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Microsoft · AZ-104 · Associate

Microsoft Azure Administrator

The AZ-104 certification validates the skills required to implement, manage, and monitor an organization's Azure environment. 50+ AI-generated practice questions with explanations. Free trial, pass guarantee.

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50 Questions
100min Time Limit
700/ 1000 Pass Score

Overview

About the exam

The AZ-104 certification validates the skills required to implement, manage, and monitor an organization's Azure environment. It covers identity and governance, storage, compute, virtual networking, and monitoring — the core pillars of Azure administration. Candidates must demonstrate proficiency in using the Azure portal, Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, and ARM templates.

This is Microsoft's most popular Azure administrator credential, designed for IT professionals who manage cloud infrastructure day to day. It is the recommended certification for system administrators, infrastructure engineers, and operations teams transitioning to or already working with Azure cloud services.

Exam Domains

What's on the exam

The exam consists of 40–60 questions to be completed in approximately 100 minutes (120 minutes if labs are included). Question types include multiple-choice, multiple-select, drag-and-drop, hot area, and case study formats. Expect heavily scenario-based questions that test practical knowledge of Azure CLI commands, PowerShell cmdlets, networking configurations, and resource management. Allocate extra time for case study sections.

Manage Azure identities and governance 24%

Manage Microsoft Entra users and groups, manage access to Azure resources with RBAC, and manage Azure subscriptions and governance including Azure Policy, resource locks, tags, management groups, and cost management

Implement and manage storage 19%

Configure access to storage (firewalls, SAS tokens, access keys, identity-based access), configure and manage storage accounts (redundancy, replication, encryption), and configure Azure Files and Blob Storage (tiers, lifecycle management, versioning, soft delete)

Deploy and manage Azure compute resources 24%

Automate deployments with ARM templates or Bicep, create and configure VMs (encryption, availability zones/sets, scale sets), provision and manage containers (Container Registry, Container Instances, Container Apps), and create/configure Azure App Service

Implement and manage virtual networking 19%

Configure and manage virtual networks and subnets (peering, public IPs, UDRs), configure secure access (NSGs, ASGs, Azure Bastion, service/private endpoints), and configure name resolution and load balancing (Azure DNS, load balancers)

Monitor and maintain Azure resources 14%

Monitor resources using Azure Monitor (metrics, logs, alerts, Insights, Network Watcher) and implement backup and recovery (Recovery Services vault, Azure Backup, Azure Site Recovery, failover)

Format

What to expect

multiple choice
31%
drag drop
13%
command
11%
troubleshooting
11%
ordering
9%
multiple response
9%
dropdown selection
9%
true false
7%

Watch out

Where candidates struggle

This exam requires genuine hands-on Azure experience. Candidates who only study theory without using the Azure portal, CLI, and PowerShell regularly struggle with the practical, scenario-driven questions.

  1. 01
    RBAC vs Policies — Confusing Azure RBAC role assignments with Azure Policy assignments and when to use each for governance.
  2. 02
    Network Security — Not understanding NSG rule evaluation order, priority numbers, and how they interact with Azure Firewall.
  3. 03
    Storage Redundancy — Mixing up LRS, ZRS, GRS, and RA-GRS storage redundancy options and their availability characteristics.
  4. 04
    CLI Syntax — Struggling with Azure CLI and PowerShell command syntax differences for common administrative tasks.
  5. 05
    VNet Peering — Overlooking VNet peering transitivity limitations and the need for gateway transit configurations.

Details

Exam logistics

Delivered via Pearson VUE online or at testing centers. Available in English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, and more. The certification is valid for 1 year with a free renewal assessment on Microsoft Learn.

Delivery Pearson VUE online proctored or at authorized testing centers worldwide
Retake policy 24-hour wait after the first attempt, 14 days between subsequent attempts, maximum 5 attempts per exam within a 12-month period
Validity 1 year
Career outcomes Azure Administrator, Cloud Infrastructure Engineer, Cloud Operations Specialist, Systems Administrator, DevOps Engineer
Renewal Free renewal assessment on Microsoft Learn, available starting 6 months before expiration. Must be completed before the certification expires.
Study time ~50 hours
Official guide View on vendor site

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