The Microsoft AZ-400 exam is a perfect way to gain an edge over others while obtaining extraordinary expertise in compliance, security, source control, infrastructure, code, collaboration, and continuous integration-related knowledge realms. The main bonus is that everyone test-taker who gets a passing score is awarded an expert-level Microsoft certification.

The Microsoft Related Certification Overview

As already noted, tasting victory in the Microsoft AZ-400 implies obtaining the Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert certification. It’s a mark that places the earners way ahead of the peers due to the official confirmation of expertise in the field of Microsoft DevOps Solutions. What’s more, it targets the DevOps Engineer job role and validates every bit of associated conversance, using a strict structure and content of the test.

Meanwhile, having the mention of this certification in the resume is like having the biggest evidence of accomplished distinction in the DevOps domain. Recruiters see such professionals as highly proficient and established and don’t think twice to take them on board.

Certification Prerequisites

Before opting for the Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert, one should have a have a solid background in the DevOps field. For this one, getting backed by Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate or Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate certification is essential at the conjectural front to demonstrate your knowledge and skills in dealing with Microsoft Azure and its environment.

Speaking of hands-on skills and industry exposure, it’s crucial for the aspirant to be well-aware of the real-world principles of Azure administration and development. Fulfillment of these requirements confirms that the candidate has a sufficient basis for obtaining this expert-level certification.

AZ-400 Exam Profile

The most important move towards exam success is: gathering the exam basics and aligning the learning accordingly. With information from the official vendor, you are given 150 minutes to answer 40-60 questions of various formats. Those who have scored anything above 700 out of 1000 will be awarded the certification.

Interested candidates are suggested to complete the registration and other formalities on Pearson VUE’s website. Candidates willing to take this exam have to pay $165 as an essential registration step. In any case, this fee can only be paid in the form of an exam voucher. This voucher remains valid for a certain period and is redeemable only once. Take note of the fact that it can’t be refunded or transferred. However, the voucher can be redeemed as per the suitability of the test-taker.

When covered topics and concepts are concerned, the final test is divided into seven sections. The combined focus of these exam domains is on educating the AZ-400 candidate on key skills required for fabricating the instrumentation strategy and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) strategy. The working principles of developing a compliance and security plan, source control management, collaboration and communication organization, implementation of continuous integration, and implementation of release management and continuous delivery strategy are also covered comprehensively.

Getting Hold on AZ-400 Exam Resources

Seeing the strict structure and a long list of the exam domain, it’s not hard to conclude that taming AZ-400 is not going to an easy job. Other than commitment and long study hours, it demands accessing reliable study materials. Well, nothing can beat the official training courses when this is a matter of concern.

The AZ-400 candidate is lucky enough to get a whole bunch of paid and free training courses, curated by Microsoft experts. With them, having firmly grasping exam areas won’t seem an impossible task. Here are the top picks:

Free Training Courses

The free training program consists of several learning paths that meet the exam objectives, namely:

• AZ-400: Develop an instrumentation strategy

  This course is a great way to strengthen instrumentation strategy development skills without spending a single penny it features 8 hours 17 minutes long learning videos compiled in 11 modules. Try not to miss it.

• AZ-400: Manage source control

  This one is a long learning path and features 15 modules. Its focus is on how GitHub enables a test-taker to design modern source control strategies that foster effective collaboration. Using this tool for automation of building and deployment processes is also covered well.

• AZ-400: Develop a Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) strategy

  Have an in-depth understanding of this exam domain with this course. With 8 modules, this training mentors the students on topics like sustainably achieving an adequate level of reliability in given services, systems, and products. The entire learning lasts for 7 hours 46 minutes.

• AZ-400: Facilitate communication and collaboration

  This is a short training program and yet succeeds to throw light on the concepts like continuous collaboration and continuous planning to transmit release and deployment information to business stakeholders. There are 6 learning modules covering the learning in 2 hours 27 minutes. Referring to it will make the AZ-400 exam journey a bit easier.

• AZ-400: Develop a security and compliance plan

  Become a competent DevOps Engineer and have a better understanding of how to develop security strategies following regulatory requirements to handle confidential information and authorize users.

• AZ-400: Define and implement continuous integration

  The last learning path consists of 11 modules and covers concepts of automated pipelines to create, test, and deploy apps.

Paid Training Course

• Course AZ-400T00-A - Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps solutions

  This is the best out of all and is a crème de la crème offering by Microsoft. It is because it is an instructor-led training program delivering the learning by real industry experts in a classroom learning style.

  Its total duration is 5 days and it covers the exam domains in the most comprehensive manner. Using the combination of the lectures and hands-on labs, this training course prepares every test-taker to get a passing score on the first try.

  In more detail, the learning objectives of this training course are related to the industry-demanded DevOps procedures and related theoretical knowledge, planning strategies used for DevOps, implementation of a container build strategy, scale Git for a given enterprise ecosystem, continuous integration implementation, consolidate artifacts, designing a dependency or inter-reliance management strategy, secret management, using the Source Control, and crafting a release strategy among others.

The Final Say

Being an expert takes a lot and the AZ-400 exam helps you confirm that you have the required skills and experience. However, it is a tough nut to crack as the preparation for it is exhaustive. But, with training courses, a lot of hurdles can be curbed as they give to try out the acquired skills in practice. Gladly, Microsoft exam-takers will face no dearth of them, as the vendor offers an assorted range of free and paid training courses. Make most of them an ace in the AZ-400 test.