Budget time for the case study.
Pass and fail reports agree that a case study appears and that you cannot return once you move past it. People who rushed or ran out of time there say it cost them points.
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) Exam Guide
Validates knowledge of administering Azure identities, governance, storage, compute and networking, and monitoring cloud infrastructure.
AZ-104 tests whether you can configure and troubleshoot Azure resources from a description of what an organization needs. Learn each area in a course, build it in your own subscription, then practise finding answers on Microsoft Learn quickly, because Learn is open during the exam.
Understand the exam
Syllabus
Manage Azure identities and governance20–25%
- Manage Microsoft Entra users and groups
- Manage access to Azure resources
- Manage Azure subscriptions and governance
Example scenario: A contractor must restart VMs in one resource group but must not delete anything. Which role and scope would you assign?
Implement and manage storage15–20%
- Configure access to storage
- Configure and manage storage accounts
- Configure Azure Files and Azure Blob Storage
Example scenario: An app needs to upload files to one container for the next two hours only. How would you grant that access without sharing the account key?
Deploy and manage Azure compute resources20–25%
- Automate deployment of resources by using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates or Bicep files
- Create and configure virtual machines
- Provision and manage containers in the Azure portal
- Create and configure Azure App Service
Example scenario: A web app must test a new release with live settings and swap it into production with no downtime. Which App Service feature would you configure?
Implement and manage virtual networking15–20%
- Configure and manage virtual networks in Azure
- Configure secure access to virtual networks
- Configure name resolution and load balancing
Example scenario: Two peered virtual networks cannot reach each other's VMs on port 443. What would you check first, and in what order?
Monitor and maintain Azure resources10–15%
- Monitor resources in Azure
- Implement backup and recovery
Example scenario: The operations team wants a text message when any production VM's CPU stays above 90% for 15 minutes. What would you create?
AZ-104 study guide · Skills measured as of April 17, 2026
Format
- Questions
- 40–60
- Duration
- 100 min
- Passing score
- 700 / 1000
- Delivery
- Test centre or online
- Languages
- English, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish
Question types
Choose the best answer from the options, or the stated number of answers when a question asks for more than one.
CertUp example
A team wants to stop anyone deleting a production resource group by accident, without changing anyone's role. What should you apply?
Show answer
A. A Delete lock blocks deletion for every user whatever their role. Roles, budgets and tags do not prevent it.
Drag items from a list into the matching places; an item can be used once, more than once or not at all.
CertUp example
Drag each redundancy option to its description. The descriptions are three copies in one datacenter, copies across three zones in one region, and copies in a second region.
Show answer
LRS → three copies in one datacenter, ZRS → copies across three zones in one region, GRS → copies in a second region.
Pick one value from each drop-down list in a block of text or a diagram to complete it.
CertUp example
Select the correct value in each list. To let two virtual networks exchange traffic you create a [virtual network peering / VPN gateway] on each network, and their address spaces must [not overlap / be identical].
Show answer
Virtual network peering, and not overlap. Peering links the networks directly, and overlapping address ranges cannot be routed.
Read a description of a fictional company, then answer several questions that share the same background.
CertUp example
Contoso runs 40 VMs in one subscription and must report monthly costs by department. What should you apply to each resource?
Show answer
B. Tags label resources by department, and cost reports can be grouped by tag.
Eligibility and booking
Sign in to Microsoft Learn with a personal Microsoft account, complete your certification profile, then schedule AZ-104 with Pearson VUE from the certification page.
Make a study plan
Take the free practice assessment once to see where you start. Then work through one course area by area and build each service in your own Azure subscription.
Most candidates spend 60–100 hours. Plan for the low end if you already administer Azure or Windows servers and networks day to day; plan for the high end if Azure is new to you.
- 1Understand the examRead the syllabus and format, check you’re eligible and pick a target date.4 h
- 3Learn the core conceptsWork through one main course or book, topic by topic.48 h
- 4Practice with mock examsTake timed practice tests and review every mistake.24 h
- 5Prepare for exam dayBook the exam and check the ID and delivery rules.4 h
Learn the core concepts
Pair one video course with hands-on labs. The official labs follow the instructor-led course and use your own Azure subscription.
Best free official courseMicrosoft Learn: AZ-104 course
Best full courseAZ-104 Microsoft Azure Administrator - Complete Exam Prep
Best free overviewAZ-104 Study Cram v2Delete what you build. Microsoft Learn no longer provides free sandboxes. Use the Azure free trial or a pay-as-you-go subscription, set a budget alert, and remove resource groups after each lab.
Practice with mock exams
Start with Microsoft's free practice assessment, then use a timed question bank. For each missed question, find the matching Microsoft Learn page, since that is the skill you need in the exam.
AZ-104 practice assessment
Practice Test AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator
AZ-104 Microsoft Azure Administrator Practice ExamsAre you ready?
- You can build a virtual network with peering, a network security group and a private endpoint without notes.
- You can choose the right storage access method for a given requirement.
- You finish a timed practice exam with time left and can explain each wrong answer.
Prepare for exam day
Choose the checklist for your test-centre or online appointment.
Before going to the test centre
Before testing from home
- Bring a current government-issued ID whose name matches your Microsoft certification profile exactly.
- Arrive early enough to check in and store your belongings.
- Allow about 120 minutes of seat time for 100 minutes of questions.
- Run the OnVUE system test on the same computer, network and room you will use. A personal computer works better than a work laptop.
- Use a walled room with a closed door. Clear the desk of notes, pens and extra screens, and keep your phone out of reach.
- Check in from 30 minutes before your appointment. You photograph your ID and workspace with your phone.
- Case studies can come as a separate section. Once you leave a section, you cannot go back to it.
- You can take a break, but the clock keeps running and you cannot return to questions you saw before it.
- You see your score and a skill-area chart within minutes. If you fail, you can retake after 24 hours.
Advice from exam takers
Drill timed practice and Learn lookups.
Passers describe timed practice exams from Tutorials Dojo, Whizlabs or MeasureUp, plus practice finding the right Microsoft Learn page quickly, as closer to the real exam than rewatching videos.
Hands-on time helps, especially for storage and networking.
Some passers call hands-on practice essential for picturing networking and role assignments. Others leaned on practice-exam review and still passed. A blogger with prior Azure experience found their exam heavy on storage.