Azure Administrator Associate Study Guide (2026) - Pass on Your First Attempt
📋 2026 Edition  ·  Updated May 2026

Azure Administrator Associate
azure-admin-az-104 Study Guide — Pass First Attempt

Complete exam coverage for the Azure Administrator Associate. Every domain, every key topic — structured so you study smart, not hard. Built around the official exam blueprint.

40
Questions
120 min
Duration
70
Passing score
5
Domains
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92%
First-attempt pass rate
47K+
Candidates prepared
4.9★
Average rating
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Overall readiness (locked)
Manage Azure Identities and Governance
—
Implement and Manage Storage
—
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Resources
—
Implement and Manage Virtual Networking
—
Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources
—
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Exam at a Glance

Everything you need to know before you start

Key facts about the Azure Administrator Associate exam structure, format, and scoring.

🆔
azure-admin-az-104
Exam code
📝
40 questions
Total questions
⏱
120 minutes
Duration
🎯
70
Passing score
📋
5 domains
Exam domains
📅
Valid 3 years
Certification validity
🌐
Online / In-person
Testing mode
🏆
Globally recognised
Credential type
ℹ️
Scoring method: Scaled scoring (1-1000). A score of 700 or greater is required to pass. Exam updated April 18, 2025, to include Microsoft Entra ID rebranding and Azure Container Apps. Annual renewal required.. The exam may include unscored pilot questions — treat every question seriously.
Focus Areas

What should you study for the Azure Administrator Associate exam?

To pass the Azure Administrator Associate certification exam, you should focus on these core domains. The exam tests your ability to apply concepts in real-world scenarios — not just memorise definitions.

⚠️
Common mistake: Candidates memorise terminology but struggle with scenario-based questions. Focus on when to use what, not just what exists.
🔐
Manage Azure Identities and Governance (23%)
Covers Microsoft Entra ID user/group management, RBAC, Azure Policy, resource locks, tags, subscriptions, and management groups.
🏗
Implement and Manage Storage (18%)
Covers Azure storage account configuration, access control, redundancy, Azure Files, and Blob Storage management.
⚡
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Resources (23%)
Covers Azure virtual machines, ARM templates, Bicep, Azure Container Instances, Container Apps, and Azure App Service.
💰
Implement and Manage Virtual Networking (18%)
Covers Azure VNets, subnets, NSGs, routing, load balancing, VPN, ExpressRoute, DNS, and network monitoring.
🔄
Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources (13%)
Covers Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, alerts, Azure Backup, Azure Site Recovery, and update management.
Full Syllabus

Azure Administrator Associate Exam Syllabus and Topics

The Azure Administrator Associate exam is divided into 5 domains. Each domain tests specific skills and contributes to your overall score. Click any domain to expand topics.

Manage Azure Identities and Governance
Covers Microsoft Entra ID user/group management, RBAC, Azure Policy, resource locks, tags, subscriptions, and management groups.
23% ▼
Microsoft Entra ID
Creating and managing users and groups
User and group properties and licenses
External users and guest access (B2B)
Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) configuration
Access Management
Built-in Azure RBAC roles and role assignments
Custom role definitions
Assigning roles at subscription, resource group, and resource scope
Interpreting access assignments and effective permissions
Subscriptions and Governance
Azure Policy: definitions, assignments, and remediation
Resource locks: CanNotDelete and ReadOnly
Tagging resources and enforcing tag policies
Resource groups and resource organization
Management groups and hierarchy design
Azure Advisor recommendations and cost alerts
~9 questions
230 marks
23% of exam weight
Implement and Manage Storage
Covers Azure storage account configuration, access control, redundancy, Azure Files, and Blob Storage management.
18% ▼
Storage Account Setup
Creating and configuring storage accounts
Azure Storage redundancy: LRS, ZRS, GRS, GZRS, RA-GRS
Storage account kinds: General Purpose v2, BlobStorage, FileStorage
Object replication and lifecycle management
Storage Access Control
Storage firewalls and virtual network rules
Shared Access Signatures (SAS): service, account, user delegation
Stored access policies
Access keys and key rotation
Identity-based access for Azure Files with Entra ID
File Shares and Blob Storage
Azure Files: share creation, mounting, and SMB/NFS protocols
Blob container access tiers: Hot, Cool, Cold, Archive
Soft delete for blobs and containers
Blob versioning and snapshots
Lifecycle management rules
AzCopy and Azure Storage Explorer for data transfer
~7 questions
180 marks
18% of exam weight
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Resources
Covers Azure virtual machines, ARM templates, Bicep, Azure Container Instances, Container Apps, and Azure App Service.
23% ▼
VM Deployment and Configuration
Creating virtual machines in the portal, CLI, and PowerShell
VM sizes and availability sets vs availability zones
Azure Disk Encryption and managed disk types
VM Scale Sets (VMSS) and autoscaling
Moving VMs across resource groups, subscriptions, and regions
ARM Templates and Bicep
ARM template structure: parameters, variables, resources, outputs
Bicep file syntax and Bicep vs ARM comparison
Deploying templates via CLI and portal
Exporting existing resources as ARM templates
Converting ARM templates to Bicep
Azure Container Services
Azure Container Registry (ACR): creating and managing registries
Azure Container Instances (ACI) for serverless containers
Azure Container Apps for microservices
Container sizing and scaling
Azure App Service
App Service Plan tiers and scaling
Deployment slots and slot swapping
Custom domain mapping and TLS/SSL certificates
App Service networking: VNet integration, private endpoints
Backup and restore for App Service
~9 questions
230 marks
23% of exam weight
Implement and Manage Virtual Networking
Covers Azure VNets, subnets, NSGs, routing, load balancing, VPN, ExpressRoute, DNS, and network monitoring.
18% ▼
VNet Configuration
VNet and subnet creation and address space planning
VNet peering: regional and global
Service endpoints and private endpoints
User Defined Routes (UDR) and route tables
Network Security
Network Security Groups (NSG): inbound and outbound rules
Application Security Groups (ASG) for simplified management
Azure Firewall and Azure DDoS Protection
NSG flow logs and network watcher
Load Balancers and DNS
Azure Load Balancer (L4) vs Application Gateway (L7)
Azure DNS zones and records
Azure Traffic Manager for global routing policies
Azure Front Door and CDN integration
Hybrid Connectivity
VPN Gateway: site-to-site, point-to-site, VNet-to-VNet
ExpressRoute circuits and connection types
Virtual WAN for large-scale networking
~7 questions
180 marks
18% of exam weight
Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources
Covers Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, alerts, Azure Backup, Azure Site Recovery, and update management.
13% ▼
Azure Monitor
Azure Monitor metrics and diagnostic settings
Log Analytics workspace and KQL queries
Alert rules, action groups, and notification channels
Azure Monitor Workbooks and dashboards
VM Insights and Application Insights integration
Azure Backup and Site Recovery
Recovery Services Vault and Backup Vault configuration
Azure Backup for VMs, Azure Files, and SQL
Backup policies and retention
Azure Site Recovery for VM replication and failover
Azure Update Manager for patch management
~5 questions
130 marks
13% of exam weight
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Study Plan

Azure Administrator Associate Structured Study Roadmap

Designed for candidates studying 1-2 hours per day. Select your timeline below.

Exam Strategy

Tips to pass Azure Administrator Associate on your first attempt

Tactical advice beyond content knowledge — what separates candidates who pass from those who retake.

🗓
RBAC is fundamental — know the difference between Owner, Contributor, Reader, and User Access Administrator roles and understand scope inheritance from management groups to resources.
🔍
Azure Policy vs RBAC: RBAC controls who can take actions; Azure Policy controls what actions are permitted regardless of who takes them.
⏭
Storage redundancy: LRS (3 copies in one datacenter), ZRS (3 availability zones), GRS (LRS + 3 copies in a secondary region), GZRS (ZRS + GRS) — know the failover behavior of each.
📊
ARM template structure: know all four main sections (parameters, variables, resources, outputs) and how to use dependsOn for resource sequencing.
🔁
Virtual machine availability: Availability Zones protect against datacenter failure (SLA 99.99%); Availability Sets protect against rack/server failure (SLA 99.95%).
🧪
NSG rules are evaluated from lowest to highest priority number (100 is processed before 4096) — know how default deny rules work.
📝
VNet peering is non-transitive by default — if VNet A peers with B, and B peers with C, A cannot communicate with C without peering A-C directly or using Azure Virtual WAN.
🎯
Azure Backup requires a Recovery Services Vault; backup policies define frequency and retention — know the difference between operational tier and vault tier for blobs.
🗓
Log Analytics KQL basics are tested — practice simple queries using where, project, summarize, and join operators.
🔍
Microsoft recommends Bicep over ARM JSON for new deployments — be familiar with both as the exam includes questions on reading and modifying both formats.
Recommended Resources

Official and trusted study materials

Curated resources ranked by usefulness. Quality over quantity — focus on a small set of authoritative sources.

Official
Official Exam Guide
The authoritative blueprint. Know every objective before studying anything else.
→ Vendor website
Practice Tests
Edureify Practice Tests
Full-length Azure Administrator Associate simulations with detailed per-domain analysis and explanations.
→ Start free test
Video Course
Structured Video Course
Pick one highly-rated course and complete it end-to-end before switching resources.
With edureify Convert Tutorial to AI Tutor
Reference
Domain Cheat Sheets
One-page summaries for each Azure Administrator Associate domain — ideal for last-week revision.
→ Get free Cheat Sheet
Community
Study Groups & Forums
Reddit r/certifications and exam-specific Discord servers for peer support and tips.
→ Reddit / Discord
AI Tutor
Edureify AI Mentor
Get instant answers to Azure Administrator Associate concepts, domain-level weak-area coaching, and adaptive questions.
→ Try free
⚠️
Avoid brain dumps. Sites selling "real exam questions" violate most vendor NDAs and are legally risky. Questions rotate regularly — brain dumps lead to overconfidence on outdated material and a higher retake rate.
Reviews

What candidates say after passing

★★★★★
"Passed Azure Administrator Associate on my first attempt after 5 weeks. The domain-level diagnostic showed me exactly where my gaps were — I stopped wasting time on topics I already knew."
Rahul S.
Solutions Architect, Bangalore
★★★★★
"The structured study plan kept me on track. I tried studying on my own for 3 months and failed. With Edureify's roadmap I passed in 6 weeks."
Priya M.
Cloud Engineer, Mumbai
★★★★★
"The AI mentor was like having a personal tutor available at 2am. Every concept I didn't understand was explained until I got it. Invaluable for the Manage Azure Identities and Governance domain."
David K.
DevOps Engineer, London
FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Azure Administrator Associate

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