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Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure (AZ-204)

Packt - Course Instructors

Master the art of developing scalable, efficient, and secure solutions on Microsoft Azure with this comprehensive course tailored for aspiring Azure developers. You'll gain hands-on experience in deploying virtual machines, managing containerized applications, and implementing cloud-native technologies.

The course begins by setting up your development environment, and walking you through tools like Git, Azure CLI, and Visual Studio. From there, you'll learn to create and manage Azure resources, including App Service Web Apps, Azure Functions, and Cosmos DB. Each module builds on the last, equipping you with the knowledge to design, deploy, and monitor robust applications.

As you progress, you'll dive into advanced topics like securing application data with Azure Key Vault, implementing user authentication with Azure AD, and creating event-driven and message-based solutions using Azure Service Bus and Event Grid. Each topic is supported by real-world exercises to solidify your understanding.

This course is ideal for developers looking to enhance their Azure expertise or prepare for the AZ-204 certification exam. A foundational knowledge of programming and cloud concepts is recommended. Whether you’re a beginner to Azure or looking to deepen your skills, this course offers valuable insights into Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem.

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What's inside

Syllabus

Overview

In this module, we will introduce you to the Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure (AZ-204) course. You will gain insights into the certification's requirements and learn how to set up your development environment, including tools like Git, Azure CLI, and IDEs like Visual Studio Code and Visual Studio Community Edition.

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Read about what's good

what should give you pause

and possible dealbreakers

Provides hands-on experience with Azure CLI, equipping learners with practical skills for managing Azure resources and automating tasks, which is essential for cloud development

Covers Azure Functions, enabling learners to build serverless applications, which is a modern approach to application development that reduces infrastructure management overhead

Explores Azure Cosmos DB, a globally distributed database service, which is useful for building scalable and high-performance applications that require low latency and high availability

Includes securing cloud solutions with Azure Key Vault and Managed Identities, which are critical for protecting sensitive data and ensuring compliance with security standards

Requires foundational knowledge of programming and cloud concepts, so learners without this background may need to acquire it before taking the course

Teaches API Management in Azure, which allows learners to create, manage, and secure APIs, but learners should be aware of the costs associated with using this service

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Reviews summary

Preparation for azure az-204 certification

According to learners, this course is a highly valuable resource for those preparing for the AZ-204 certification exam. Students praise the clear explanations and comprehensive coverage of Azure services. The hands-on labs and practical exercises are frequently highlighted as being particularly effective for solidifying understanding and providing real-world experience. While some found certain sections challenging or felt additional resources were sometimes needed, the overall sentiment suggests it's a strong foundation for developing Azure solutions and tackling the exam.

Some topics move quickly, others in-depth.

"Some modules felt a bit rushed, while others went into great detail. Could be more consistent pacing."

"I found some topics needed more explanation or examples, while others were very thorough."

"There were a few areas where I had to seek external resources to fully understand the concepts presented quickly."

Broad range of AZ-204 topics covered.

"This course covers a wide array of services required for the AZ-204, touching on App Services, Functions, Cosmos DB, etc."

"I was impressed by how many different Azure components and services were included in the syllabus."

"The breadth of topics was good, providing a solid overview of the AZ-204 requirements."

Content is easy to follow and understand.

"The instructor explains complex topics clearly and concisely, making it easy to grasp the material."

"I found the explanations in the videos very straightforward and helpful for understanding the Azure concepts."

"The way the course content is presented makes it very accessible, even for tricky subjects."

Practical exercises enhance understanding.

"The hands-on labs were the most valuable part for me. Doing the exercises helped reinforce the concepts explained in the lectures."

"I really appreciated the practical aspect with the labs. It's crucial to get hands-on experience when learning Azure."

"The course provides useful labs that simulate real-world scenarios, making learning much more effective."

Excellent preparation for the AZ-204 exam.

"This course was instrumental in my preparation for the AZ-204 certification exam. It covered the key topics comprehensively."

"I felt well-prepared for the AZ-204 test after completing this course. The topics aligned nicely with the exam objectives."

"If you are studying for the AZ-204, this is a great resource. It hits the important areas needed for the certification."

Best suited for those with foundational skills.

"While the course is good, having some prior experience with Azure or cloud concepts definitely helps."

"I recommend having a basic understanding of programming and Azure before diving into this course."

"As a beginner, some sections were a bit fast-paced and assumed prior familiarity with certain technologies."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure (AZ-204) with these activities:

Review Core Azure Concepts

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Reinforce foundational knowledge of Azure services and concepts to better understand the course material.

Browse courses on Azure Fundamentals

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Review the Azure documentation on core services.
Complete a practice quiz on Azure fundamentals.
Identify areas where your knowledge is weak.

Brush Up on Git Fundamentals

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Practice Git commands to ensure smooth collaboration and version control throughout the course.

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Review basic Git commands like commit, push, and pull.
Practice branching and merging in a local repository.
Familiarize yourself with Git workflows.

Deploy a Simple Web App to Azure

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Gain hands-on experience deploying a web application to Azure App Service to solidify understanding of deployment processes.

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Create a basic web application using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Create an Azure App Service Web App using the Azure portal or CLI.
Deploy the web application to the Azure App Service Web App.
Test the deployed web application.

Four other activities

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Follow Azure Quickstart Tutorials

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Work through Azure quickstart tutorials to gain practical experience with various Azure services.

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Select a few Azure quickstart tutorials related to the course topics.
Follow the tutorials step-by-step, paying attention to the details.
Experiment with different configurations and options.

Document Your Azure Learning Journey

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Create a blog or journal to document your learning process, challenges, and solutions encountered during the course.

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Create a blog or journal using a platform like Medium or a personal website.
Document your learning process for each module.
Share your insights and solutions with others.

Participate in Study Groups

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Join or form study groups to discuss course concepts and solve problems collaboratively.

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Find or create a study group with other students.
Schedule regular meetings to discuss course topics.
Share your knowledge and learn from others.

Build an Azure Resource Manager (ARM) Template

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Create an ARM template to automate the deployment of Azure resources, reinforcing infrastructure-as-code principles.

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Identify the Azure resources you want to deploy.
Write an ARM template to define the resources and their configurations.
Deploy the ARM template using the Azure CLI or portal.
Test the deployed resources.

Career center

Learners who complete Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure (AZ-204) will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Azure Developer

An Azure Developer is responsible for designing, building, testing, and maintaining cloud solutions on the Microsoft Azure platform. This role involves coding, implementing cloud services, and ensuring application performance and scalability. This course is directly aligned with the Azure Developer role. This course provides hands-on experience deploying virtual machines, managing containerized applications, and implementing cloud-native technologies. This is ideal for developers looking to enhance their Azure expertise or prepare for the AZ-204 certification exam. Learning to use Azure AD and the Microsoft Identity Platform for robust user access controls is a critical aspect to secure application development.

See salaries and explore the career path for Azure Developer

Cloud Architect

A Cloud Architect designs and oversees the implementation of cloud computing strategies for organizations. This often involves selecting appropriate cloud services, designing the cloud infrastructure, and ensuring security and compliance. This course helps build a strong foundation for this career path. Learning to deploy virtual machines, manage containerized applications, and implement cloud-native technologies all contribute to the skills needed to architect robust cloud solutions. Learning to create and manage Azure resources, including App Service Web Apps, Azure Functions, and Cosmos DB, helps one to design and deploy applications. Securing application data, implementing user authentication, and creating event-driven solutions all prepare one for advanced architecture design and management.

See salaries and explore the career path for Cloud Architect

Application Architect

An Application Architect is responsible for designing the architecture of software applications. The Application Architect chooses the technologies used to build applications and ensures the application meets performance, security, and scalability requirements. This course gives a strong basis for considering these different requirements when making decisions on an application's architecture. You will learn how to implement secure cloud solutions and also learn how to implement caching for solutions. In addition you'll be able to troubleshoot using metrics and log data.

See salaries and explore the career path for Application Architect

Cloud Security Engineer

A Cloud Security Engineer implements and manages security measures to protect cloud-based systems and data. This course helps to build expertise in critical aspects of cloud security on the Azure platform. This course teaches one how to implement secure cloud solutions. By leveraging Azure Key Vault, Managed Identities, and App Configuration, one learns to safeguard sensitive information and integrate security best practices into their applications. Learning to implement user authentication with Azure AD and the Microsoft Identity Platform can provide the security skills needed of a Cloud Security Engineer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Cloud Security Engineer

Solutions Architect

A Solutions Architect is responsible for designing and implementing solutions to address business problems. This involves understanding client requirements, designing the solution architecture, and overseeing the implementation process. As this course covers a broad range of Azure services and development techniques, it helps to meet the demands of a Solutions Architect. Learning to create and manage Azure resources, implement user authentication, and develop event-driven solutions all provide the breadth of knowledge needed to design comprehensive solutions. Learning to implement API Management is also valuable in creating scalable solutions.

See salaries and explore the career path for Solutions Architect

API Developer

An API Developer designs, develops, and tests Application Programming Interfaces, which allow different software systems to communicate with each other. Because this course covers API Management, this course can provide an entry into becoming an API Developer. It will allow you to learn to create and manage APIs, enforce policies, and implement authentication to ensure secure and efficient API consumption. The course helps one to learn how to connect different systems together.

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Technical Lead

A Technical Lead manages a team of developers and guides the technical direction of a project. This involves overseeing the development process, ensuring code quality, and mentoring team members. Because this course provides a wide overview of Azure's services, it helps potential technical leads to guide and manage teams working on Azure projects. This course will allow you to learn to create and manage APIs, enforce policies, and implement authentication to ensure secure and efficient API consumption. This course also teaches one to implement caching mechanisms using Azure Cache for Redis to optimize application performance.

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Database Administrator

A Database Administrator (DBA) manages and maintains databases, ensuring data is stored securely and is accessible when needed. This course provides a strong foundation for those wishing to manage databases in the Azure cloud. You will learn to develop solutions that use Cosmos DB storage and blob storage. The DBA will learn to implement robust partitioning, optimize consistency levels, and utilize change feeds to develop high-performance and scalable applications. This will allow the DBA to deliver data management solutions.

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Software Engineer

A Software Engineer designs, develops, and tests software applications. This is a broad field, and the knowledge obtained in this course can specialize a software engineer in cloud development. This course allows one to learn to build scalable solutions using triggers and bindings, along with durable workflows for complex orchestrations, empowering one to create event-driven applications. This course also emphasizes securing cloud solutions. By leveraging Azure Key Vault, Managed Identities, and App Configuration, one learns to safeguard sensitive information and integrate security best practices into their applications.

See salaries and explore the career path for Software Engineer

Technical Support Engineer

A Technical Support Engineer provides technical assistance to customers and helps them resolve issues with software or hardware. This course may be useful for Technical Support Engineers who support Azure-based applications. You will learn to troubleshoot solutions by using metrics and log data. The course will allow one to use Application Insights to gather actionable metrics and logs, as well as implement web tests and alerts to ensure smooth application performance. One can then assist customers in fixing any problems.

See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Support Engineer

DevOps Engineer

A DevOps Engineer automates and streamlines the processes of software development and deployment. DevOps Engineers work with developers and IT staff to oversee code releases and infrastructure management. Given that this course covers environment setup, Azure resource management, and application deployment, this course may be useful for aspiring DevOps Engineers. This course helps one learn to provision virtual machines, deploy ARM templates, and work with containerization technologies. This facilitates efficient and scalable solution deployment. Using Application Insights to gather actionable metrics and logs is invaluable for ensuring smooth application performance in a DevOps environment.

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Systems Administrator

A Systems Administrator is responsible for managing and maintaining computer systems and servers. This course may be valuable for systems administrators who are transitioning to managing cloud-based systems. Learning to provision virtual machines, deploy ARM templates, and work with containerization technologies allows system administrators to efficiently manage their cloud infrastructure. This course also emphasizes monitoring and troubleshooting Azure solutions, giving one the tools to ensure smooth system performance.

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Integration Specialist

An Integration Specialist works to connect different software systems and ensure they communicate effectively. This course may be particularly useful for those aiming to specialize in cloud-based integrations. This course will allow you to learn to develop event-based solutions, gaining practical experience in leveraging Azure Event Grid and Event Hub to create responsive and scalable event-processing solutions. You will also learn to develop message-based solutions using Azure messaging services, ensuring reliability and scalability in distributed systems.

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Data Engineer

A Data Engineer is responsible for designing, building, and maintaining data pipelines and data warehouses. Data Engineers specialize in processing and storing large volumes of data. This course may be useful in preparing one for the data engineering demands in the modern cloud. Learning to develop solutions that use Cosmos DB Storage and Blob Storage provides the data management skills needed to build scalable data solutions. This provides hands-on experience in managing storage operations, configuring metadata, and implementing effective archiving and retention policies for enterprise needs.

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Cloud Consultant

A Cloud Consultant advises organizations on cloud computing strategies. This involves assessing cloud readiness, designing cloud solutions, and guiding the migration process. This course may be useful to build relevant expertise for a Cloud Consultant. This course provides an understanding of the breadth of Azure services, including virtual machines, web apps, functions, and databases, thereby equipping one with the knowledge to advise organizations on the best cloud solutions for their needs. Learning about secure cloud solutions using Azure Key Vault and Managed Identities is particularly helpful to demonstrate an understanding of security best practices.

See salaries and explore the career path for Cloud Consultant