A cheat sheet earns its keep the night before the exam: the numbers, the service names and the traps on one page, so you are refreshing rather than learning. It will not build the reasoning the exam tests — that comes from working questions — but it is the fastest way to firm up what gets asked. Skim the card in the diagram above, then try the six quick questions below.
The exam, in one line
| Fact | Value |
|---|
| Questions | about 50 |
| Time | about 60 minutes |
| Pass mark | 700 of 1000 (scaled) |
| Fee | $99 |
| Validity | does not expire |
| Question formats | multiple choice, true/false, drag-and-drop / matching |
The blueprint splits into three areas, and the weights are published as ranges, not fixed numbers: Cloud Concepts 25–30%, Azure Architecture & Services 35–40%, Azure Management & Governance 30–35%. Architecture & Services is the heaviest slice, so if study time is short, spend it there. Our simulator draws each run in those official blueprint proportions, so a mock feels like the real weighting.
One headline service per category
Know the single “default” service for each job and most multiple-choice questions collapse to one obvious answer plus three distractors.
| Category | Headline service | One-line job |
|---|
| Compute | Azure Virtual Machines | a server whose OS you control (IaaS) |
| Storage | Blob Storage | unstructured object data at scale |
| Networking | Virtual Network (VNet) | your private network in Azure |
| Identity | Microsoft Entra ID | users, groups and sign-in |
| Governance | Azure Policy | enforce rules on resources |
| Cost | Azure Cost Management | analyse and forecast actual spend |
Keep a second name ready for each: App Service and Azure Functions beside VMs; Azure Files and Disk Storage beside Blob; a Network Security Group and Azure Firewall beside VNet; RBAC beside Entra ID; Management Groups and Subscriptions beside Policy; the Pricing Calculator (estimate before you deploy) beside Cost Management (analyse after).
The distinctions the exam plants
- Azure Policy vs RBAC — Policy governs what resources may do or be configured as; RBAC governs who may act. Remember: Policy = the resource, RBAC = the person.
- Pricing Calculator vs Cost Management — estimate before you build, versus analyse and forecast what you already run.
- Entra ID vs a Network Security Group — controlling sign-in is identity; allowing or denying traffic is networking.
- Azure Advisor vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud — best-practice recommendations across cost, security and reliability, versus a dedicated security posture and threat tool.
- Management Group vs Subscription vs Resource Group — the nesting order for organising and governing resources, top to bottom.
Top exam-day tips
- Answer every question — there is no penalty for a wrong guess, so never leave a blank.
- Flag and move on — do not burn four minutes on one item; mark it and return with the time you banked.
- Read the last line first — the final sentence usually states what is actually being asked, which reframes the whole scenario.
- Eliminate, don’t hunt — cross out the two clearly wrong options, then decide between the last two.
- Trust the keyword — “control the OS” means Virtual Machines, “who can sign in” means Entra ID, “estimate before deploying” means the Pricing Calculator.
Work the six questions below before you reveal each explanation, and read past the correct answer to why the other three fail — that habit, not the list, is what carries you through exam day.
Updated for AZ-900 (July 2026). The sample questions above are our own work
in the style of the exam — not real exam items. The exam itself is set and marked
by the certification body.