Microsoft
AZ-104
100 Minutes
430
Microsoft Azure Administrator Exam
Last updated on: May 13, 2026
Author: Sylvie Ryser (Senior Certification Curriculum Developer, Microsoft Learning)
The Microsoft AZ-104 Azure Administrator certification validates your ability to manage and implement core Microsoft Azure services in real-world environments. This certification is designed for IT professionals responsible for cloud infrastructure, including configuration, deployment, monitoring, and maintenance of Azure resources.
This exam focuses on practical administration skills such as identity management, networking, compute, storage, and monitoring. Candidates are expected to understand both foundational cloud concepts and hands-on operational tasks within Microsoft Azure environments.
AZ-104 is widely recognized as a key certification for professionals pursuing roles in cloud administration, infrastructure engineering, and Azure support operations.
According to the official Microsoft Learn AZ-104 study guide, the exam evaluates your skills across five primary domains. These domains represent real-world Azure administration responsibilities and are weighted to reflect their importance in enterprise environments.
The AZ-104 exam is structured around the following officially defined areas:
These domains collectively ensure that candidates are capable of operating Azure environments efficiently, securely, and at scale.
This domain focuses on securing and managing access to Azure resources using Microsoft Entra ID and built-in governance tools. You are expected to understand how identities, roles, and policies control resource access across an organization.
Key responsibilities include user and group management, access control through RBAC, and enforcing governance standards using Azure subscription structures and policies.
In real-world scenarios, this domain ensures that only authorized users can access specific resources while maintaining organizational security standards.
This section evaluates your ability to create, configure, and manage storage solutions within Azure. It includes working with different storage types and ensuring data durability, security, and availability.
Candidates should understand storage account configuration, access control, and replication options used in enterprise-grade cloud storage systems.
This domain typically includes:
Strong knowledge of storage tiers and access strategies is essential for optimizing cost and performance in Azure environments.
This domain measures your ability to deploy and manage compute workloads such as virtual machines and container-based solutions. It is one of the most heavily weighted areas in the AZ-104 exam.
You are expected to understand VM provisioning, scaling, availability configuration, and application hosting using Azure compute services.
Key focus areas include:
This section is critical because compute resources form the foundation of most Azure-based workloads.
This domain evaluates your ability to design and manage secure network environments in Azure. Networking is a core component of cloud architecture and plays a key role in resource communication and security.
You are expected to configure virtual networks, subnets, traffic routing, and secure connectivity between resources.
Core areas include:
Understanding how traffic flows within Azure and between on-premises systems is essential for this domain.
This domain focuses on ensuring that Azure environments are properly monitored, optimized, and maintained for performance and reliability.
Candidates must be familiar with Azure monitoring tools and diagnostic services used to identify and resolve issues in real time.
Key responsibilities include:
This area ensures operational stability and helps maintain service availability across cloud environments.
Effective preparation for AZ-104 requires a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical Azure experience. Microsoft recommends hands-on practice alongside structured learning to fully understand exam objectives.
A strong preparation approach includes:
Consistent hands-on experience is essential for success, especially in networking, identity, and compute configuration scenarios.
The AZ-104 certification is highly valued in the IT industry and is often required for entry-level to mid-level Azure administrator roles. It validates real-world cloud administration skills that are in high demand globally.
Professionals with AZ-104 certification typically pursue roles such as Azure Administrator, Cloud Engineer, and Infrastructure Specialist. The certification also serves as a foundation for advanced Azure certifications.
Key career benefits include:
This certification is widely recognized as a stepping stone into cloud engineering careers.
What are the main domains covered in AZ-104?
The exam includes identity and governance, storage, compute, networking, and monitoring as defined in the official Microsoft Learn AZ-104 study guide.
Is hands-on experience required for AZ-104?
Yes, practical experience is highly recommended, especially with Azure Portal, virtual machines, networking, and identity management.
Which AZ-104 domain carries the most weight?
Identity and governance, compute, and networking are generally the highest-weighted areas according to Microsoft’s official exam structure.
Does AZ-104 include scenario-based questions?
Yes, the exam includes scenario-based and practical questions that test real-world Azure administration skills.
What is the best way to prepare for AZ-104?
The best approach is combining Microsoft Learn study materials with hands-on Azure practice and scenario-based exam preparation.
Select an option, then click Show Answer.
You have an Azure subscription. You need to receive an email alert when a resource lock is removed from any resource in the subscription What should you use to create an activity log alert in Azure Monitor?
Correct Answer: A
You have an Azure subscription that contains 10 virtual machines, a key vault named Vault 1, and a network security group (NSG) named NSG1. All the resources are deployed to the East US Azure region. The virtual machines are protected by using NSG1. NSG1 is configured to block all outbound traffic to the internet. You need to ensure that the virtual machines can access Vault1. The solution must use the principle of least privilege and minimize administrative effort. What should you configure as the destination of the outbound security rule for NSG1?
Correct Answer: A
You have an Azure subscription that contains a storage account named storage 1. You need to ensure that the access keys for storage! rotate automatically. What should you configure?
Correct Answer: D
You plan to deploy several Azure virtual machines that will run Windows Server 2022 in a virtual machine scale set by using an Azure Resource Manager template. You need to ensure that NGINX is available on all the virtual machines after they are deployed. What should you use?
Correct Answer: C
You have an Azure subscription that contains 10 virtual networks. The virtual networks are hosted in separate resource groups. Another administrator plans to create several network security groups (NSGs) in the subscription. You need to ensure that when an NSG is created, it automatically blocks TCP port 8080 between the virtual networks. Solution: You configure a custom policy definition, and then you assign the Azure policy to the subscription. Does this meet the goal?
Correct Answer: A
Have questions? You’re not alone. We’ve answered the most frequently asked questions to help you feel confident and informed every step of the way.
DumpMasters a premium service offering a comprehensive collection of exam questions and answers for over 1400 certification exams. It is regularly updated and designed to help users pass their certification exams confidently.
You can by Contacting our sales team.
Free updates are available for the duration of your subscription, after the subscription is expired, your access will no longer be available.