AZ-900 Azure Services Map
Azure Fundamentals rewards recognizing which service solves which problem. This maps the AZ-900 core services to their categories.
Compute & containers
| Service | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Virtual Machines | IaaS, full OS control, lift-and-shift |
| VM Scale Sets | Identical autoscaling VM fleets |
| App Service | PaaS web apps without OS management |
| Azure Functions | Serverless event-driven code |
| Azure Kubernetes Service | Managed Kubernetes orchestration |
| Container Instances | Single serverless containers |
Storage & networking
| Service | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Blob Storage | Object storage (Hot/Cool/Cold/Archive tiers) |
| Azure Files | Managed SMB/NFS file shares |
| Virtual Network (VNet) | Isolated private networking |
| Network Security Group | Subnet/NIC traffic filtering |
| ExpressRoute | Private dedicated link to Azure |
| VPN Gateway | Encrypted site-to-site over internet |
Management & governance
| Tool | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Azure Policy | Enforce configuration rules (allowed regions/SKUs) |
| Resource locks | Prevent accidental delete/modify |
| Tags | Cost allocation and organization |
| Cost Management + Budgets | Track spend, alert on thresholds |
| Azure Monitor | Metrics, logs, alerts |
| Azure Advisor | Best-practice recommendations |
| Microsoft Entra ID | Identity and access management |
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