Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305) Practice Plan¶

Overview¶

Exam: AZ-305 - Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions Timeline: 12-16 weeks Study Time: 12-18 hours per week Difficulty: Expert level Prerequisites: AZ-104 experience and advanced Azure knowledge

Study Resources¶

• Official Microsoft Learn AZ-305 Path (FREE)
• Azure Architecture Center
• Complete Azure Study Resources
• README.md and other notes in this directory

Week-by-Week Breakdown¶

Week 1-3: Identity, Governance, and Monitoring¶

Focus: Azure AD, governance, monitoring solutions

Key Topics: - [ ] Design authentication and authorization solutions - [ ] Azure AD B2B, B2C, hybrid identity - [ ] Conditional Access and MFA strategies - [ ] Azure Policy and RBAC design - [ ] Management groups and subscriptions - [ ] Azure Monitor and Log Analytics - [ ] Application Insights architecture - [ ] Azure Workbooks and dashboards

Hands-on Labs: - [ ] Design hybrid identity solution - [ ] Implement Conditional Access policies - [ ] Design governance structure - [ ] Create policy initiatives - [ ] Design monitoring strategy - [ ] Implement diagnostic settings

Practice: 60-80 questions

Week 4-6: Data Storage Solutions¶

Focus: Relational, non-relational, and data integration

Key Topics: - [ ] Design relational data storage (SQL Database, MI, PostgreSQL) - [ ] Design non-relational storage (Cosmos DB, Table, Blob) - [ ] Storage accounts and redundancy options - [ ] Data Lake Storage Gen2 architecture - [ ] Azure Data Factory design - [ ] Data integration patterns - [ ] Storage performance and scalability

Hands-on Labs: - [ ] Design multi-region database solution - [ ] Plan Cosmos DB partitioning strategy - [ ] Design Data Lake architecture - [ ] Create ETL pipeline design - [ ] Plan disaster recovery for data

Practice: 70-90 questions

Week 7-9: Business Continuity Solutions¶

Focus: High availability and disaster recovery

Key Topics: - [ ] Design backup and recovery strategy - [ ] Azure Site Recovery design - [ ] High availability patterns - [ ] Availability zones and sets - [ ] Load balancing design - [ ] Disaster recovery planning - [ ] RPO and RTO requirements

Hands-on Labs: - [ ] Design HA solution for VMs - [ ] Plan Site Recovery configuration - [ ] Design multi-region architecture - [ ] Create backup strategy - [ ] Implement geo-redundancy

Practice: 50-60 questions

Week 10-13: Infrastructure Solutions¶

Focus: Compute, network, migration

Key Topics: - [ ] Design compute solutions (VMs, App Service, AKS, Functions) - [ ] Container orchestration design - [ ] Virtual network architecture - [ ] Hybrid connectivity (VPN, ExpressRoute) - [ ] Network security design (NSG, Firewall, WAF) - [ ] Load balancing and traffic management - [ ] Migration strategies (Azure Migrate, Database Migration Service) - [ ] Application architecture patterns

Hands-on Labs: - [ ] Design hub-and-spoke network - [ ] Plan AKS cluster architecture - [ ] Design hybrid connectivity - [ ] Create network security design - [ ] Plan application migration - [ ] Design microservices architecture

Practice: 80-100 questions

Week 14-16: Final Practice and Architecture Projects¶

Activities: - [ ] Complete 6-8 full practice exams - [ ] Design 3-4 complete enterprise architectures - [ ] Review Azure Well-Architected Framework - [ ] Practice whiteboard architecture sessions - [ ] Review all weak areas thoroughly

Architecture Projects: 1. Design global e-commerce platform 2. Design hybrid cloud enterprise solution 3. Design secure multi-tier application 4. Design disaster recovery solution 5. Design cloud migration strategy

Practice Scores: Exam 1: % | 2: % | 3: % | 4: % | 5: % | 6: %

Key Topics Checklist¶

Identity, Governance, Monitoring (25-30%)¶

• Authentication strategy design
• Authorization design (RBAC, ABAC)
• Hybrid identity design
• External identities (B2B, B2C)
• Governance strategy
• Azure Policy design
• Management groups structure
• Cost management design
• Monitoring and logging design
• Application performance monitoring

Data Storage (25-30%)¶

• Relational database design
• Non-relational storage design
• Storage account design
• Data redundancy options
• Data integration design
• Data migration strategy
• Storage performance optimization
• Data security and encryption

Business Continuity (10-15%)¶

• Backup strategy design
• Disaster recovery planning
• High availability design
• Availability zones and sets
• Azure Site Recovery design
• RPO/RTO requirements
• Geo-redundancy design

Infrastructure (25-30%)¶

• Compute solution design
• Container orchestration
• Network architecture
• Hybrid connectivity design
• Network security architecture
• Load balancing design
• CDN and traffic management
• Migration strategy
• Application modernization

Critical Architecture Skills¶

Design Thinking¶

• Understand business requirements
• Balance cost vs performance
• Consider security from start
• Plan for scalability
• Design for resilience

Azure Well-Architected Framework¶

• Cost optimization
• Operational excellence
• Performance efficiency
• Reliability
• Security

Architecture Patterns¶

• Microservices
• Event-driven architecture
• Hub-and-spoke networking
• Multi-tier applications
• CQRS and Event Sourcing

Case Study Approach¶

For Each Scenario:¶

1. Identify requirements (functional and non-functional)
2. Consider constraints (budget, timeline, compliance)
3. Evaluate options (pros/cons of each service)
4. Design solution (architecture diagram)
5. Justify decisions (why this approach)

Exam Tips¶

• Focus on "why" not "how"
• Know service limitations and quotas
• Understand cost implications
• Consider hybrid scenarios
• Think about security first
• Know when to use which service
• Practice architecture diagrams

Additional Resources¶

• AZ-305 Exam Page
• Azure Architecture Center
• Well-Architected Framework
• Azure Reference Architectures

Success Strategy: Think like an architect. Focus on design decisions, trade-offs, and business alignment. Practice designing complete solutions.