MCA Microsoft Certified Associate Azure Administrator Study Guide

LEARN WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN AZURE ADMINISTRATOR AND EFFICIENTLY PREPARE FOR EXAM AZ-104 WITH THIS AUTHORITATIVE RESOURCE

MCA Microsoft 365 Azure Administrator Study Guide: Exam AZ-104 prepares readers to take the AZ-104 Exam and to fully understand the role of a Microsoft 365 Azure Administrator. The book takes a practical and straightforward approach to Microsoft Azure, ensuring that you understand both the realities of working as an Administrator and the techniques and skills necessary to succeed on the AZ-104 Exam.

In addition to providing you with access to the online Sybex test bank that includes hundreds of practice questions, flashcards, and a glossary of terms, the study guide comprehensively explains all the following topics:

* How to manage Azure subscriptions and resources
* Implementing and managing storage
* Deploying and managing virtual machines
* Managing and configuring virtual networks
* How to Manage identities

Perfect for anyone considering a career as a Microsoft Azure Administrator or preparing for the AZ-104 Exam, MCA Microsoft 365 Azure Administrator Study Guide: Exam AZ-104 also belongs on the bookshelves of practicing administrators who wish to brush up on the fundamentals of their profession.

RITHIN SKARIA is a cloud evangelist, speaker, consultant, and a published author with an interest in cloud architecture design and optimization. With a decade of experience managing, implementing, and designing IT infrastructure solutions for public and private clouds, he is currently working with Microsoft as a Customer Engineer, focusing on Azure solutions. Rithin has over 18 certifications in different technologies such as Azure, Linux, Microsoft 365, and Kubernetes; he is also a Microsoft Certified Trainer. Rithin has been recognized has one of the engagement leads for his contributionsto the Microsoft Worldwide Open Source Community. He has presented at various events and conferences, including Microsoft Spark.

INTRODUCTION ASSESSMENT TEST XXIII

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CHAPTER 1 IDENTITY: AZURE ACTIVE DIRECTORY 1

Azure Active Directory 2

Benefits 2

Concepts 4

Azure AD vs. Active Directory Domain Services 4

Azure AD: Licensing 5

Custom Domains in Azure AD 7

Users and Groups 8

User Accounts 8

Group Accounts 26

Azure AD Roles 36

Azure AD Join 37

Benefits 37

Connection Options 38

Self- Service Password Reset 39

Enabling SSPR 39

Authentication Methods 40

Managing Multiple Directories 42

Summary 43

Exam Essentials 44

Review Questions 45

CHAPTER 2 COMPLIANCE AND CLOUD GOVERNANCE 49

Azure Regions 50

Facts 51

Regional Pairs 52

Azure Accounts and Subscriptions 53

Azure Accounts 54

Azure Subscriptions 54

Azure Cost Management 57

Plan and Control Expenses 58

Cost Saving Techniques 59

Resource Groups 60

Management Groups 65

Azure Policy 68

Implementing Azure Policy 69

Implementing Initiatives 77

Role- Based Access Control 79

Concepts 80

Azure RBAC Roles 82

Custom RBAC Roles 84

Role Assignment 91

Resource Locks 95

Configuring Locks 97

Resource Tags 99

Use Cases 99

Applying Tags 100

Summary 102

Exam Essentials 102

Review Questions 104

CHAPTER 3 VIRTUAL NETWORKING 109

Virtual Networks 110

VNet Concepts 111

Address Space 111

Subnets 111

Regions 111

Subscription 112

IP Addressing 113

Static and Dynamic Addressing 113

Private IP Addresses 113

Public IP Address 116

Network Routes 118

System Routes 119

User- Defined Routes 119

Service Endpoints 125

Supported Services 127

Private Endpoint 127

Azure DNS 129

Record Management 131

Private DNS Zones 133

Network Security Groups 137

NSG Concepts 137

NSG Effective Rules 141

Azure Firewall 142

Azure Firewall Rules 142

Implementing Azure Firewall 144

Summary 145

Exam Essentials 146

Review Questions 148

CHAPTER 4 INTERSITE CONNECTIVITY 153

Azure- to- Azure Connectivity 154

Internet 155

Virtual Network Peering 156

VPN Gateway 165

Virtual Network Peering vs. VPN Gateway 177

Azure to On- Premises Connectivity 178

VPN Gateways 178

ExpressRoute Connections 189

Intersite Connectivity Architecture 193

Virtual WAN 196

Summary 197

Exam Essentials 198

Review Questions 199

CHAPTER 5 NETWORK TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT 203

Availability Options 204

Availability Sets 205

Availability Zones 207

Service Level Agreement 208

Azure Load Balancer 208

Types of Load Balancers 209

Load Balancer SKUs 212

Configuring Load Balancer 212

Implementing Azure Load Balancer 214

Azure Application Gateway 221

Request Handling Process 222

Routing Methods 223

Configuring Application Gateway 224

Implementing Application Gateway 226

Azure Front Door 235

Azure Traffic Manager 237

Comparing the Load Balancing Solutions 239

Summary 239

Exam Essentials 240

Review Questions 241

CHAPTER 6 AZURE STORAGE 245

Azure Storage Account 246

Azure Storage Services 247

Azure Blob Storage 247

Azure Files 248

Azure Queues 249

Azure Tables 249

Azure Disks 249

Storage Replication 250

Locally Redundant Storage 250

Zone Redundant Storage 251

Georedundant Storage 252

Geo- zone- Redundant Storage 253

Storage Account Types 255

Storage Account Endpoints 256

Accessing Storage 256

Custom Domain Configuration 256

Securing Storage Endpoints 257

Azure Blob Storage 258

Blob Containers 259

Blob Access Tiers 259

Blob Lifecycle Management 260

Uploading Blobs 261

Storage Security 268

Authorization Options 268

Shared Access Signatures 269

Storage Service Encryption 275

Azure Files and File Sync 276

Azure Files vs. Azure Blobs 276

Managing File Shares 277

Mapping File Shares 279

File Share Snapshots 282

Azure File Sync 285

Managing Storage 288

Azure Storage Explorer 289

AzCopy 291

Import/Export Service 297

Summary 299

Exam Essentials 300

Review Questions 302

CHAPTER 7 AZURE VIRTUAL MACHINES 307

Virtual Machine Planning 309

Virtual Network 309

Name 309

Location and Pricing 310

Size 311

Storage 312

Operating System 315

Chapter 8

Deploying Virtual Machines 315

Connecting to Virtual Machines 320

Windows Connections 320

Linux Connections 324

Azure Bastion 329

Availability of Virtual Machines 334

Scaling Concepts 335

Vertical Scaling 335

Horizontal Scaling 336

Virtual Machine Scale Sets 336

Implementing a Scale Set 337

Autoscaling 340

Summary 342

Exam Essentials 342

Review Questions 343

Automation, Deployment, and Configuration of Resources 349

Azure Resource Manager 350

ARM Templates 352

Template Design 352

Template Modes 354

Template Sections 355

Composing Templates 361

Exporting Templates 370

Configuring Virtual Hard Disk Templates 374

Create a VM from a VHD 375

Virtual Machine Extensions 376

Custom Script Extension 378

Desired State Configuration 379

Summary 380

Exam Essentials 381

Review Questions 382

CHAPTER 9 PAAS COMPUTE OPTIONS 387

Azure App Service Plans 388

Pricing Tiers 389

Scaling 391

Azure App Services 396

Continuous Deployment 400

Deployment Slots 402

Securing App Service 405

Custom Domains 408

Backup 409

Container Instances 411

Docker 412

Azure Container Instances 415

Container Groups 421

Azure Kubernetes Service 422

Terminology 424

Cluster Components 425

Networking 426

Storage 429

Cluster Upgrade 431

Scaling 432

Summary 438

Exam Essentials 439

Review Questions 440

CHAPTER 10 DATA PROTECTION 445

File and Folder Backups 446

Azure Backup 446

Creating Recovery Services Vault 447

Configuring a Recovery Services Vault 448

Virtual Machine Data Protection 451

Virtual Machine Snapshots 452

Azure Backup 453

Azure Backup Server 463

Azure Site Recovery 466

Summary 469

Exam Essentials 470

Review Questions 471

CHAPTER 11 MONITORING RESOURCES 475

Azure Monitor 476

Metrics 477

Logs 478

Data Sources 479

Activity Log 480

Azure Alerts 482

Creating Alert Rules 483

Alert States 484

Action Groups 484

Log Analytics 492

Workspace 493

Data Sources 493

Agents Configuration 496

Query Language 497

Network Watcher 502

IP Flow Verify 503

Next Hop 503

Effective Security Rules 505

VPN Troubleshoot 505

Packet Capture 506

Connection Troubleshoot 506

NSG Flow Logs 507

Topology 509

Summary 509

Exam Essentials 510

Review Questions 511

Appendix Answers to the Review Questions 515

Chapter 1: Identity: Azure Active Directory 516

Chapter 2: Compliance and Cloud Governance 517

Chapter 3: Virtual Networking 519

Chapter 4: Intersite Connectivity 520

Chapter 5: Network Traffic Management 521

Chapter 6: Azure Storage 522

Chapter 7: Azure Virtual Machines 524

Chapter 8: Automation, Deployment, and Configuration of Resources 526

Chapter 9: PaaS Compute Options 528

Chapter 10: Data Protection 529

Chapter 11: Monitoring Resources 530

Index 533

Exercise 1.1 Viewing Users in Your Directory 9

Exercise 1.2 Creating Users in Azure AD 14

Exercise 1.3 Modifying and Deleting Users 16

Exercise 1.4 Performing Bulk Operations 20

Exercise 1.5 Viewing Groups in Azure AD 27

Exercise 1.6 Adding Security Groups to Azure AD 29

Exercise 1.7 Adding Microsoft 365 Groups in Azure AD 32

Exercise 2.1 Creating a Resource Group from the Azure Portal 61

Exercise 2.2 Listing Resource Groups from the Azure Portal 63

Exercise 2.3 Deleting Resource Groups from the Azure Portal 64

Exercise 2.3 Implementing a Custom Policy 73

Exercise 2.4 Creating a Custom Role Using PowerShell 87

Exercise 2.5 Assigning Roles from the Azure Portal 91

Exercise 3.1 Creating Virtual Networks 114

Exercise 3.2 Creating Virtual Networks Using Azure PowerShell 116

Exercise 3.3 Creating Public IP Addresses 117

Exercise 3.4 Creating a Route Table 121

Exercise 3.5 Creating a Custom Route 122

Exercise 3.6 Associating a Routing Table to a Subnet 124

Exercise 3.7 Creating an Azure DNS Zone 130

Exercise 3.8 Adding Records to an Azure DNS Zone 132

Exercise 3.9 Creating a Private DNS Zone and Validating Resolution 134

Exercise 3.10 Creating NSG and NSG Rules 139

Exercise 4.1 Implementing Virtual Network Peering in the Azure Portal 159

Exercise 4.2 Implementing the Virtual Network to Virtual Network VPN in the Azure Portal 173

Exercise 4.3 Implementing a P2S VPN in the Azure Portal 183

Exercise 5.1 Implementing Load Balancing in Azure 215

Exercise 5.2 Implementing Azure Application Gateway 227

Exercise 6.1 Uploading Blobs 262

Exercise 6.2 Working with SAS Keys 273

Exercise 6.3 Working with AzCopy 294

Exercise 7.1 Creating a Windows Virtual Machine 316

Exercise 7.2 Connecting to a Windows VM Using RDP 321

Exercise 7.3 Connecting to a Linux VM Using a Password 325

Exercise 7.4 Connecting to Linux VM Using SSH Keys 327

Exercise 7.5 Connecting to Linux VM Using SSH Keys 329

Exercise 8.1 Composing an ARM Template 362

Exercise 9.1 Creating an App Service Plan 392

Exercise 9.2 Creating an App Service Plan 397

Exercise 9.3 Building and Running Containers in Azure 416

Exercise 9.4 Running Applications in an AKS Cluster 435

Exercise 10.1 Implementing a VM Backup 455

Exercise 11.1 Creating Alerts 486

Exercise 11.2 Ingesting Logs to the Log Analytics Workspace 497

ntroduction xxiii

Assessment Test xxx

Chapter 1 Identity: Azure Active Directory 1

Chapter 2 Compliance and Cloud Governance 49

Chapter 3 Virtual Networking 109

Chapter 4 Intersite Connectivity 153

Chapter 5 Network Traffic Management 203

Chapter 6 Azure Storage 245

Chapter 7 Azure Virtual Machines 307

Chapter 8 Automation, Deployment, and Configuration of Resources 349

Chapter 9 PaaS Compute Options 387

Chapter 10 Data Protection 445

Chapter 11 Monitoring Resources 475

APPENDIX ANSWERS TO THE REVIEW QUESTIONS 515

Chapter 1: Identity: Azure Active Directory 516

Chapter 2: Compliance and Cloud Governance 517

Chapter 3: Virtual Networking 519

Chapter 4: Intersite Connectivity 520

Chapter 5: Network Traffic Management 521

Chapter 6: Azure Storage 522

Chapter 7: Azure Virtual Machines 524

Chapter 8: Automation, Deployment, and Configuration of Resources 526

Chapter 9: PaaS Compute Options 528

Chapter 10: Data Protection 529

Chapter 11: Monitoring Resources 530

Index 533

TABLE OF EXERCISES

Exercise 1.1 Viewing Users in Your Directory 9

Exercise 1.2 Creating Users in Azure AD 14

Exercise 1.3 Modifying and Deleting Users 16

Exercise 1.4 Performing Bulk Operations 20

Exercise 1.5 Viewing Groups in Azure AD 27

Exercise 1.6 Adding Security Groups to Azure AD 29

Exercise 1.7 Adding Microsoft 365 Groups in Azure AD 32

Exercise 2.1 Creating a Resource Group from the Azure Portal 61

Exercise 2.2 Listing Resource Groups from the Azure Portal 63

Exercise 2.3 Deleting Resource Groups from the Azure Portal 64

Exercise 2.3 Implementing a Custom Policy . 73

Exercise 2.4 Creating a Custom Role Using PowerShell 87

Exercise 2.5 Assigning Roles from the Azure Portal 91

Exercise 3.1 Creating Virtual Networks 114

Exercise 3.2 Creating Virtual Networks Using Azure PowerShell 116

Exercise 3.3 Creating Public IP Addresses 117

Exercise 3.4 Creating a Route Table 121

Exercise 3.5 Creating a Custom Route 122

Exercise 3.6 Associating a Routing Table to a Subnet 124

Exercise 3.7 Creating an Azure DNS Zone 130

Exercise 3.8 Adding Records to an Azure DNS Zone 132

Exercise 3.9 Creating a Private DNS Zone and Validating Resolution 134

Exercise 3.10 Creating NSG and NSG Rules 139

Exercise 4.1 Implementing Virtual Network Peering in the Azure Portal 159

Exercise 4.2 Implementing the Virtual Network to Virtual Network VPN in the Azure Portal 173

Exercise 4.3 Implementing a P2S VPN in the Azure Portal 183

Exercise 5.1 Implementing Load Balancing in Azure 215

Exercise 5.2 Implementing Azure Application Gateway 227

Exercise 6.1 Uploading Blobs 262

Exercise 6.2 Working with SAS Keys 273

Exercise 6.3 Working with AzCopy 294

Exercise 7.1 Creating a Windows Virtual Machine 316

Exercise 7.2 Connecting to a Windows VM Using RDP 321

Exercise 7.3 Connecting to a Linux VM Using a Password 325

Exercise 7.4 Connecting to Linux VM Using SSH Keys 327

Exercise 7.5 Connecting to Linux VM Using SSH Keys 329

Exercise 8.1 Composing an ARM Template 362

Exercise 9.1 Creating an App Service Plan 392

Exercise 9.2 Creating an App Service Plan 397

Exercise 9.3 Building and Running Containers in Azure 416

Exercise 9.4 Running Applications in an AKS Cluster 435

Exercise 10.1 Implementing a VM Backup 455

Exercise 11.1 Creating Alerts 486

Exercise 11.2 Ingesting Logs to the Log Analytics Workspace 497