Microsoft AZ-104 Exam Preparation: Azure Administrator Study Guide
AZ-104 (Microsoft Azure Administrator) is the most popular associate-level Azure exam. It validates that you can manage identities and governance, storage, compute, virtual networking, and monitoring in Azure.
📌 Quick facts
It is heavily practical: you need portal, CLI, and PowerShell familiarity and a solid grasp of how Azure resources fit together.
âš¡ Quick answer
Five domains: identities and governance, storage, compute, networking, monitoring and backup. Recommended: six months of Azure experience. Plan 6–8 weeks with daily labs.
Who this guide is for
- Sysadmins moving to Azure
- AZ-900 holders taking the next step
- Help desk engineers in Microsoft shops
- Developers who manage their own Azure resources
AZ-104 domains
| Domain | Approximate weight |
|---|---|
| Manage Azure identities and governance | 20–25% |
| Implement and manage storage | 15–20% |
| Deploy and manage Azure compute resources | 20–25% |
| Implement and manage virtual networking | 15–20% |
| Monitor and maintain Azure resources | 10–15% |
High-yield topics
- Entra ID users, groups, RBAC scopes, custom roles, Azure Policy, resource locks, tags, and management groups.
- Storage accounts, redundancy options (LRS, ZRS, GRS, GZRS), SAS tokens, access tiers, lifecycle management, Azure Files and File Sync.
- VMs, availability sets and zones, scale sets, ARM templates and Bicep, App Service, and container instances.
- VNets, peering, NSGs, ASGs, Azure DNS, load balancers, VPN gateway basics.
- Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, alerts, Backup, and Site Recovery.
From AZ-900 to AZ-104
If you passed AZ-900, AZ-104 is a big step: it moves from “what is it” to “configure and troubleshoot it”. Expect scenario questions and possibly labs.
Practise with AZ-104 practice questions once you have covered all domains.
After AZ-104
Architects take AZ-305; security specialists take AZ-500; network specialists take AZ-700. See the Microsoft practice library for each.
A realistic study plan
🧠Path at a glance
- Week 1: identities, RBAC, and governance
- Week 2: storage accounts and Azure Files
- Weeks 3–4: VMs, scale sets, ARM/Bicep, App Service, containers
- Week 5: virtual networking
- Week 6: monitoring, backup, and recovery
- Weeks 7–8: practice tests and weak areas
The plan below assumes about 8–10 hours a week. Stretch it if you are new to the subject, compress it if you already work with the technology daily.
| Phase | Focus | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | identities, RBAC, and governance | Checkpoint quiz |
| Week 2 | storage accounts and Azure Files | Checkpoint quiz |
| Weeks 3–4 | VMs, scale sets, ARM/Bicep, App Service, containers | Checkpoint quiz |
| Week 5 | virtual networking | Checkpoint quiz |
| Week 6 | monitoring, backup, and recovery | Checkpoint quiz |
| Weeks 7–8 | practice tests and weak areas | Exam ready |
How to use practice questions the right way
Cloud exams are scenario-heavy: the question rarely asks “what is X?” and usually asks “which service or setting solves this situation at the lowest cost or effort?” Use practice questions as a diagnostic, not a memory bank:
- Take one timed set before you study. Your baseline score tells you which domains need the most hours.
- Read every explanation, including for the questions you got right. Lucky guesses hide weak areas.
- Rebuild the scenario in a free or trial subscription. If a question involves a policy, a network rule, or a backup setting, click through it yourself once.
- Track misses by domain, not by question. Three misses on identity are a pattern; one miss on pricing is noise.
- Aim for consistent scores above ~80% on fresh question sets before booking the exam. Repeating the same set until you memorize it proves nothing.
Legitimate practice questions are written to mirror the style and objectives of an exam, with explanations that teach the reasoning. Avoid anything that claims to be leaked live exam content: it breaks vendor exam agreements, can get your certification revoked, and leaves you without the skills the job requires.
Choosing the right study resources
Cloud exams change quickly, so freshness matters more than volume. Build your resource stack in layers:
- Official learning paths and documentation. Vendor learning portals map directly to the skills outline and are updated when services change. Treat them as the source of truth when a book or video disagrees.
- One structured course or book. Pick a single primary resource so you are not jumping between teaching styles. Check that it was updated after the most recent exam revision.
- A personal sandbox. Free tiers, trial credits, and vendor sandboxes let you deploy, break, and fix real resources. Set a budget alert on day one and delete resources after each session.
- Practice questions with explanations. Use them to find gaps, not to memorize. Read every explanation, including for questions you answered correctly, and note the documentation page that covers each mistake.
- Your own notes. Keep a one-page “decision sheet” per domain — when to use which service, limits, and pricing models. This becomes your final-week revision tool.
A sample weekly study rhythm
A sustainable week for a working professional looks like this:
| Day | Activity | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | New topic: read or watch | 60 min |
| Tuesday | Hands-on lab for Monday’s topic | 60 min |
| Wednesday | New topic: read or watch | 60 min |
| Thursday | Hands-on lab plus notes | 60 min |
| Friday | Short quiz on the week’s topics | 30 min |
| Saturday | Longer lab or project, review mistakes | 2 hours |
| Sunday | Rest or light flashcard review | 15 min |
That is roughly 7–8 hours per week. Adjust the pace, not the pattern: if you have more time, add a second lab block rather than more passive reading.
If you miss a day, do not try to double up — just continue the schedule. Consistency over several weeks matters far more than occasional long sessions.
Build hands-on experience while you study
Cloud employers care more about what you have built than which badges you hold, so turn your study into a small portfolio:
- Use free tiers and trial credits and set a budget alert on day one so a forgotten resource never surprises you.
- Deploy one end-to-end project: a virtual network with two subnets, a VM or container app, a managed database, identity-based access, and monitoring with alerts.
- Automate it once with infrastructure as code (Bicep, ARM, Terraform, or CloudFormation) so you understand what the portal does behind the scenes.
- Break it on purpose: remove a permission, block a port, delete a route, then troubleshoot from logs. Exams love troubleshooting scenarios.
- Write a short README for each lab. It doubles as revision notes and as interview material.
Common mistakes to avoid
💡 Tip: Study from the official objectives first, then use timed practice to find weak areas. Review every explanation, not just the score.
- Learning only through the portal
- Confusing RBAC with Entra ID roles
- Ignoring storage redundancy differences
- Skipping ARM/Bicep template reading
Check the official exam details first
Certification vendors update exams regularly. Before you buy books or courses, open the official exam page and check three things: the current exam code and version, the skills or objectives document with domain weightings, and any retirement or replacement date.
Use that document as your checklist and tick off each objective as you study and lab it. When your practice material and the official outline disagree, the official outline wins.
Exam-day checklist
- Confirm your ID matches your registration name exactly.
- For online proctoring, run the system test a day early and clear your desk completely.
- Sleep properly the night before; last-minute cramming hurts more than it helps.
- Read each question’s final sentence first so you know what is being asked.
- Flag long questions, answer the quick ones, and return if the exam allows review.
Practice resources for this exam
When you are ready to check your readiness with timed, exam-style questions, these ITExamDumps pages are the most relevant:
- AZ-104 practice questions
- AZ-900 practice questions
- AZ-305 practice questions
- Microsoft certification practice tests
Related study guides
- AZ-900 vs AZ-104: Which Azure Exam Should You Take First?
- Microsoft DP-300 Study Guide: Azure Database Administrator
Frequently asked questions
Is AZ-104 hard?
It is a solid intermediate exam; hands-on practice makes it manageable.
How long to prepare for AZ-104?
6–8 weeks for most people with some IT background.
Does AZ-104 expire?
Yes after one year; renew for free online.
Should I take AZ-900 first?
Optional but useful for beginners.
Next steps
Work through the official objectives, build hands-on experience, then use timed practice questions to measure your readiness and review every explanation.
Ready to practise? Once you have covered the official objectives, try the AZ-104 practice questions on ITExamDumps to find weak areas before exam day. Practice questions support your study; they do not replace it, and no resource can guarantee a pass.