every day.

Cognixia’s Microsoft Azure Certification is designed to help professionals prepare for the AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator certification examination. With the AZ-104 training, professionals will get an upper hand in the field of a highly competitive IT job marketplace.

Enroll in Cognixia’s AZ-104: Microsoft Azure training and upgrade your skills. Shape your career & future with our hands-on, live, interactive, instructor-led course. In this competitive world, we are here to provide you with an extraordinarily intuitive online learning experience, help you enhance your knowledge with engaging training sessions, and add value to your skillset. Cognixia caters to both the individuals & corporate workforce with our online interactive instructor-led courses.

This Microsoft Azure training teaches IT Professionals how to manage their Azure subscriptions, administer the infrastructure, secure identities, configure virtual networking, manage network traffic, connect Azure & on-premises sites, implement storage solutions, implement web apps & containers, create and scale virtual machines, back up & share data, as well as monitor the solution.

In this AZ104 training, you will cover the following –

• Module 1: Identity
• Module 2: Governance and Compliance
• Module 3: Azure Administration
• Module 4: Virtual Networking
• Module 5: Intersite Connectivity
• Module 6: Network Traffic Management
• Module 7: Azure Storage
• Module 8: Azure Virtual Machines
• Module 9: Serverless Computing
• Module 10: Data Protection
• Module 11: Monitoring