Must-Know Tips to Master the AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Exam

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services such as servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and analytics over the internet (“the cloud”). This technology enables users to access and manage data and applications remotely, without the need for on-premises infrastructure. Cloud computing offers numerous benefits, including cost savings, scalability, flexibility, and accessibility. By leveraging the cloud, businesses and individuals can focus more on innovation and less on maintaining physical hardware.

Understanding cloud computing concepts is crucial to grasping the broader ideas behind the AZ-900 exam. The exam covers foundational knowledge of how cloud computing works, the various deployment models, and the benefits it brings to organizations and individuals. The key benefits of cloud computing include:

• Cost Efficiency: Cloud computing eliminates the need for purchasing and maintaining expensive physical servers and data centers. Instead, users only pay for the resources they use.
  
• Scalability: Resources can be scaled up or down based on demand, making cloud services highly flexible and adaptable.
  
• Accessibility: Data and applications can be accessed from virtually any device connected to the internet, allowing for remote work and seamless collaboration.
  
• Disaster Recovery: Cloud services often include backup and recovery options, ensuring that data is safe even in case of system failures or natural disasters.
  

Cloud Computing Deployment Models

There are three main deployment models in cloud computing: public, private, and hybrid. Each of these models offers different levels of control, flexibility, and security.

Public Cloud

In a public cloud, the cloud infrastructure is owned and operated by a third-party provider, and resources are shared across multiple organizations. This model is ideal for businesses that need to scale their operations without investing heavily in physical infrastructure. Some examples of public cloud providers include Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

Public clouds are typically known for their cost efficiency and ease of use, but they may offer less control and customization compared to private clouds.

Private Cloud

A private cloud refers to cloud infrastructure that is dedicated to a single organization. This model allows businesses to have more control over their resources, as the cloud environment is customized for their specific needs. Private clouds are ideal for organizations with strict data security, compliance, or regulatory requirements.

While private clouds offer more control and security, they are often more expensive to manage than public clouds because the organization is responsible for maintaining and securing the infrastructure.

Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid cloud is a combination of both public and private cloud environments. This model allows organizations to leverage the benefits of both deployment models by hosting sensitive data on a private cloud while using the public cloud for less critical workloads. A hybrid cloud strategy offers flexibility and greater control, making it a popular choice for organizations with complex needs.

Key Benefits of Cloud Computing Models

Each cloud deployment model has its advantages, depending on the needs and goals of an organization. Public clouds are ideal for businesses that prioritize cost efficiency and scalability, while private clouds are better suited for companies with specific security and compliance needs. Hybrid clouds offer the best of both worlds, allowing organizations to balance cost, security, and control.

Cloud Service Models

Cloud computing is also divided into different service models, which determine the level of control and management provided to the user. These models are as follows:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

IaaS provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. With IaaS, users can rent virtual machines (VMs), storage, and networking components, which they can then use to run their applications. The cloud provider is responsible for maintaining the physical infrastructure, but the user has control over the operating systems, applications, and data.

Azure’s Virtual Machines, Amazon EC2, and Google Compute Engine are examples of IaaS services. IaaS is ideal for organizations that need flexibility and control over their infrastructure without the overhead of maintaining physical hardware.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

PaaS offers a platform allowing users to develop, run, and manage applications without dealing with the underlying infrastructure. In this model, the cloud provider manages the hardware, operating systems, and networking, while the user focuses on developing applications. This makes PaaS a great option for developers who need an environment to build and deploy software without worrying about the infrastructure.

Microsoft Azure App Services is an example of PaaS, providing a fully managed environment for hosting web applications and APIs.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS delivers software applications over the internet on a subscription basis. In this model, users don’t need to install or maintain software on their devices; instead, they can access the application through a web browser. The cloud provider handles everything from infrastructure to application management, allowing users to focus on using the software. Popular examples of SaaS include Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Salesforce.

Cloud Computing Models and Their Use Cases

Each cloud service model has specific use cases depending on the level of control and management required. IaaS is ideal for businesses that want to rent infrastructure without managing physical hardware, PaaS is perfect for developers who want a platform to build and deploy applications, and SaaS is best for organizations looking for ready-to-use software solutions without the need for installation or maintenance.

Cloud Adoption and Benefits for Businesses

Businesses adopt cloud computing for several reasons, including:

• Cost Savings: Cloud computing reduces the need for capital investment in physical infrastructure, which leads to lower operational costs.
  
• Flexibility and Scalability: Businesses can scale their resources up or down depending on demand, ensuring they only pay for what they use.
  
• Enhanced Collaboration: Cloud-based tools enable remote teams to collaborate more effectively, regardless of their physical location.
  
• Innovation: With fewer resources dedicated to infrastructure management, organizations can focus on innovation and improving their products and services.
  

Understanding cloud adoption benefits is vital for professionals preparing for the AZ-900 exam. The exam will test your knowledge of how cloud computing can transform businesses by enhancing flexibility, reducing costs, and enabling innovation.

Core Azure Services

Introduction to Core Azure Services

Microsoft Azure offers a wide range of cloud services to meet the needs of organizations, developers, and IT professionals. These services are designed to help businesses build, deploy, and manage applications, all while maintaining security, scalability, and performance. As a foundational exam, the AZ-900 emphasizes key Azure services that are commonly used across various industries. These core services are critical for anyone looking to understand the capabilities of the Azure platform.

The services in Azure fall into various categories, such as computing, networking, storage, and databases. They enable businesses to scale their infrastructure and applications quickly, without needing to invest in and maintain physical hardware. For the AZ-900 exam, understanding the following core services is crucial:

• Compute Services: These allow users to run applications and workloads.
  
• Networking Services: These services provide connectivity between resources.
  
• Storage Services: Azure storage allows users to store and manage data.
  
• Database Services: These provide scalable and managed database solutions for applications.
  

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs)

One of the most fundamental services in Azure is the Virtual Machine (VM). A Virtual Machine is an on-demand, scalable computing resource that provides an environment to run applications and services. Azure VMs are used to host operating systems and applications, similar to how traditional physical servers would function.

Azure VMs allow for easy scaling, meaning users can add or remove computing resources as needed. This makes them ideal for businesses with fluctuating workloads. The flexibility of VMs means they can run applications from a variety of operating systems, such as Windows and Linux, and be customized to meet specific needs.

The AZ-900 exam will focus on understanding how Azure Virtual Machines are deployed, their role in cloud computing, and how they integrate with other services in the Azure ecosystem. You should be familiar with the key features of VMs, including:

• Scalability: Virtual machines can scale vertically (upgrading the resources of an existing VM) or horizontally (adding more VMs to a load-balanced environment).
  
• Customizability: Users can configure VMs with various CPU, memory, and storage configurations.
  
• Integration with Other Azure Services: VMs can work seamlessly with other Azure services such as Azure Load Balancer, Azure Virtual Network, and Azure Storage.
  

Azure Storage

Azure Storage is another core service that is central to Azure’s cloud infrastructure. It provides highly available, durable, and scalable storage solutions for applications, databases, and backups. The storage service is designed to handle massive amounts of unstructured data, such as text, images, videos, and logs, and structured data, including relational databases and NoSQL data.

There are several types of storage options within Azure, each catering to different needs:

• Blob Storage: This is used for storing unstructured data, such as files, images, and videos. It is widely used for backup and disaster recovery, as well as for storing large datasets.
  
• File Storage: Azure File Storage offers shared file storage that can be accessed via the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol, making it ideal for legacy applications that require file shares.
  
• Queue Storage: This is used to store messages for communication between different applications or components within an application. It’s essential for scenarios where asynchronous messaging is needed.
  
• Disk Storage: This service provides persistent storage for Azure Virtual Machines (VMs), ensuring that VM data persists even when the VM is stopped or restarted.
  

Understanding the various storage options and how to implement them effectively is key to passing the AZ-900 exam. Be sure to familiarize yourself with storage redundancy options, such as locally redundant storage (LRS) and geo-redundant storage (GRS), which provide different levels of data protection.

Azure Virtual Network (VNet)

The Azure Virtual Network (VNet) is one of the fundamental networking services in Azure. It allows users to create private, isolated networks within the Azure cloud. A VNet enables resources such as VMs, web apps, and databases to communicate securely with each other. VNet is essential for deploying applications that require secure, private communication between components.

Some of the key features of Azure Virtual Networks include:

• Subnetting: VNets can be divided into multiple subnets to segment different types of workloads, such as front-end and back-end services.
  
• Network Security Groups (NSGs): NSGs allow users to control inbound and outbound traffic to resources in a VNet. These security groups are essential for protecting sensitive data and applications from unauthorized access.
  
• Peering: VNets can be connected to each other using VNet peering, allowing for secure communication between different networks in Azure.
  
• VPN Gateway: With Azure VPN Gateway, users can establish a secure connection between an on-premises network and an Azure VNet, creating a hybrid cloud environment.
  

The AZ-900 exam will test your knowledge of how VNets operate, how to secure them, and how to configure network components such as subnets, gateways, and security rules.

Azure App Services

Azure App Services is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering that enables developers to build, deploy, and manage web apps and APIs without managing the underlying infrastructure. It abstracts away the complexities of infrastructure management, allowing developers to focus on writing code and building features.

Some of the key benefits of Azure App Services include:

• Managed Environment: Azure App Services takes care of patching, scaling, and load balancing, so developers can focus on building and deploying their applications.
  
• Multiple Framework Support: It supports a variety of programming languages and frameworks, including .NET, Node.js, Java, PHP, Python, and Ruby, making it a versatile choice for developers.
  
• Automatic Scaling: App Services can automatically scale applications based on traffic, ensuring high availability during peak usage times.
  
• Integrated Developer Tools: Developers can integrate App Services with Visual Studio, GitHub, and Azure DevOps to streamline the development and deployment process.
  

Azure App Services also offer a range of features such as custom domain support, SSL certificates, and continuous integration (CI) to simplify app management. Understanding the role of App Services in Azure is important for the AZ-900 exam, as it is one of the most widely used PaaS offerings in the platform.

Azure SQL Database

Azure SQL Database is a fully managed relational database service that enables users to deploy, scale, and manage SQL Server databases in the cloud. It is based on Microsoft SQL Server technology and offers features such as automatic backups, patching, and high availability, allowing organizations to focus on using the database rather than maintaining it.

Some key features of Azure SQL Database include:

• High Availability: Azure SQL Database offers built-in high availability with automatic failover and geo-replication, ensuring that data is always accessible even in the case of outages.
  
• Scalability: The service allows users to scale their databases up or down depending on the application’s needs.
  
• Security: Azure SQL Database provides advanced security features, such as encryption, auditing, and threat detection, to protect sensitive data.
  
• Elastic Pools: Elastic pools allow multiple databases to share resources, optimizing cost-efficiency for databases with unpredictable workloads.
  

Azure SQL Database is critical for applications that require relational database management, and understanding its features and use cases is important for the AZ-900 exam.

Core Azure Services

The core Azure services, including Virtual Machines, Storage, Virtual Networks, App Services, and SQL Databases, form the foundation of the Azure platform. These services allow businesses and developers to build, deploy, and scale applications while maintaining high performance and security. For the AZ-900 exam, it is crucial to understand the role of each service, its features, and how they interact with one another. By mastering the core services of Azure, you will be well-prepared to tackle questions related to service deployment, management, and integration, which are essential components of the exam.

 Security, Privacy, Compliance, and Trust

Introduction to Security in Azure

Security is a critical aspect of any cloud service, and Microsoft Azure offers a wide range of tools and features designed to protect data, applications, and infrastructure. Azure security is built on the foundation of a shared responsibility model, meaning both Microsoft and the customer are responsible for different layers of security in the cloud. While Microsoft manages the security of the cloud infrastructure, customers are responsible for securing the data they place in Azure.

Understanding how Azure handles security is crucial for the AZ-900 exam, as it ensures you can effectively manage security policies and practices within the Azure environment. The security capabilities in Azure span across several key areas:

• Identity and Access Management: Protecting access to resources using Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) and role-based access control (RBAC).
  
• Network Security: Ensuring secure communication between resources using services like Network Security Groups (NSGs) and Azure Firewall.
  
• Data Protection: Encrypting data at rest and in transit, with built-in encryption tools like Azure Storage Service Encryption and Azure Key Vault.
  
• Threat Protection: Detecting and responding to security threats with services such as Azure Security Center, Azure Sentinel, and Azure DDoS Protection.
  

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is Microsoft’s cloud-based identity and access management service. It is the backbone of Azure’s security and authentication infrastructure, allowing organizations to manage user identities and control access to resources securely. Azure AD is used for managing authentication for applications, securing cloud and on-premises resources, and supporting Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Key features of Azure AD include:

• Identity Management: Azure AD enables businesses to manage and store users’ identities in the cloud, centralizing access management for both internal and external resources.
  
• Single Sign-On (SSO): Users can authenticate once and access all authorized applications without having to log in multiple times.
  
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): To enhance security, Azure AD offers MFA, requiring additional verification such as a text message, phone call, or authentication app in addition to the password.
  
• Conditional Access: Conditional Access policies allow administrators to enforce specific security measures based on factors like user location, device health, and risk level.
  

By securing access to resources using Azure AD, businesses can ensure that only authorized users and devices are granted access to sensitive applications and data.

Azure Network Security

Azure provides various services to safeguard your network infrastructure, ensuring that your resources are protected from unauthorized access and external threats. These services include:

• Network Security Groups (NSGs): NSGs are used to control inbound and outbound traffic to Azure resources. They allow administrators to set rules based on IP address, port, and protocol to filter network traffic and enforce security policies.
  
• Azure Firewall: This is a fully managed, cloud-native firewall service that provides centralized protection for your virtual network resources. It offers features like application filtering, threat intelligence-based filtering, and logging to help prevent unauthorized access and malicious activity.
  
• Azure DDoS Protection: Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks can disrupt services by overwhelming them with traffic. Azure DDoS Protection uses traffic monitoring and anomaly detection to protect resources from DDoS attacks, ensuring that services remain available even in the face of large-scale attacks.
  
• VPN Gateway: Azure’s VPN Gateway enables secure, encrypted communication between on-premises networks and Azure Virtual Networks (VNets). This is especially important for hybrid cloud environments where organizations maintain some on-premises infrastructure while moving other workloads to the cloud.
  

A solid understanding of these security tools will help you design and manage secure network infrastructures in Azure, which is key to the AZ-900 exam.

Data Protection and Encryption in Azure

One of the top priorities for organizations using cloud services is ensuring their data remains secure, both in transit and at rest. Azure provides built-in data protection capabilities that help organizations comply with industry regulations and best practices for data security.

• Encryption at Rest: Azure Storage Service Encryption automatically encrypts data stored in Azure Storage, such as in Blob Storage, File Storage, and Disk Storage. This ensures that sensitive data is protected when stored in the cloud, even if the storage account is compromised.
  
• Encryption in Transit: Data traveling between your on-premises environment and Azure, or between Azure resources, is encrypted using secure protocols such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) and HTTPS. This helps prevent unauthorized access to data while it is being transferred.
  
• Azure Key Vault: Azure Key Vault is a service used to securely store and manage sensitive information such as encryption keys, certificates, and secrets (passwords, API keys). It provides centralized management of secrets, making it easier to protect sensitive data and comply with security standards.
  

These data protection measures are critical for ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of data within the Azure environment, and they are essential to understand for the AZ-900 exam.

Compliance in Azure

Compliance refers to the legal and regulatory requirements that organizations must adhere to when handling sensitive data. Azure helps organizations comply with various industry standards, certifications, and frameworks by providing a comprehensive set of compliance offerings. Azure is regularly audited to ensure that its services meet the highest standards for security and privacy.

Some key Azure compliance features include:

• Compliance Certifications: Azure meets a wide range of international compliance standards, including ISO 27001, HIPAA, SOC 1, SOC 2, and GDPR. These certifications ensure that Azure is secure and trustworthy for organizations handling sensitive data.
  
• Azure Security Center: Azure Security Center helps organizations stay compliant by providing continuous security assessments, recommendations for improving security posture, and tools for addressing compliance gaps.
  
• Azure Policy: Azure Policy allows organizations to enforce governance policies across their resources. With Azure Policy, administrators can define rules to ensure compliance with corporate standards and industry regulations, automatically remediating non-compliant resources.
  

For the AZ-900 exam, it is important to understand Azure’s compliance capabilities and how they can help organizations meet their regulatory obligations while maintaining security and privacy.

Trust in Azure

Trust is a central element of Microsoft Azure’s cloud offerings. The platform’s security, privacy, and compliance capabilities are designed to ensure that organizations can rely on Azure to protect their data and applications. Microsoft adheres to strict security practices and transparency, giving customers confidence in the platform’s ability to safeguard their resources.

Azure also provides a transparent approach to how data is handled:

• Data Residency: Microsoft provides clear information on where data is stored, allowing organizations to make informed decisions about data residency and compliance with local regulations.
  
• Data Ownership: Microsoft guarantees that customers retain ownership of their data, and Azure services are designed to ensure that data is handled according to customer specifications.
  
• Shared Responsibility Model: As mentioned earlier, Microsoft operates under a shared responsibility model, where they manage the security of the underlying cloud infrastructure, and customers are responsible for securing the applications and data they deploy on Azure.
  

Trust in Azure is built on these principles, and understanding them is important for the AZ-900 exam. You should be familiar with Azure’s commitment to customer privacy and security and how the platform enables organizations to comply with their own internal policies and external regulations.

Security, Privacy, Compliance, and Trust

Security, privacy, compliance, and trust are foundational elements of the Microsoft Azure platform. Azure’s wide range of security features, such as Azure Active Directory, Network Security Groups, encryption, and threat protection tools, help organizations safeguard their data and applications. Furthermore, Azure’s commitment to privacy, compliance with global standards, and its transparent approach to handling data reinforce its position as a secure and trusted cloud platform.

For the AZ-900 exam, it’s essential to understand how Azure handles security and compliance, the shared responsibility model, and the tools available to organizations to protect their data. Mastery of these concepts will ensure you are well-prepared to address questions related to security, privacy, and trust in Azure.

Azure Pricing, SLA, and Support

Introduction to Azure Pricing

One of the essential components of working with cloud services is understanding the pricing structure. Microsoft Azure uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model, meaning you pay only for the resources you use, without any upfront costs or long-term commitments. The pricing model is designed to provide flexibility for businesses of all sizes, ensuring that they only incur costs based on their actual consumption of services. As the Azure platform continues to expand, it’s crucial to understand how pricing is calculated and the factors that influence your costs.

Understanding how Azure’s pricing works is critical for the AZ-900 exam. Several factors influence Azure pricing, including the type of services used, the region where resources are deployed, and the service tiers chosen.

Understanding Azure Pricing Models

Azure offers several pricing models, and understanding how each one works is essential for managing cloud costs effectively. The key models include:

• Pay-As-You-Go: This is the most flexible pricing model, where you are billed based on your actual usage of Azure resources. There are no upfront costs, and you are charged based on the consumption of services such as virtual machines, storage, and data transfer. The pay-as-you-go model is ideal for businesses with fluctuating workloads or those that only need services on an as-needed basis.
  
• Reserved Instances: For services like Virtual Machines (VMs), Azure offers a Reserved Instances pricing model. By committing to a specific usage level for a term (typically 1 or 3 years), you can save significantly compared to the pay-as-you-go model. Reserved Instances are ideal for organizations that have predictable workloads and want to lock in lower rates.
  
• Spot Pricing: Azure Spot VMs allow you to take advantage of unused Azure capacity at a discounted rate. Spot pricing can be beneficial for temporary workloads or batch processing tasks that are flexible and can be interrupted. However, spot instances are not guaranteed, so they may be deallocated by Azure when demand for capacity increases.
  
• Free Services: Microsoft Azure offers a range of free services with limited quotas for users. These services are designed to help you experiment with Azure and understand how the platform works without incurring charges. Some services, like Azure Blob Storage and Azure Functions, are free for small amounts of usage, making it easier to explore Azure without financial commitment.
  

Azure Pricing Calculator

Microsoft provides a Pricing Calculator to help you estimate the cost of using Azure services based on your specific needs. The Azure Pricing Calculator allows you to select the services you plan to use, choose your desired configurations, and estimate the total cost. This is an essential tool for organizations to forecast and manage their cloud expenses effectively. For the AZ-900 exam, you should understand how to use the Pricing Calculator and be familiar with how different services are priced.

Some factors that affect pricing in Azure include:

• Service Type: The type of service you are using, whether it’s compute, storage, networking, or databases, will affect the cost.
  
• Region: Pricing varies by region, as data centers in different locations have different operational costs. For example, Azure services in North America might have different pricing than those in Europe or Asia.
  
• Service Tier: Many Azure services offer different pricing tiers based on the level of performance or features. For instance, Azure Virtual Machines come in Standard, Basic, and Premium tiers, each with different pricing.
  

Azure Cost Management

Azure provides a suite of tools to help organizations manage and optimize their cloud costs. Azure Cost Management + Billing is a service that helps track and control your cloud expenditure, providing visibility into your Azure costs and usage patterns. The service enables you to set budgets, track spending against those budgets, and receive alerts when costs are close to exceeding budget thresholds.

Another important feature of Azure Cost Management is Cost Analysis, which allows you to visualize your spending across different subscriptions, resource groups, or services. This can help you identify underused resources or areas where you can optimize to reduce costs. For the AZ-900 exam, you should understand the basics of Azure Cost Management and how to use it to track and control costs.

Azure Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a contract between Microsoft and the customer that outlines the level of service that can be expected from an Azure service. It defines the performance metrics such as uptime, availability, and response times, as well as penalties for not meeting those metrics. SLAs are critical in ensuring that Azure services meet the operational requirements of an organization.

Azure provides SLAs for a wide range of services, including Virtual Machines, Storage, and Networking. Each service comes with a specific uptime guarantee, which is often represented as a percentage. For example, Azure Virtual Machines offer an SLA of 99.95% availability when using an availability set, while other services may have different uptime guarantees.

It is important to understand the different SLAs for the services you plan to use, as these will help you assess the level of availability and reliability that meets your business needs. In the AZ-900 exam, you may encounter questions related to SLAs, so it is essential to be familiar with the uptime guarantees for core Azure services.

Azure Support Plans

Azure offers several support plans that provide varying levels of assistance depending on your needs. These support plans are designed to help you resolve technical issues, provide guidance on best practices, and ensure that your Azure environment runs smoothly. The support plans vary in cost and features, and organizations can select a plan based on their level of usage and requirements.

Azure support plans include:

• Basic Support: This is the default support plan, which provides access to Azure documentation, community forums, and the Azure Status page. It is suitable for users who don’t require proactive support or personalized assistance.
  
• Developer Support: Developer support offers technical assistance for development and testing scenarios. This plan includes 24/7 access to technical support via email and access to non-critical problem resolution.
  
• Standard Support: The Standard plan provides 24/7 phone and email support, along with faster response times for critical issues. It is ideal for organizations that require more robust support for production workloads.
  
• Professional Direct Support: This plan offers advanced support, including access to a designated support account manager and faster response times. It’s ideal for large organizations or those with complex Azure environments.
  
• Premier Support: The Premier plan is the highest level of support available, offering the most extensive support, including a dedicated technical account manager and proactive monitoring of services. It is best suited for large enterprises or mission-critical workloads.
  

Understanding the different support plans and how they align with business needs is important for the AZ-900 exam. This will help you understand how to choose the right level of support for your organization based on its size, usage, and criticality of workloads.

Conclusion 

Azure pricing, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and support plans are critical elements of managing an organization’s cloud resources effectively. Understanding the different pricing models, such as pay-as-you-go, reserved instances, and spot pricing, allows you to control costs while optimizing resource usage.

In addition, being familiar with Azure’s SLAs helps you assess the reliability of Azure services, and understanding the various support plans ensures you can select the right level of assistance for your organization. These aspects are essential for ensuring your organization can both optimize its Azure spending and receive the necessary technical support when needed.

For the AZ-900 exam, it’s important to have a solid understanding of how Azure pricing works, how SLAs impact service reliability, and the support options available. Mastering these topics will help you manage costs, ensure high availability of services, and select the appropriate support for your Azure environment.