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Exam Information
Official specifications published by Microsoft
Exam Format
120 min
55
700
Expert
Registration
$165 USD
Pearson VUE or online proctoring
English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean +9 more
Validity
1 year
Pass renewal assessment on Microsoft Learn (free); Pass a higher-level certification exam; Attend Microsoft Ignite or Microsoft Build and complete the Cloud Skills Challenge
AZ-400 Exam Topics and Domains
AZ-400 is organized into 5 weighted domains. Expect to work with Azure Pipelines, GitHub Actions, GitHub, Azure Monitor, and more.
1
Design and implement processes and communications
12.5%
Design and implement traceability and flow of work
Flow of work structuresFeedback cyclesWork tracking integrationTraceability implementation
- Design and implement a structure for the flow of work, including GitHub Flow
- Design and implement a strategy for feedback cycles, including notifications and GitHub issues
- Design and implement integration for tracking work, including GitHub projects, Azure Boards, and repositories
- Design and implement source, bug, and quality traceability
Design and implement appropriate metrics and queries for DevOps
Dashboard designProject planning metricsDevelopment and testing metricsSecurity and operations metrics
- Design and implement a dashboard, including flow of work metrics
- Design and implement appropriate metrics for all DevOps phases
- Create queries for project planning, development, testing, security, delivery, and operations
Configure collaboration and communication
Documentation strategiesRelease documentationIntegration configurationPlatform integration
- Document a project by configuring wikis and process diagrams
- Configure release documentation including automated creation from Git history
- Configure integration using webhooks and service connections
- Configure integration between Azure Boards, GitHub, and Microsoft Teams
2
Design and implement a source control strategy
12.5%
Design and implement branching strategies for the source code
Branch strategy designPull request workflowsMerge strategies
- Design a branch strategy, including trunk-based, feature branch, and release branch
- Design and implement a pull request workflow using branch policies and protections
- Implement branch merging restrictions using policies and protections
Configure and manage repositories
Large file managementRepository optimizationAccess controlRepository management
- Design and implement a strategy for managing large files
- Design a strategy for scaling and optimizing Git repositories
- Configure permissions and tags in repositories
- Recover and remove specific data from source control
3
Design and implement build and release pipelines
52.5%
Design and implement a package management strategy
Package management toolsPackage feeds and viewsVersioning strategies
- Recommend package management tools including GitHub Packages and Azure Artifacts
- Design and implement package feeds and views
- Design and implement versioning strategies for code assets and packages
Design and implement a testing strategy for pipelines
Quality and release gatesComprehensive testingPipeline testing implementationCode coverage
- Design and implement quality and release gates
- Design a comprehensive testing strategy
- Implement tests in a pipeline
- Implement code coverage analysis
Design and implement pipelines
Deployment automation selectionAgent infrastructurePipeline developmentComplex pipeline scenariosReusable elementsChecks and approvals
- Select a deployment automation solution
- Design and implement agent infrastructure
- Develop pipelines using YAML
- Create reusable pipeline elements
- Design and implement checks and approvals
Design and implement deployments
Deployment strategiesDeployment orderingZero-downtime deploymentsHotfix planningApplication deployment
- Design deployment strategies for various scenarios
- Plan for minimizing downtime during deployments
- Design hotfix path plans
- Implement feature flags and application deployments
Design and implement infrastructure as code (IaC)
Configuration managementIaC strategyDesired state configurationAzure Deployment Environments
- Recommend and implement configuration management technology
- Define an IaC strategy
- Design and implement desired state configuration
- Design and implement Azure Deployment Environments
Maintain pipelines
Pipeline monitoringPipeline optimizationConcurrency managementRetention strategiesPipeline migration
- Monitor pipeline health metrics
- Optimize pipelines for cost, time, performance, and reliability
- Design and implement retention strategies
- Migrate pipelines from classic to YAML
4
Develop a security and compliance plan
12.5%
Design and implement authentication and authorization methods
Identity managementGitHub authenticationAzure DevOps authenticationPermissions and rolesProject configuration
- Choose between Service Principals and Managed Identity
- Implement and manage GitHub and Azure DevOps authentication
- Design and implement permissions and security groups
- Configure projects and teams with appropriate access levels
Design and implement a strategy for managing sensitive information
Secrets managementPipeline secretsSecure filesInformation leakage prevention
- Implement and manage secrets using Azure Key Vault
- Implement secrets in GitHub Actions and Azure Pipelines
- Design strategies for managing sensitive files
- Design pipelines to prevent information leakage
Automate security and compliance scanning
Security scanning strategyMicrosoft Defender for CloudGitHub Advanced SecurityContainer securityDependency management
- Design strategies for security and compliance scanning
- Configure Microsoft Defender for Cloud DevOps Security
- Configure GitHub Advanced Security
- Automate container and dependency scanning
5
Implement an instrumentation strategy
7.5%
Configure monitoring for a DevOps environment
Azure Monitor integrationTelemetry collectionGitHub monitoringAlert configuration
- Configure Azure Monitor and Log Analytics integration
- Configure telemetry collection using various Insights
- Configure monitoring in GitHub
- Configure alerts for events in CI/CD pipelines
Analyze metrics from instrumentation
Infrastructure metricsApplication metricsDistributed tracingLog analysis
- Inspect infrastructure performance indicators
- Analyze metrics using collected telemetry
- Inspect distributed tracing
- Interrogate logs using Kusto Query Language
How do I earn this certification?
Practice with Precision
The PlanetCert Simulator mirrors the real exam environment with authentic questions and timed pressure.
How to study for this exam?
The most effective way to prepare for AZ-400 is by using the PlanetCert Simulator to practice questions and review detailed explanations.
What's changed on this exam?
Current Status
- ACTIVE
- Last content update: 2024-07-26
- Announcement date: 2024-07-01
Updates
- GitHub Actions 3.0 Increased focus on GitHub Actions workflows and reusable workflows • Release date: 2024-06-01
- Azure Pipelines Latest New pipeline optimization features and cost management • Release date: 2024-07-01
- Bicep 0.28 More Bicep questions replacing ARM template questions • Release date: 2024-07-15
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud Latest Enhanced DevSecOps scenarios and security scanning • Release date: 2024-05-01
- Azure Monitor Latest New monitoring capabilities and KQL query scenarios • Release date: 2024-06-01
Who should take this exam?
This exam is typically taken by DevOps Engineers and Site Reliability Engineers.
One of the following certifications must be active: Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) OR Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)
- Experience working in an Azure environment
- Experience with version control, Agile software development, and core software development principles
- Knowledge of automated testing, DevOps practices, and continuous integration/continuous deployment
- Strong skills in either Azure administration or Azure development
What jobs can I get with this?
DevOps Engineer
Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
Platform Engineer
Cloud Engineer
Infrastructure Engineer
Release Manager
DevOps Architect
Automation Engineer