How to enhance Azure Security knowledge and Pass Azure Security Engineer Exam(AZ-500)
Security has been highest priority for every organization. If you are working with Azure or any cloud , you should be aware of security features for services which you deploy.
I would highly recommend to check security features present with all Azure Services which you deploy and discuss within the team if you see any loopholes.
Who Should take this Certification:
Azure Documentation says,
“Candidates for this exam should have subject matter expertise implementing Azure security controls that protect identity, access, data, applications, and networks in cloud and hybrid environments as part of an end-to-end infrastructure.”
In my opinion , you can always prepare for this exam if ,
- You are an azure administrator and wanted to understand different aspects of security.
- Security Engineers who already have some experience with Azure
- Anyone working with Azure and want to enhance their security skills
How to approach exam preparation :
- It’s always good to start with Microsoft websites. You can check below link to understand the scope of the exam.
Everyone recommend to start and learn from Microsoft Learn website and use Microsoft documentation but sometimes it might be tricky and time consuming process. So here is the easy way
2. Find out best tutors on learning websites. I find Alan Rodrigues courses about Azure are quite good . His ability to simplify very complex topics is amazing . Even if you have very basic knowledge or no knowledge , his courses will be helpful . In this case , You can check his AZ-500 course. I would recommend this course even if you are not planning for certification.
https://www.udemy.com/course/exam-azure-2/
3. Once you have basic understanding for all security services , checkout videos from John Savil over YouTube. you can check his exam cram for AZ-500.
He is a gem and you should check out all the videos which is relevant to you .
3. Check some practice tests . Its very important that you give 2–3 practice test before final exam .
I find Whizlabs test papers quite good . In my experience , you should give final exam only if you are getting over 75 % over few tests . If you are getting less than 75 % , its better to revisit areas which you find challenging.
My Experience :
I got 51 question which I had to complete in 2 hours . I got 2 case studies. 2 hours is optimum for exam but be mindful of case studies which can take a lot of time and later you might struggle with time . There are lots of questions from Azure Active directory (Groups/Access reviews/PIM). I did not get any hands-on lab.
Note: Few important features like PIM, conditional access policy are available for Azure AD premium p1/p2 license which you can enable during 1 month of free Azure subscription . I would recommend to practice these as much as possible otherwise you will feel like mugging up these topics.
Conclusion:
- Go with Alan Rodrigues course over Udemy . Do it twice if you are new to networking concepts. Don’t forget to do hands on . Sometimes you might feels you understand but hands on always make things more clear.
- Checkout John Savil’s exam cram and other videos.
- Give 2–3 Practice tests from whizlabs.
- Be mindful about the time , case studies can be tricky and can take lots of your time.
- In the end , It does not matter if you pass/fail/skip the certification exam . What matters is your understanding . So focus on your learning , Certification Badges will flash automatically.
Be Grateful ! Keep Learning !
You can checkout other Azure Certification guides:
