Azure | Vlad Talks Tech

Cloud Deployment Models Explained – CompTIA A+ 220-1201 (Objective 4.2)

Vlad Catrinescu — Thu, 29 May 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Public, private, hybrid, and community—do you know the difference between these cloud deployment models? This video covers exactly what you need to know for the CompTIA A+ (220-1201) exam, explaining each model clearly, along with practical examples and scenarios you’ll encounter as an IT professional.

🎓 From the course: Virtualization and Cloud Computing for CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201)

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Video Summary

Public vs. Private Cloud: The public cloud is the most common deployment model, where multiple clients share the same infrastructure provided by a cloud vendor. Meanwhile, the private cloud is used exclusively by one organization, often with ownership of the hardware and data center.

Hybrid Cloud Magic: This model combines both public and private clouds with automation and orchestration, allowing businesses to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Community Cloud for Shared Needs: Governments and organizations with common regulatory requirements sometimes use a community cloud—shared infrastructure designed to meet specific security, compliance, and jurisdictional needs.

Cloud Tenants Explained: In cloud computing, each client has their own tenant—essentially their space in a provider’s cloud. Most companies have just one, but mergers and acquisitions can lead to multiple tenants and the need for tenant migrations.

Government and Regional Cloud Solutions: Tech giants like Microsoft, AWS, and Google offer special cloud services tailored for government compliance (e.g., Microsoft 365 GCC for FedRAMP) or specific regions (e.g., Azure China and AWS China). These services ensure that data remains within the designated country.

For more information, read the transcript blog below, or watch the video above!

Transcript

With the types of cloud computing services covered, let’s learn about the different cloud deployment models. There are multiple types of cloud computing models out there. The first one, and probably the most popular, is the public cloud, where you have a cloud vendor that provides cloud services to multiple clients; all the clients securely share the same hardware in the back end. A private cloud, on the other hand, is when the hardware is used exclusively by a single company, which most of the time (but not necessarily always) owns the hardware and data center. This is very close to the traditional data center model that we have always used, but in a private cloud, the organization managing the data center typically builds the different departments for the services that they use.

Next up, we have the hybrid cloud, which is a combination of both a public and a private cloud with automation and orchestration between the two. The last option is the community cloud, which is a shared infrastructure between several organizations with common security, compliance, and jurisdiction concerns. We often see an example of the community cloud when governments from different countries set up a shared services division that hosts all of their IT for that government.

Let’s dive deeper into each one of them. First, most cloud offerings are provided through the public cloud, so unless it’s otherwise specified, the public cloud is the default. Inside the public cloud, each client has its own tenant—that is, the dedicated space in the cloud provider that holds all your services and data. Most organizations have only one tenant, but some might have multiple tenants, especially after a merger or an acquisition, for example. You will often encounter the term “tenant” throughout your career in cloud computing, along with terms like tenant-to-tenant migration, meaning the process of moving from one cloud tenant to another.

Now, for private and hybrid clouds, cloud providers are offering services that allow organizations to manage their private cloud using the same tools, experiences, and app models as those found in on-premises or hybrid data centers. Some industry examples include the Azure Stack and AWS Outposts. Another big advantage is that by using the same technology as in the public cloud but on premises, it becomes much easier to transfer workloads to the public cloud in the future if you decide to do so.

Lastly, probably the most popular type of community cloud is for government use. Microsoft, AWS, and Google all offer specific versions of their tools, such as Microsoft 365 GCC or GCC High, that can handle data subject to specific government regulations or requirements, such as FedRAMP and DoD CGIS, among others. Another example of a community cloud is an offering tailored to a certain country. For example, Microsoft offers Azure China, AWS has AWS China, and there are many more examples like this. These cloud services are deployed in that country and are often separated from the rest of the vendor’s global cloud infrastructure. This setup ensures that the data resides only in that specific country, and while you might see them advertised as sovereign clouds, they are technically community clouds based on our cloud deployment model.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Explained – CompTIA A+ 220-1201 (Objective 4.1)

Vlad Catrinescu — Wed, 21 May 2025 12:00:00 GMT

What if your entire PC could live in the cloud? In this video, you’ll learn exactly what Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is, why businesses use it, and its key benefits—including cost savings, improved security, and easy management. Perfect for the CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) exam!

🎓 From the course: Virtualization and Cloud Computing for CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201)

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Video Summary

Your PC, but in the cloud: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) lets you run your entire desktop from the cloud. Instead of sending physical laptops to employees, they can log into a powerful virtual PC from any device—even a tablet.
Flexible and scalable: Need more RAM or CPU? No problem. IT can upgrade your virtual desktop in just a few clicks—no need to ship new hardware. It’s all handled in the cloud.
Secure and centrally managed: With VDI, all your data stays in the cloud, not on the user’s device. That means better security, easier compliance, and centralized management for IT.
Cost-effective and resilient: You save on hardware costs, get built-in load balancing, and ensure high availability. If one server goes down, your virtual desktop just moves to another, seamlessly.
Windows 365 in action: Microsoft’s Windows 365 brings this to life. Just log in via browser or app, and boom—you’re on your cloud PC. It’s fast, secure, and works from virtually any device, no matter how basic.

For more information, read the transcript blog below, or watch the video above!

Transcript

With the basics of cloud computing covered, let’s now explore a different type of cloud computing, where your entire PC lives in the cloud. This concept is known as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, or VDI. VDI involves hosting desktop environments on a central server. It’s a form of desktop virtualization where desktop images run within virtual machines and are delivered to end users over a network. These endpoints could be traditional PCs, tablets, or thin client terminals.

The main goal of desktop virtualization is to eliminate the need to ship physical computers to users, especially in today’s remote work environment. Instead, users can connect to their work computer in the cloud using any device. You can configure the virtual desktop to be as powerful or as basic as needed. One of the biggest advantages is that the device used to access the virtual desktop doesn’t need much computing power, since all the heavy lifting is done in the cloud. If a user’s role changes and they need more RAM or CPU, IT can upgrade their virtual desktop with just a few clicks—no need to send out new hardware.

Another major benefit is security. Enterprises can restrict access to sensitive data and tools, making them available only through virtual desktops. This helps ensure compliance and reduces the attack surface. VDI can be deployed on-premises, in private clouds, or through public cloud offerings.

A personal computer shares the same architecture as a standard server—hardware, an operating system, and applications. Just like servers can be virtualized, so can personal computers. Multiple virtual desktops can be hosted on a single server, and they can be moved between servers for load balancing and resilience. This ensures that virtual desktops remain operational even if something goes wrong on the backend.

To recap, the benefits of VDI include hardware cost savings, improved availability through load balancing and resilience, faster deployment of new computers, and centralized IT management. Data is stored securely in the cloud environment, not on the user’s local device.

In the demo, we return to the lab and log in as Vanessa. After assigning the license, all her apps—like Outlook, SharePoint, and even Microsoft 365 Copilot—are available. This showcases the power of software as a service. Now, let’s talk about Windows 365, Microsoft’s virtual desktop solution delivered as a service. Once a user is assigned a license, they simply go to windows365.microsoft.com. There, they’ll see their cloud PC—like Vlad Catrinescu’s, which has two virtual CPUs, 8 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of storage—ready to go.

The first time you access it, you’ll get a brief overview of what a cloud PC is and what it can do. You can access it directly in the browser or install the Windows 365 app for quicker access. The best part? You don’t need a specific operating system or high-performance device—just a browser. Once logged in, you can use the virtual PC just like a local one. While the experience is smoother with the app or remote desktop, it’s fully functional in the browser.

It doesn’t matter what device you’re using or how powerful it is. The admin can configure your virtual PC with up to 64 cores and 260 GB of RAM. And if your role changes, your virtual desktop can scale up or down without needing to ship new hardware. That wraps up this quick demo of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure using Windows 365 Cloud PC.

Microsoft RETIRES the DP-203 Azure Data Engineer Associate Certification

Vlad Catrinescu — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 13:00:00 GMT

Microsoft just announced they are retiring the Microsoft Certification exam DP-203 Azure Data Engineer Associate Certification!

In this video we cover everything you need to know – including replacement exams depending on your chosen path!

MSFT Blog Post

Video Summary

Retirement Announcement: Microsoft is retiring the DP-203 Azure Data Engineer Associate certification on March 31, 2025. This news was subtly announced in a blog post about the DP-700 exam.
Advice for Current Candidates: If you’re almost done studying for the DP-203 exam, it’s recommended to complete it as it will still appear on your transcript. If you’re just starting, consider switching to the DP-700 certification.
Renewal for Existing Holders: Those who already have the DP-203 certification can renew it until March 31, 2025, which will extend its validity for another year.
Impact on Microsoft Partners: Microsoft partners who need the DP-203 certification for their qualifications can continue to use it for now. New requirements and updated credentials will be announced soon.
Future Credentials: For data professionals, Microsoft recommends new certifications such as DP-700 for data engineering, DP-100 for data science, and DP-600 or PL-300 for data analysis in addition to many Applied Skills

For more information, read the transcript blog below, or watch the video above!

Video Transcript

Today, we have some breaking news from the Microsoft certification world as Microsoft is retiring the DP-203 exam, which many of you better know as the Azure Data Engineer certification. Now, what does this mean for you and your career path? Stick around as we dive into the details and discuss what’s next for data engineering and data science certifications in the world of Azure. You won’t want to miss this crucial update, so let’s get started. I heard rumors about it in late 2024, but it’s true: Microsoft is retiring the Azure Data Engineer Associate certification in just over two months on March 31, 2025. At the time of recording this video, this is not even updated on the certification page. However, Microsoft announced this buried inside a blog post about the DP-700 exam on the Tech Community. It’s a bit weird to hide it like that and not put it on a page for everyone to see, but this is why you should follow the channel so you can keep up to date on those certification retirements.

Okay, back to our topic. I’m sure you have some questions, so let’s cover some of the frequently asked questions that Microsoft provided. First, and probably the most important for you aspiring Azure Data Engineers, is what if you’re studying for the exam now? If you’re almost done studying and your employer pays for the certification, I would honestly still go do it. You have nothing to lose; it will still appear on your transcript as done, so go do it. However, if you’re just starting studying or you’re just considering it but didn’t really start studying, I would look at the DP-700 certification that recently went live. Don’t worry, we’ll talk about all the updated Microsoft credentials packs for your role just a bit later in this video.

Now, what if you already have the certification? Well, you can still renew it until March 31, 2025. Simply go to your Learn profile and see if you can renew it yet. You can only do it six months before expiration, and if you’re able to renew it before March 31, it would add an extra year of it being active on your transcript. But if not, just let it retire. You will always have it on your transcript forever, so people will see that you passed it when it was active. Anyway, it will just become an expired certification eventually, whether it’s this year or next year.

You might also wonder what happens if you’re a Microsoft partner and you needed the certification to hit your level or your qualifications requirements. As you probably know by now, the Microsoft Learn organization and the Microsoft Partner organization don’t talk too much in advance. They’re fully different teams at Microsoft, and the partner team probably learned about this at the same time as everyone else. So for now, you can keep going for the certification to fill those requirements, and I’m sure that new requirements with updated credentials will be announced soon.

One final question is, does the retirement of the certification mean that Azure Synapse Analytics will also be retired? The answer is no. There are no current plans by Microsoft to retire Azure Synapse Analytics. Now that we’ve talked about the retirement, you’re probably wondering what credentials you should study as a data professional. You’re in luck since Microsoft created a really nice graphic depending on whether you want to get a credential in data science, data engineering, or data analytics. Let’s check out the plan.

First, if you want data science skills, Microsoft recommends three different applied skills: Implement a Data Warehouse in Microsoft Fabric, Implement a Data Science and Machine Learning Solution with Microsoft Fabric, and finally, Train and Manage a Machine Learning Model with Azure Machine Learning. As a reminder, applied skills are free to take and hands-on, so you should definitely check them out. Finally, Microsoft also recommends that you check out the Azure Data Scientist Associate certification, which is exam number DP-100.

Next up, let’s talk about data analysis. The first two applied skills recommended are the exact same, but then we have two recommended certifications: the Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate, which is exam number DP-600, and the Power BI Data Analyst Associate, which is exam number PL-300. Finally, if you want a credential in data engineering, look no further than the brand new Fabric Data Engineer, which you can achieve by passing exam number DP-700.

This is it for this video on the retirement of the Azure Data Engineer Associate certification, or exam number DP-203. Now, what I want to know is what do you think about this retirement? Do you think that the DP-700 is a good replacement, or should both certifications have coexisted? What do you think about the Microsoft recommended options for each role? Do you plan to take any of them? Please let me know in the comments below and make sure you subscribe to the channel. I’ve been hearing rumors about another Microsoft certification getting retired soon, and you won’t want to miss it. Also, on the screen right now, you should see some other videos that YouTube thinks you’re going to love, so make sure you check them out.

How to Register for Microsoft Azure Exam AZ-900 | Registration Guide

Vlad Catrinescu — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 11:55:00 GMT

Looking for help on how to register for Microsoft Azure Exam AZ-900? Watch this course clip and click the link below to get all the details you need to do it easily.

Learn more

Video Summary

Here are the key points from the video:

Perform a system test on your device a few days before the exam to ensure everything works properly.
Clear your desk and room of any papers, electronics, or other items within arm’s reach. Inform family or coworkers not to disturb you.
Have your smartphone and ID ready for the check-in process. Close all unnecessary apps and services on your device.
Consider using a simple setup, like a dining table, to minimize distractions. Ensure your laptop is plugged in or fully charged.
Begin the online check-in and system check 30 minutes before the exam. Follow the instructions to connect with a proctor and start the exam from the Microsoft Learning Dashboard.

For more information, read the transcript blog below, or watch the video above!

Video Transcript

Let’s start by learning how to register for the A900 certification exam. First things first, in order to register, you need to have a Microsoft account. It’s very important that if you have done a Microsoft certification before, make sure to use the same account all the time. If not, you’ll have two different MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) IDs, and your transcript will be split. To be honest, it’s a bit of a mess to merge them afterwards. It’s doable through support if it ever happens by accident, but let’s hope we don’t have to use the support. So, try to always use the same Microsoft account every single time. If this is your first ever Microsoft certification, make sure to choose a Microsoft account that you want to use for the long term, and you will create your certification profile. As a tip, make sure to enter your name exactly as it appears on your government-issued identification. For example, a lot of us have middle names or names we don’t use all the time, so make sure your certification profile matches exactly what you have on your ID.

There are two exam providers for the A900 exam. The first one is Pearson VUE, and the second one is Certiport, which is for students or instructors. Certiport is a Pearson VUE business, but it’s still shown as two different options on the site. Now, something that I would like to tell you is that even if you’re a student, unless you have a very specific reason to use Certiport, such as a class requirement, I would personally go with Pearson VUE. All of the other exams above the associate level (associate, expert, specialty) are only provided by Pearson VUE. This way, if you decide to pursue your certification journey further, you will already have experience with the certification provider, and it will be one less thing to worry about rather than switching providers between your fundamental exam and then your associate exams and higher.

To start the registration, you need to go to the exam page, which I also linked in the slides, and you will have the schedule exam option with either Pearson VUE or Certiport. So, let’s go through the process. The first thing it will ask you to do is sign in with your Microsoft account. If you have done certifications before, you will need to validate your certification profile. If this is your first certification, you’ll need to fill it out, but it should only take you 2 to 3 minutes. At the top right, you will see your email as well as your MCP ID, so you can make sure that you’re logged in with the right account. If you have participated in various Microsoft promotions or conferences, you might have a discount on your exam, which will be presented to you on the exam discounts tab on the left. After you validate your information and choose a discount if you have any, you need to choose where you will take the exam. The two choices are either at a test center or online at your home or office. Depending on what option you choose, you will be presented right away with some extra interesting information and links to resources. Remember that even if you take the exam at home, it’s still a proctored exam, so a proctor will be watching you on camera and hearing everything through your microphone. Whether you take it at a test center or your home or office, the same security standards apply.

The next step will be to select the exam language. As the A900 is a very popular exam, it exists in multiple languages, but not all Microsoft certifications have as many options. If you have selected to do it in person, the next step will be to choose the location where you want to do the exam. You will be presented with choices based on the address in your certification profile, and you can also choose multiple test centers if you want to compare availability. Next, you will need to select the date and time you want to do your exam. Make sure you check your calendar and block that time off. This way, nobody schedules meetings or anything during that time. I would block off extra time before and after because you don’t want anything, like a meeting or presentation, to stress you while you take the exam. Something to consider as you select your date and time: if you need accommodation, both Pearson VUE and Certiport can provide appropriate arrangements for individuals that demonstrate a documented need. It can be things such as extra testing time, a separate testing room, or even breaks. Special accommodations can take up to 10 business days to be approved, so if you need to request a special accommodation, try to schedule your exam a bit more in advance. This way, you can go through the request process without being stressed for time.

After you have selected everything, the next step is to review and confirm. It will show you the exam name, language, appointment location, and price. Finally, you have to put your credit card number in and pay for the exam. That’s it! After this, your exam registration is complete. Before we finish off the registration part of this module, I just want to share a quick reminder to verify the rescheduling and cancellation policies in case you need them. Traditionally, it has been six business days before the exam date to change or cancel without paying a fee. However, make sure to double-check it. This information will be available in the confirmation email as well as on Microsoft Docs. Add the link in the slides, and remember that for all of the links I will share throughout this course, you don’t have to pause the course and go type them in. On the course page, you can go to the tab called “Exercise Files,” and then you can download all of the slides and simply copy-paste the links, which will make it a lot easier to have access to those resources.

Now that we know what it’s like to take an exam at a testing center, what about taking an exam at home? First of all, a few days before the exam, I highly encourage you to perform a system test on the device you intend to take the exam with. I added a direct link to the slides. This way, if anything is not working, you have a few days to find another machine. Before you start the exam, you need to clean up your desk space and room. Make sure there are no papers, electronics, or anything within arm’s length of your device. Make sure that you tell your family or coworkers not to interrupt you during the exam. This is very important because if the proctor hears anything or sees anybody else in your camera, it’s an automatic failure. Something I didn’t realize the first time I took an exam at home: make sure you have your smartphone and a piece of ID nearby because you will need them during the check-in process. When I first did an exam online, I had my phone turned off and in another room. During the check-in process, it asked me to use my phone to submit a piece of my ID, so it took me extra time to go get the phone, turn it on, and everything. Make sure you have them by you. Also, make sure to close all of the apps and unnecessary services on your machine. The testing system will provide the proctor with a list of everything running, so try to close everything in advance. It makes the process a lot smoother. Last thing, if you’re doing the exam on a laptop, make sure to plug in your laptop or at least have a full battery.

To share with you what has worked for me personally, I actually prefer to do my exams on the dining table instead of in my office. I have too many gadgets in my office and things everywhere, so doing the exam at the dining table means there’s less for me to clean up. Also, I don’t have to worry about things such as the whiteboard or anything, as there’s a lot more space around me on the dining table, so really less for the proctor to check out before the exam. From a device perspective, I use an old laptop with a base Windows install. This way, there are fewer apps, notifications, services, and things to worry about during the exam. I know this is not possible for everyone, but I just wanted to share what has worked for me personally.

Now that we have our pre-exam preparations, you can actually begin online check-in and system check for the exam 30 minutes before the exam start time. This again gives you more time in case anything doesn’t work with your system and allows you to go through the process more calmly, knowing that you have the time. If everything goes smoothly, you’ll probably be able to start your exam even before the scheduled time. As soon as your system checks are ready, you’ll be put in a queue, and when a proctor is ready, you will be able to start the exam. But where do we start the exam from? You actually need to go to the Microsoft Learning Dashboard, and from there, you will see your appointments. If you have an online exam, you’ll have a button that says ‘Start the Online Exam’ right there. If we take a look at an overview of how it works, again at a very high-level view, you’ll first start the exam from the Learning Dashboard as we have talked about. Then it will ask you to download the OnVUE Proctor Exam app, in which you will first start by doing a system test. If everything goes well, you’ll provide your phone number and you will get a text message with a link where you can submit your information. You’ll be asked to take pictures of yourself, your ID, as well as your surroundings. After all of that is submitted, you’ll be connected with a proctor. Depending on the proctor you get, they might talk to you through the device speakers or they might write to you on the chat. Some of them are okay with only the pictures you provided; some of them might ask you to move your device camera around as they might want to see some more things in detail. After all of those checks by the proctor are good, you’re ready to take the exam. Remember, the proctor will always see you and hear everything through your device camera and microphone, and you are not allowed to mute it, stop it, or block the camera. If not, it’s an automatic disqualification. Pearson VUE also has their own nice preparation video on how to take an exam at home. It’s about 5 minutes long, so if you want to watch it, you have the link in the slides. It’s about in the middle of the page, and it’s a nice introduction video for the first time doing an exam at home.

DP-500 Retired + Azure Enterprise Data Analyst Associate Certification

Vlad Catrinescu — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 18:33:00 GMT

Microsoft has announced the retirement of exam DP-500 (Designing and Implementing Enterprise-Scale Analytics Solutions Using Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Power BI) and the Azure Enterprise Data Analyst Associate Certification. This video will cover all the details you need to know, including potential reasons for the replacement certification!

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Video Summary

Here are the key points from the video:

Microsoft announced the retirement of the DP-500 exam and the Azure Enterprise Data Analyst Associate certification, effective April 30, 2024.
You can still take the DP-500 exam until the retirement date, and the certification will remain valid for one year after passing it.
The DP-500 exam will be replaced by the DP-600 exam, which grants the Microsoft Certified Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate title.
The role of the Enterprise Data Analyst is evolving into an Analytics Engineer due to the introduction of Microsoft Fabric, an all-in-one analytics solution.
The PL-300 exam for Power BI Data Analyst Associate remains available for those focusing on Power BI certification.

For more information, read the transcript blog below, or watch the video above!

Video Transcript

Hello everyone and welcome to this video where we will talk about the retirement of the DP-500 exam and the Azure Enterprise Data Analyst Associate certification. This is already the third Microsoft certification exam to get retired in 2024, and we are only in February. In this video, we will cover when the retirement happens, what happens when a certification gets retired, and the good news that we actually have a replacement certification for this exam. So, we will of course talk about that. Let’s get started.

First of all, in a blog post on the Microsoft Community under the title of “Microsoft Credentials Roundup: In-Demand News for In-Demand Skills,” Microsoft announced the following: Microsoft Fabric, the all-in-one analytic solution that covers everything from data movement to data science, has enabled the role of the Enterprise Data Analyst to evolve into that of an Analytics Engineer. As a result, effective April 30, 2024, Microsoft will retire the Microsoft Certified Azure Enterprise Data Analyst Associate certification exam and exam DP-500, Designing and Implementing Enterprise-Scale Analytics Solutions Using Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Power BI.

To recap, Microsoft will retire the DP-500 exam and the associated certification, the Azure Enterprise Data Analyst Associate, on April 30, 2024. Remember, you can still take the exam until that date, and the certification will be valid for a year after you take it. If you already have the certification, you can still renew it, but eventually, it will expire. When a certification expires, it will still show on your profile and transcript, so everyone will know that you passed it. For associate-level certifications, the certification is valid for one year after you pass it. So, if you pass it between now and the end of April, you will still have it active for at least one year. After the certification expires, it will show up as an expired certification, similar to what happens if you do not renew a certification exam. It will show that you passed it, but it will say that the certification is currently expired.

I have some good news for you. We have a replacement certification. The replacement exam is DP-600, and it will give you the Microsoft Certified Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate title. This exam was released in beta on January 12, 2024. It is still in beta today, in the middle of February, and it was announced as the official replacement for the DP-500 exam towards the end of January. However, I want to emphasize that this is not a name change of the certification. If you had the Azure Enterprise Data Analyst Associate certification, you will not automatically get the Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate certification. Microsoft has done that in the past for some certifications when the exam name and number changed, but the certification stayed the same. This time, it is a brand-new role, so you would need to pass the new exam.

What does this mean for data professionals who want to get certified? First of all, let’s be honest here: Microsoft is all in for Microsoft Fabric as its suite of products that cover everything related to data. As soon as you hear “data,” think “Microsoft Fabric.” Even the Microsoft conference this year changed its name from the Azure Data Conference to the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference, showing a clear change in marketing and direction from Microsoft.

Now, what about Power BI? The DP-500 exam had quite a bit of Power BI content. The PL-300 exam, which is all about Power BI and is the Power BI Data Analyst Associate role, is still available. So, if you want to get Power BI certified, this is the certification you should be looking to get.

I want to hear your opinion. What do you think about this retirement? I’ll be honest, I’m more in the modern workspace of things, so I do not have or even intend to get the DP-600 certification. I’m doing this video to inform the community, and I actually had somebody reach out to me today about training for the DP-500, and they did not know it was about to expire. I wanted to make sure that everybody knows, as Microsoft didn’t do a full blog post about it. For those of you who are data engineers and data analysts, do you think this is the right move by Microsoft? Do you think that the role of the data analyst has evolved into a Fabric Analytics Engineer, or do you think that both roles should exist side by side and this is more of a marketing push by Microsoft? Please let me know in the comments below. If you found this quick video valuable, please like the video and subscribe to the channel to make sure you get the latest Microsoft certification news.

Understanding Types of Cloud Computing Services

Vlad Catrinescu — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 15:56:00 GMT

There’s A LOT to know about the different types of cloud computing – IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS! Not only is this vital information, but if you’re planning on getting AZ-900 certified, it’s even more imperative you know this!

Full Course

Video Summary

Here are the key points from the video:

Introduction to cloud computing services, focusing on IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.
Differences in management responsibilities between these services.
Pizza analogy to explain the concepts: making pizza at home (on-premises), buying frozen pizza (IaaS), pizza delivery (PaaS), and dining out (SaaS).
Examples of popular cloud service providers for each category.
Scenarios where each service type is beneficial, like test and development for IaaS, analytics for PaaS, and easy access to applications for SaaS.

For more information, read the transcript blog below, or watch the video above!

Video Transcript

Introduction to Microsoft Azure Cloud Concepts course. In this module, we will learn about the different types of cloud computing services. We will first start by doing an introduction and learning the difference between cloud computing services such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Next, we will take a look at different scenarios where each type of cloud computing service is the best fit. By the end of this module, you’ll be able to compare and contrast the main three different service types you will find in a cloud environment. Let’s start by introducing the types of cloud computing services.

There are multiple types of cloud computing services, but the three main ones are Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service. Let’s take a look at what the differences are. What really differs between those cloud computing services is how much you manage versus how much the cloud vendor manages. Let’s start with on-premises, which is really easy: you’re the one that manages everything from storage to the data center to networking, virtualization, and applications on top of it. Infrastructure as a Service delivers cloud computing infrastructure to organizations, including things such as servers, networks, and storage. You, as the client, still manage the operating system, the applications, as well as the data. Platform as a Service is mainly used for applications and provides a framework for developers that they can build upon and use to create customized applications. All servers, storage, and networking are managed by the third-party provider, while the developers can maintain management of the applications. Our last option is Software as a Service, in which you simply enjoy the service, pay a fee, but you don’t manage anything at all. Everything is managed by the vendor. A majority of Software as a Service applications are run directly through the web browser and do not require any downloads or installation on the client side.

While this may seem a bit complicated to grasp at first, let’s take a look at the same model but from a different perspective. Let’s compare our cloud computing services to everyone’s favorite food: pizza. Our on-premises model would be similar to making pizza at home from scratch. You make your own dough, you cut your own toppings, you put it in your own oven, and you eat it at your own table. Our Infrastructure as a Service model is similar to getting frozen pizza from the supermarket and cooking it at home. You pay for part of the service—the pizza dough, tomato sauce, toppings, cheese—but you still cook it yourself and eat it at your own table. The Platform as a Service is similar to pizza delivery, where the pizza comes to you already made and hot. You simply need to put it on plates and eat it at your own table. Finally, the Software as a Service is like dining out. You don’t have to bring or make anything except your wallet, but everything is taken care of by the vendor. You simply pay the bill for what you consume. Hopefully, this comparison with pizza allows you to better view the differences between the cloud computing service models.

Let’s take a look at some examples of cloud vendors and services in each category. For Infrastructure as a Service, some of the big players are Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Compute Engine. In the Platform as a Service, some big players are Heroku, Amazon Elastic Beanstalk, as well as Azure Logic Apps. In the Software as a Service, we’re looking at Office 365 by Microsoft, Google G Suite, Salesforce, and Dropbox. Of course, those are just a few of the most popular ones, but there are hundreds, if not thousands, of examples of cloud providers, with Software as a Service being probably the most popular one.

If we dive deeper and focus only on Microsoft, in Infrastructure as a Service, we have Azure Compute, which is the name for the virtual machines, and Azure Storage. In Platform as a Service, we have things such as Azure Logic Apps, Azure Functions, Azure Web Jobs, and Azure Automation. In the Software as a Service, we have services such as SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, Microsoft Teams, and the Power Platform. Those are just a few examples; Microsoft has over a dozen services in each one of those categories.

Now that we have seen the basics, let’s take a look at some scenarios for each cloud computing type. Let’s start with Infrastructure as a Service. Infrastructure as a Service is, first of all, perfect for test and development scenarios, as it allows you to turn on and off development machines only when needed, and you don’t need to pay for the hardware full-time. Storage and backups are also a great scenario for Infrastructure as a Service, as the pricing to keep backups in cold storage is very advantageous. High-performance computing and big data analysis, which are often things you only need for small periods of time but require very powerful computers, can be a great way to use Infrastructure as a Service, as you only pay for the time you need.

Now let’s talk about Platform as a Service. A great scenario is analytics or business intelligence. Tools provided as a service with Platform as a Service allow organizations to analyze and mine their data, finding insights and patterns, and predicting outcomes to improve forecasting, product design decisions, investment returns, and other business decisions. Platform as a Service is also great for developers. Platform as a Service lets developers create applications using built-in software components, and cloud features such as scalability and high availability are included, reducing the amount of coding that developers must do.

Finally, for Software as a Service, the main scenarios are getting access to sophisticated applications without the need to manage any of the infrastructure yourself. From a Microsoft perspective, think of the work required to install SharePoint, Exchange, and Skype for Business servers on-premises versus just using the same tool in the cloud in a matter of minutes. Software as a Service is also basically instant, where if you want to add more users, you just enable their license and they can use the service.

Before finishing up this module, let’s review what we have learned. In this module, we have learned the different types of cloud computing services, such as Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service, as well as how to differentiate between those three. We have also looked at different scenarios for each type of cloud computing service. This is it for this module. In the next module, we will learn about the different types of cloud computing deployment models. Thank you very much for listening, and I hope you found it informative.

Say Goodbye to 3 Azure Certification Exams

Vlad Catrinescu — Wed, 03 May 2023 13:42:00 GMT

The latest Microsoft certification news is that they are cutting another 3 exams, which are all Azure! Find out which certifications are getting cut and more!

Find out if you should close practice exam questions you’ve been using to study, in my latest video!

Video Highlights

– Microsoft Learn is in the process of doing its spring cleanup in its certification portfolio. We’re losing one associate-level certification and two different specialty-level certifications. If you’re looking at getting Microsoft 365 certified, make sure you watch that video as well.

– Microsoft has retired all its troubleshooting exams. Instead of taking the troubleshooting connectivity exam, Microsoft recommends that you focus on the associate-level exam called Azure Network Engineer Associate. This will also be available for renewal until January 31, 2024.

– Microsoft Certified Azure IoT Developer Specialty Certification. You can still take the exam until July 31, 2023. Even if the certification retires, it will still remain in your transcript. Azure is still the biggest and strongest certification portfolio by Microsoft Learn.

– What do you think about Microsoft retiring those three Azure certifications? Are they certifications you wanted to pass, or were you thinking, like, those serve no purpose? They should get canceled. Please let me know in the comments.

Video Transcript

In this video, we will learn to say goodbye to three Microsoft Azure certifications exams. Microsoft Learn is in the process of doing its spring cleanup in its certification portfolio.

And it’s not only about Azure. Two weeks ago, I did a video on how Microsoft cut half of the certification exams in their Modern Workplace portfolio. So if you’re looking at getting Microsoft 365 certified, make sure you watch that video as well at the end.

But today we are going to talk about what we’re losing in the Azure side. We’re actually losing one associate-level certification and two different specialty-level certifications. Let’s start talking about the exams.

The first exam we have to say goodbye to, and the first certification of course as well is the Microsoft Certify Azure Stack Hub Operator Associate. Their certification that we got after passing Exam AZ-600 exam. This certification exam and this certification will retire on July 31, 2023.

You can still take the exam before then, so it’s still available today and valid for another twelve months. Microsoft recommends that instead of trying to go for the AZ-600 instead, you will get those skills from the Azure Administrator Associate Certification exam. So the AZ-104 or the Microsoft certified Windows Server hybrid Admin associate certification path, which, of course, includes two different exams.

Remember that if you are a current certification holder, you will still have it, and you can still renew it. And in fact, the renewal window will stay open until January 31, 2024. So you can renew a certification six months before it expires.

So we will still see people have the certification until maybe even the end of 2024. The second certification that we have to say goodbye to is the Azure Support Engineer for Connectivity. This was a specialty-level certification, and it will retire on July 31, 2023, along with its associated exam, the Microsoft AZ-720 exam.

Many of you who have listened to my previous videos about the Modern Workplace exam retirements probably expected this one to be retired as well because Microsoft did completely retire the team’s troubleshooting and exchanged troubleshooting exams. This was the other troubleshooting exam in the certification portfolio by Microsoft. So the Azure one will bite the dust as well.

But you are more than welcome to take the exam anytime until July 31, 2023. And this one will also be valid for twelve months. Instead of taking the troubleshooting connectivity exam, Microsoft recommends that you focus on the associate-level exam called Azure Network Engineer Associate.

So the reason why Microsoft said they are retiring the troubleshooting exams is because so much more things are covered in how to configure tools rather than how to troubleshoot them. And in theory, if you understand how to configure and manage something, you should also be able to troubleshoot them. So that’s Microsoft’s reasoning behind retiring all their troubleshooting portfolio across different technologies similar to the previous exam.

This will also be available for renewal until January 31, 2024. So you could go take the exam today, renew it in January. Remember, you can do it six months before and have the certification still for an almost full two years or so.

You still have the opportunity to take it today. Last but not least, another specialty certification that I was not necessarily expecting. The Microsoft Certified Azure IoT Developer specialty Certification.

IoT stands for Internet of Things. Honestly, I really wasn’t expecting this certification to go away because the Internet of Things devices are still taking over the world, and using Azure as a back-end platform is a great skilling challenge for developers. So Microsoft, the way they explained it is that working with IoT is done by multiple roles.

You rarely have a dedicated role that only does IoT on top of Azure. Instead, both architects should know about IoT. Every developer should know about IoT.

So they found that the dedicated specialty certification exam did not have its place anymore. You can still take the exam until July 31, 2023. Again, it will be valid for twelve months.

And if you pass the certification before them or you have it today, you can still renew it until January 31, 2024. And after that it will remain on your transcript, but will just show up as retired. So if you’re thinking about getting those certifications, you’re probably asking yourself, what should you do? The first thing I want to talk about is remembering that at the end of the day, the skills you have, the demo projects, and the actual projects matter way more than a certification.

My tip for you, my recommendation, would be, if you’re already studying for the certification, you’re maybe halfway through 75% the way through. Don’t give up now. Finish your studies, go get certified.

And remember, even if the certification retires, it will still remain in your transcript, still something you’ll be able to talk about to potential employers, that you did that certification, that you have the skills to do those different tasks. Also, if you don’t want to go for that specific certification, remember you can focus on some of the recommended alternate certifications that we talked about. So instead of, for example, the troubleshooting networking in Azure, go for the configuring networking in Azure, and so on.

Even with those retirements, Azure is still the biggest and strongest certification portfolio by Microsoft Learn. I mean after retirements, for all of those, Azure will have 18 certifications. Dynamics 365 will have eleven.

Because they’re also losing a few certifications, Microsoft 365 or Modern Workplace is losing a lot of them. They will only have six. So Microsoft 365 will be the one with the lowest number of certifications.

And finally, both Security and Power Platform will have seven certifications each. So, as you can see, Azure is still the biggest by far. Now, everything I talked about here is also in an official announcement that Microsoft put out recently, the title of the blog is called Announcing Updates to Azure and Support Engineer Training and Certification Portfolios, and you will find it on the Microsoft Learn blog on the tech community.

You have a link here on the slides, and you will also have a link in the description of the video below. Now this is it for this short video. I wanted to keep it short and sweet.

I really hope you enjoyed and please let me know in the comments. What do you think about Microsoft retiring those three Azure certifications? Is it certifications you wanted to pass or certifications that maybe you were thinking, like, hey, those serve no purpose, they should get canceled, and you’re happy to see this? So make sure you let me know in the comments.

And remember, if you want to get the latest Microsoft certification news, click that subscribe button. This way, you’ll get notified as soon as there’s anything new and exciting in the Microsoft certification world. Thank you very much again for listening to this video and for making it this far.

I really hope you enjoyed it.

Interested in software development? Want to learn the backbone of all Microsoft 365 Online technology? Awesome! If you’re looking for a little help passing the AZ-900, take a look at my AZ-900 study guide.

Free Azure Training and AZ-900 Exam Voucher

Vlad Catrinescu — Sun, 12 Apr 2020 17:51:04 GMT

In the next few months, Microsoft will be running multiple free full day of virtual training on the Fundamentals of Azure! As a bonus, they are even giving away a free Microsoft Exam voucher so you can go take the AZ-900 Exam at the time of your choice! Different slots are filling out fast, so reserve your spot today!

Here is the description directly from Microsoft:

To create your vision for tomorrow, you need to understand what the cloud can do for you and your company today. Microsoft Azure Virtual Training Day: Fundamentals explains cloud-computing concepts, models, and services, covering topics such as public, private, and hybrid cloud as well as infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, and software as a service.

Common cloud concepts
Benefits of Azure
Strategies for transitioning to Azure cloud
Azure computing, networking, storage and security basis

During this free virtual event you will learn:

By attending the event, you will have the knowledge needed to take the AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals certification exam and receive a voucher to take the exam for free at a date and time of your choice.

Virtual training will be in English.

All of those virtual trainings are directly given by Microsoft and in multiple timezones! Here are some options!

**April 21st :**Registration for this session is full.
April 28/29 : Registration for this session is full.
May 5th: Registration for this session is full.
May 12/13 : Registration for this session is full.
May 27 / 28 (Pacific Time Zone): Registration for this session is full.
June 2nd (Eastern Time Zone): Registration for this session is full.
June 17th (Pacific Time Zone): https://info.microsoft.com/en-us-landing-MicrosoftAzureVirtualTrainingDayFundamentalsMaster-jun17-none.html?ls=Website&lsd=AzureWebsite
June 24-25 (Pacific Time Zone): https://info.microsoft.com/en-us-landing-MicrosoftAzureVirtualTrainingDayFundamentals-None.html?ls=Website&lsd=AzureWebsite

There are more options available and you can see them all over here: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-ca/community/events/?query=Microsoft+Azure+Training+Day%3A+Fundamentals

If you want additional study material before going for the exam, check out my AZ-900 Study Guide over here: AZ-900 Study Guide: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

Microsoft Certification Paths for Azure and Microsoft 365 in 2019

Vlad Catrinescu — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 15:42:45 GMT

As most of the followers of my blog are aware, Microsoft has completely revamped their certification paths starting in 2018, with the complete roll out starting in 2019. There is still some confusion out there in what are the different options available, what certs are available, and what are the prerequisites for each. There is some great documentation made by Microsoft out there, but it’s hard to find so I wanted to share it all out in a blog! None of those pictures were created by me, all of them are made by Microsoft, but hopefully this blog will make it a lot easier for you to find!

Apps and Infrastructure Azure Certifications Overview

Microsoft Certified Azure Fundamentals

PS : Check out my own Study Guide here as well : AZ-900 Study Guide: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

Azure Administrator Associate

PS : Check out my own Study Guide here as well : Microsoft Certification Study Guides

Azure Developer Associate

Azure DevOps Engineer Expert

Azure Solutions Architect Expert

Azure Data and AI Certifications Overview

Azure Data Scientist Associate

Azure Data Engineer Associate

Azure AI Engineer Associate

Microsoft 365 Certifications Overview

Modern Desktop Administrator Associate

Teamwork Administrator Associate

Check out the study guides:

MS-300: Microsoft Certification Study Guides
MS-301: Microsoft Certification Study Guides

Messaging Administrator Associate

Security Administrator Associate

Enterprise Administrator Expert

This is it for the blog post, you can find the original source of the documents over here.

How much does a SharePoint farm in Microsoft Azure cost?

Vlad Catrinescu — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 16:00:53 GMT

Last month, I created a step by step tutorial on how to Create a SharePoint 2013 Farm in Azure Step by Step by using the new “SharePoint Farm” template in the new (and still beta) Azure portal.

One of the most popular questions I got is how much does a farm in azure cost? So, I decided to sacrifice my monthly Azure credits for the community in order to give you the exact answer.

So by using the same step by step I started to create my farm at exactly 1PM on Day 0. I created a SharePoint farm that respects the SharePoint Minimum requirements and should be able to run a good development environment without any problems. At the moment of starting the wizard, I had exactly 157.48$ left on my MSDN Subscription.

	DC	SQL	SharePoint
VM Template	A1	A5	A4
RAM	1.75 GB	14 GB	14 GB
Number of Cores	1	2	8

The SharePoint Farm was successfully deployed at 2:18 PM on Day1 and I used it very lightly for about one hour.

In order to determine when exactly my credits finished, I used the email that Azure sends when your credits run out. So, I received the email at 4:48 PM on Day 8. Therefore, 157$ gives us about 194.5 hours of a SharePoint farm in Azure. So, if you work about 9h per day, for 20 days a month, that makes 180h so, provided you turn off your Virtual Machines at night, you should have enough time to run your SharePoint farm for free in Azure!

However, please note that under heavy usage, you might have a lot more bandwidth & storage usage than I did on the farm I barely even played it, so you might get a little less time than I got in this test.

If anyone has other metrics that they took from their experiments with SharePoint in Azure or tips on how to make your SharePoint farm last longer on the credit, please do not hesitate to share!