Becoming a Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect

What does a Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect do?
Well, a Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect basically designs solutions that can run on Azure – so in short, your role will be as a solutions architect.

You will need in-depth knowledge of network, security and storage and you will need advanced experience and knowledge across various IT operations including virtualization, networking and security.

What exams do I need to pass?
To become an Azure Certified Solutions Architect you will need to pass the Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies (AZ-303) exam and the Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ-304) exam. 

The AZ-303 exam will test your knowledge in the following subjects:

• Virtualization
• Automation
• Networking
• Storage
• Identity
• Security
• Data Platform
• Application Infrastructure

The AZ-304 is concentrated around design considerations including:

• Logging
• Cost analysis
• Authentication
• Authorization
• Governance
• Security
• Storage
• High Availability
• Migration
  
  

So, as you can see this is a very wide range of topics and it’s not at all coherent with Microsoft statements around making their certifications narrower. That is because this is a certification on Expert level, and they require a great breadth and also depth of knowledge these days.

How do I get prepared?
When we consider the vastness of the curriculum, you will almost certainly be unfamiliar with some of the parts of Azure that you will need to know and understand in order to pass the AZ-303 and the AZ-304.

That´s okay, you can train and get up to speed, but you will need a certain level of expertise before you start preparing for these exams.

In our experience, the most successful learners have these prerequisites:

• Understanding of on-premises virtualization technologies, including: VMs, virtual networking, and virtual hard disks.
• Understanding of network configuration, including TCP/IP, Domain Name System (DNS), virtual private networks (VPNs), firewalls, and encryption technologies.
• Understanding of Active Directory concepts, including domains, forests, domain controllers, replication, Kerberos protocol, and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).
• Understanding of resilience and disaster recovery, including backup and restore operations.

If you´re not quite there yet, you may want to consider starting on your journey towards Expert level with a few exams on Associate- or even Fundamentals level.

But if you feel confident in the prerequisites, you should be all set to start your preparations.

You can see Microsoft’s free online training in the link here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/azure-solutions-architect if you have a lot of free focus time to train on your own (as well as a lot of patience!).

Or, you can sit a 6-day instructor-led training course and get 10-12 hours of daily instructor-led training in an immersed environment, sit the exam onsite and leave as a Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect.

Are you ready? Have a look at the training- and certification programme here: https://www.readynez.com/en/training/courses/vendors/microsoft/certified-azure-solutions-architect-az-303-and-az-304-course/

We wish you all the best of luck in your learning :)