The short version
Pick the 4-week plan if you already work with Azure and need to fill gaps, or the 8-week plan if Azure is newer to you. Both spend most hours on hands-on work, because AZ-104 asks what you would configure, not what a feature is called. The hours below are rough ranges, and your own pace will differ.
Before you start
- Open the Microsoft Learn AZ-104 study guide and read the skills measured as of April 17, 2026. This is your checklist.
- Create a personal Azure account and set a budget alert on day one. Delete resource groups when you finish each lab so nothing runs overnight.
- Take one practice set cold to find your baseline. A low score now is useful, not a problem.
Weightings tell you where the points are: identities and governance 20-25%, compute 20-25%, storage 15-20%, networking 15-20%, monitoring and backup 10-15%. Identities and compute together can be close to half of the exam.
The 4-week plan (about 10 to 14 hours a week)
Week 1: Identities, governance, and storage.
- Build users, groups, and an external user in Microsoft Entra ID. Assign built-in roles at subscription, resource group, and resource scope, then read the access back.
- Add a policy assignment, a lock, tags, and a budget alert. Notice which one blocks, which one audits, and which one only reports.
- Create a storage account, change redundancy, create a blob container and a file share, and generate each kind of shared access signature.
Week 2: Compute.
- Read a Bicep file and an ARM template, change one value, and deploy it. Export a deployment and convert it.
- Create a virtual machine, resize it, add a data disk, and deploy another into an availability zone.
- Create a scale set, a container instance, a container app, and an App Service with a deployment slot.
Week 3: Networking and monitoring.
- Create two virtual networks, peer them, and test traffic. Add network security group rules and read the effective rules for a network interface.
- Add a service endpoint, then a private endpoint, and compare how name resolution differs. Configure a load balancer and an Azure DNS zone.
- Create a Log Analytics workspace, a diagnostic setting, an alert rule, and an action group.
Week 4: Backup, practice, and gaps.
- Create a Recovery Services vault and a Backup vault, a backup policy, and run a restore. Try a Site Recovery test failover on a small VM.
- Take practice sets 2 to 4 under timed conditions, then review every explanation, including the ones you got right.
- Spend the final two days on your weakest domain, then follow the last-3-days routine below.
The 8-week plan (about 6 to 9 hours a week)
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Azure basics and Entra | Portal, CLI, and PowerShell basics. Users, groups, licenses, external users, self-service password reset |
| 2 | Governance | Role assignments and scopes, Azure Policy, locks, tags, resource groups, management groups, budgets |
| 3 | Storage | Access methods, redundancy, encryption, Blob and Files features, tiers, lifecycle, AzCopy |
| 4 | Templates and virtual machines | ARM and Bicep, VM creation, sizes, disks, zones, sets, scale sets |
| 5 | Containers and App Service | Registry, Container Instances, Container Apps, plans, slots, certificates, scaling |
| 6 | Networking | Virtual networks, peering, routes, NSGs, Bastion, endpoints, DNS, load balancers |
| 7 | Monitoring and backup | Metrics, logs, alerts, Insights, Network Watcher, vaults, policies, Site Recovery |
| 8 | Practice and review | Timed practice sets, error log, weak-domain review, rest before the exam |
Take a cold baseline set before week 1 and a timed set at the end of weeks 3, 5, and 7. Short checkpoints show whether the hands-on work is turning into answers.
Using practice exams in the plan
Our five AZ-104 practice tests each have 50 original questions and are built to be taken in order:
- Groundwork: core concepts. Use it as your baseline.
- In Practice: everyday admin scenarios.
- Trade-offs: questions where two answers look right and one stated requirement decides.
- Under the Hood: commands, limits, and settings.
- Exam Day: a full-length simulation with mixed domains. Save it for the end.
Keep an error log with three columns: the topic, why you missed it (did not know, misread, rushed), and the fix. After two or three sets, the log shows a pattern. Practice exams show readiness, they do not replace hands-on work or Microsoft’s learning material. Our page on how we write our questions explains what the questions are for.
The last 3 days
- Three days out: take the full simulation set under timed conditions. Do not study new topics. Review only the errors.
- Two days out: reread your error log, your notes on limits and defaults, and the weakest domain. Open Microsoft’s exam sandbox so the interface is familiar.
- The day before: light review for an hour at most. Check your booking, ID, and, for an online exam, your room and equipment. Sleep.
- Exam day: see the exam day guide. Mark hard questions and move on, because the clock keeps running.
For a general routine that works for any exam, see how to study for IT certification exams.
More guides for AZ-104
- AZ-104 Exam Format, Scoring and Retakes
- Is AZ-104 Hard? An Honest Difficulty Check
- AZ-104 Prerequisites and Self-Check
- AZ-104 Renewal and Retakes Explained
- Is AZ-104 Worth It? An Honest Look
- AZ-104 Cheat Sheet: Key Facts to Review
- AZ-104 vs AZ-305: Which First?
- AZ-104 vs AZ-400: Which First?
- AZ-104 vs AZ-802: Which First?
Next step
Go through the domains explained page next, and then try the five sample questions.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours does AZ-104 take to prepare for?
It varies a lot. Many people with some Azure experience plan for a few weeks of regular study, and newcomers plan for two months or more. Your hands-on background matters more than the calendar.
Should I do labs or read first?
Do both in the same week. Read a topic, then build it in a personal account, then break it on purpose to see the error message.