> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://notes.kodekloud.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Certification Details
> Overview of AZ-104 exam objectives and key study topics for managing Azure identities, governance, storage, compute, networking, monitoring, backups, and troubleshooting
This lesson summarizes the AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator exam objectives and shows the core topics to study. The AZ-104 tests skills required to manage Azure identities, governance, storage, compute, networking, and monitoring.
There are five main domains in the exam:
* Manage identities and governance
* Implement and manage storage
* Deploy and manage Azure compute resources
* Implement and maintain virtual networking
* Monitor and maintain Azure resources
Below is a quick overview followed by a deeper look at each domain and recommended topics to study.
Summary table of domains and focus areas
| Domain | Exam weight | Core topics to study |
| ----------------------------------------- | ----------: | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Manage identities and governance | 20–25% | Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), RBAC, policies, subscriptions, management groups, ARM templates, CLI/PowerShell resource management |
| Implement and manage storage | 15–20% | Storage account types, replication, access control, blob/files/queues/tables, lifecycle management |
| Deploy and manage compute resources | 20–25% | Azure VMs (provisioning, sizing, extensions), PaaS compute (App Service, Container Instances, Container Apps), basic container concepts |
| Implement and maintain virtual networking | 15–20% | vNets, subnets, NSGs, peering, VPN Gateway, load balancers, UDRs, routing |
| Monitor and maintain resources | 10–15% | Azure Backup, Site Recovery, Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, diagnostic settings, alerts and metrics |
Manage Azure Identities and Governance (20–25%)
This domain tests identity management, governance, and resource administration. Key study items:
* Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD): users, groups, service principals, managed identities.
* Authentication and conditional access basics.
* Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): built-in & custom roles, assignments and effective permissions.
* Governance constructs: management groups, subscriptions, resource groups, Azure Policy (definition/assignment).
* Resource deployment and automation: ARM templates, Bicep (if applicable), Azure CLI, and Azure PowerShell for provisioning and role assignments.
* Troubleshooting identity and access issues.
Implement and Manage Storage (15–20%)
Focus on managing Azure Storage services:
* Storage account types and tiers (Standard/Premium, hot/cool/archive).
* Data replication options (LRS, GRS, RA-GRS, ZRS) and choosing based on availability and recovery needs.
* Access control: shared keys, SAS tokens, Azure AD integration.
* Data management: lifecycle policies, soft delete, immutable blobs, file shares.
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Resources (20–25%)
Understand compute options and administration:
* Virtual Machines: deployment, sizes, extensions (e.g., custom script, VM Agent), managed disks, availability sets/zones, backups and updates.
* PaaS compute: App Service plans and app deployment, Azure Container Instances, Container Apps and how they differ from AKS.
* Containers and orchestration: basic container concepts and when to choose PaaS vs container services.
Note: Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is a deeper, specialized topic. It is useful to understand at a high level but is not a primary focus of the AZ-104 objectives. For a dedicated AKS course, see the linked resource below.
Implement and Maintain Virtual Networking (15–20%)
This domain covers network design, connectivity, and traffic management:
* Virtual networks, subnets, and network security groups (NSGs).
* Private connectivity: Virtual Network Peering and VPN Gateway for inter-site connectivity.
* Traffic management: Azure Load Balancer, Application Gateway (high level), route tables, and user-defined routes (UDRs).
* Network troubleshooting basics and service endpoints/private endpoints.
Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources (10–15%)
This domain focuses on monitoring, backup, and recovery:
* Azure Backup: backup policies, recovery points, and restore operations.
* Azure Site Recovery (ASR) basics for disaster recovery scenarios.
* Azure Monitor: collecting metrics, logs, and configuring diagnostic settings.
* Log Analytics and Kusto Query Language (KQL) basics for querying logs.
* Setting up alerts (metric and log alerts) and automated actions.
Service name changes and official resources
* Microsoft Entra ID is the new name for Azure AD. This is a rebranding; functionality remains consistent, though some product pages and learning content may reference the new name.
* Always verify current exam objectives and platform terminology on official Microsoft pages.
For up-to-date exam objectives and guided learning paths, rely on official sources such as Microsoft Learn and the Azure documentation. Combine hands-on practice (deploying VMs, setting up RBAC, configuring networks, and using Azure Monitor) with study modules to reinforce practical skills.
Links and references
* [Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/learn/) — official learning paths and modules for AZ-104.
* [Azure documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/) — product docs, how-tos, and architecture guidance.
* [Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) course example](https://learn.kodekloud.com/user/courses/azure-kubernetes-service) — additional AKS-focused content if you want to dive deeper into container orchestration.