Introduction to Cloud Infrastructure (AZ-900)

There are no prerequisites for taking this course. Familiarity with cloud computing is helpful, but isn't necessary.

Target Audience

This course is suitable for IT personnel who are just beginning to work with Azure. This audience wants to learn about our offerings and get hands-on experience with the product. This course primarily uses the Azure portal and command line interface to create resources and does not require scripting skills. Students in this course will gain confidence to take other role-based courses and certifications, such as Azure Administrator. This course combines lecture and demonstrations. This course will also help prepare someone for the AZ-900 exam.

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

• Describe cloud computing concepts and deployment models.
• Explain the benefits of using cloud services for individuals and organizations.
• Identify and describe different cloud service types, including IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.
• Describe the core architectural components of Microsoft Azure, including physical and management infrastructure.
• Explain Azure compute, networking, and storage services and their use cases.
• Describe Azure identity, access, and security features, including authentication, authorization, and security best practices.
• Identify tools and features for cost management, governance, resource management, and monitoring in Azure.

Module 1: Describe cloud computing

This module introduces you to cloud computing. It covers things such as cloud concepts, deployment models, and understanding shared responsibility in the cloud.

• Introduction to Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
• Introduction to cloud computing
• What is cloud computing
• Describe the shared responsibility model
• Define cloud models
• Describe the consumption-based model
• Module assessment
• Summary

Module 2: Describe the benefits of using cloud services

This module introduces you to the benefits cloud computing can offer you or your organization.

• Introduction
• Describe the benefits of high availability and scalability in the cloud
• Describe the benefits of reliability and predictability in the cloud
• Describe the benefits of security and governance in the cloud
• Describe the benefits of manageability in the cloud
• Describe sustainability considerations in the cloud
• Module assessment
• Summary

Module 3: Describe cloud service types

This module covers the different cloud service types and shares some of the use cases and benefits aligned with each service type.

• Introduction
• Describe Infrastructure as a Service
• Describe Platform as a Service
• Describe Software as a Service
• Module assessment
• Summary

Module 4: Describe the core architectural components of Azure

This module explains the basic infrastructure components of Microsoft Azure. You'll learn about the physical infrastructure and how resources are managed.

• Introduction
• What is Microsoft Azure
• Get started with Azure accounts
• Describe Azure physical infrastructure
• Describe Azure management infrastructure
• Module assessment
• Summary

Module 5: Describe Azure compute services

This module focuses on core Azure compute services and when to use each option.

• Introduction
• Describe Azure virtual machines
• Describe Azure virtual desktop
• Describe Azure containers
• Describe Azure functions
• Describe AI, machine learning, and IoT/Edge services in Azure
• Describe application hosting options
• Module assessment
• Summary

Module 6: Describe Azure networking services

This module introduces Azure networking capabilities for secure communication between Azure resources, on-premises environments, and internet-connected clients.

• Introduction
• Describe Azure virtual networking
• Describe Azure virtual private networks
• Describe Azure ExpressRoute
• Describe Azure DNS
• Module assessment
• Summary

Module 7: Describe Azure storage services

This module introduces you to storage in Azure, including things such as different types of storage and how a distributed infrastructure can make your data more resilient.

• Introduction
• Describe Azure storage accounts
• Describe Azure storage redundancy
• Describe Azure storage services
• Identify Azure data migration options
• Identify Azure file movement options
• Module assessment
• Summary

Module 8: Describe Azure identity, access, and security

This module covers some of the authorization and authentication methods available with Azure.

• Introduction
• Describe Azure directory services
• Describe Azure authentication methods
• Describe Azure external identities
• Describe Azure conditional access
• Describe Azure role-based access control
• Describe Zero Trust model
• Describe defense-in-depth
• Describe encryption and key management in Azure
• Describe Microsoft Defender for Cloud
• Module assessment
• Summary

Module 9: Describe cost management in Azure

This module explores methods to estimate, track, and manage costs in Azure.

• Introduction
• Describe factors that can affect costs in Azure
• Explore the pricing calculator
• Describe the Microsoft Cost Management tool
• Describe the purpose of tags
• Describe cost optimization options in Azure
• Module assessment
• Summary

Module 10: Describe features and tools in Azure for governance and compliance

This module introduces you to tools that can help with governance and compliance within Azure.

• Introduction
• Describe the purpose of Microsoft Purview
• Describe the purpose of Azure Policy
• Describe the purpose of resource locks
• Describe the purpose of the Service Trust portal
• Module assessment
• Summary

Module 11: Describe features and tools for managing and deploying Azure resources

This module covers tools that help you manage your Azure and on-premises resources.

• Introduction
• Describe tools for interacting with Azure
• Describe the purpose of Azure Arc
• Describe Azure Resource Manager and Azure ARM templates
• Module assessment
• Summary

Module 12: Describe monitoring tools in Azure

This module covers tools that you can use to monitor your Azure environment.

• Introduction
• Describe the purpose of Azure Advisor
• Describe Azure Service Health
• Describe Azure Monitor
• Module assessment
• Summary

Exams and assessments

This course will help prepare you for the AZ-900 exam which is available seperately.

Hands-on learning

This course is delivered through a mixture of Presentations, Demonstrations and hands on labs.