AZ-103 Exam Prep: Microsoft Azure Administrator

With the upcoming AZ-103 Azure exam set to go live in May, it’s time to think about how to prepare for this Microsoft Azure Administrator certification exam that's replacing the AZ-100 and AZ-101 exams.

Over the last few years, Microsoft has moved away from multiple choice questions on their certification exams in favor of scenario-based questions. The scenario-based questions that you are likely to encounter on the AZ-103 exam are essentially case studies that you need to follow. What they tend to do is set up a fictional business, along with several fictional characters like executives and IT staff. The AZ-103 exam will present you with interviews that you've done with these characters and then present the needs and wants that the characters have expressed. You'll be presented with the existing environment for the fictitious business and you'll be expected to build a solution for the business that fits the business needs while taking into consideration the information provided by the fictional characters.

After choosing solutions that fit the business (which you are graded on), you'll be asked questions about the deployed solution. You'll face multi-select questions, drag and drop questions, fill-in the blanks, and even simulated task questions, where you'll have to actually perform tasks in Azure. The types of questions you'll now see on a typical exam are no longer the basic multiple choice type questions you might be used to seeing. As such, it's critical that you prepare for these exams quite differently than you have in the past.

In years past, it was possible to memorize answers exam dumps and get by with that method. Because the new exams, like the AZ-103 exam, are scenario-based, dumps are becoming less and less effective. The best way to prepare for these new role-based exams is to watch experienced engineers perform the tasks that you’re likely to encounter - and to PRACTICE performing those tasks. Instead of reading how to create a VM and memorizing what pieces you'll need to configure, you need to DO IT.

To best-prepare for the AZ-103 exam, fire up an Azure subscription and just do it. Deploy VMs, deploy scale sets, deploy virtual networks. Do all these things until you are comfortable doing them - and can explain how to do them to another person. For this reason, courses like this AZ-103 exam prep course, offer LOTS of "stick time" and assignments. Courses that focus on providing live demos actually SHOW students how to perform the tasks that they will need to perform on the exam. By watching the demos, reading the articles, and reviewing recommended Microsoft documentation, students are far more prepared for these types of exams than they would be if they just listened to a bunch of lectures.

So, with that said, pay attention! And complete the assignments! And for the love of Pete - read the Microsoft documentation that’s available online. Don't try to sit the exam if all you’ve done to prepare for it was read some dumps.