Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (Exam AZ-104) Study Guide

The Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate credential, earned by passing Exam AZ-104, validates the hands-on skills needed to implement, manage, and monitor an organization's Microsoft Azure environment. It is one of Microsoft's most widely pursued cloud certifications and serves as a practical benchmark for professionals who configure, secure, and maintain cloud infrastructure day to day.

AZ-104 is designed for Azure administrators who manage cloud services spanning compute, storage, networking, and identity. Typical candidates already have some experience with Azure and are comfortable using the Azure portal, Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, and Azure Resource Manager templates to carry out administrative tasks.

Who Should Take This Exam

• IT professionals moving from on-premises administration into cloud operations
• Systems administrators responsible for provisioning and maintaining Azure resources
• Support engineers who monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure workloads
• Anyone building a foundation toward more advanced Azure role-based certifications

Earning AZ-104 signals to employers that a candidate can be trusted with core cloud administration duties: managing virtual machines, configuring storage accounts, securing identities, and keeping networks running smoothly. For many IT careers, it functions as a stepping stone toward specialist certifications in security, networking, or solutions architecture, and it remains one of the most requested Azure credentials in job postings for cloud administrator and cloud support roles.

Exam AZ-104 is a proctored exam that may include interactive components such as drag-and-drop and case study scenarios, in addition to traditional multiple-choice and multiple-select questions. Candidates are given 100 minutes to complete the exam, which is enough time to work through the question set carefully if time is managed well.

Scoring uses a scaled range from 1 to 1,000, and a candidate needs a score of 700 or greater to pass. There is no penalty for guessing, so candidates should answer every question rather than leaving any blank. After completing the exam, candidates receive a score report showing an overall numeric score, pass/fail status, and a bar chart breaking down performance by skill area, which is useful for identifying weak domains if a retake is needed.

Scheduling and Delivery

• Exams are scheduled and delivered through Pearson VUE, either at a testing center or via online proctoring
• The exam is offered in English, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Japanese, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Traditional), and Italian
• Candidates whose preferred language is unavailable can request an additional 30 minutes to complete the exam
• Exam pricing is based on the country or region in which the exam is proctored, so cost varies by location

If a candidate does not pass on the first attempt, a retake is allowed 24 hours after the initial attempt, giving time to review weak areas before trying again.

Exam AZ-104 measures skills across five functional groups, each weighted differently in the final score. Understanding these weightings helps candidates allocate study time to the areas that matter most.

Manage Azure Identities and Governance (20-25%)

This domain covers Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) objects, role-based access control, subscriptions, and governance tools like Azure Policy and resource locks. Administrators are expected to know how to manage users, groups, and permissions securely.

Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Resources (20-25%)

This is the largest domain alongside identities and governance, covering virtual machines, containers, and App Service. Candidates should be comfortable configuring VM availability, scaling, and deploying resources via templates.

Implement and Manage Storage (15-20%)

This domain focuses on storage accounts, blob storage lifecycle management, Azure Files, and configuring storage security and redundancy options.

Implement and Manage Virtual Networking (15-20%)

Networking skills include virtual networks, subnets, network security groups, load balancing, and connectivity between on-premises and Azure resources.

Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources (10-15%)

The smallest domain covers Azure Monitor, backup and recovery configuration, and using diagnostic tools to keep resources healthy over time.

• Manage Azure identities and governance — 20-25%
• Deploy and manage Azure compute resources — 20-25%
• Implement and manage storage — 15-20%
• Implement and manage virtual networking — 15-20%
• Monitor and maintain Azure resources — 10-15%

Most candidates spend six to eight weeks preparing for AZ-104, depending on prior Azure experience. A structured, domain-by-domain approach tends to work better than passive reading, since the exam emphasizes practical administration skills.

Weeks 1-2: Identities and Governance

Start with the largest-weighted domains. Set up a free or trial Azure subscription and practice creating users and groups in Microsoft Entra ID, assigning RBAC roles, and applying Azure Policy and resource locks. This foundation supports everything else in the exam.

Weeks 3-4: Compute Resources

Move into virtual machines: create VMs from images, configure availability sets and scale sets, and deploy an App Service instance. Practice using both the Azure portal and command-line tools so you're comfortable regardless of how a question is framed.

Week 5: Storage and Networking

Configure storage accounts, blob lifecycle rules, and Azure Files shares. Then build a virtual network with subnets, network security groups, and a basic load balancer. These two domains combined carry substantial weight, so don't compress them too tightly.

Week 6: Monitoring and Review

Set up Azure Monitor alerts and configure a backup policy. Spend the remaining time taking practice questions across all domains, reviewing weak areas identified by score breakdowns, and revisiting flashcards for terminology you keep missing.

• Rotate between hands-on labs and review sessions rather than studying one domain exclusively
• Re-test weaker domains in the final week rather than assuming early review was enough
• Build a short glossary of Azure-specific terms as you go — networking and identity domains are especially jargon-heavy

Walking into the AZ-104 exam prepared means managing both your technical knowledge and your time. With 100 minutes to complete the exam, pacing matters — don't let one difficult case study question consume time you need for the rest of the exam.

Before the Exam

• Confirm your identification and testing environment requirements ahead of time if testing online through Pearson VUE
• Review your weakest domains one final time the night before rather than cramming new material
• Get sufficient rest — cloud administration questions often require careful reading, not just memorization

During the Exam

• Answer every question, since there is no penalty for guessing and no points are deducted for incorrect answers
• Flag uncertain questions and return to them if time allows, rather than getting stuck
• Read scenario-based questions carefully — the correct answer often depends on a specific constraint mentioned in the setup
• Watch for questions that test similar-sounding services or settings; Azure has several features with overlapping names

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Many candidates underestimate the networking and storage domains because they feel less intuitive than compute. Others skip hands-on practice entirely and rely on video courses alone, which leaves gaps when questions ask about specific portal navigation or CLI syntax. Since the certification requires renewal, treat the exam as the start of ongoing familiarity with Azure rather than a one-time hurdle.

Preparing for AZ-104 doesn't require expensive bootcamps alone — free study resources on this site can reinforce the same material through different formats, which helps information stick.

Practice Questions

Scenario-style practice questions mirror the case-study format the real exam uses, letting you rehearse reading a constraint-heavy prompt and identifying the single best answer among plausible-looking distractors. Working through practice sets by domain also helps surface which of the five functional groups needs more attention before exam day.

Flashcards

Flashcards are well suited to the terminology-heavy parts of AZ-104, such as distinguishing between similarly named services, storage redundancy options, or networking components. Short, repeated review sessions using flashcards can help lock in details that are easy to blank on under time pressure.

Glossary

A glossary of Azure-specific terms is useful for quickly looking up a service or concept encountered while working through labs or practice questions, without having to search through longer documentation. Building familiarity with exact terminology also helps when questions hinge on subtle wording differences between similar Azure features.

Combining hands-on labs in an actual Azure subscription with these free resources gives a well-rounded preparation approach: labs build muscle memory, while practice questions, flashcards, and the glossary reinforce recall and fill in conceptual gaps.