Introduction
The purpose of the AZ-303 certification exam is to test your understanding of the Microsoft Azure solutions architecture. The exam validates your ability to recognize which Azure services comprise a particular solution, and it validates your knowledge of real-world design scenarios and architecting Microsoft Azure solutions. This book provides a broad understanding of Microsoft Azure that empowers small, medium, and large-scale enterprises who want to adopt comprehensive app innovation and modernization strategies using the tools and services of their choice.
While we’ve made every effort possible to make the information in this book accurate, Azure is rapidly evolving, and there’s a chance that some of the screens in the Azure portal are slightly different now than they were when this book was written. It’s also possible that other minor changes have taken place, such as name changes and so on.
Azure supports a wide range of programming languages, frameworks, databases, and services. Consequently, IT professionals must quickly learn a wide range of technical topics. An overabundance of instructional content is available, which makes finding the right material difficult. This book cuts through the extraneous content and provides the information you need to prepare for the exam.
This book covers every major topic area found on the exam, but it does not cover every exam question. Only the Microsoft exam team has access to the exam questions, and Microsoft regularly adds new questions to the exam, making it impossible to cover specific questions. We encourage you to consider this book a supplement to your relevant real-world experience and other study materials. If you encounter a topic in this book that you do not feel completely comfortable with, use the “Need more review?” links in the text to find more information and take the time to research and study the topic. Great information is available in the Microsoft Azure documentation (https://docs.microsoft.com/azure) and Microsoft Learn (https://microsoft.com/learn).
Organization of this book
This book is organized by the “Skills measured” list published for the exam. The “Skills measured” list is available for each exam on the Microsoft Learn website: http://aka.ms/examlist. Each chapter in this book corresponds to a major topic area in the list, and the technical tasks in each topic area determine a chapter’s organization. If an exam covers six major topic areas, for example, the book will contain six chapters.
Preparing for the exam
Microsoft certification exams are a great way to build your resume and let the world know about your level of expertise. Certification exams validate your on-the-job experience and product knowledge. Although there is no substitute for on-the-job experience, preparation through study and hands-on practice can help you prepare for the exam. This book is not designed to teach you new skills.
We recommend that you augment your exam preparation plan by using a combination of available study materials and courses. For example, you might use the Exam Ref and another study guide for your “at home” preparation and take a Microsoft Official Curriculum course for the classroom experience. Choose the combination that you think works best for you. Learn more about available classroom training and find free online courses and live events at http://microsoft.com/learn. Microsoft Official Practice Tests are available for many exams at http://aka.ms/practicetests.
Note that this Exam Ref is based on publicly available information about the exam and the author’s experience. To safeguard the integrity of the exam, authors do not have access to the live exam.
Microsoft certifications
Microsoft certifications distinguish you by proving your command of a broad set of skills and experience with current Microsoft products and technologies. The exams and corresponding certifications are developed to validate your mastery of critical competencies as you design and develop, or implement and support, solutions with Microsoft products and technologies both on-premises and in the cloud. Certification brings a variety of benefits to the individual and to employers and organizations.
More Info All Microsoft Certifications
For information about Microsoft certifications, including a full list of available certifications, go to http://www.microsoft.com/learn.
Quick access to online references
Throughout this book are addresses to webpages that the author has recommended you visit for more information. Some of these links can be very long and painstaking to type, so we’ve shortened them for you to make them easier to visit. We’ve also compiled them into a single list that readers of the print edition can refer to while they read.
Download the list at MicrosoftPressStore.com/ExamRefAZ303/downloads
The URLs are organized by chapter and heading. Every time you come across a URL in the book, find the hyperlink in the list to go directly to the webpage.
Errata, updates, & book support
We’ve made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this book and its companion content. You can access updates to this book—in the form of a list of submitted errata and their related corrections—at:
MicrosoftPressStore.com/ExamRefAZ303/errata
If you discover an error that is not already listed, please submit it to us at the same page.
For additional book support and information, please visit http://www.MicrosoftPressStore.com/Support.
Please note that product support for Microsoft software and hardware is not offered through the previous addresses. For help with Microsoft software or hardware, go to http://support.microsoft.com.
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