70-534 Study Guide: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions
The 70-534 Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions exam is one of the two Azure exams required to get your Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) Cloud Platform . This 70-534 study guide was created to help you find materials to study, and ace the exam. I will share both free and paid options, whether books, video training or simply links to articles and blog posts. I will not share any dumps as those are against the Microsoft Terms of Service, and by using dumps, we decrease the value of our certifications.
Certification Path
| Exam Name | Link to Exam on Microsoft Learning | Study Guide |
| Choose two exams from those below | ||
| 70-532 Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions | ||
| 70-533 Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions | 70-533 Study Guide: Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions | |
| 70-534 Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions | ||
| 70-473 Designing and Implementing Cloud Data Platform Solutions | 70-473 Study Guide: Designing and Implementing Cloud Data Platform Solutions | |
| 70-475 Designing and Implementing Big Data Analytics Solutions | 70-475 Study Guide: Designing and Implementing Big Data Analytics Solutions | |
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Books
| Exam Ref 70-534 Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions Prepare for Microsoft Exam 70-534–and help demonstrate your real-world mastery of Microsoft Azure solution design and architecture. Designed for experienced IT pros ready to advance their status, Exam Ref focuses on the critical-thinking and decision-making acumen needed for success at the Microsoft Specialist level.Links:
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| More Introducing Windows Azure for IT Professionals Get a head start evaluating Windows Azure – with technical insights from a Microsoft MVP Mitch Tulloch. This guide introduces the latest features and capabilities, with scenario-based advice on how the platform can meet the needs of your business. Get the high-level overview you need to begin preparing your deployment now.Links:
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| Mastering Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Services Mastering Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Services guides you through the process of creating and managing a public cloud and virtual network using Microsoft Azure. With step-by-step instruction and clear explanation, this book equips you with the skills required to provide services both on-premises and off-premises through full virtualization, providing a deeper understanding of Azure’s capabilities as an infrastructure serviceLinks:
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Video Training for the exam
NOTE: Pluralsight is a paid resource unlike Channel9 and Microsoft Virtual Academy which are free. The quality they provide is also superior because of all the quality checks they go through, and the instructors are one of the best in the industry. The Pluralsight courses have a link to where you can get a free trial and decide for yourself if paying a subscription or not is worth it, but the 10-day free trial should allow you to view all those courses for free.
 | Architecting Azure Solutions (70-534): Infrastructure and Networking This course addresses the “Design Microsoft Azure Infrastructure and Networking” objective of the Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions (70-534) exam.
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 | Architecting Azure Solutions (70-534): Secure Resources In this course, we will address the Secure Resources objective of the Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions (70-534) exam.
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 | Architecting Azure Solutions (70-534): Application Storage and Data Access Strategy This course addresses the Design an Application Storage and Data Access Strategy objective of the Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions (70-534) exam.
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 | Architecting Azure Solutions (70-534): Design an Advanced Application This course deals with the ‘Design an Advanced Application’ objective domain of the Architecting Azure Solutions (70-534) exam.
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 | Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions (70-534): Design Web Apps This course helps learners with the Design Azure Web Apps objective domain of the 70-534 Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions exam.
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 | Architecting Azure Solutions (70-534): Management, Monitoring, and Business Continuity This course will address the “Design a Management, Monitoring, and Business Continuity Strategy” objective domains of the Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions (70-534) exam.
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 | Cert Exam Prep: Exam 70-534: Architecting Azure Solutions This Certification Exam Prep session is designed for people experienced with programming using Azure who are interested in taking the 70-534 (Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions) exam. Attendees of this session can expect to review the topics covered in this exam in a fast-paced format, as well as receive some valuable test taking techniques. Attendees leave with an understanding of how Microsoft certification works, what are the key topics covered in the exams, and an exhaustive look at resources for finalizing getting ready for the exam. The session is led by a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), experienced in delivering sessions on these topics. |
 | (Part 1) Exam Jump Start 70-534 Prerequisites: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions Are you interested in becoming certified in architecting Microsoft Azure solutions? If so, then join us for this new 3 part series hosted by Dan Stolts and Brian Lewis and learn about the prerequisites to becoming Azure certified. In Part 1 we’ll cover Azure Basics and help you understand what is possible with cloud computing as well as getting you started on your journey in becoming a cloud architect. |
 | (Part 2) Exam Jump Start 70-534 Prerequisites: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions Are you interested in becoming certified in architecting Microsoft Azure solutions? If so, then join us for this new 3 part series hosted by Dan Stolts and Brian Lewis and learn about the prerequisites to becoming Azure certified. In Part 2 we’ll go in depth in an all demo session and cover everything you need to know about the classic Azure portal as well as explore some of the cloud services offered such as Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas). |
 | (Part 3) Exam Jump Start 70-534 Prerequisites: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions Are you interested in becoming certified in architecting Microsoft Azure solutions? If so, then join us for this new 3 part series hosted by Dan Stolts and Brian Lewis and learn about the prerequisites to becoming Azure certified. In this final part to our series we’ll walk you through another demo heavy session and show you how to use the new or current production Azure portal as we create and manage a new VM and point out the differences between the classic and new Azure portals. At the end of the video we’ll also provide some quick and easy Exam Tips & Tricks to help you get through the test. |
Instructor-led training (Microsoft Official Courses)
| Course 40442A: MOC Workshop: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions (3 Days) This workshop is a chance for developers and IT Pros to come together and learn the architecture skills necessary to design solutions for Microsoft Azure. The classroom experience for this workshop is high-level review of the pre-requisite materials students are expected to have completed in advance. Then, students will assemble into groups to work on several real-world design case studies to design solutions for the Microsoft Azure platform. |
Articles / Blog Posts per objective <In Progress>
Design Azure Resource Manager (ARM) networking (5–10%)
- Design Azure virtual networks
- Extend on-premises; leverage Azure networking services: implement load balancing using Azure Load Balancer and Azure Traffic Manager; define DNS, DHCP, and IP addressing configuration; define static IP reservations; apply Network Security Groups (NSGs) and User Defined Routes (UDRs); deploy Azure Application Gateway
- Describe Azure VPN and ExpressRoute architecture and design
- Describe Azure point-to-site (P2S) and site-to-site (S2S) VPN, leverage Azure VPN and ExpressRoute in network architecture
Secure resources (20–25%)
- Secure resources by using managed identities
- Describe the differences between Active Directory on-premises and Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), programmatically access Azure AD using Graph API, secure access to resources from Azure AD applications using OAuth and OpenID Connect
- Secure resources by using hybrid identities
- Use SAML claims to authenticate to on-premises resources, describe AD Connect synchronization, implement federated identities using Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS)
- Secure resources by using identity providers
- Provide access to resources using identity providers, such as Microsoft account, Facebook, Google, and Yahoo!; manage identity and access by using Azure AD B2C; implement Azure AD B2B
- Identify an appropriate data security solution
- Identify security requirements for data in transit and data at rest; identify security requirements using Azure services, including Azure Storage Encryption, Azure Disk Encryption, and Azure SQL Database TDE
- Design a role-based access control (RBAC) strategy
- Secure resource scopes, such as the ability to create VMs and Azure Web Apps; implement Azure RBAC standard roles; design Azure RBAC custom roles
- Manage security risks by using an appropriate security solution
- Identify, assess, and mitigate security risks by using Azure Security Center, Operations Management Suite, and other services
Design an application storage and data access strategy (5–10%)
- Design data storage
- Design storage options for data, including Table Storage, SQL Database, DocumentDB, Blob Storage, MongoDB, and MySQL; design security options for SQL Database or Azure Storage
- Select the appropriate storage option
- Select the appropriate storage for performance, identify storage options for cloud services and hybrid scenarios with compute on-premises and storage on Azure
Design advanced applications (20–25%)
- Create compute-intensive applications
- Design high-performance computing (HPC) and other compute-intensive applications using Azure Services
- Create long-running applications
- Implement Azure Batch for scalable processing, design stateless components to accommodate scale, use Azure Scheduler
- Integrate Azure services in a solution
- Design Azure architecture using Azure services, such as Azure AD, Azure App Service, API Management, Azure Cache, Azure Search, Service Bus, Event Hubs, Stream Analytics, and IoT Hub; identify the appropriate use of Azure Machine Learning, big data, Azure Media Services, and Azure Search services
- Implement messaging applications
- Use a queue-centric pattern for development; select appropriate technology, such as Azure Storage Queues, Azure Service Bus queues, topics, subscriptions, and Azure Event Hubs
- Implement applications for background processing
- Implement Azure Batch for compute-intensive tasks, use Azure WebJobs to implement background tasks, use Azure Functions to implement event-driven actions, leverage Azure Scheduler to run processes at preset/recurring timeslots
- Design connectivity for hybrid applications
- Connect to on-premises data from Azure applications using Service Bus Relay, Hybrid Connections, or the Azure Web App virtual private network (VPN) capability; identify constraints for connectivity with VPN; identify options for joining VMs to domains or cloud services
Design Azure Web and Mobile Apps (5–10%)
- Design Web Applications
- Design Azure App Service Web Apps, design custom web API, offload long-running applications using WebJobs, secure Web API using Azure AD, design Web Apps for scalability and performance, deploy Azure Web Apps to multiple regions for high availability, deploy Web Apps, create App Service plans, design Web Apps for business continuity, configure data replication patterns, update Azure Web Apps with minimal downtime, back up and restore data, design for disaster recovery
- Design Mobile Applications
- Design Azure Mobile Services; consume Mobile Apps from cross-platform clients; integrate offline sync capabilities into an application; extend Mobile Apps using custom code; implement Mobile Apps using Microsoft .NET or Node.js; secure Mobile Apps using Azure AD; implement push notification services in Mobile Apps; send push notifications to all subscribers, specific subscribers, or a segment of subscribers
Design a management, monitoring, and business continuity strategy (20–25%)
- Design a monitoring strategy
- Identify the Microsoft products and services for monitoring Azure solutions; leverage the capabilities of Azure Operations Management Suite and Azure Application Insights for monitoring Azure solutions; leverage built-in Azure capabilities; identify third-party monitoring tools, including open source; describe Azure architecture constructs, such as availability sets and update domains, and how they impact a patching strategy; analyze logs by using the Azure Operations Management Suite
- Describe Azure business continuity/disaster recovery (BC/DR) capabilities
- Leverage the architectural capabilities of BC/DR, describe Hyper-V Replica and Azure Site Recovery (ASR), describe use cases for Hyper-V Replica and ASR
- Design a disaster recovery strategy
- Design and deploy Azure Backup and other Microsoft backup solutions for Azure, leverage use cases when StorSimple and System Center Data Protection Manager would be appropriate, design and deploy Azure Site recovery
- Design Azure Automation and PowerShell workflows
- Create a PowerShell script specific to Azure, automate tasks by using the Azure Operations Management Suite
- Describe the use cases for Azure Automation configuration
- Evaluate when to use Azure Automation, Chef, Puppet, PowerShell, or Desired State Configuration (DSC)
Architect an Azure Compute infrastructure (10–15%)
- Design ARM Virtual Machines (VMs)
- Design VM deployments leveraging availability sets, fault domains, and update domains in Azure; select appropriate VM SKUs
- Design ARM template deployment
- Author ARM templates; deploy ARM templates via the portal, PowerShell, and CL
- Design for availability
- Implement regional availability and high availability for Azure deployments
Additional Tips
I think the best thing that you can do after reading this, or even meanwhile, is to open a free Azure Trial (or a few), and play with those features, follow the tutorials and you shouldn’t have any problems with the exam!
Did I miss any cool links in this guide? Let me know in the comments!
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