Microsoft Certified Azure Fundamentals Study Guide

QUICKLY PREPS TECHNICAL AND NON-TECHNICAL READERS TO PASS THE MICROSOFT AZ-900 CERTIFICATION EXAM

Microsoft Certified Azure Fundamentals Study Guide: Exam AZ-900 is your complete resource for preparing for the AZ-900 exam. Microsoft Azure is a major component of Microsoft’s cloud computing model, enabling organizations to host their applications and related services in Microsoft’s data centers, eliminating the need for those organizations to purchase and manage their own computer hardware. In addition, serverless computing enables organizations to quickly and easily deploy data services without the need for servers, operating systems, and supporting systems. This book is targeted at anyone who is seeking AZ-900 certification or simply wants to understand the fundamentals of Microsoft Azure. Whatever your role in business or education, you will benefit from an understanding of Microsoft Azure fundamentals.

Readers will also get one year of FREE access to Sybex’s superior online interactive learning environment and test bank, including hundreds of questions, a practice exam, electronic flashcards, and a glossary of key terms. This book will help you master the following topics covered in the AZ-900 certification exam:

* Cloud concepts
* Cloud types (Public, Private, Hybrid)
* Azure service types (IaaS, SaaS, PaaS)
* Core Azure services
* Security, compliance, privacy, and trust
* Azure pricing levels
* Legacy and modern lifecycles

Growth in the cloud market continues to be very strong, and Microsoft is poised to see rapid and sustained growth in its cloud share. Written by a long-time Microsoft insider who helps customers move their workloads to and manage them in Azure on a daily basis, this book will help you break into the growing Azure space to take advantage of cloud technologies. JAMES BOYCE is a Sr. Technical Account Manager for Microsoft. He has authored more than 60 books on computer technology, covering topics from Windows Server and client, Microsoft Office, networking, programming, and hardware to AutoCAD and UNIX. A former Contributing Editor for Windows Magazine, he has written for numerous print and online publications and has managed globally dispersed teams supporting Windows Server, SharePoint, and other systems. Jim has also been a college instructor.

Introduction xix

Assessment Test xxxii

CHAPTER 1 CLOUD CONCEPTS 1

Understanding Cloud Computing 2

Benefits of Cloud Computing 4

Economic Benefits 4

Scalability and Elasticity 5

High Availability 7

Fault Tolerance 7

Disaster Recovery 8

Human Resources 9

Financial Models 9

Cloud Computing Models and Responsibilities 10

Software-as-a-Service 10

Infrastructure-as-a-Service 12

Platform-as-a-Service 13

Shared Responsibility 15

Public, Private, and Hybrid Cloud Models 16

Public Cloud 16

Private Cloud 17

Hybrid Cloud 17

Summary 18

Exam Essentials 18

Review Questions 21

CHAPTER 2 AZURE CORE SERVICES 25

Core Azure Architectural Components 26

Geographies and Regions 26

Availability Zones 28

Bringing It All Together 30

Resources and Resource Groups 31

Azure Resource Manager 33

Azure Subscriptions and Billing Scope 33

Azure Subscriptions 33

Azure Billing Accounts 34

Billing Scope 35

Azure Tenants 37

Core Azure Services 37

Virtual Machines 38

Virtual Machine Scale Sets 39

Availability Sets 40

Azure App Service 42

Azure Container Instances 42

Azure Kubernetes Service 43

Windows Virtual Desktop 44

Core Azure Storage 44

Blob Storage 44

Blob Storage Tiers 45

Disk Storage 45

File Storage 46

Storage Accounts 46

Core Data Services 47

Structured and Unstructured Data 47

Azure SQL Database 47

SQL Managed Instance 48

Cosmos DB 48

Azure Database for MySQL 49

Azure Database for PostgreSQL 49

Azure Database Migration Service 49

Microsoft Marketplace 50

Summary 50

Exam Essentials 51

Review Questions 53

CHAPTER 3 AZURE CORE NETWORKING SERVICES 59

Networking Concepts 60

Client-Server and Serverless Computing 60

Network Addressing 61

Domain Name System 61

Routing 63

Virtual Networks 63

Load Balancers 64

VPN Gateway 66

Azure VPN Gateway 67

ExpressRoute 68

Content Delivery Networks 69

Summary 70

Exam Essentials 71

Review Questions 72

CHAPTER 4 SECURITY, COMPLIANCE, PRIVACY, AND TRUST 75

Network Security 77

Defense in Depth 77

Azure Firewall 78

Web Application Firewall 80

Network Security Groups 81

Application Security Groups 83

User-Defined Routes 83

Azure DDoS Protection 84

Authentication and Authorization 84

Azure Active Directory 84

Authentication and Authorization 86

Azure Multifactor Authentication 87

Conditional Access 87

Single Sign-On (SSO) 88

Security Tools and Features 88

Azure Security Center 88

Azure Key Vault 90

Azure Information Protection 91

Azure Advanced Threat Protection 91

Azure Sentinel 92

Azure Dedicated Hosts 92

Azure Governance Methodologies 93

Azure Policies 93

Azure Initiatives 94

Role-Based Access Control 94

Resource Locks 97

Azure Blueprints 97

Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure 99

Azure Monitoring and Reporting Options 100

Azure Monitor 100

Azure Service Health 102

Azure Advisor 103

Compliance and Data Protection

Standards 105

Industry Compliance Standards and Terms 105

Microsoft Privacy Statement 106

Online Service Terms 107

Data Protection Addendum 107

Trust Center 107

Service Trust Portal 107

Compliance Manager 108

Azure Government 109

Azure China 109

Summary 110

Exam Essentials 111

Review Questions 114

CHAPTER 5 AZURE SOLUTIONS 123

Internet of Things (IoT) 124

Azure IoT Hub 124

Azure IoT Central 125

Azure Sphere 126

Artificial Intelligence 126

Azure Machine Learning 127

Azure Cognitive Services 128

Azure Bot Service 128

Serverless Computing 128

Azure Functions 129

Azure Logic Apps 129

DevOps 130

Azure DevOps Services 130

GitHub and GitHub Actions 130

Azure DevTest Labs 131

Summary 131

Exam Essentials 131

Review Questions 133

CHAPTER 6 AZURE PRICING, SERVICE LEVELS, AND LIFECYCLE 137

Purchasing Azure Services 138

Azure Subscriptions 138

Purchasing Services 139

Factors Affecting Cost 139

Billing Zones 141

Planning and Managing Azure Costs 141

TCO Calculator 141

Pricing Calculator 143

Managing and Minimizing Azure Cost 144

Azure Cost Management + Billing 148

Service Level Agreements 149

Composite SLAs 150

Availability Zones 150

Service Lifecycles 151

Preview 151

General Availability 151

Summary 152

Exam Essentials 152

Review Questions 154

CHAPTER 7 CREATING AND MANAGING AZURE RESOURCES 157

Azure Management Tools 158

Azure Portal 158

Azure PowerShell 160

Azure CLI 161

Azure Cloud Shell 161

Azure Mobile App 162

Using ARM Templates 163

Bringing It All Together 163

Creating and Managing Resources 163

Creating a Free Subscription 164

Creating Resource Groups 165

Creating Azure Resources and Services 166

Deleting Resources and Services 174

Summary 175

Exam Essentials 175

Review Questions 177

Appendix Answers to Review Questions 179

Chapter 1: Cloud Concepts 180

Chapter 2: Azure Core Services 181

Chapter 3: Azure Core Networking Services 184

Chapter 4: Security, Compliance, Privacy, and Trust 185

Chapter 5: Azure Solutions 189

Chapter 6: Azure Pricing, Service Levels, and Lifecycle 190

Chapter 7: Creating and Managing Azure Resources 192

Index 193