Hello and welcome to Microsoft Azure Fundamentals. The focus of this learning path is to prepare you for Microsoft’s AZ-900 exam. If you pass the AZ-900 exam, then you’ll earn the Microsoft Certified Azure Fundamentals certification.

My name’s Guy Hummel, and I’m a Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect.

The AZ-900 exam tests your knowledge of three subject areas. Here’s how we’ll cover them in this learning path.

We’ll start by going over general cloud concepts, so you don’t need to have any previous cloud experience. First, you’ll learn about the benefits of using cloud services, such as high availability and scalability. Then we’ll explain the differences between the various types of cloud services, such as Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service, and Software-as-a-Service. You’ll also learn about the differences between public, private, and hybrid cloud models.

After introducing you to general cloud concepts, we’ll dive into the specifics of Microsoft Azure, starting with the core architectural components of Azure. This includes elements such as subscriptions and resource groups.

Next, we’ll cover Azure’s compute and networking services. Azure has quite a few different types of compute services you can use to deploy your applications, but the one you have to know the most about for this exam is called Azure Virtual Machines. It gives you full control of your servers, but it requires you to maintain them.

To connect your virtual machines to each other, you’ll need to learn how to use Azure Virtual Networks. You’ll also learn how to integrate these Azure networks with your on-premises networks.

After that, we’ll get into Azure’s storage services, focusing on a service called, not surprisingly, Azure Storage.

Then you’ll learn how Azure handles identity, access, and security. The most important service here is Azure Active Directory, which is a managed version of Microsoft’s tried-and-true directory software for managing users, groups, and other identities. It’s quite a complex service, so we’ll go into more detail about some of its features, such as multi-factor authentication and single sign-on.

The final section is on management and governance. First, you’ll learn about the different methods you can use to interact with Azure, including PowerShell, the Azure Portal, and the command-line interface. We’ll also cover monitoring tools, such as Azure Service Health and Azure Monitor, that you can use to make sure everything is running smoothly. Then you’ll learn how to control your costs using tools such as Azure Cost Management. To wrap things up, we’ll cover governance and compliance tools, such as Azure Policy.

Are you ready to earn the Azure Fundamentals certification? Then let’s get started! But please remember to rate this introduction before you go on to the next course in this learning path. Thanks!