Microsoft
Microsoft Azure Administrator
Operate an Azure estate: identity, network, compute, storage, monitoring.
- Exam code
- AZ-104
- Duration
- Around 120 minutes
- Pass mark
- 700 out of 1000, scaled
- Valid for
- 1 year, renewed free online
- Typical preparation
- 6 to 10 weeks
- Retake
- Paid, with an escalating waiting period
What the exam actually is
AZ-104 is the operational Azure exam. It mixes multiple choice with case studies and, depending on the sitting, interactive labs in a real portal. It is broad rather than deep, and it punishes candidates who studied one service family and skimmed the rest.
Who it is for
- Administrators running workloads in Azure day to day
- Windows and Linux sysadmins whose estate is moving to Azure
- Engineers who need the prerequisite footing for AZ-305 or the DevOps track
Prerequisites
None formally. Familiarity with PowerShell or the Azure CLI, ARM or Bicep templates, and basic networking is assumed throughout.
Where candidates lose points
- Entra ID, RBAC scope inheritance and governance carry the heaviest weight
- Know exactly which networking constructs can and cannot be changed after creation
- Backup, recovery and monitoring alerts are consistently under-prepared by candidates
- The yearly renewal is free and online: plan for it rather than being surprised
Why it is worth doing
Azure is the default cloud in most European enterprises, and AZ-104 is the credential their hiring processes filter on.
Official AZ-104 page — always the authority on price, format and validity.
Preparing for AZ-104 on a deadline?
Practise against the official domain weights, and get told when a AZ-104 discount appears instead of paying full price.