AZ-900 Azure Storage Services Guide 2026
Free AZ practice test with questions and answer explanations. Prepare for the 2026 exam with instant scoring.
Azure Storage Account Types
Azure storage begins with a storage account, which acts as a unique namespace for all your storage data accessible over HTTP or HTTPS. For the AZ-900 exam, you need to understand the two primary account types: Standard general-purpose v2 (GPv2) and Premium. GPv2 accounts support Blob, File, Queue, and Table storage and are backed by magnetic drives (HDD). Premium accounts use solid-state drives (SSD) and are optimized for low-latency scenarios. Practice with the free AZ-900 practice test on PracticeTestGeeks (16 questions with answer explanations).
A storage account name must be globally unique across all of Azure, between 3 and 24 characters, and can only contain lowercase letters and numbers. This uniqueness requirement is because the storage account name becomes part of the endpoint URL — for example, https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net. Understanding this structure helps you answer questions about how Azure identifies and routes storage requests.
Storage accounts also determine which redundancy options are available to you. Not all redundancy configurations are available for all account types or regions, which is an important nuance for the exam. For a broader view of how storage fits into the Azure ecosystem, see our cloud concepts guide and our dedicated networking guide for how virtual networks interact with storage endpoints.
Azure Blob Storage
Blob (Binary Large Object) storage is Azure's solution for storing massive amounts of unstructured data — things like images, videos, documents, backups, and log files. Blobs are organized into containers within a storage account, and each blob can be up to 190.7 TB in size. There are three blob types you must know for the AZ-900 exam:
- Block blobs — optimized for uploading large amounts of data. Text and binary files, media files, backups. Most common type.
- Append blobs — optimized for append operations. Ideal for logging scenarios where data is continuously added.
- Page blobs — optimized for random read/write operations. Used as the backing store for Azure Virtual Machine disks.
Blob storage supports three access tiers — hot, cool, and archive — which control how data is stored and how much it costs to access. This tiering system is one of the most tested topics in the storage domain. We cover tiers in detail in the access tiers section below.
Azure Files
Azure Files provides fully managed file shares in the cloud, accessible via the industry-standard Server Message Block (SMB) protocol and the Network File System (NFS) protocol. Unlike Blob storage which uses a flat namespace, Azure Files uses a hierarchical file system — making it a drop-in replacement for on-premises file servers.
Key use cases for Azure Files include lift-and-shift migrations of applications that rely on file shares, shared configuration files across multiple virtual machines, and diagnostic data like logs and crash dumps. Azure File Sync can extend Azure Files into on-premises environments by caching frequently accessed files locally while storing everything in Azure. For tips on passing the exam, see our AZ-900 pass guide.
Queue Storage and Table Storage
Azure Queue Storage provides reliable messaging for asynchronous communication between application components. Messages can be up to 64 KB in size, and a queue can contain millions of messages. Queue storage decouples components so they can scale independently — for example, a web front-end adds work items to a queue, and a background worker processes them at its own pace.
Azure Table Storage is a NoSQL key-attribute store for semi-structured data. It stores data as collections of entities, each with up to 252 custom properties. Table storage is cost-effective and well-suited for storing flexible datasets like user data for web applications, address books, or device information for IoT scenarios. For the AZ-900 exam, know that Table storage is part of Cosmos DB's table API offering as well.
For a fuller set of questions on this topic, see our az 900 practice test resource.
For a fuller set of questions on this topic, see our microsoft az 900 practice test resource.
For a fuller set of questions on this topic, see our az 900 exam resource.
Free AZ-900 Study Tools
Interactive AZ-900 resources on PracticeTestGeeks, free to start:
- AZ-900 — 16 questions with instant scoring and answer explanations
- AZ-900 flashcards — review key terms and concepts card by card
- AZ-900 study guide — topic-by-topic overview of what the exam covers
- AZ-900 cheat sheet — one-page printable summary for last-minute review
AZ-900: upcoming dates and official changes
- Jul 20, 2026: Microsoft's current AZ-900 skills outline took effect on July 20, 2026, with minor changes listed for compute and networking, resource management and deployment, and monitoring objectives. (Microsoft)
Facts verified Oct 17, 2026 against Microsoft. Dates that have passed are removed automatically.
- Microsoft does not publish a fixed AZ-900 question count on the reviewed pages and says most Microsoft Certification exams typically contain 40–60 questions, with variation by exam. (Microsoft)
- AZ-900 allows 45 minutes to complete the exam, with Microsoft allocating 65 minutes of seat time for Fundamentals exams. (Microsoft)
- AZ-900 requires a scaled score of at least 700 on Microsoft's 1–1,000 technical-exam scale. (Microsoft)
- AZ-900 retakes require payment when applicable; Microsoft does not specify a separate retake price on its retake-policy page. (Microsoft)
- AZ-900 candidates must wait 24 hours after their first failed attempt and 14 days between subsequent attempts, with no more than five attempts within 12 months of the first attempt. (Microsoft)
- The Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals certification earned through AZ-900 does not expire. (Microsoft)
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals does not require periodic renewal because Fundamentals certifications do not expire. (Microsoft)
- AZ-900 candidates scheduling through Pearson VUE can select a test-center or online proctored appointment, subject to availability. (Microsoft)
- Microsoft recommends that AZ-900 candidates have skills and experience in an IT area such as infrastructure management, database management, or software development. (Microsoft)
Facts verified Oct 17, 2026 against Microsoft. Dates that have passed are removed automatically.
AZ-900 Exam at a Glance
| Item | Detail | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Number of questions | Variable; no confirmed AZ-900-specific count | Microsoft |
| Time limit | 45-minute exam; 65-minute appointment | Microsoft |
| Passing score | 700 on a scaled score of 1–1,000 | Microsoft |
| Retake fee | Payment required when applicable | Microsoft |
| Retake policy | 24 hours after first failure; then 14 days; maximum five attempts | Microsoft |
| Validity | Does not expire | Microsoft |
| Renewal | No periodic renewal required | Microsoft |
| Delivery | Test center or online proctored appointment | Microsoft |
| Eligibility | IT skills and experience recommended | Microsoft |
| Score release | Usually within minutes; profile within 24 hours | Microsoft |
| Registration opens | Booking up to 90 days ahead | Microsoft |
Facts verified Oct 17, 2026 against Microsoft. Dates that have passed are removed automatically.
Azure Storage Redundancy Options
Redundancy is among the most frequently tested storage topics on the AZ-900 exam. Azure automatically stores multiple copies of your data to protect against hardware failures, network outages, and natural disasters. You choose the redundancy option when you create your storage account, and it determines how and where your data is replicated.
There are four redundancy configurations to know:
- Locally Redundant Storage (LRS) — replicates your data 3 times within a single datacenter in the primary region. Lowest cost. Protects against drive and rack failures but not datacenter-level outages.
- Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) — replicates your data synchronously across 3 Azure availability zones in the primary region. Protects against zone-level failures. Good for high availability within a region.
- Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS) — replicates data 3 times in the primary region (like LRS) and asynchronously replicates to a secondary region hundreds of miles away. Protects against regional disasters. Data in secondary is not readable unless Microsoft initiates a failover.
- Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage (GZRS) — combines ZRS in the primary region with asynchronous geo-replication to a secondary region. Highest durability. Designed for critical data needing both zone and regional redundancy.
A key exam distinction: GRS and GZRS also have read-access variants (RA-GRS and RA-GZRS) that allow you to read from the secondary region endpoint at any time — not just during a failover. The secondary endpoint URL has a -secondary suffix appended to the account name.
Blob Storage Access Tiers
Azure Blob storage offers three access tiers that let you balance storage costs against access costs. The AZ-900 exam expects you to know the trade-off for each tier:
- Hot tier — optimized for data accessed frequently. Highest storage cost, lowest access cost. Default tier for new storage accounts.
- Cool tier — optimized for data infrequently accessed and stored for at least 30 days. Lower storage cost than hot, but higher access cost. Suitable for short-term backups and disaster recovery.
- Archive tier — lowest storage cost, but data is stored offline. Takes hours to rehydrate (move to hot or cool) before you can read it. Intended for data that can tolerate several hours of retrieval latency — long-term backups, regulatory archives.
Tiers can be set at the blob level (not the account level), so you can have hot and cool blobs coexisting in the same container. Lifecycle management policies can automatically move blobs between tiers based on rules you define — for example, moving blobs to cool after 30 days and to archive after 90 days.
Azure Managed Disk Types
Azure Virtual Machines use managed disks as their block-level storage volumes. Managed disks are backed by Azure Storage and are fully managed by Azure — you don't have to manage storage accounts for them. There are four disk types:
- Ultra Disk — highest performance, configurable IOPS and throughput. For SAP HANA, top-tier databases, and transaction-intensive workloads.
- Premium SSD — high performance SSD-backed. For production workloads and performance-sensitive applications.
- Standard SSD — cost-effective SSD option. For web servers, lightly used enterprise applications, dev/test.
- Standard HDD — lowest cost, magnetic drives. For backup, non-critical workloads, infrequent access.
For the AZ-900 exam, you are not expected to memorize IOPS figures, but you should know the general positioning: Ultra Disk is top-tier, Premium SSD is production-grade, Standard SSD balances cost and performance, and Standard HDD is lowest cost for non-critical use.
AZ-900 Storage — What to Know Before Exam Day
- ✓Name all four Azure storage services: Blob, Files, Queue, Table
- ✓Identify the three Blob types and their primary use cases (Block, Append, Page)
- ✓Explain the difference between LRS, ZRS, GRS, and GZRS redundancy
- ✓Understand when RA-GRS allows secondary region reads (always, not just failover)
- ✓Describe the hot, cool, and archive tiers and their cost trade-offs
- ✓Know that archive tier requires rehydration before data can be read
- ✓State the four managed disk types and their positioning (Ultra, Premium SSD, Standard SSD, Standard HDD)
- ✓Recognize Azure File Sync as the tool for caching cloud file shares on-premises
AZ Pros and Cons
- +AZ-900 has a defined, publicly available content blueprint — candidates know exactly what to prepare for
- +Multiple preparation pathways (self-study, courses, coaching) accommodate different learning styles and schedules
- +A growing ecosystem of study resources means candidates at any budget level can access quality preparation materials
- +Clear score reporting allows candidates to identify specific strengths and weaknesses for targeted remediation
- +Professional recognition associated with strong performance provides tangible career and academic benefits
- −The scope of tested content requires substantial preparation time that competes with existing professional or academic commitments
- −No single resource covers the full content scope — candidates typically need multiple study tools for comprehensive preparation
- −Test anxiety and exam-day performance variability mean preparation effort does not always translate linearly to scores
- −Registration, preparation, and potential retake costs accumulate into a significant financial investment
- −Content and format can change between exam versions, making older preparation materials less reliable
Pros and Cons at a Glance
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Multiple preparation pathways (self-study, courses, coaching) accommodate different learning styles and schedules | The scope of tested content requires substantial preparation time that competes with existing professional or academic commitments |
| A growing ecosystem of study resources means candidates at any budget level can access quality preparation materials | No single resource covers the full content scope — candidates typically need multiple study tools for comprehensive preparation |
| Clear score reporting allows candidates to identify specific strengths and weaknesses for targeted remediation | Test anxiety and exam-day performance variability mean preparation effort does not always translate linearly to scores |
| Professional recognition associated with strong performance provides tangible career and academic benefits | Registration, preparation, and potential retake costs accumulate into a significant financial investment |
Sample AZ-900 Practice Questions
Try these questions from our free AZ-900 practice tests. The correct answer and an explanation follow each question.
A company needs to store several terabytes of unstructured data, such as videos, images, and documents, in Azure. The data must be accessible from anywhere in the world via HTTP or HTTPS. Which Azure Storage service is the most suitable for this requirement?
- A. Azure Files
- B. Azure Blob Storage
- C. Azure Table Storage
- D. Azure Queue Storage
Answer: B. Azure Blob Storage
Azure Blob Storage is the correct choice because it is an object storage solution optimized for storing massive amounts of unstructured data like text or binary data. It's ideal for scenarios such as serving images or documents directly to a browser, streaming video and audio, and storing data for backup and restore.
An organization wants to migrate its on-premises file server to Azure to provide a cloud-based file share for its employees. The solution must support access via the standard Server Message Block (SMB) protocol so that users can map it as a network drive. Which Azure Storage service should they use?
- A. Azure Disk Storage
- B. Azure Blob Storage
- C. Azure Files
- D. Azure Table Storage
Answer: C. Azure Files
Azure Files is the appropriate service as it offers fully managed file shares in the cloud that are accessible via the industry-standard Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. This allows for a seamless 'lift-and-shift' of applications and user shares that rely on traditional file server protocols.
Which Azure Storage service stores structured NoSQL data as key-attribute pairs?
- A. Azure Blob Storage
- B. Azure Files
- C. Azure Table Storage
- D. Azure Queue Storage
Answer: C. Azure Table Storage
Azure Table Storage stores large amounts of structured NoSQL data using key-attribute pairs.
Which Azure storage service provides fully managed file shares accessible via the SMB protocol?
- A. Azure Files
- B. Azure Blob Storage
- C. Azure Disk Storage
- D. Azure Table Storage
Answer: A. Azure Files
Azure Files offers managed cloud file shares accessible through SMB and NFS.
AZ-900 Storage Questions and Answers
How this page was made: written with AI tools and published by Nathan Beja, founder of Practice Test Geeks, who is responsible for its content. Exam facts are checked against the official sources listed below. Not reviewed by a subject-matter expert. Editorial policy
Sources & references
Exam facts on this page (fees, format, dates, passing scores) are checked against these official sources; the date is our last check. Editorial policy
- learn.microsoft.com — Eligibility, renewal, score validity, registration, retake fee, passing score, time limit, test delivery, exam information · verified Nov 2026