Skip to content

Azure-Certification-Cheat-Sheet.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
332 lines (223 loc) · 8.52 KB

Azure-Certification-Cheat-Sheet.md

File metadata and controls

332 lines (223 loc) · 8.52 KB

Azure Certification Cheat Sheet

Last updated: June 2025

More cheatsheets: Cloudoku Training Cheatsheets

Table of Contents

1. Compute Services

Azure Virtual Machines (VM)

  • Purpose: Scalable, on-demand Windows/Linux VMs.
  • VM Series: General Purpose (B, D), Compute Optimized (F), Memory Optimized (E, M), Storage Optimized (L), GPU (NC, NV)
  • Pricing Models: Pay-as-you-go, Reserved, Spot VMs, Dedicated Hosts
  • Key Features: Auto-scaling, Availability Sets/Zones, Managed Disks, VM Scale Sets
  • Example (CLI): 
    az vm create --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyVM --image UbuntuLTS --generate-ssh-keys
  • Exam Tip: Know VM sizes, pricing, and high-availability options.

Azure App Service

  • Purpose: PaaS for hosting web apps, APIs, and mobile backends.
  • Supported Stacks: .NET, Node.js, Java, Python, PHP, Ruby, Docker
  • Features: Auto-scaling, deployment slots, custom domains, SSL, CI/CD integration

Azure Functions

  • Purpose: Serverless compute to run event-driven code.
  • Triggers: HTTP, Timer, Blob, Queue, Event Grid, Event Hub, Service Bus
  • Example (CLI): 
    az functionapp create --resource-group MyResourceGroup --consumption-plan-location westus --runtime python --functions-version 4 --name MyFunctionApp --storage-account mystorageacct
  • Exam Tip: Billing is per execution and resource consumption.

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

  • Purpose: Fully managed Kubernetes clusters.
  • Features: Integrated monitoring, scaling, Azure AD integration, Windows/Linux nodes
  • Use Cases: Microservices, containerized workloads

Azure Batch

  • Purpose: Managed batch and parallel computing workloads.

2. Storage Services

Azure Blob Storage

  • Purpose: Object storage for unstructured data.
  • Tiers: Hot, Cool, Archive
  • Features: Lifecycle management, versioning, encryption, soft delete
  • Example (CLI): 
    az storage blob upload --account-name mystorageacct --container-name mycontainer --name file.txt --file ./file.txt
  • Exam Tip: Know when to use each access tier.

Azure Disk Storage

  • Purpose: Persistent block storage for VMs.
  • Types: Standard HDD/SSD, Premium SSD, Ultra Disk

Azure Files

  • Purpose: Fully managed file shares accessible via SMB/NFS.

Azure Data Lake Storage

  • Purpose: Scalable storage for big data analytics.

Azure Storage Account

  • Purpose: Unified management for Blob, File, Queue, Table storage.

3. Database Services

Azure SQL Database

  • Purpose: Managed relational SQL database (PaaS).
  • Features: Scaling, geo-replication, automated backups, threat detection

Azure Cosmos DB

  • Purpose: Globally distributed NoSQL database (multi-model).
  • APIs: SQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin, Table
  • Features: Multi-region writes, automatic failover, low-latency

Azure Database for MySQL/PostgreSQL/MariaDB

  • Purpose: Managed open-source relational databases.
  • Features: High availability, automated patching/backups

Azure Cache for Redis

  • Purpose: In-memory cache for high throughput/low-latency data

Azure Database Migration Service

  • Purpose: Migrate databases to Azure with minimal downtime

4. Networking & Content Delivery

Azure Virtual Network (VNet)

  • Purpose: Provision private networks, subnets, route tables, gateways
  • Features: Network Security Groups (NSG), VNet Peering, Service Endpoints

Azure Load Balancer

  • Types: Public, Internal
  • Features: Layer 4 (TCP, UDP) load balancing

Azure Application Gateway

  • Purpose: Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) load balancer with WAF

Azure DNS

  • Purpose: Host DNS domains, manage DNS records

Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN)

  • Purpose: Global caching for low-latency content delivery

Azure ExpressRoute

  • Purpose: Dedicated private network connection to Azure

5. Security, Identity & Compliance

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)

  • Purpose: Identity and access management (IAM)
  • Features: SSO, MFA, Conditional Access, B2B/B2C

Azure Key Vault

  • Purpose: Secure storage for secrets, keys, certificates

Azure Security Center (Defender for Cloud)

  • Purpose: Posture management, threat protection, security recommendations

Azure Policy

  • Purpose: Governance and compliance for resources

Azure DDoS Protection & Firewall

  • Purpose: Protect against DDoS attacks and manage network traffic

6. Analytics & Machine Learning

Azure Synapse Analytics

  • Purpose: Big data analytics, data warehousing, and integration

Azure Data Factory

  • Purpose: Data integration, ETL, and orchestration

Azure Databricks

  • Purpose: Apache Spark-based analytics platform

Azure Machine Learning

  • Purpose: Build, train, and deploy ML models at scale

Azure Cognitive Services

  • Purpose: Prebuilt AI for vision, speech, language, decision

7. Developer Tools & Management

Azure Resource Manager (ARM) Templates

  • Purpose: Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for resource deployment
  • Example: 
    {
  "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
  "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
  "resources": [
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
      "apiVersion": "2021-02-01",
      "name": "mystorageacct",
      "location": "eastus",
      "sku": { "name": "Standard_LRS" },
      "kind": "StorageV2",
      "properties": {}
    }
  ]
}

Azure Monitor

  • Purpose: Monitor metrics, logs, set alerts, visual dashboards

Azure DevOps Services

  • Purpose: CI/CD pipelines, repos, boards, artifacts

Azure Automation

  • Purpose: Automate tasks, patch management, update management

8. Migration & Hybrid Cloud

Azure Migrate

  • Purpose: Discover, assess, and migrate on-premises workloads

Azure Site Recovery

  • Purpose: Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS)

Azure Arc

  • Purpose: Manage on-premises and multi-cloud resources from Azure

9. Application Integration

Azure Logic Apps

  • Purpose: Automate workflows and integrate apps/data

Azure Service Bus

  • Purpose: Reliable cloud messaging (queues/topics)

Azure Event Grid

  • Purpose: Event routing for serverless architectures

Azure Event Hubs

  • Purpose: Big data streaming platform and event ingestion

10. Cost Management & Optimization

  • Azure Cost Management + Billing: Analyze and optimize cloud spend
  • Azure Advisor: Personalized cloud best practices and recommendations
  • Azure Reservations: Pre-pay for resources to save costs
  • Azure Pricing Calculator: Estimate costs before deployment

11. Best Practices and Tips

  • Use resource tagging for management and cost allocation
  • Apply least privilege and enable MFA
  • Automate backups and disaster recovery
  • Monitor with Azure Monitor and set alerts
  • Leverage auto-scaling for performance/cost balance

12. Preparing for Azure Certifications

  • Build a study plan, get hands-on with the Azure Portal and CLI, use sandbox/labs
  • Take Cloudoku’s practice exams and cheatsheets
  • Review Microsoft Learn modules, whitepapers, and practice exams

Good luck on your Azure certification journey!