The complete guide on Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions (AZ-305) Certification

With the AZ 305 certification, Azure Solution Architects can learn how to create infrastructure solutions. However, they should possess expertise in governance, storage, data integration, computation, application architecture, authentication, networks, business continuity, and migrations.

This certification is meant to help aspiring Solutions Architects find better job opportunities, all the while validating their skills. In this article, we will take a look at Microsoft updates, exam format, skills measured, and how to prepare for the AZ 305 exam.

Microsoft Updates

Microsoft regularly evaluates its certifications and courses to stay up to date with industry requirements. In addition, they keep assessing the skills needed to succeed in a cloud-based environment. Keeping this in mind, they have discontinued the Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ 304) Certification.

Microsoft also frequently examines the target domain, and in this instance, AZ-303 and AZ-304 share many similarities. Finally, Microsoft chose AZ-304 as a requirement and integrated AZ-303 and AZ-304 into one credential, i.e., AZ-305 certification, in response to the feedback it received on these tests.

Skills Measured

Candidates for this test should have extensive expertise and knowledge of IT operations, including governance, virtualization, networking, identity management, and security. An expert in this position should control how choices in each area affect the final outcome. They should be familiar with Azure administration and development. Certified professionals must also have knowledge of DevOps procedures.

Exam Details

• Prior certification: Not required
• Exam validity: 1 year
• Exam Fee: $165 USD (fee varies with the country or region in which the exam is proctored)
• Duration: 120 minutes
• No. of questions: 55 questions
• Format: multiple choice, drag, and drop, case studies, multiple responses, true or false, yes/no.
• Languages: English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese (Traditional), Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Indonesian (Indonesia)

Prerequisites

Candidates should possess the following skills to clear the certification exam:

• Manage identities and governance in Azure
• Implement and manage storage in Azure
• Deploy and manage Azure compute resources
• Monitor and back up Azure resources
• Configure and manage virtual networks

Moreover, prior to attempting the AZ 305 exam, candidates should have experience with and an excellent conceptual understanding of the following:

• Active Directory in Azure
• VMs, containers, and serverless technologies are examples of Azure compute technologies.
• Load balancers will be a part of Azure’s virtual networking.
• Technologies for Azure Storage (unstructured and databases)
• general principles of application architecture, like communications and high availability

How to Prepare for the AZ 305 Exam?

Check eligibility:

Read the skill guide and become familiar with all the concepts that might be tested in the exam. Then, target each skill and concept individually. Learn, comprehend, and practice them several times.

Find resources

A good training resource is a learner’s guiding light. Good learning resources are essential after you begin the preparation. You can use free Microsoft resources as well as instructor-led training. If you want more in-depth knowledge, consider opting for an online course. Also, make the most of whitepapers and reference books.

Take online courses:

You can take an online course from an established learning institution, where industry experts teach the concepts. RPS Consulting provides training to candidates to clear the AZ 305 exam with defined modules and help from industry experts.

Practice tests

After you’ve finished learning, you need to evaluate your readiness using practice tests. They inform you of the concepts you are missing and the work you need to do to make up for them. Mock tests are a great way to see if you are able to complete the exam in the given time frame.

Practical Labs

The ideal approach to getting ready for any certification is to practice in a setting where you may try, fail, and learn. For example, you may use case studies for the AZ 305 certification, which will teach you how to solve complicated situations.

What Does a Solutions Architect do?

Companies utilizing Microsoft Azure want their Azure Solution Architect to have experience and knowledge in IT operations; these include:

• Networking
• Business continuity
• Identity
• Security
• Disaster recovery
• Data platforms
• Virtualization
• Governance

An Azure solution architect’s duties include advising stakeholders and converting business requirements into creating safe, adaptable, and dependable Azure cloud solutions.

Azure Solution Architects also collaborate with Azure Developers, Azure Administrators, and other roles to implement the most effective Azure infrastructure solutions.

They are in charge of overseeing how decisions in each of these areas affect a solution as a whole. Typically, this position has knowledge of DevOps procedures, Azure management, and Azure development.

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped you understand the role a Microsoft-certified solution architect plays. The AZ 305 certification is a prerequisite for becoming a Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert. So, take your time, use Microsoft Learn, and utilize online resources, and you will be ready to ace this test. Good luck!