Microsoft’s Azure architecture credential, earned by holding the Azure Administrator Associate certification and passing the AZ-305 design exam.
This expert credential has a hard prerequisite: you must hold Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) before AZ-305 will award it. Passing AZ-305 alone does not produce the certification.
The two exams are deliberately different in character. AZ-104 tests whether you can operate Azure; AZ-305 tests whether you can choose between two workable designs given constraints on cost, recovery time, compliance and scale.
The credential renews annually and free of charge through an unproctored assessment on Microsoft Learn, so the ongoing cost is time rather than money.
In the order most candidates take them. Where a track offers a choice of concentration, every eligible exam is listed.
The core Azure operations exam: identity and governance, storage, compute, virtual networking, and the monitoring and backup that keeps a subscription healthy.
The Azure architect exam: designing identity and governance, data storage, business continuity and infrastructure that meets stated availability, cost and compliance requirements.
Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert requires 2 exams. They are listed below in the order most candidates take them.
12 months from the date the final exam is passed. Renewal requirements are set by the vendor and change from time to time, so confirm before your expiry date.
Tracks that build on this one, or that pair well with it.
An expert credential combining an Azure associate certification with AZ-400, covering delivery pipelines, infrastructure as code and instrumentation.
Microsoft
Microsoft’s senior security credential, earned by holding one associate security certification and passing the SC-100 architecture exam.
Microsoft