AZ-104: Predict your score.
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Turn hands-on administrator practice into a readiness forecast for identity, storage, compute, networking, and monitoring — calculated privately on your device.
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AZ-104Microsoft Azure Administrator
AZ-104 · 30 days left ›
PREDICTED786 ±37✓ Exam Ready · 87% confidence
AZ-104 Practice Questions & Exam Prep — Microsoft Azure Administrator
Prepare for AZ-104 on iPhone or iPad by tracking evidence across its five administrator workloads: identity, storage, compute, networking, and monitoring. Azure Mastery turns those results into an on-device forecast, prioritises the next operational skill to revisit, and keeps the core study flow available offline. Optional sync uses your private iCloud account.
The exam
What is the AZ-104 exam?
AZ-104 is the Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate exam — the credential most hiring managers expect when posting "Cloud Administrator (Azure)" or "Azure Sysadmin" roles. It's the natural next step after AZ-900 for anyone who administers Azure environments day-to-day, and the foundation underneath architecture (AZ-305), cloud and AI security (SC-500), and networking (AZ-700) specialisms.
Unlike Fundamentals exams, AZ-104 is hands-on and practical. It covers:
Manage identities and RBAC at scale
Implement storage with the right redundancy and access strategy
Deploy and configure VMs, containers, and App Service
Manage virtual networks and security groups
Monitor a live environment, with Backup and Site Recovery in place for disaster recovery
Expect questions that show you a Bicep file or Azure CLI command and ask you to predict the outcome.
Microsoft updated the AZ-104 skills outline on 17 April 2026, with minor updates to storage configuration, virtual machine management, container provisioning, and monitoring. Every question in Azure Mastery's AZ-104 bank is mapped to the current outline — no leftover questions on retired features. Read the official outline at learn.microsoft.com.
Questions40–60 questions, mixed formats
Duration100 minutes (120 min seat)
Pass score700 / 1000
CostUSD $165 (≈ £128 UK)
ValidityRenew annually (Associate)
FormatOnline or test centre
Skills measured · 17 April 2026
AZ-104 exam objectives
Five domains, with weights set by Microsoft's 17 April 2026 update. Every domain below lists Microsoft's own skill groups verbatim from the official skills outline, so you always know which domain you're being tested on and where your weak spots cluster.
Azure skill mapIdentityComputeNetworkOperations
Manage Azure identities and governancePublished weight 20–25%
105 exam-scoped practice questions in the app
Explore Identity topics
Manage Microsoft Entra users and groups
Manage access to Azure resources
Manage Azure subscriptions and governance
Tests day-to-day Entra ID admin, RBAC scope assignment, and governance controls: Azure Policy, resource locks, tags, and budgets.
Most candidates miss which scope a role was assigned at — subscription roles cascade down, resource-group roles don't reach up.
Trace an assigned role from management group down to a single resource before exam day; scope is the recurring trap.
Implement and manage storagePublished weight 15–20%
104 exam-scoped practice questions in the app
Explore Storage topics
Configure access to storage
Configure and manage storage accounts
Configure Azure Files and Azure Blob Storage
Configuring an account correctly for a stated need — redundancy tier, access method, encryption — matters more than simply creating one.
Candidates mix up four access mechanisms: firewall rules, SAS tokens, access keys, and identity-based Azure Files access.
Pair each scenario with its access mechanism on paper first; the exam rewards distinguishing them, not naming them.
Deploy and manage Azure compute resourcesPublished weight 20–25%
133 exam-scoped practice questions in the app
Explore Compute topics
Automate deployment of resources by using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates or Bicep files
Create and configure virtual machines
Provision and manage containers in the Azure portal
Create and configure Azure App Service
Covers reading, modifying, and deploying Bicep or ARM templates, VM sizing and disks, containers, and App Service.
Scale sets, availability sets, and availability zones get confused — each protects against a different kind of failure.
Build one VM, one container instance, and one App Service app by hand; the exam tests configuration, not recall.
Implement and manage virtual networkingPublished weight 15–20%
104 exam-scoped practice questions in the app
Explore Network topics
Configure and manage virtual networks in Azure
Configure secure access to virtual networks
Configure name resolution and load balancing
Work through subnet address ranges and public IP allocation before tracing a connection failure; each setting affects a different part of the path.
Compare effective rules at the subnet and NIC, including priority and direction, before changing an NSG. An application security group only helps when an NSG rule uses it.
For a Storage account restricted to selected networks, check both the subnet service endpoint and the account's virtual-network rule. Use DNS and route diagnostics to isolate other failures.
Try a two-subnet lab: place a VM in each subnet, assign a public IP to only one VM, and inspect each NIC's effective security rules. Then restrict a test storage account to one subnet. If access fails, trace name resolution, NSG evaluation, the service endpoint and the account rule in that order. Record which control explains each result before changing a setting. Keep the matched rule priority and observed route beside your notes so you can explain the outcome from evidence.
Monitor and maintain Azure resourcesPublished weight 10–15%
75 exam-scoped practice questions in the app
Explore Monitor topics
Monitor resources in Azure
Implement backup and recovery
Smallest domain by weight but often decides a borderline score: Monitor metrics, log queries, alerts, backup, and Site Recovery.
Soft delete, versioning, and backup restore get treated as one control when they solve three separate recovery problems.
Set up one alert rule and one backup policy yourself, then practise interpreting their output — that's what the exam expects.
Common traps
Where AZ-104 candidates slip
Five recurring misconceptions that trip up otherwise well-prepared AZ-104 candidates, grounded in the current skills outline.
Subscription scope vs resource-group scope
Candidates read which role was assigned but miss the scope it was assigned at, so cascading access catches them off guard.
Subscription-level roles cascade down into every resource group and resource inside it; resource-group roles never reach back up.
Note the exact scope named in the scenario before you pick an answer — the role name alone rarely settles it.
Soft delete, versioning, and lifecycle management aren't the same control
These three storage features sound like one thing but each recovers from a different kind of loss.
Soft delete recovers a deletion, versioning recovers an overwrite, and lifecycle rules only ever move or expire ageing data.
Match the scenario's exact failure — deleted, overwritten, or simply old — to the one control that actually fixes it.
NSGs and application security groups aren't two names for the same thing
An application security group looks like a firewall rule on its own, but it filters nothing until an NSG references it.
Of these two objects, the NSG filters traffic; the ASG groups VM network interfaces by role for an NSG rule to reference.
Check for an NSG rule actually referencing the ASG before assuming any traffic is being filtered.
Availability sets, availability zones, and scale sets protect against different failures
These three sound interchangeable, but each guards against a different scale of hardware or datacentre failure.
An availability set spreads VMs across fault and update domains; deploying across availability zones adds datacentre-level isolation, while a scale set manages a group of VMs and can autoscale it.
Match "protect against a datacentre outage" to zones specifically — this is one of the exam's most common misses.
Private endpoints add a private path; public access is a separate setting
A service endpoint keeps traffic on the Azure backbone, but the resource still keeps its public IP unless firewalled off.
A private endpoint assigns a network interface a private IP inside your VNet, but it does not automatically disable the resource's public network access.
For a "no public access" requirement, use a private endpoint and disable or restrict the service's public network access; a service endpoint alone won't satisfy it.
Designed for AZ-104
How Azure Mastery helps you pass AZ-104
Exam-specific practice
521 AZ-104 practice questions aligned to the published skills outline.
Coverage follows the official five domains, heaviest on identity and compute at 20–25% each.
Practise reading a Bicep file or Azure CLI command and predicting its outcome — the exam's real style.
Predicted score
Exam IQ forecasts your AZ-104 score on-device after roughly 30 questions, confidence range attached.
It names the specific networking, storage, or compute topic dragging that number down.
See which of the five domains needs the most work before you book the exam.
Adaptive study plan
Your plan leans hardest on identity and compute, the domains Microsoft weights joint-heaviest at 20–25%.
Miss an NSG or availability-zone question and the next session surfaces that domain first.
Master a topic across three sessions and the plan moves on to your next weak spot.
Knowledge decay
Forget the RBAC scope rules early on and governance, storage, and networking questions all get harder later.
The Today screen flags topics approaching decay so you revisit before they fade for good.
Focus Weak Spots sessions pull decayed topics back into rotation automatically.
Exam rehearsal
Practise holding focus through a full 100-minute session, matching the real exam's length.
The domain mix follows the published weighting, using original questions rather than reproduced content.
Microsoft, not Azure Mastery, sets the live exam's exact interface and question order.
Answer Coach
Untangles AZ-104's near-identical pairs: NSGs vs application security groups, availability zones vs sets vs scale sets.
Get one wrong and Answer Coach names the exact property of the scenario that should have driven your answer.
On supported devices, an optional on-device rewrite is checked against the written explanation first.
Aura guidance
Aura changes its suggestions as your first week of AZ-104 practice unfolds.
Each session ends with a short recap: what improved, what to revisit, and your next move.
Private by design
Your AZ-104 answer history, readiness gauge, and Answer Coach notes never leave your device by default.
No Azure Mastery account or server sees your study data at any point.
Sync, if you turn it on, runs through your own private iCloud account only.
6-week study plan
Suggested AZ-104 study plan
Build from identity and storage to compute, networking and recovery. Follow these six weeks of study blocks, then use timed practice to decide what needs more attention.
Microsoft Entra ID
Manage users, groups and licences.
Review external-user access.
Configure self-service password reset.
Azure role-based access
Compare built-in roles.
Assign roles at management group and subscription scope.
Practise resource group and resource-level assignments.
Governance and cost
Organise subscriptions and management groups.
Apply Azure Policy, locks and tags.
Set budgets and cost alerts.
Storage accounts
Configure accounts and compare access methods.
Review redundancy and replication.
Apply encryption and identity-based Azure Files access.
Files and blobs
Manage file shares, snapshots and soft delete.
Compare Blob Storage access tiers.
Configure lifecycle policies and versioning.
Infrastructure as code
Read ARM templates and Bicep.
Practise modifying, deploying and converting templates.
Use Bicep question drills to check your understanding.
Virtual machines
Practise provisioning, sizing and disk choices.
Compare availability zones, sets and scale sets.
Review encryption at host.
Containers and web apps
Compare ACR, ACI and Container Apps.
Configure App Service plans and scaling.
Review certificates, custom DNS and deployment slots.
Virtual networking
Configure VNets, subnets and peering.
Compare NSGs, application security groups and Bastion.
Review endpoints, Azure DNS and load balancers.
Monitoring
Explore metrics, logs and log queries.
Configure alerts and action groups.
Review Insights and Network Watcher.
Backup and recovery
Configure Recovery Services vaults and Azure Backup.
Review backup policies.
Practise Site Recovery failover testing.
Target weaker topics
Run Focus Weak Spots sessions.
Review explanations for missed questions.
Return to domains that need more practice.
Timed rehearsal
Complete two 100-minute Exam Simulator sessions.
Review each run carefully.
Identify recurring mistakes.
Light review
Revisit your key notes.
Allow time to rest.
Use your practice results to decide whether more study is needed.
Inside the app
Nine interactive practice formats, on iPhone
Azure Mastery has nine interactive formats for exam practice. The examples below show original AZ-104 practice questions in Azure Mastery on iPhone and iPad. The exam simulator uses timed sessions with the published domain weights. Microsoft's live interface and question mix may differ.
Which access tier should you configure for the Legal department's storage account?
Hot
Cool
Cold
Archive
Multiple choice
An original AZ-104 practice question with one correct answer. The app explains every option after you answer.
Exam-specific sample
Which two storage account kinds can host Azure file shares? Select two.
StorageV2 (general purpose v2)
FileStorage
BlobStorage
BlockBlobStorage
Multi-select
An original AZ-104 multi-select question. Select all the correct options to earn the mark.
All-or-nothing
Arrange the steps to deploy resources using an ARM template in the correct order.
⋮⋮1Create or identify the target resource group
⋮⋮2Author or export the ARM template JSON file
⋮⋮3Validate the template: az deployment group validate
⋮⋮4Deploy: az deployment group create or use the Azure portal Deploy button
Drag-and-drop
An original AZ-104 ordering question you can answer by touch on iPhone and iPad.
Interactive item
You need to configure autoscaling for a virtual machine scale set in the Azure Portal.
Hotspot
An original AZ-104 question with a visual prompt, designed for touch on iPhone and iPad.
Tap target
VMSS Instances Not Scaling Out
1Solution: Reduce the time aggregation window for the scale-out rule from 10…
2Solution: Lower the scale-out CPU threshold from 75% to 60%. Does this solution…
3Solution: Verify that the autoscale setting is enabled (not disabled) for the…
Case studies
An original AZ-104 case study with several questions about the same requirements and environment.
Multi-question
✕Your answer: Hot
✨ Answer Coach:The Hot tier carries the highest per-gigabyte storage cost in exchange for the lowest access cost, which is wasted spend for data the Legal department touches only rarely and keeps for a decade.
— grounded in authored certification guidance
Answer Coach
Answer Coach explains why the answer is correct and, where available, why each option is right or wrong. It helps you understand a mistake and remember the distinction. Read explanations after each question or at the end of a practice test. On supported devices, optional AI can reword a note on your device after checking it against the written guidance.
App exclusive
Frequently asked
AZ-104 FAQs
How much does the AZ-104 exam cost?
The AZ-104 voucher costs USD $165 in the United States, or around £128 in the UK. Microsoft occasionally runs free-voucher promotions around events like Build or Ignite — check your Learn profile before booking. Renewal afterwards is free.
Does the AZ-104 certification expire?
Yes — Microsoft Associate certifications including AZ-104 expire annually. Renewal is a free, short online assessment on Microsoft Learn, taken within six months of your expiry date. Fundamentals certs such as AZ-900 don't expire the same way.
What is the AZ-104 retake policy if I fail?
Retake timing depends on your attempt number, and each attempt needs a new voucher.
First retake: after 24 hours.
Second and third retakes: a 14-day wait each.
Cap: five attempts per rolling 12 months.
How long should I study for AZ-104?
Most candidates with prior Azure experience plan four to eight weeks; longer if administration is new to you. Practise every domain hands-on — portal, Azure CLI, PowerShell, and Bicep — rather than reading alone. Azure Mastery's readiness gauge tells you when you're actually exam-ready.
What prior experience does AZ-104 assume?
AZ-104 assumes you already know operating systems, networking, and virtualisation, plus hands-on PowerShell, Azure CLI, and Bicep. It's written for a working administrator, not someone learning what a virtual machine is. If that's genuinely new ground, start with AZ-900 or general IT experience first.
AZ-104 vs AZ-900 — which should I take first?
Take AZ-900 (Microsoft Azure Fundamentals) first if you have under six months of hands-on Azure experience — it builds the conceptual map AZ-104 assumes. With a year or more of practical work, skip straight to AZ-104; most hiring managers care about it specifically, and AZ-900 often disappears from CVs once it's earned.
AZ-104 vs AZ-305 — which next?
Pass AZ-104 first. It's the Associate operational cert; AZ-305 is the Expert architectural cert that assumes you already know AZ-104's material and adds requirements gathering, capacity planning, and governance design. Most architects hold both — one proves you've done the work, the other that you can design it.
Is Azure Mastery free for AZ-104 prep?
The app is free to download, with a free allowance of AZ-104 questions so you can try every feature. The full bank of 521 AZ-104 practice questions unlocks with a one-time exam-pack purchase, or unlock every exam with a subscription or lifetime upgrade.
Does AZ-104 practice work offline?
Yes — questions, scoring, and the readiness prediction all run on-device, so a commute or a flight with no signal doesn't stop your AZ-104 prep. There's no account requirement, and study data stays on your device unless you turn on private iCloud sync.
Is there an AZ-104 practice test mode?
Yes. Timed sessions pull from the same blueprint-weighted question pool, follow Microsoft's published timing, and support every interactive item type AZ-104 uses. Between sessions, adaptive study and Focus Weak Spots keep steering you back to your lowest-accuracy domains.
Free study guides
Free guides that pair with AZ-104
Where AZ-104 fits
Certification paths that include AZ-104
AZ-104 is the workhorse Associate cert — it appears as the Associate-level prerequisite or terminal exam in five Microsoft Azure certification paths. Tap any other exam to see its dedicated study app page.
AZ-104 sits in the middle of the Azure cert path. AZ-900 builds the foundation; AZ-305, SC-500, and AZ-700 are current next steps for architecture, cloud and AI security, and networking specialisms.
Ready to pass AZ-104?
Put all five Azure Administrator domains into one revision loop: 521 AZ-104 practice questions, timed rehearsals, a local readiness forecast, and a plan that points to the next operational gap. Available on iPhone and iPad.
