AZ-204 Study Guide

Exam Quick Facts

Study Resources

Skills at a Glance

Who is this exam for?

This is a Microsoft Azure certification exam. It tests your practical knowledge of Azure services and your ability to implement, manage, and design solutions on the Azure platform. This is an associate-level exam that expects hands-on experience. You should have practical knowledge of the technologies covered.

This exam is retiring on 2026-07-31. The replacement exam is New Azure AI-enabled developer certs. If you’re planning to take this exam, schedule it before the retirement date.

Skills Measured

Develop Azure compute solutions (25–30%)

This domain covers compute resources — the services that run your workloads. You need to know how to deploy, configure, and manage various compute options.

Implement containerized solutions

• Create and manage container images for solutions
• Publish an image to Azure Container Registry
• Run containers by using Azure Container Instances
• Create solutions by using Azure Container Apps

Implement Azure App Service Web Apps

• Create an Azure App Service Web App
• Configure and implement diagnostics and logging
• Deploy code and containerized solutions
• Configure settings including Transport Layer Security (TLS), API settings, and service connections
• Implement autoscaling
• Configure deployment slots

Implement Azure Functions

• Create and configure an Azure Functions app
• Implement input and output bindings
• Implement function triggers by using data operations, timers, and webhooks

Develop for Azure storage (15–20%)

This domain covers data storage solutions. You need to understand the different storage options, when to use each, and how to configure them for performance, security, and cost.

Develop solutions that use Azure Cosmos DB

• Perform operations on containers and items by using the SDK
• Set the appropriate consistency level for operations
• Implement change feed notifications

Develop solutions that use Azure Blob Storage

• Set and retrieve properties and metadata
• Perform operations on data by using the appropriate SDK
• Implement storage policies and data lifecycle management

Implement Azure security (15–20%)

This domain covers security features and capabilities. You need to understand how to implement and manage security controls to protect the environment.

Implement user authentication and authorization

• Authenticate and authorize users by using the Microsoft Identity platform
• Authenticate and authorize users and apps by using Microsoft Entra ID
• Create and implement shared access signatures
• Implement solutions that interact with Microsoft Graph

Implement secure Azure solutions

• Secure app configuration data by using Azure App Configuration or Azure Key Vault
• Develop code that uses keys, secrets, and certificates stored in Azure Key Vault
• Implement Managed Identities for Azure resources

Monitor and troubleshoot Azure solutions (5–10%)

This domain covers monitoring and maintenance. You need to know how to use monitoring tools, configure alerts, and implement backup and recovery solutions.

Monitor and troubleshoot solutions by using Azure Monitor Application Insights

• Monitor and analyze metrics, logs, and traces
• Implement availability tests and alerts
• Instrument an app or service to use Application Insights

Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services (20–25%)

This domain covers the skills needed to work with the topics described below. Study each objective carefully and use the linked resources to deepen your understanding.

Implement Azure API Management

• Create an Azure API Management instance
• Create and document APIs
• Configure access to APIs
• Implement policies for APIs

Develop event-based solutions

• Implement solutions that use Azure Event Grid
• Implement solutions that use Azure Event Hubs

Develop message-based solutions

• Implement solutions that use Azure Service Bus
• Implement solutions that use Azure Queue Storage

What to Study Next

Based on this exam, here are related certifications to consider:

• AZ-400: Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions — Expert
• AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions — Expert
• AI-102: Designing and Implementing a Microsoft Azure AI Solution — Associate ⚠️ Retiring

Quick Links

• Official Exam Page
• Microsoft Study Guide
• Practice Assessment