The objective of the exam is the following:

Candidates for this exam should have subject matter expertise designing, building, testing, and maintaining cloud applications and services on Microsoft Azure.

Responsibilities for an Azure Developer include participating in all phases of cloud development from requirements definition and design, to development, deployment, and maintenance. performance tuning, and monitoring.

Azure Developers partner with cloud solution architects, cloud DBAs, cloud administrators, and clients to implement solutions.

A candidate for this exam should have 1-2 years professional development experience and experience with Microsoft Azure. In addition, the role should have ability programming in a language supported by Azure and proficiency in Azure SDKs, Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, data storage options, data connections, APIs, app authentication and authorization, compute and container deployment, debugging, performance tuning, and monitoring.

The skills measured are (as of Feb 17th, 2021):

• Develop Azure compute solutions (25-30%)
• Develop for Azure storage (10-15%)
• Implement Azure security (15-20%)
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure solutions (10-15%)
• Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services (25-30%)

Before Starting

Please note that even though I try my best to keep this study guide up-to-date for you, it is possible that Microsoft has changed the exam content since the time I wrote this article. You can refer to Microsoft’s official page of this exam to confirm the skills measured and I would strongly recommend for you to download a copy of the “Exam Skills Outline” and keep it handy when you’re studying.

Also, if you don’t already have one, I would recommend for you to create a Microsoft account before deep-diving into the below material. A lot of the links in this guide are from MSLearn and with a Microsoft account, you can gain experience points (and level up!) as you complete the different modules, bookmark modules and keep track of your progress. It just makes the whole learning exprience more fun in my opinion!

Develop Azure compute solutions (25-30%)

• Implement IaaS solutions

  • provision VMs

    • Quickstart: Create a Windows virtual machine in the Azure portal
    • Quickstart: Create a Windows virtual machine in Azure with PowerShell
    • Quickstart: Create a Windows virtual machine with the Azure CLI
    • Quickstart: Create a Windows virtual machine using an ARM template
    • Tutorial: Create and Manage Windows VMs with Azure PowerShell

  • configure VMs for remote access

    • How to connect and sign on to an Azure virtual machine running Windows
    • Install and configure Remote Desktop to connect to a Linux VM in Azure
    • Quick steps: Create and use an SSH public-private key pair for Linux VMs in Azure
    • How to use SSH keys with Windows on Azure

  • create ARM templates

    • Deploy Azure infrastructure by using ARM templates
    • Quickstart: Create ARM templates with Visual Studio Code
    • Tutorial: Create and deploy your first ARM template
    • ARM template best practices

  • create container images for solutions by using Docker

    • Introduction to Docker containers
    • Deploy and run a containerized web app with Azure App Service
    • Dockerfile reference
    • Build and store container images with Azure Container Registry

  • publish an image to the Azure Container Registry

    • Push your first image to your Azure container registry using the Docker CLI

  • run containers by using Azure Container Instance

    • What is Azure Container Instances?
    • Quickstart: Deploy a container instance in Azure using the Azure CLI
    • Run Docker containers with Azure Container Instances

• Create Azure App Service Web Apps

  • create an Azure App Service Web App

    • Deploy a website to Azure with Azure App Service

  • enable diagnostics logging

    • Deploy a website to Azure with Azure App Service

  • deploy code to a web app

    • Enable diagnostics logging for apps in Azure App Service

  • deploy code to a web app

    • Host a web application with Azure App Service
    • Publish a web app to Azure with Visual Studio

  • configure web app settings including SSL, API, and connection strings

    • Configure an App Service app in the Azure portal
    • Add a TLS/SSL certificate in Azure App Service
    • Tutorial: Host a RESTful API with CORS in Azure App Service

  • implement autoscaling rules, including scheduled autoscaling, and scaling by operational or system metrics

    • Scale an App Service web app to efficiently meet demand with App Service scale up and scale out
    • Overview of autoscale in Microsoft Azure
    • Scale up an app in Azure App Service

• Implement Azure functions

  • Create serverless logic with Azure Functions
  • Develop, test, and deploy an Azure Function with Visual Studio

  • implement input and output bindings for a function

    • Chain Azure Functions together using input and output bindings

  • implement function triggers by using data operations, timers, and webhooks

    • Execute an Azure Function with triggers
    • Azure Functions triggers and bindings concepts
    • Monitor GitHub events by using a webhook with Azure Functions
    • Azure Functions HTTP triggers and bindings overview

  • implement Azure Durable Functions

    • Create a long-running serverless workflow with Durable Functions

Develop for Azure storage (10-15%)

• Develop solutions that use Cosmos DB storage

  • select the appropriate API for your solution

    • Introduction to Azure Cosmos DB
    • Choose the appropriate API for Azure Cosmos DB

  • implement partitioning schemes

    • Partitioning and horizontal scaling in Azure Cosmos DB

  • interact with data using the appropriate SDK

    • Tutorial: Build a .NET console app to manage data in Azure Cosmos DB SQL API account
    • Tutorial: Develop an ASP.NET Core MVC web application with Azure Cosmos DB by using .NET SDK
    • Tutorial: Query Azure Cosmos DB by using the SQL API
    • Tutorial: Create a notebook in Azure Cosmos DB to analyze and visualize the data
    • Tutorial: Set up Azure Cosmos DB global distribution using the SQL API

  • set the appropriate consistency level for operations

    • Consistency levels in Azure Cosmos DB

  • create Cosmos DB containers

    • Create a container using Azure CLI
    • Create a container using Powershell

  • implement scaling (partitions, containers)

    • Partitioning and horizontal scaling in Azure Cosmos DB
    • Create an Azure Cosmos DB database built to scale
    • Azure Cosmos DB resource model

  • implement server-side programming including stored procedures, triggers, and change feed notifications

    • Stored Procedures
      • Note: Learn and understand all the operations (Create, Replace, List, Delete, Execute)
    • Triggers
      • Note: Learn and understand all the operations (Create, Replace, List, Delete)
    • Change feed in Azure Cosmos DB

• Develop solutions that use blob storage

  • move items in Blob storage between storage accounts or containers

    • Copy and move blobs from one container or storage account to another from the command line and in code

  • set and retrieve properties and metadata

    • Manage container properties and metadata with .NET

  • interact with data using the appropriate SDK

    • Quickstart: Azure Blob storage client library v12 for .NET

  • implement hot, cool, and archive storage

    • Access tiers for Azure Blob Storage - hot, cool, and archive

  • implement data archiving and retention

    • Rehydrate blob data from the archive tier
    • Optimize costs by automating Azure Blob Storage access tiers

Implement Azure security (15-20%)

• Implement user authentication and authorization

  • implement OAuth2 authentication

    • Authentication vs authorization
    • Protect a web API backend in Azure API Management by using OAuth 2.0 authorization with Azure AD

  • create and implement shared access signatures

    • Control access to Azure Storage with shared access signatures
    • Grant limited access to Azure Storage resources using shared access signatures (SAS)

  • register apps and use Azure Active Directory to authenticate users

    • Create Azure users and groups in Azure Active Directory

  • control access to resources by using role-based access controls (RBAC)

    • Classic subscription administrator roles, Azure roles, and Azure AD roles
    • Secure your Azure resources with Azure role-based access control (Azure RBAC)

• Implement secure cloud solutions

  • secure app configuration data by using the App Configuration and KeyVault API

    • What is Azure App Configuration?
    • Azure App Configuration best practices
    • Quickstart: Create an Azure Functions app with Azure App Configuration

  • manage keys, secrets, and certificates by using the KeyVault API

    • Azure Key Vault keys, secrets and certificates overview
    • Configure and manage secrets in Azure Key Vault
    • Use Key Vault references for App Service and Azure Functions

  • implement Managed Identities for Azure resources

    • Secure access to your applications by using Azure identity services
    • Tutorial: Use a user-assigned managed identity on a Windows VM to access Azure Resource Manager
    • Access Data

Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure solutions (10-15%)

• Integrate caching and content delivery within solutions

  • develop code to implement CDN’s in solutions

    • What is a content delivery network on Azure?
    • Tutorial: Add a custom domain to your endpoint
    • Purge an Azure CDN endpoint
    • Control Azure CDN caching behavior with query strings - standard tier
    • CDN Best Practices
    • Create a Content Delivery Network for your Website with Azure CDN and Blob Services

  • configure cache and expiration policies for FrontDoor, CDNs, or Redis caches

    • Azure FrontDoor

      • What is Azure Front Door?
      • Get Started with Azure Front Door (Youtube)
      • Azure Networking - #13 - Azure Front Door (Youtube)
      • Caching with Azure Front Door

    • Azure Cache for Redis

      • Azure Cache for Redis
      • Quickstart: Use Azure Cache for Redis in .NET Framework
      • FLUSHALL [ASYNC]

    • Azure CDN

      • Control Azure CDN caching behavior with caching rules

  • store and retrieve data in Azure Redis cache

    • Optimize your web applications by caching read-only data with Redis

• Instrument solutions to support monitoring and logging

  • configure instrumentation in an app or service by using Application Insights

    • What is Application Insights?
    • Instrument server-side web application code with Application Insights
    • Quickstart: Start monitoring your website with Azure Monitor Application Insights

  • analyze log data and troubleshoot solutions by using Azure Monitor

    • Monitoring solutions in Azure Monitor
    • Azure Monitor Logs overview
    • Find and diagnose run-time exceptions with Azure Application Insights
    • Find and diagnose performance issues with Azure Application Insights

  • implement Application Insights Web Test and Alerts

    • Creating an Application Insights Web Test and Alert Programmatically
    • Monitor the availability of any website

  • implement code that handles transient faults

    • Handle transient errors in your app
    • Transient fault handling
    • Retry Pattern
    • Circuit Breaker pattern

Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services (25-30%)

• Develop an App Service Logic App

  • create a Logic App

    • Build automated workflows to integrate data and apps with Azure Logic Apps

  • create a custom connector for Logic Apps

    • Build automated workflows to integrate data and apps with Azure Logic Apps
    • Call an API from a Logic Apps workflow using a custom connector

  • create a custom template for Logic Apps

    • Create and deploy Logic Apps using Azure Resource Manager templates

• Implement API Management

  • create an APIM instance

    • Quickstart: Create a new Azure API Management service instance by using the Azure portal
    • Quickstart: Create a new Azure API Management service instance by using PowerShell

  • configure authentication for APIs

    • Control authentication for your APIs with Azure API Management

  • define policies for APIs

    • Policies in Azure API Management
    • API Management policies

• Develop event-based solutions

  • Choose between Azure messaging services - Event Grid, Event Hubs, and Service Bus

  • implement solutions that use Azure Event Grid

    • What is Azure Event Grid?
    • React to state changes in your Azure services by using Event Grid
    • Tutorial: Monitor virtual machine changes by using Azure Event Grid and Logic Apps
    • Quickstart: Route custom events to web endpoint with the Azure portal and Event Grid

  • implement solutions that use Azure Notification Hubs

    • What is Azure Notification Hubs?
    • Quickstart: Create an Azure notification hub in the Azure portal

  • implement solutions that use Azure Event Hub

    • Azure Event Hubs — A big data streaming platform and event ingestion service
    • Features and terminology in Azure Event Hubs
    • Quickstart: Create an event hub using Azure portal
    • Enable reliable messaging for Big Data applications using Azure Event Hubs

• Develop message-based solutions

  • implement solutions that use Azure Service Bus

    • Implement message-based communication workflows with Azure Service Bus
    • Send messages to and receive messages from Azure Service Bus queues (.NET)
    • Send messages to an Azure Service Bus topic and receive messages from subscriptions to the topic (.NET)

  • implement solutions that use Azure Queue Storage queues

    • Communicate between applications with Azure Queue storage

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