AZ-204 Study Guide - Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure

If you are preparing for AZ 204 exam, this study material helps to take the exam confidently. Developing solution for Azure exam (AZ 204) is a bit tougher than the Azure fundamentals exam(AZ 900). I have taken the exam AZ 204 mid of 2020 and scored 90%.

Questions focused on Azure components and solutions which are used to build apps in Azure cloud. I prepared the AZ 204 exam using the Microsoft document links and really helped to clear the exam.

The developer’s guide is availble from microsoft, you can check it here. Also Its highly recommended to take practice test before taking the actual exam.

Develop Azure compute solutions (25-30%)

Implement IaaS solutions

• provision VMs

  • Quickstart: Create a Windows virtual machine in the Azure portal
  • Tutorial: Create and Manage Windows VMs with Azure PowerShell

• configure VMs for remote access

  • How to use SSH keys with Windows on Azure
  • Secure your management ports with just-in-time access

• create ARM templates

  • What are ARM templates?
  • Tutorial: Create and deploy your first ARM template
  • Understand the structure and syntax of ARM templates
  • Build Azure Resource Manager templates (Microsoft Learn)

• create container images for solutions by using Docker

  • Tutorial: Create a container image for deployment to Azure Container Instances
  • Tutorial: Create an Azure container registry and push a container image
  • Quickstart: Build and run a container image using Azure Container Registry Tasks
  • Build and store container images with Azure Container Registry (Microsoft Learn)

• publish an image to the Azure Container Registry

  • Deploy to Azure Container Instances from Azure Container Registry
  • Push your first image to a private Docker container registry using the Docker CLI

• run containers by using Azure Container Instance

  • What is Azure Container Instances?
  • Quickstart: Deploy a container instance in Azure using Azure PowerShell
  • Run Docker containers with Azure Container Instances (Microsoft Learn)

Create Azure App Service Web Apps

• create an Azure App Service Web App

  • Quickstart: Create an ASP.NET Core web app in Azure
  • Tutorial: Build an ASP.NET Core and SQL Database app in Azure App Service

• enable diagnostics logging

  • Enable diagnostics logging for apps in Azure App Service
  • Capture Web Application Logs with App Service Diagnostics Logging (Microsoft Learn)

• deploy code to a web app

  • Deploy an Azure Web App
  • Continuous deployment to Azure App Service
  • Deploy your app to Azure App Service with a ZIP or WAR file
  • Deploy a website to Azure with Azure App Service (Microsoft Learn)

• configure web app settings including SSL, API, and connection strings

  • Add a TLS/SSL certificate in Azure App Service
  • Secure a custom DNS name with a TLS/SSL binding in Azure App Service
  • Configure an App Service app in the Azure portal
  • az webapp config (Microsoft Reference)

• implement autoscaling rules, including scheduled autoscaling, and scaling by operational or system metrics

  • Get started with Autoscale in Azure
  • Scale up an app in Azure App Service

Implement Azure functions

• implement input and output bindings for a function

  • Azure Functions triggers and bindings concepts
  • Azure Functions trigger and binding example
  • Chain Azure Functions together using input and output bindings (Microsoft Learn)

• implement function triggers by using data operations, timers, and webhooks

  • Azure Functions HTTP trigger
  • Azure Functions custom handlers (preview)
  • Create a function in Azure that is triggered by a timer
  • Timer trigger for Azure Functions

• implement Azure Durable Functions

  • What are Durable Functions?
  • Create your first durable function in C#
  • Function chaining in Durable Functions - Hello sequence sample

Develop for Azure storage (10-15%)

Develop solutions that use Cosmos DB storage

• select the appropriate API for your solution

  • Welcome to Azure Cosmos DB
  • Choose the appropriate API for Azure Cosmos DB (Microsoft Learn)

• implement partitioning schemes

  • Partitioning in Azure Cosmos DB
  • Partitioning and horizontal scaling in Azure Cosmos DB

• interact with data using the appropriate SDK

  • Tutorial: Build a .NET console app to manage data in Azure Cosmos DB SQL API account
  • Quickstart: Build a .NET web app using Azure Cosmos DB’s API for MongoDB
  • Quickstart: Build a Table API app with .NET SDK and Azure Cosmos DB
  • Quickstart: Build a Cassandra app with .NET SDK and Azure Cosmos DB

• set the appropriate consistency level for operations

  • Consistency, availability, and performance tradeoffs
  • Consistency levels in Azure Cosmos DB
  • Choose the right consistency level

• create Cosmos DB containers

  • Create an Azure Cosmos container
  • Work with databases, containers, and items in Azure Cosmos DB

• implement scaling (partitions, containers)

  • Create an Azure Cosmos DB database built to scale (Microsoft Learn)
  • Create Azure Cosmos containers and databases with autoscale throughput

• implement server-side programming including stored procedures, triggers, and change feed notifications

  • How to write stored procedures, triggers, and user-defined functions in Azure Cosmos DB

Develop solutions that use blob storage

• move items in Blob storage between storage accounts or containers

  • Transfer data with AzCopy and Blob storage
  • Copy and move blobs from one container or storage account to another from the command line and in code (Microsoft Learn)

• set and retrieve properties and metadata

  • Manage container properties and metadata with .NET
  • Organize Azure storage blobs with properties and metadata (Microsoft Learn)

• interact with data using the appropriate SDK

  • Quickstart: Azure Blob storage client library v12 for .NET
  • Quickstart: Manage blobs with JavaScript v12 SDK in Node.js

• implement data archiving and retention

  • Azure Blob storage: hot, cool, and archive access tiers
  • Rehydrate blob data from the archive tier
  • Manage the Azure Blob storage lifecycle

• implement hot, cool, and archive storage

  • Azure Blob storage: hot, cool, and archive access tiers

Implement Azure security (15-20%)

Implement user authentication and authorization

• implement OAuth2 authentication

  • Authorize access to REST APIs with OAuth 2.0
  • Microsoft identity platform and OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow

• create and implement shared access signatures

  • Delegate access with a shared access signature
  • Grant limited access to Azure Storage resources using shared access signatures (SAS)

• register apps and use Azure Active Directory to authenticate users

  • Configure your App Service or Azure Functions app to use Azure AD login
  • Quickstart: Register an application with the Microsoft identity platform

• control access to resources by using role-based access controls (RBAC)

  • What is Azure role-based access control (Azure RBAC)
  • Classic subscription administrator roles, Azure roles, and Azure AD roles

Implement secure cloud solutions

• secure app configuration data by using the App Configuration and KeyVault API

  • Tutorial: Use a managed identity to connect Key Vault to an Azure Web App with .NET
  • Azure Key Vault Configuration Provider in ASP.NET Core

• manage keys, secrets, and certificates by using the KeyVault API

  • About keys, secrets, and certificates
  • Secure access to a key vault
  • Configure and manage secrets in Azure Key Vault (Microsoft Learn)

• implement Managed Identities for Azure resources

  • What are managed identities for Azure resources?
  • How to use managed identities for App Service and Azure Functions

Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure solutions (10-15%)

Integrate caching and content delivery within solutions

• develop code to implement CDNs in solutions

  • What is a content delivery network on Azure?
  • Quickstart: Create an Azure CDN profile and endpoint - ARM template
  • Tutorial: Add Azure CDN to an Azure App Service web app
  • Optimize Azure CDN for the type of content delivery

• configure cache and expiration policies for FrontDoor, CDNs, or Redis caches

  • Caching with Azure Front Door
  • Azure Front Door Rules Engine Actions
  • Manage expiration of web content in Azure CDN
  • How to configure Azure Cache for Redis

• Store and retrieve data in Azure Redis cache

  • Quickstart: Use Azure Cache for Redis with an ASP.NET web app
  • ASP. NET Session State Provider for Azure Cache for Redis

Instrument solutions to support monitoring and logging

• configure instrumentation in an app or service by using Application Insights

  • Application Insights for Azure cloud services
  • Start monitoring your ASP.NET Web Application

• analyze log data and troubleshoot solutions by using Azure Monitor

  • Azure Monitor overview
  • Logs in Azure Monitor
  • Tutorial: Troubleshoot an App Service app with Azure Monitor

• implement Application Insights Web Test and Alerts

  • Monitor the availability of any website
  • Multi-step web tests
  • Availability alerts

• implement code that handles transient faults

  • Transient fault handling
  • Transient Fault Handling (Building Real-World Cloud Apps with Azure)

Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services (25-30%)

Develop an App Service Logic App

• create a Logic App

  • Overview - What is Azure Logic Apps?
  • Introduction to Azure Logic Apps (Microsoft Learn)
  • Quickstart: Create your first automated integration workflow by using Azure Logic Apps - Azure portal
  • Tutorial: Create automated, schedule-based, recurring workflows by using Azure Logic Apps

• create a custom connector for Logic Apps

  • Connectors for Azure Logic Apps
  • Call an API from a Logic Apps workflow using a custom connector (Microsoft Learn)

• create a custom template for Logic Apps

  • Create logic app workflows from prebuilt templates

Implement API Management

• create an APIM instance

  • Create a new Azure API Management service instance by using PowerShell

• configure authentication for APIs

  • API Management authentication policies
  • Secure an Azure API Management API with Azure AD B2C

• define policies for APIs

  • API Management policies
  • How to set or edit Azure API Management policies
  • API Management advanced policies

Develop event-based solutions

• implement solutions that use Azure Event Grid

  • What is Azure Event Grid?
  • Quickstart: Route custom events to an Azure Function with Event Grid
  • Tutorial: Stream big data into a data warehouse

• implement solutions that use Azure Notification Hubs

  • What is Azure Notification Hubs?
  • Tutorial: Send notifications to specific users by using Azure Notification Hubs

• implement solutions that use Azure Event Hub

  • Azure Event Hubs — A big data streaming platform and event ingestion service
  • Quickstart: Create an event hub using Azure CLI
  • Send events to and receive events from Azure Event Hubs - .NET

Develop message-based solutions

• implement solutions that use Azure Service Bus

  • What is Azure Service Bus?
  • Get started with Service Bus topics
  • Use the Azure CLI to create a Service Bus namespace and a queue

• implement solutions that use Azure Queue Storage queues

  • What are Azure queues?
  • Get started with Azure Queue storage using .NET
  • Tutorial: Work with Azure storage queues in .NET

I hope you enjoyed all the Microsoft Docs for AZ-204 Study Guide. I recommend you to take practice tests before appearing for official exam, so that you will be confident in the actual exam.

Happy blogging!