Introduction

In this post, we will see the skills measured for the Exam AZ-203: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure and various examples for exam preparation.

Note: The content of this exam was updated on November 6, 2019. I have highlighted in bold where the content is updated as of November 6, 2019.

This exam retired on August 31, 2020. A replacement exam, AZ-204, is available. For more information, visit the AZ-204 exam details page.

There are several sections in each skill measured. I will be posting examples for each skill that is measured under this exam. By going through those posts, you will be able to cover this exam preparation.

Examples for each skill will have links on it, click on the link to navigate to the post.

However, I will recommend you to learn and practice more on each topic to be an expert.

Skills Measured: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure (AZ-203)

Develop Azure Infrastructure as a Service compute solutions (10-15%)

This part is further divided into three more sub-skills and they are measured as below.

Implement solutions that use virtual machines (VM)

• provision VMs
• create ARM templates
• configure Azure Disk Encryption for VMs

Implement batch jobs by using Azure Batch Services

• manage batch jobs by using Batch Service API
• run a batch job by using Azure CLI, Azure portal, and other tools
• write code to run an Azure Batch Services batch job

Create containerized solutions

• create an Azure Managed Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster
• create container images for solutions
• publish an image to the Azure Container Registry
• run containers by using Azure Container Instance or AKS

Develop Azure Platform as a Service compute solution (20-25%)

This part is further divided into four more sub-skills and they are measured as below.

Create Azure App Service Web Apps

• create an Azure App Service Web App
• create an Azure App Service background task by using WebJobs
• enable diagnostics logging
• create an Azure Web App for containers
• monitor service health by using Azure Monitor

Create Azure App Service mobile apps

• add push notifications for mobile apps
• enable offline sync for mobile app
• implement a remote instrumentation strategy for mobile devices

Create Azure App Service API apps

• create an Azure App Service API app
• create documentation for the API by using open source and other tools

Implement Azure functions

• implement input and output bindings for a function
• implement function triggers by using data operations, timers, and webhooks
• implement Azure Durable Functions
• create Azure Function apps by using Visual Studio
• implement Python Azure functions

Develop for Azure storage (15-20%)

This part is further divided into four more sub-skills and they are measured as below.

Develop solutions that use storage tables

• design and implement policies for tables
• query table storage by using code
• implement partitioning schemes

Develop solutions that use Cosmos DB storage

• create, read, update, and delete data by using appropriate APIs
• implement partitioning schemes
• set the appropriate consistency level for operations

Develop solutions that use a relational database

• provision and configure relational databases
• configure elastic pools for Azure SQL Database
• create, read, update, and delete data tables by using code
• provision and configure Azure SQL Database serverless instances
• provision and configure Azure SQL and Azure PostgreSQL Hyperscale instances

Develop solutions that use blob storage

• move items in Blob storage between storage accounts or containers
• set and retrieve properties and metadata
• implement blob leasing
• implement data archiving and retention
• implement Geo Zone Redundant storage

Implement Azure security (10-15%)

This part is further divided into three more sub-skills and they are measured as below.

Implement authentication

• implement authentication by using certificates, forms-based authentication, or tokens
• implement multi-factor or Windows authentication by using Azure AD
• implement OAuth2 authentication
• implement Managed identities/Service Principal authentication •
• implement Microsoft identity platform

Implement access control

• implement CBAC (Claims-Based Access Control) authorization
• implement RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) authorization
• create shared access signatures

Implement secure data solutions

• encrypt and decrypt data at rest and in transit
• create, read, update, and delete keys, secrets, and certificates by using the KeyVault API

Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure solutions (10-15%)

This part is further divided into three more sub-skills and they are measured as below.

Develop code to support scalability of apps and services

• implement autoscaling rules and patterns (schedule, operational/system metrics, singleton applications)
• implement code that handles transient faults
• implement AKS scaling strategies

Integrate caching and content delivery within solutions

• store and retrieve data in Azure Redis cache
• develop code to implement CDN’s in solutions
• invalidate cache content (CDN or Redis)

Instrument solutions to support monitoring and logging

• configure instrumentation in an app or service by using Application Insights
• analyze and troubleshoot solutions by using Azure Monitor
• implement Application Insights Web Test and Alerts

Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services (20- 25%)

This part is further divided into five more sub-skills and they are measured as below.

Develop an App Service Logic App

• create a Logic App
• create a custom connector for Logic Apps
• create a custom template for Logic Apps

Integrate Azure Search within solutions

• create an Azure Search index
• import searchable data
• query the Azure Search index
• implement cognitive search

Implement API Management

• establish API Gateways
• create an APIM instance
• configure authentication for APIs
• define policies for APIs

Develop event-based solutions

• implement solutions that use Azure Event Grid
• implement solutions that use Azure Notification Hubs
• implement solutions that use Azure Event Hub

Develop message-based solutions

• implement solutions that use Azure Service Bus
• implement solutions that use Azure Queue Storage queues

For more details and latest update, visit https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/az-203

Conclusion

In this post, you got to know what skills are measured for the Azure AZ-203 Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure certification and links to various examples for the exam preparation.

That’s all from this article. If you have any questions or just want to chat with me, feel free to leave a comment below.