Explain cloud computing
Describe the shared responsibility model, public, private and hybrid clouds, and when IaaS, PaaS or SaaS fits.
Partners and press
Overview
Cloud is a word everyone uses. This exam tests whether you know what it means.
AZ-900 is a Fundamentals exam for technology professionals who want to show foundational cloud and Azure knowledge. Architecture and services is the largest area, 35–40%, and cost, governance and management tools take 30–35%. The exam runs 45 minutes, proctored, and the credential does not expire.
11Modules
45Minutes
3Skills
8Roles
What it tests
Learn all the way down.
Learn all the way down.
Perform when it matters.
Describe how Azure is built
Explain regions, availability zones, resource groups, compute, networking and storage options.
Describe identity and security
Explain Microsoft Entra ID, authentication methods, external identities and Conditional Access.
Describe cost and governance
Explain what drives cost, then Azure Policy, locks, Azure Arc, infrastructure as code and monitoring tools.
Course outline
From the idea of the cloud
From the idea of the cloud
to an Azure environment you understand.
We design this course ourselves. Microsoft runs the exam and issues the credential, and LUNARTECH is independent of Microsoft.
Start with what changes when you rent computing instead of owning it. You learn the benefits and trade-offs of the cloud, from elasticity and reliability to the move from capital to operating costs.
- Owning against renting infrastructure
- Capital and operating expenditure
- Scalability, elasticity and agility
- High availability and fault tolerance
- Security, governance and manageability in the cloud
- The consumption-based model
You build A short comparison of running one workload on-premises and in the cloud, with the trade-offs.
Who looks after what is the first question in any cloud design. You learn the shared responsibility model, tell public, private and hybrid clouds apart, and choose between infrastructure, platform and software as a service.
- The shared responsibility model
- Public, private and hybrid clouds
- Infrastructure as a service
- Platform as a service and serverless
- Software as a service
- Choosing a service type for a need
You build A responsibility chart that shows who manages what in an IaaS, a PaaS and a SaaS example.
Azure’s layout decides where your data lives and how it survives a failure. You learn regions and availability zones, then how subscriptions, management groups and resource groups organize what you create.
- Regions and region pairs
- Availability zones and datacenters
- Subscriptions and management groups
- Resource groups and Azure Resource Manager
- Choosing a region for a workload
You build A resource hierarchy for a small company, with its subscriptions, groups and regions.
Azure offers several ways to run code, each with its own trade-offs. You compare virtual machines, scale sets, containers, App Service and Functions, and learn what each leaves for you to manage.
- Virtual machines and scale sets
- Availability sets and zones for virtual machines
- Containers and Azure Kubernetes Service
- App Service and Azure Functions
- Azure Virtual Desktop
- Choosing a compute option
You build A short guide that recommends a compute option for four different workloads.
Resources are only useful if the right things can reach them. You learn virtual networks and subnets, ways to connect to Azure from outside, and how DNS and endpoints control access.
- Virtual networks and subnets
- Peering virtual networks together
- VPN gateway and ExpressRoute
- Public and private endpoints
- DNS in Azure
You build A network sketch connecting two virtual networks and an office to Azure.
Data has many shapes, and Azure has a home for each. You learn the storage account services, access tiers and redundancy options, and the tools that move data into Azure.
- Blob, file, queue and table storage
- Access tiers for hot and cold data
- Redundancy options and what each survives
- Moving data with AzCopy, Storage Explorer and Data Box
- Database services at a glance
You build A storage plan for a sample company that picks a service, tier and redundancy for each data set.
Who can do what is at the center of cloud security. You learn Microsoft Entra ID, authentication methods and Conditional Access, then role-based access, Zero Trust and defense in depth.
- Microsoft Entra ID and directories
- Authentication methods, single sign-on and multifactor
- External identities for partners and customers
- Conditional Access
- Azure role-based access control
- Zero Trust, defense in depth and Defender for Cloud
You build An access plan that assigns roles and sign-in rules to three kinds of users.
Cloud bills can surprise those who do not look. You learn what drives cost, estimate a workload with the pricing calculator, and use tags, budgets and Cost Management to keep spending visible.
- What affects the cost of Azure resources
- Estimating with the pricing calculator
- Reservations and other ways to save
- Tags for tracking spend
- Cost Management, budgets and alerts
You build A cost estimate for a sample workload, with a budget and the tags used to track it.
Freedom to create resources needs rules to keep them in order. You use Azure Policy and resource locks to set standards, learn where compliance information lives, and see what Purview adds.
- Azure Policy and how it evaluates resources
- Resource locks
- The Service Trust Portal and compliance documents
- Microsoft Purview for data governance
- Applying standards across subscriptions
You build A short governance plan with two policies and a lock for a sample environment.
You can manage Azure in a browser, from a shell or from code. You compare the portal, Cloud Shell, the command line and infrastructure as code, extend management with Azure Arc, and watch resources with Azure Monitor.
- The portal, Cloud Shell and command-line tools
- Infrastructure as code with templates and Bicep
- Azure Arc for resources outside Azure
- Azure Monitor, alerts and Log Analytics
- Azure Advisor and Service Health
You build A small environment created from a template, with a metric alert watching it.
One design joins the course. You take a simple business need and choose its cloud model, regions, compute, network, storage, identity, cost controls and governance, then explain why.
- Reading the business need
- Choosing a model, region and compute
- Designing network, storage and identity
- Adding cost and governance controls
- Explaining the design to a non-technical sponsor
You build A one-page Azure solution design for a small business, with each choice explained.
Issued by
Certifying body · Independent of LUNARTECH
Microsoft
Microsoft publishes its exam outlines and runs its certification program through Microsoft Learn. Exams are delivered through Pearson VUE, and Associate, Expert and Specialty credentials renew each year through a free, unproctored online assessment. LUNARTECH is independent of Microsoft.
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Here’s how you get there.
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Microsoft expects skills and experience in an area of IT, such as infrastructure management, database management or software development.
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AZ-900 course
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Pricing
This course comes with the membership.
This course comes with the membership.
So does everything else.
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In practice
Eight roles.
Eight roles.
One credential across them all.
No single job owns it. Here’s where each role leans hardest, and where its work ends up.
- 01Cloud concepts
- 02Architecture
- 03Governance
-
Regions and zones decide how a service fails. Know them before you design anything.
Architecture, Governance
Enterprise IT, Software companies
-
Pick IaaS, PaaS or SaaS before you pick a product. The shared responsibility model sets who patches what.
Cloud concepts, Architecture
Consulting, Public sector
-
Customers ask what the bill depends on. Cost drivers and the pricing calculator answer it.
Cloud concepts, Governance
Sales and pre-sales, Consulting
-
Know where your code can run. App hosting and storage choices shape the design.
Architecture
Software companies
-
Cloud decisions reach budgets, contracts and risk. A shared vocabulary makes those talks shorter.
Cloud concepts, Governance
Enterprise IT, Public sector
-
Cost models and service tiers appear in every cloud project. You can follow the talk and ask better questions.
Cloud concepts, Governance
Consulting, Enterprise IT
-
Cloud projects use regions, resources and shared responsibility. Knowing them keeps your plan and timeline honest.
Cloud concepts, Architecture
Enterprise IT, Consulting
-
Governance and compliance tools sit inside Azure. You learn where they live before you configure them.
Governance
Enterprise IT, Public sector
- Enterprise IT
- Software companies
- Consulting
- Sales and pre-sales
- Public sector
Cloud Engineer
Regions and zones decide how a service fails. Know them before you design anything.
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Updated November 2026.
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No. We design this course ourselves, around what the exam covers. Microsoft has no part in it, and you still register and book the exam directly with Microsoft.
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Microsoft expects skills and experience in an area of IT, such as infrastructure management, database management or software development.
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We last reviewed it on 5 November 2026, from Microsoft’s own pages. Details change, so check the official page before you book.
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The course
Build the skills behind AZ-900.
Show you know what the cloud is and how Azure works. Start with a free trial, or enroll in a plan and work through the course at your own pace. Microsoft runs the exam and issues the credential.
LUNARTECH is independent of the vendors and certifying bodies listed here. Their names, exam titles and marks belong to them, exams are run by them, and credentials are issued by them. Reviewed 5 November 2026. Catalogues change often, so confirm the details on the official page before you book.
