Microsoft AZ-720 Practice Test Questions, Microsoft AZ-720 Exam Dumps

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A Comprehensive Guide to the AZ-720 Certification: Hybrid Networking and the AZ-720 Exam

The AZ-720 certification is a specialty credential designed for professionals who serve as support engineers for a leading public cloud platform, with a specific focus on network connectivity. This certification validates an individual's subject matter expertise in troubleshooting and resolving complex hybrid networking, routing, and network security issues. It is intended for candidates who have significant hands-on experience in supporting mission-critical cloud infrastructure and possess a deep understanding of both cloud and on-premises networking principles. Passing the associated AZ-720 Exam demonstrates that a professional has the advanced skills required to diagnose intricate problems related to the platform's networking services. This includes everything from resolving issues with dedicated private circuits to diagnosing misconfigured cloud-native firewalls. The certification is not about design or implementation but is laser-focused on the operational and troubleshooting aspects of a connectivity support role, making it a unique and highly valuable credential in the IT industry. For organizations that rely heavily on this public cloud platform, hiring individuals with the AZ-720 certification provides a high degree of confidence. It assures them that their support team has a verified expert who can rapidly identify the root cause of network-related service disruptions, minimizing downtime and business impact. The preparation journey for the AZ-720 Exam equips candidates with the precise, methodical troubleshooting skills needed for this critical support function.

The Critical Role of a Cloud Connectivity Support Engineer

A Cloud Connectivity Support Engineer is a specialized technical role responsible for ensuring the reliability and performance of all network connections to and within a cloud environment. These professionals are the front line of defense when network problems occur, acting as expert investigators who must quickly and accurately diagnose the cause of an issue. Their work is critical because in a cloud-based world, network connectivity is the lifeline for all applications and services. The role requires a unique combination of deep technical knowledge, logical problem-solving skills, and excellent communication abilities. On any given day, a support engineer might be tasked with troubleshooting a slow site-to-site VPN, investigating why an application cannot reach a database, or helping a customer diagnose a complex routing problem in their hybrid network. They must be proficient with a wide array of diagnostic tools and be able to interpret complex technical data. The AZ-720 Exam is specifically designed to identify and validate individuals who possess this unique skill set. It goes beyond standard networking knowledge to test a candidate's ability to troubleshoot within the specific context of the cloud platform's software-defined networking architecture. A certified support engineer is a vital asset, ensuring that the complex web of virtual networks, gateways, and security controls that underpin a company's cloud presence remains stable and performant.

Core Skills Measured in the AZ-720 Exam

The AZ-720 Exam is meticulously structured to measure a candidate's proficiency across several key domains of cloud network troubleshooting. The first and most heavily weighted domain is the troubleshooting of hybrid networking. This includes diagnosing connectivity issues with both cloud-native VPN gateways and dedicated private connections that link on-premises data centers to the cloud. It requires a deep understanding of protocols like IPsec and BGP in a hybrid context. Another core skill area is the troubleshooting of core networking infrastructure within the cloud itself. This covers a wide range of topics, including virtual network routing, DNS and name resolution, connectivity between peered virtual networks, and private access to platform services. Candidates must be able to trace the path of a packet through the cloud's virtualized network and identify any points of failure. Finally, the exam measures a candidate's ability to troubleshoot network security and access issues. This involves diagnosing problems with network security groups, which act as distributed firewalls, as well as the platform's centralized cloud-native firewall service and web application firewalls. The ability to determine whether a connectivity problem is being caused by a security rule is a fundamental skill for this role, and it is a major focus of the AZ-720 Exam.

Troubleshooting Hybrid Networking: An Overview

Hybrid networking, the integration of an organization's on-premises network with the public cloud, is a cornerstone of modern enterprise IT. However, it also introduces a significant layer of complexity and a new set of potential problems. The AZ-720 Exam places a major emphasis on a support engineer's ability to troubleshoot this critical link. A structured approach is essential for isolating problems in a hybrid environment. The first step in any hybrid troubleshooting scenario is to clearly define the scope of the problem. Is connectivity completely down, or is it intermittent? Is the issue affecting all traffic, or only a specific application? Once the problem is defined, the troubleshooting process often involves a layered approach, starting from the physical layer and working up to the application layer. This means verifying the status of the physical connection, the network interfaces, the routing, and the security policies on both the on-premises and the cloud side of the connection. Effectively troubleshooting hybrid networking requires collaboration and a clear understanding of the shared responsibility model. The cloud provider is responsible for the underlying infrastructure and services, but the customer is responsible for their own configuration. A support engineer must be able to quickly determine whether the root cause of an issue lies within the customer's configuration or with the cloud platform itself. This ability is a key skill tested on the AZ-720 Exam.

Diagnosing Issues with Cloud-Native VPN Gateways

Site-to-site VPNs are a common method for establishing hybrid connectivity. The public cloud platform provides a managed, cloud-native VPN gateway service for this purpose. When a VPN tunnel fails, a support engineer must be able to systematically diagnose the cause. Common issues often fall into two categories: problems with the IKE (Internet Key Exchange) negotiation, which establishes the secure channel, or problems with the IPsec tunnel itself, which carries the data. Troubleshooting IKE negotiation failures typically involves checking for mismatched parameters on the on-premises VPN device and the cloud VPN gateway. This includes verifying that the pre-shared key, the encryption and hashing algorithms, and the Diffie-Hellman group are identical on both ends. The cloud platform provides detailed diagnostic logs that show the status of the IKE negotiations, which are invaluable for pinpointing these types of mismatches. If the IKE negotiation is successful but traffic is not flowing, the issue is likely with the IPsec configuration or with the routing. The support engineer must verify that the traffic selectors or local and remote network prefixes are correctly defined on both sides. They must also confirm that both the on-premises network and the cloud virtual network have the correct routes to direct traffic over the VPN tunnel. The AZ-720 Exam will present complex scenarios requiring this level of detailed VPN analysis.

Resolving Problems with Dedicated Private Connections

For organizations that require higher bandwidth and more reliable connectivity than a VPN can provide, a dedicated private connection is the solution of choice. This service establishes a direct, private fiber optic link between the customer's on-premises network and the cloud provider's network edge. While highly reliable, these connections can still experience problems. Troubleshooting them requires a different approach than for VPNs and is a key topic on the AZ-720 Exam. Troubleshooting a dedicated private connection often starts at the physical and data link layers. The support engineer must work with the customer and the network circuit provider to verify that the physical link is up and that there are no errors on the circuit. The cloud platform provides metrics and diagnostics that show the status of the connection from the provider's side, including the light levels on the fiber optic ports. Once the lower layers are verified, the focus shifts to the network layer, specifically the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) session that runs over the private connection. BGP is used to exchange routing information between the on-premises and cloud networks. Common problems include BGP peering failures due to mismatched AS numbers or authentication keys, or incorrect route advertisements. A support engineer must be able to analyze the BGP state and routing tables on the cloud side to diagnose these complex routing issues.

Analyzing On-Premises and Cloud Network Integration

In a hybrid environment, the on-premises network and the cloud virtual network function as a single, extended network. This means that routing between the two environments must be seamless and correct. A major part of troubleshooting hybrid connectivity involves analyzing the end-to-end routing path. The AZ-720 Exam requires a deep understanding of how routing works in this integrated environment. A common issue is asymmetric routing. This occurs when traffic from the on-premises network to the cloud takes one path, but the return traffic from the cloud back to the on-premises network takes a different path. This can cause problems for stateful devices like firewalls, which may block the return traffic because they did not see the initial outbound connection. A support engineer must be able to use the diagnostic tools on both sides to trace the path of the traffic and identify any asymmetries. Another challenge is ensuring that routes are being correctly propagated. The routes from the on-premises network must be learned by the cloud virtual network, and the routes for the cloud virtual network's address space must be advertised back to the on-premises network. A support engineer must be able to examine the routing tables on the cloud gateways and virtual networks to verify that the correct routes are present. This skill is critical for resolving many common hybrid connectivity problems.

Preparing for Hybrid Connectivity Questions on the AZ-720 Exam

The hybrid networking domain of the AZ-720 Exam is characterized by complex, multi-part scenarios. The questions will not be simple "what is" definitions; they will present a detailed description of a problem, often accompanied by network diagrams and configuration snippets, and ask you to identify the root cause or the next troubleshooting step. The best way to prepare is to build a lab environment that simulates a hybrid network. This can be done using a combination of a cloud subscription and on-premises virtualization. Set up a site-to-site VPN and a simulated dedicated private connection. Once the environment is working, intentionally break it in different ways. Misconfigure the VPN parameters, create a routing loop, or block traffic with a firewall rule. Then, practice using the structured troubleshooting methodology to diagnose the problem. Use the platform's diagnostic logs for the VPN gateway, check the BGP peering status for the private connection, and analyze the routing tables on both sides. The goal is to become intimately familiar with the common failure modes and the specific tools used to diagnose them. This hands-on, problem-solving practice is the most effective way to prepare for the challenging scenarios on the AZ-720 Exam.

Mastering Virtual Network Connectivity

While hybrid connectivity is a major focus, a cloud support engineer must also be an expert in troubleshooting connectivity issues that occur entirely within the cloud platform's virtual network infrastructure. The AZ-720 Exam dedicates a significant portion to these core networking scenarios. This begins with understanding the fundamental building block of cloud networking: the virtual network, or VNet. A VNet is a logically isolated section of the public cloud where you can provision your resources, such as virtual machines. Connectivity issues can arise between resources within the same VNet or between resources in different VNets. Troubleshooting these issues requires a deep understanding of the platform's software-defined networking stack. Unlike a traditional physical network, you cannot simply plug in a cable tester; you must rely on the diagnostic tools provided by the platform. Common problems within a VNet include misconfigured network security rules that are blocking traffic, incorrect IP address assignments, or issues with the virtual network interface cards (vNICs) attached to the virtual machines. A support engineer must be able to systematically investigate each of these potential causes. The AZ-720 Exam will present scenarios where you must analyze a VNet's configuration to find the source of a connectivity failure.

A Systematic Approach to Troubleshooting Cloud Routing

Routing is the process of directing network traffic from its source to its destination. In a cloud environment, routing is managed by the platform's software-defined networking fabric. A support engineer must be a master of troubleshooting the routing behavior within a VNet. The AZ-720 Exam requires a detailed knowledge of how the cloud platform makes its routing decisions. The platform uses a system of effective routes to determine where to send traffic from a virtual machine. This effective route table is a combination of several different route sources: system-defined default routes, routes learned via BGP from a hybrid connection, and custom, user-defined routes (UDRs) created by the administrator. When troubleshooting, a common issue is a UDR that is incorrectly configured and is forcing traffic to the wrong destination, or creating a routing loop. The cloud platform provides tools that allow you to view the effective routes for any given network interface. This is the starting point for almost any routing troubleshooting scenario. By examining the effective route table, you can see exactly which route is being used for a specific destination and where that route came from. If the route is incorrect, you can then investigate the source (such as the UDR table or the BGP advertisements) to correct the problem. This analytical skill is a core competency tested on the AZ-720 Exam.

Diagnosing Name Resolution and DNS Issues

Connectivity is not just about IP addresses; it is also about name resolution. The Domain Name System (DNS) is the service that translates human-readable names, like a server hostname, into the IP addresses that are used for routing. DNS problems are a frequent cause of application connectivity failures, and they are a key topic on the AZ-720 Exam. A support engineer must be proficient in diagnosing both public and private DNS issues. The cloud platform provides its own internal DNS service for name resolution within a VNet. Virtual machines in the same VNet can automatically resolve each other's names using this service. However, for hybrid scenarios, or for custom naming schemes, organizations often use their own custom DNS servers. A common problem is a misconfiguration on the VNet that prevents virtual machines from reaching the correct custom DNS server, leading to name resolution failures. Troubleshooting DNS involves using standard tools like nslookup or dig from within a virtual machine to test name resolution. You must also be able to check the DNS server configuration on the VNet and the network interfaces. For private DNS, the platform offers a managed private DNS zone service that integrates with VNets. A support engineer must understand how to troubleshoot the linking of these zones to VNets and how to diagnose issues with record registration and resolution.

Understanding and Resolving VNet Peering Problems

As cloud environments grow, it is common to deploy resources into multiple different VNets for reasons of organization, subscription limits, or regional presence. VNet peering is the technology that allows you to seamlessly connect two VNets together, making them appear as a single, unified network for connectivity purposes. While powerful, VNet peering has its own set of potential configuration issues that are covered on the AZ-720 Exam. A common issue with VNet peering is an address space overlap. Two VNets cannot be peered if they have identical or overlapping IP address ranges. Another frequent problem is a misconfiguration of the peering settings themselves. For a peering to be active, it must be configured and initiated from both VNets involved. If the peering is only created on one side, it will not become active. A more complex troubleshooting scenario involves transitive routing. It is important to remember that VNet peering is not transitive. If VNet A is peered with VNet B, and VNet B is peered with VNet C, this does not mean that VNet A can automatically communicate with VNet C. To enable this, additional configuration, such as using a gateway transit option or deploying a network virtual appliance, is required. A support engineer must be able to diagnose these types of multi-VNet connectivity challenges.

Troubleshooting Network Address Translation (NAT)

Network Address Translation (NAT) is a technique used to modify the source or destination IP address of a packet as it passes through a routing device. In the cloud, NAT is used for several purposes, most commonly to allow virtual machines in a private VNet to access the internet. The platform provides a managed NAT gateway service for this purpose. The AZ-720 Exam includes scenarios related to troubleshooting this service. A common issue with NAT is source port exhaustion. When many virtual machines are making outbound connections through a single NAT gateway, they can use up all the available ephemeral ports on the gateway's public IP address. This can lead to intermittent outbound connectivity failures. A support engineer must know how to monitor the port usage on the NAT gateway and how to mitigate this issue, for example, by adding more public IP addresses to the gateway. NAT can also complicate troubleshooting because it obscures the original source IP address. When an external service sees traffic coming from a NAT gateway, it sees the public IP of the gateway, not the private IP of the individual virtual machine that initiated the connection. A support engineer must be able to use the cloud platform's diagnostic logs to correlate the outbound NAT connection with the internal source VM.

Analyzing Traffic Flow with Network Diagnostic Tools

The public cloud platform provides a rich suite of diagnostic tools, often bundled into a network visibility service, designed to help administrators and support engineers understand and troubleshoot traffic flow. The AZ-720 Exam requires a high degree of proficiency with these tools. One of the most powerful is a utility that allows you to verify the connectivity between a source and a destination. This IP flow verification tool allows you to specify a source VM, a destination IP address and port, and a protocol. The tool then simulates a packet being sent and tells you whether the connection would be allowed or denied, and importantly, which specific security rule or route is responsible for that decision. This is an incredibly powerful first step for diagnosing any connectivity problem, as it can immediately pinpoint a misconfigured network security group rule or user-defined route. Another key tool is a next-hop analyzer. This tool allows you to specify a source VM and a destination IP address, and it will tell you the next hop that the traffic will take on its path. This is invaluable for troubleshooting routing issues. It allows you to quickly verify that your user-defined routes are being applied correctly and that traffic is being sent to the intended network virtual appliance or gateway.

Resolving Private Link and Service Endpoint Issues

Many organizations need their virtual machines to communicate with the cloud provider's platform services, such as storage accounts or databases, without sending that traffic over the public internet. The platform provides two primary mechanisms for this: service endpoints and private links. The AZ-720 Exam covers troubleshooting connectivity to these services. Service endpoints work by extending a VNet's private address space to the platform service. This allows traffic to flow from the VNet to the service over the cloud provider's backbone network. A common troubleshooting issue is a misconfigured service endpoint policy on the subnet, or a firewall rule on the platform service itself that is not correctly configured to allow access from the VNet. Private links provide an even higher level of security by creating a private endpoint network interface directly within your VNet. This endpoint is assigned a private IP address from your VNet's address space, and all traffic to the platform service flows through this private endpoint. Troubleshooting private links often involves diagnosing DNS issues, as the DNS must be configured to resolve the public name of the service to the private IP address of the endpoint.

Tackling Core Networking Scenarios in the AZ-720 Exam

The core networking questions on the AZ-720 Exam are designed to test your ability to think logically and apply a systematic process of elimination. The scenarios will often provide you with the symptoms of a problem and the output of one or more diagnostic tools, and you will be asked to determine the root cause. To prepare, you must become an expert with the platform's diagnostic tools. In your lab, practice using the IP flow verify and next hop tools for a variety of different scenarios. Set up a VNet peering and then use the tools to see how traffic is routed between the peered networks. Create a user-defined route that creates a routing loop and observe the output of the diagnostic tools. It is also crucial to have a deep understanding of the order of operations for how the cloud platform processes network traffic. For example, you need to know that network security group rules are processed before the routing table. This knowledge is essential for correctly interpreting the results of your troubleshooting and for quickly narrowing down the potential causes of a problem. This deep, practical knowledge is the key to success on the AZ-720 Exam.

The Importance of Network Security Troubleshooting

In cloud networking, security is not a separate discipline; it is an integral part of the network fabric. A very large percentage of connectivity issues that a support engineer investigates are ultimately caused by a security control that is blocking the traffic. The AZ-720 Exam places a strong emphasis on the ability to troubleshoot these security-related problems. This requires a deep understanding of the various security services offered by the cloud platform. The primary challenge in security troubleshooting is that a "blocked" connection often looks just like a network failure: the application times out, and there may be no explicit "access denied" message. A support engineer must be able to differentiate between a true network path issue and a security rule that is intentionally dropping the traffic. This requires a methodical approach and proficiency with the platform's logging and diagnostic tools. A key principle is to understand the defense-in-depth model as it is applied in the cloud. Traffic to a virtual machine might have to pass through multiple layers of security controls, such as a web application firewall, a centralized cloud-native firewall, and a network security group. A connectivity problem could be caused by a misconfiguration at any one of these layers. The AZ-720 Exam will test a candidate's ability to systematically check each layer to find the source of the block.

Diagnosing Network Security Group (NSG) and Application Security Group (ASG) Issues

Network Security Groups, or NSGs, are the most fundamental network security control in the cloud platform. An NSG is a stateful, distributed firewall that contains a set of inbound and outbound security rules. These rules allow or deny network traffic to and from resources within a virtual network. An NSG can be associated with a network interface or a subnet. The AZ-720 Exam requires expert-level skills in troubleshooting NSGs. A common issue is a rule priority conflict. NSG rules are processed in order of priority, from the lowest number to the highest. If a "deny" rule with a low priority number is placed before an "allow" rule with a higher number, the allow rule will never be matched. Another frequent problem is forgetting to create rules for the return traffic, although NSGs are stateful, some specific protocols might require explicit outbound rules. Application Security Groups (ASGs) are a feature that simplifies the management of NSGs. An ASG allows you to group virtual machines with similar functions, such as web servers, and then create NSG rules that refer to the ASG as the source or destination. This is much easier than managing lists of individual IP addresses. Troubleshooting ASGs involves verifying that the correct VMs are members of the ASG and that the NSG rules that reference the ASG are correctly configured.

Troubleshooting the Cloud-Native Firewall Service

While NSGs provide distributed, basic firewalling, the cloud platform also offers a centralized, fully managed, cloud-native firewall service for more advanced security. This service provides features like threat intelligence-based filtering, application-level rule processing, and centralized logging and management. The AZ-720 Exam includes scenarios that require troubleshooting this powerful security service. Troubleshooting the cloud-native firewall involves a different process than for NSGs. Since all traffic is routed through the central firewall instance, the first step is to verify that the routing is configured correctly. A common mistake is a user-defined route that is not properly configured to force the desired traffic through the firewall. The next-hop diagnostic tool is essential for verifying this routing path. Once routing is confirmed, the next step is to analyze the firewall's own rule set and logs. The firewall service has its own distinct set of rules, which are processed in a specific order (network rules, then application rules). A support engineer must be familiar with this rule processing logic. The firewall also generates detailed logs for all allowed and denied traffic, which are the primary tool for determining which specific rule is affecting a given connection.

Analyzing Web Application Firewall (WAF) Problems

For applications that are exposed to the internet, such as a public website, an additional layer of security is needed to protect against web-specific attacks. This is the role of the Web Application Firewall, or WAF. The WAF is a specialized firewall that operates at the application layer and can inspect HTTP traffic to detect and block common attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting. The AZ-720 Exam covers troubleshooting the WAF service. A common challenge when troubleshooting a WAF is dealing with false positives. This occurs when the WAF incorrectly identifies a legitimate request as malicious and blocks it. This can cause parts of a web application to stop working correctly. A support engineer must be able to analyze the WAF logs to identify which rule was triggered by the legitimate traffic. Once the problematic rule is identified, the support engineer can work with the customer to tune the WAF policy. This might involve disabling a specific rule, creating a custom exclusion to bypass the rule for a specific part of the application, or switching the WAF from prevention mode to detection mode. In detection mode, the WAF will log the potential attack but will not block the traffic, which is a useful step in the tuning process.

Resolving Issues with Cloud-Based Load Balancers

Load balancers are a critical component of any highly available application architecture. They distribute incoming traffic across a pool of backend servers to ensure that no single server becomes overwhelmed. The cloud platform offers several different types of load balancing services, and the AZ-720 Exam requires a candidate to be able to troubleshoot them effectively. A fundamental component of a load balancer is the health probe. The load balancer periodically sends a health probe request to each backend server to verify that it is healthy and able to receive traffic. If a server fails to respond to the health probe, the load balancer will stop sending traffic to it. A very common cause of a server being "down" is a misconfigured health probe, or a network security group that is blocking the probe traffic. Another common issue is related to session persistence, or "stickiness." For some applications, it is important that all requests from a single user are sent to the same backend server. Load balancers provide settings to configure this behavior. If session persistence is not working correctly, it can cause application errors. A support engineer must be able to verify the load balancer's distribution mode and session persistence settings to diagnose these types of problems.

Troubleshooting Application Gateway Configurations

The platform's application gateway is a more advanced, application-layer load balancer that is specifically designed for web traffic. In addition to standard load balancing, it provides features like SSL termination and the integrated Web Application Firewall (WAF) discussed earlier. Troubleshooting the application gateway involves checking all the components of its configuration, a skill tested on the AZ-720 Exam. An application gateway has a multi-part configuration that includes listeners, rules, HTTP settings, and backend pools. A listener checks for incoming connection requests on a specific IP address, port, and protocol. A rule then maps the listener to a specific backend pool. The HTTP settings define the configuration for the connection to the backend servers. A problem in any one of these components can cause the application to be unavailable. For example, a common issue is an SSL certificate mismatch between the gateway and the backend servers, or an incorrect port specified in the HTTP settings. The application gateway provides detailed health diagnostics for its backend pools, which is the primary tool for troubleshooting. This health information will often provide a specific error message that points directly to the source of the problem, such as a certificate error or a failure to connect to the backend.

Diagnosing Traffic Manager and Front Door Service Issues

For applications that are deployed globally across multiple regions, the cloud platform provides global traffic management services. These services operate at the DNS level to direct users to the optimal application endpoint based on a chosen routing method, such as performance (lowest latency) or geographic location. The AZ-720 Exam covers troubleshooting these global load balancing solutions. The most common of these is a DNS-based traffic manager. When a user tries to access the application, their DNS query is directed to the traffic manager, which then returns the IP address of the best endpoint for that user. Troubleshooting this service often involves using DNS diagnostic tools to verify that the traffic manager is returning the correct IP address. Health probes are also critical; the traffic manager constantly monitors the health of each endpoint and will not direct users to an endpoint that is unhealthy. A more advanced global service, often called a front door, operates as a global reverse proxy. It provides a single, global entry point for web applications and can perform functions like SSL offloading and WAF at the network edge. Troubleshooting this service involves checking the routing rules that map incoming requests to the backend pools and verifying the health of the backend resources. The AZ-720 Exam will test a candidate's understanding of these different global traffic distribution mechanisms.

Preparing for Security and Load Balancing Questions on the AZ-720 Exam

The questions in this domain on the AZ-720 Exam will require you to think like an investigator. You will be given a set of symptoms and asked to determine the most likely cause, which could be an NSG, a firewall, a WAF, or a load balancer. The key to success is to develop a mental checklist for troubleshooting each of these components. For any blocked traffic scenario, your checklist should be: check the NSGs, check the user-defined routes to see if traffic is being sent to a firewall, check the firewall logs, and check the WAF logs if it is a web application. For any application availability issue, your checklist should be: check the load balancer's backend health status, verify the health probes, and check the listener and rule configurations. Lab practice is essential. Build a multi-tier web application in your lab environment. Secure it with NSGs, a cloud-native firewall, and an application gateway with a WAF. Then, introduce faults into the configuration. Block a port with an NSG, create a deny rule on the firewall, or misconfigure the load balancer's health probe. Then, practice using the platform's diagnostic tools to find the problem. This hands-on fault-finding is the best possible preparation for the AZ-720 Exam.

Leveraging the Platform's Network Visibility Service

The public cloud platform provides a powerful, integrated suite of tools for monitoring, diagnosing, and gaining insights into your network. This collection of tools, often referred to as a network visibility service, is the primary toolkit for a Cloud Connectivity Support Engineer. Mastery of this service is not just recommended for the AZ-720 Exam; it is an absolute requirement. This service provides the "eyes and ears" needed to see what is happening within the software-defined network. This visibility service is not a single tool but rather a collection of different capabilities that work together. It includes tools for topology visualization, connection monitoring, flow logging, packet capture, and various connectivity checks. A support engineer must know which tool to use for which specific problem. For example, to troubleshoot a routing issue, you would use a next-hop analysis tool, whereas to investigate a suspected security breach, you would use the flow logs and packet capture. The AZ-720 Exam will present scenarios and expect you to know the most appropriate tool to use to begin the investigation. The questions will often include the output from one of these tools and ask you to interpret it to determine the root cause of a problem. Therefore, deep familiarity with the functionality and the typical output of each component of the network visibility service is essential for success.

Using Packet Captures for In-Depth Analysis

For the most complex and elusive network problems, there is often no substitute for looking at the raw packets themselves. A packet capture, or pcap, is a file that contains a record of the actual data packets that have traversed a network interface. The cloud platform's network visibility service provides the ability to perform on-demand packet captures on virtual machine network interfaces. This is an incredibly powerful tool for deep-dive troubleshooting and a key skill for the AZ-720 Exam. A support engineer might use a packet capture to diagnose a wide range of issues. For example, if an application is experiencing intermittent connection resets, a packet capture can be used to see if TCP reset flags are being sent and to identify the source. If there is a suspected DNS problem, a packet capture can be used to see the exact DNS queries and responses. The packet capture feature on the cloud platform is flexible, allowing you to specify filters to capture only the traffic you are interested in. The captured data can then be downloaded and analyzed using standard tools like Wireshark. While the AZ-720 Exam will not require you to be a world-class Wireshark expert, it will expect you to know when a packet capture is the appropriate next step in a troubleshooting process and what kind of information you can expect to find in it.

Analyzing Network Logs and Metrics

The cloud platform generates a vast amount of log and metric data about the health and performance of its networking services. A key skill for a support engineer, and a topic covered on the AZ-720 Exam, is the ability to effectively query and analyze this data. The platform provides a centralized monitoring service that collects and stores this telemetry. One of the most important data sources is the flow logs for network security groups. These logs provide a detailed record of every single connection that is allowed or denied by an NSG rule. When troubleshooting a blocked connection, the NSG flow logs are the definitive source of truth. By querying these logs, you can see the source and destination IP addresses, the port, the protocol, and which specific rule was responsible for the decision. In addition to logs, the platform provides a wide range of performance metrics for its networking resources. For example, you can monitor the CPU utilization and throughput of a VPN gateway, the number of connections to a load balancer, or the packet drop rate on a network interface. Analyzing these metrics is crucial for identifying performance bottlenecks and for proactive monitoring of the network's health. The AZ-720 Exam requires familiarity with these key metrics.

Troubleshooting with Connection and Flow Monitors

While tools like packet capture and flow logs provide a point-in-time or historical view, the network visibility service also includes tools for continuous, real-time monitoring of connectivity. One such tool is a connection monitor. This allows you to set up tests that continuously check the connectivity and latency between two endpoints, such as between two virtual machines or between a VM and an on-premises server. The connection monitor can alert you if connectivity is lost or if the latency exceeds a predefined threshold. It also provides a historical view of the connection's performance, which is invaluable for troubleshooting intermittent problems. It can even provide a topology view that shows the network path between the two endpoints and can help to identify the specific hop where a problem is occurring. Another powerful feature is a traffic analytics tool that builds on top of the NSG flow logs. This tool ingests the raw flow log data and processes it to provide a rich, graphical visualization of the traffic flows within your virtual network. It can show you which virtual machines are talking to each other, which protocols are being used, and which traffic is being blocked. This provides a high-level, intuitive view that can often reveal unexpected or malicious traffic patterns. The AZ-720 Exam will test your understanding of these advanced monitoring tools.

Validating Connectivity with IP Flow Verify

As introduced in Part 2, the IP flow verify tool is one of the most important "first step" diagnostic tools for a support engineer. The AZ-720 Exam will almost certainly include questions that either require you to know how to use this tool or to interpret its output. This tool provides a quick and definitive answer to the question: "Is traffic allowed between this source and this destination?" The power of the IP flow verify tool lies in its simplicity and its clarity. You input the source and destination IP and port, the protocol, and the network interface, and it immediately tells you if the traffic would be allowed or denied. Crucially, if the traffic is denied, it tells you the exact name of the network security group and the specific security rule that is causing the block. This allows a support engineer to bypass a significant amount of manual troubleshooting. Instead of having to manually check all the NSGs that might be in the path, this tool does the analysis for you. It is the fastest way to confirm or rule out an NSG problem as the cause of a connectivity issue. Proficiency with this tool is a non-negotiable skill for anyone preparing for the AZ-720 Exam.

Diagnosing Issues with Next Hop Analysis

Just as the IP flow verify tool is the go-to utility for checking security rules, the next hop analysis tool is the primary utility for troubleshooting routing issues. The AZ-720 Exam will expect you to be an expert in using this tool to diagnose problems with both system routes and user-defined routes (UDRs). This tool answers the simple but critical question: "Given a destination, where will the platform send the packet next?" To use the tool, you specify a source virtual machine and a destination IP address. The tool then consults the effective route table for that VM's network interface and tells you the type of the next hop and its IP address. The next hop type could be a virtual network gateway, the internet, a network virtual appliance, or another VNet in a peered relationship. This tool is invaluable for troubleshooting UDRs. For example, if you have configured a UDR to force all internet-bound traffic through a cloud-native firewall, you can use the next hop tool to verify that the next hop for an internet destination is indeed the firewall's IP address. If it shows the next hop as "Internet," you know that your UDR is not being applied correctly. This ability to quickly validate routing behavior is a key skill for the AZ-720 Exam.

Correlating Data from Multiple Monitoring Tools

An experienced support engineer knows that the answer to a complex problem is rarely found in a single tool. The true power of the platform's diagnostic capabilities comes from the ability to correlate information from multiple different sources. The AZ-720 Exam will present complex scenarios where you need to synthesize data from several tools to arrive at the correct conclusion. For example, a customer might report an intermittent application timeout. You might start by looking at the performance metrics for the virtual machine and the load balancer and see a spike in CPU usage that correlates with the timeouts. You could then use the NSG flow logs to see if there was a corresponding spike in traffic from a particular source. Finally, you might run a packet capture during the next event to analyze the application-level traffic. This ability to pivot from one tool to another, using the findings from one to inform the investigation with the next, is the hallmark of an expert troubleshooter. It requires a deep understanding of what each tool does and the type of information it can provide. The scenarios on the AZ-720 Exam are designed to test this exact skill.

Mastering Diagnostic Tools for the AZ-720 Exam

The best and only way to prepare for the diagnostic tools portion of the AZ-720 Exam is through relentless, hands-on practice. Reading about the tools is not enough; you must use them until their operation becomes second nature. In your lab environment, you should make a point of using the diagnostic tools as your primary method of investigation for every problem you troubleshoot. For every lab exercise, start by using IP flow verify and next hop to validate the expected security and routing behavior. When you set up a load balancer, use the connection monitor to track its health. When you configure a VPN, use the platform's monitoring service to view the gateway's logs and metrics. Make these tools an integral part of your workflow. You should also practice interpreting the output of these tools. Take screenshots of the output for both working and non-working scenarios so you can learn to recognize the difference. Pay close attention to the specific format and the key pieces of information in the output of each command and tool. This deep, practical familiarity is what will allow you to quickly and accurately answer the diagnostic questions on the AZ-720 Exam.

Conclusion

Earning the AZ-720 certification is a significant professional achievement that validates your expertise in a highly specialized and in-demand field. It opens up career opportunities as a senior support engineer, an escalation engineer, or a subject matter expert in cloud networking. This credential is a clear signal to employers that you have the proven skills to handle the most complex connectivity issues in their cloud environment. This role is not just about fixing problems; it is about enabling the business. By ensuring that the network is reliable and performant, you are playing a direct role in the success of every application and service that runs on the cloud. It is a challenging but incredibly rewarding career path for those who love technology and enjoy solving complex puzzles. The journey to passing the AZ-720 Exam will equip you with a skill set that is at the forefront of the IT industry. As more and more companies move their critical workloads to the cloud, the demand for experts who can support and troubleshoot these complex environments will only continue to grow. This certification is a powerful investment in your long-term career in the exciting world of cloud computing.

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