AZ-900 MICROSOFT CERTIFIED AZURE
FUNDAMENTALS EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What are some computing services offered by a Cloud Provider? - Answers -
•*Compute power* - e.g. Servers or web applications
•*Storage* - e.g. Files and Databases
•*Networking* - e.g. secure connections between the cloud provider and on-premises.
•*Analytics* - e.g. visual telemetry and performance data
Jim the systems admin at a fictitious company is an absolute control freak! From the list
below, choose the most appropriate cloud solution for him:
a). Virtual Machines
b). Containers
c). Serverless compute - Answers - ANSWER: a). *Virtual Machines.* Because he will
emulate a physical system, Jim can do whatever he likes (e.g. install software, configure
updates etc.)
Give the simplest definition of a container. - Answers - A container is similar to a VM but
it doesn't need a guest operating system.
What is Serverless Computing? - Answers - Serverless computing lets you run
application code(e.g. functions) without creating, configuring, or maintaining a server.
When compared to VMs and Containers, it is the lightest and fastest deployment
method.
Rob is new to cloud computing and is confused by the terms: "Vertical Scaling" and
"Horizontal" scaling. Give him a brief rundown on the differences between the two! -
Answers - *Vertical scaling*: aka "scaling up", is the process of adding resources to
increase the power of an existing server. Some examples of vertical scaling are:
*adding more CPUs, or adding more memory*.
*Horizontal scaling*: aka "scaling out", is the process of adding more servers that
function together as one unit. For example, *you have more than one server processing
incoming requests*
Define: Scalability as it relates to cloud computing - Answers - You can increase or
decrease the resources and services used based upon the needs of your organization.
Define: Elasticity as it relates to cloud computing - Answers - As your workload changes
due to a spike or drop in demand, a cloud computing system can compensate by
automatically adding or removing resources. (e.g. a web-site during Black Friday Sale)
, Define: redundancy as it relates to cloud computing - Answers - If one component fails,
another is available to take its place and its workload.
Define: fault-tolerance as it relates to cloud computing - Answers - Customers and end-
users are not impacted when a disaster occurs.
Misha the cloud computing class nerd wants to engage you in a discussion on
Economies of Scale. Start the conversation off with an adequate definition and an
example. - Answers - Economies of scale is *the ability to do things more efficiently or at
a lower-cost per unit when operating at a larger scale.* In other words, more money is
saved, when production rates are higher. Users also pay less for power consumption,
cooling and network connectivity than they would with on-premises infrastructure.
Compare / Contrast CapEx(Capital Expenditure) vs. OpEx(Operational Expenditure) -
Answers - •*Capital Expenditure*: the spending of money on physical infrastructure up
front, and then deducting that expense from your tax bill over time. CapEx is an upfront
cost, which has a value that reduces over time.
•*Operational Expenditure*: spending money on services or products now and being
billed for them now. You can deduct this expense from your tax bill in the same year.
There's no upfront cost. You pay for a service or product as you use it.
What is the primary benefit of CapEx? - Answers - Fixed Costs and a predictable
expense for your budget! Companies on a tight budget will lean here.
What is the primary benefit of OpEx? - Answers - Grows if demand is increased and
shrinks accordingly. For new companies / startups this will make lots of sense.
What is Cloud agility? - Answers - Cloud agility is the ability to rapidly change an IT
infrastructure to adapt to the evolving needs of the business. For e.g. if your service
peaks one month, you can scale to demand and pay a larger bill for the month. If the
following month the demand drops, you can reduce the used resources and be charged
less. This agility lets you manage your costs dynamically, optimizing spending as
requirements change.
Describe the Public Cloud - Answers - Microsoft Azure is a public cloud provider. There
is no local hardware to manage or keep up-to-date - everything runs on your cloud
provider's hardware. In some cases, you can save additional costs by sharing
computing resources with other cloud users.
Give one example of where you would use a public cloud solution - Answers - Deploy a
website or blog. The web-server is handled by the cloud provider. You only worry about
managing the site itself.
Give three disadvantages to using a public cloud model. - Answers - •Security
Requirements
•Government Policies
FUNDAMENTALS EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What are some computing services offered by a Cloud Provider? - Answers -
•*Compute power* - e.g. Servers or web applications
•*Storage* - e.g. Files and Databases
•*Networking* - e.g. secure connections between the cloud provider and on-premises.
•*Analytics* - e.g. visual telemetry and performance data
Jim the systems admin at a fictitious company is an absolute control freak! From the list
below, choose the most appropriate cloud solution for him:
a). Virtual Machines
b). Containers
c). Serverless compute - Answers - ANSWER: a). *Virtual Machines.* Because he will
emulate a physical system, Jim can do whatever he likes (e.g. install software, configure
updates etc.)
Give the simplest definition of a container. - Answers - A container is similar to a VM but
it doesn't need a guest operating system.
What is Serverless Computing? - Answers - Serverless computing lets you run
application code(e.g. functions) without creating, configuring, or maintaining a server.
When compared to VMs and Containers, it is the lightest and fastest deployment
method.
Rob is new to cloud computing and is confused by the terms: "Vertical Scaling" and
"Horizontal" scaling. Give him a brief rundown on the differences between the two! -
Answers - *Vertical scaling*: aka "scaling up", is the process of adding resources to
increase the power of an existing server. Some examples of vertical scaling are:
*adding more CPUs, or adding more memory*.
*Horizontal scaling*: aka "scaling out", is the process of adding more servers that
function together as one unit. For example, *you have more than one server processing
incoming requests*
Define: Scalability as it relates to cloud computing - Answers - You can increase or
decrease the resources and services used based upon the needs of your organization.
Define: Elasticity as it relates to cloud computing - Answers - As your workload changes
due to a spike or drop in demand, a cloud computing system can compensate by
automatically adding or removing resources. (e.g. a web-site during Black Friday Sale)
, Define: redundancy as it relates to cloud computing - Answers - If one component fails,
another is available to take its place and its workload.
Define: fault-tolerance as it relates to cloud computing - Answers - Customers and end-
users are not impacted when a disaster occurs.
Misha the cloud computing class nerd wants to engage you in a discussion on
Economies of Scale. Start the conversation off with an adequate definition and an
example. - Answers - Economies of scale is *the ability to do things more efficiently or at
a lower-cost per unit when operating at a larger scale.* In other words, more money is
saved, when production rates are higher. Users also pay less for power consumption,
cooling and network connectivity than they would with on-premises infrastructure.
Compare / Contrast CapEx(Capital Expenditure) vs. OpEx(Operational Expenditure) -
Answers - •*Capital Expenditure*: the spending of money on physical infrastructure up
front, and then deducting that expense from your tax bill over time. CapEx is an upfront
cost, which has a value that reduces over time.
•*Operational Expenditure*: spending money on services or products now and being
billed for them now. You can deduct this expense from your tax bill in the same year.
There's no upfront cost. You pay for a service or product as you use it.
What is the primary benefit of CapEx? - Answers - Fixed Costs and a predictable
expense for your budget! Companies on a tight budget will lean here.
What is the primary benefit of OpEx? - Answers - Grows if demand is increased and
shrinks accordingly. For new companies / startups this will make lots of sense.
What is Cloud agility? - Answers - Cloud agility is the ability to rapidly change an IT
infrastructure to adapt to the evolving needs of the business. For e.g. if your service
peaks one month, you can scale to demand and pay a larger bill for the month. If the
following month the demand drops, you can reduce the used resources and be charged
less. This agility lets you manage your costs dynamically, optimizing spending as
requirements change.
Describe the Public Cloud - Answers - Microsoft Azure is a public cloud provider. There
is no local hardware to manage or keep up-to-date - everything runs on your cloud
provider's hardware. In some cases, you can save additional costs by sharing
computing resources with other cloud users.
Give one example of where you would use a public cloud solution - Answers - Deploy a
website or blog. The web-server is handled by the cloud provider. You only worry about
managing the site itself.
Give three disadvantages to using a public cloud model. - Answers - •Security
Requirements
•Government Policies
