About Microsoft AZ-304 Exam
The AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design exam measures the individuals’ ability to perform various technical tasks, such as design of monitoring, design of identity & security, design of data storage, design of business continuity, as well as design of infrastructure. You need to complete this test in addition to the AZ-303: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies exam to become eligible for earning the Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification.
The applicants for the Microsoft AZ-304 exam are required to possess subject matter competency in the design and implementation of solutions that operate on Microsoft Azure, including the aspects, such as network, storage, compute, and security. Additionally, the candidates should have the intermediate-level skills in Azure administration. They should also possess a good comprehension of Azure development as well as DevOps processes.
Other prerequisite competencies for the Microsoft AZ-304 exam include one’s advanced experience in the IT operations, involving networking, identity, virtualization, business continuity, security, disaster recovery, data platform, budgeting, as well as governance. The role of a Microsoft Azure Architect requires an understanding of how decisions in each area affect a general solution.
Exam Details
The Microsoft AZ-304 exam is available for the learners in several languages, including English, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese. The registration process for the test is made on the official webpage. You will be required to sign into your existing Microsoft account or create a new one. You will also need to pay the registration fee, which amounts to $165 for the individuals located in the United States. If you are going to sit for the exam in another country, the sum may be a bit lower for you. To check the actual pricing for your region, refer to the Microsoft website.
One of the good things about the Microsoft exams is that you can find everything you need to prepare for the upcoming certification test directly on the official webpage. There are several preparation options that the candidates can choose from. If you are new to the domain, it is recommended that you start with the paid instructor-led course, AZ-304T00-A: Microsoft Azure Architect Design. The instructor-led format will enable you to communicate with your trainer and peers, ask questions and receive immediate feedback whenever you encounter difficulties. The course has a duration of 4 days and is delivered in the English language. After completing this training, you will be able to translate the business needs into scalable, secure, and reliable solutions. The lessons with the training course cover design considerations associated with cost analysis, logging, authentication & authorization, high availability, security, governance, storage, and migration.
There are also free self-study preparation options that you can go for in case you prefer to learn at your own pace. These include 9 learning paths covering each topic of the certification exam. These paths available for the Microsoft AZ-304 test are enumerated below:
- Architecting network infrastructure in Azure
- Architecting compute infrastructure in Azure
- Architecting storage infrastructure in Azure
- Architecting infrastructure operations in Azure
- Architecting a data platform in Azure
- Architecting message brokering & serverless applications in Azure
- Architecting modern applications in Azure
- Architecting API integration in Azure
- Architecting migration, business continuity, and disaster recovery in Azure
To improve your time management skills and familiarize yourself with the exam questions, you can take advantage of the official practice test that can be found on the exam webpage as well. This resource contains the questions that are very close to the real ones along with the detailed answers and references developed by the experts in the field. Using this tool, you will significantly increase your chances of getting a decent score in your Microsoft AZ-304 test.
Exam Topics
The content of the Microsoft AZ-304 certification test covers five knowledge areas. The list of the exam topics and the associated subtopics is outlined below:
- Design of Monitoring (10-15%)
Here the candidates should demonstrate their proficiency in designing for cost optimization as well as designing a solution for monitoring and logging.
- Design of Identity & Security (25-30%)
This subject area covers the competency of the examinees in designing authentication, designing authorization, designing governance, and designing security for applications.
- Design of Data Storage (15-20%)
The focus of this domain is on designing a solution for databases, designing data integration, as well as selecting a proper storage account.
- Design of Business Continuity (10-15%)
This section of the certification exam required the students’ skills in designing a solution for backup recovery as well as designing for high availability.
- Design of Infrastructure (25-30%)
The last topic of the Microsoft AZ-304 exam measures the ability of the learners to design a compute solution, design application architecture, design migrations, and design a network solution.
It is recommended that the candidates go through the official exam webpage to download the detailed skills outline. Without a thorough understanding of the objectives of the test, it will be difficult for you to succeed at the first attempt.
Career Opportunities
The Microsoft AZ-304 exam is designed to prepare the professionals for the role of an Azure Solution Architect. Holding this position, you will be responsible for advising the stakeholders and translating the business needs into scalable, secure, and reliable Cloud solutions. This title also includes close cooperation with the Cloud administrators, Cloud database administrators, as well as customers to implement solutions. Apart from the Azure Solution Architect role, the successful candidates can also take up the related positions. These include such titles as an Azure Data Architect, an Azure Data Engineer, a Network Architect, a Database Administrator, a DevOps Engineer, a Solutions Engineer, a Systems Engineer, an IT Project Manager, a Site Reliability Engineer, and a Service Desk Analyst, among others.
As for the salary prospects associated with the Microsoft AZ-304 exam and the Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, the certified professionals earn an average of $152,094 per year in the United States. In general, the remuneration for the Azure Solution Architects ranges from $85,500 to $201,000 per annum, depending on the type of organization and level of experience a specialist has.
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