Microsoft Azure FundamentalsStudy guide

Understand what cloud computing is and its key benefits—high availability, scalability, elasticity, reliability, predictability, security, governance, and manageability. This is the starting point for AZ-900.

Understand the three service models—IaaS, PaaS, SaaS—through a single axis: the trade-off between control and effort. Compare what each one manages, its representative Azure services, and where it fits, and see where serverless (FaaS) sits. Finally, learn the most important security concept in the cloud—the shared responsibility model—via a layer-by-layer responsibility matrix.

Understand the deployment models—public, private, hybrid, multi-cloud—and the ideas of CapEx vs OpEx and consumption-based pricing.

Understand Azure global structure—regions, region pairs, availability zones, and datacenters—and how it relates to availability and data residency.

Understand the hierarchy that organizes and governs Azure resources—management group > subscription > resource group > resource—and Azure Resource Manager (ARM), the layer you operate them through.

Understand Azure compute options—virtual machines, containers (ACI/AKS), App Service, and Functions—and the trade-off between control (you manage) and convenience (managed for you).

Understand networking basics: virtual networks (VNets) and subnets, VNet peering, connecting on-premises with VPN Gateway and ExpressRoute, plus DNS and public/private endpoints.

Understand the Azure AI platform and services (Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, Azure AI services, AI Search, Content Safety), the Microsoft Copilot family (M365 / Azure / GitHub / Security / Copilot Studio), and the six Responsible AI principles that underpin them. This is the area added to AZ-900 in the January 2026 update.

Understand storage accounts and their four data services (Blob, File, Queue, Table), Blob access tiers (Hot/Cool/Cold/Archive), redundancy (LRS/ZRS/GRS/GZRS), and data migration tools.

Centered on Microsoft Entra ID: authentication vs authorization, MFA/SSO/passwordless, Conditional Access, RBAC, external ID, Entra ID vs AD DS, plus security basics—Zero Trust, defense in depth, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

Understand what drives cloud cost and the tools to manage it: estimating (Pricing Calculator / TCO Calculator), tracking actual spend (Microsoft Cost Management), and organizing (tags).

Understand enforcing rules and safe operations with Azure Policy, resource locks, and RBAC, plus data governance and compliance via Microsoft Purview and the Service Trust Portal.

Understand the ways to operate and deploy Azure—Azure portal, Cloud Shell, Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, ARM templates / Bicep (IaC), and Azure Arc—and when to use each.

Centered on Azure Monitor, understand Log Analytics (log queries), Application Insights (app monitoring), and the roles of Azure Advisor (recommendations) and Azure Service Health (status).