AZ-305 Exam overview
AZ-305 Exam Overview
AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions measures architecture design skills across identity, governance, monitoring, storage, continuity, and infrastructure.
AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions measures architecture design skills across identity, governance, monitoring, storage, continuity, and infrastructure.
AZ-305 is the required exam for Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert. Microsoft lists four current skills areas: Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions (25–30%); Design data storage solutions (20–25%); Design business continuity solutions (15–20%); and Design infrastructure solutions (30–35%). Use these official ranges as study guidance rather than local counts or practice-bank distribution.
Microsoft describes the candidate as an Azure solutions architect with subject matter expertise designing cloud and hybrid solutions that run on Azure. The role advises stakeholders and translates business requirements into designs aligned with the Azure Well-Architected Framework and Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure. The candidate should understand how decisions in networking, identity, security, governance, continuity, data, and operations affect the full solution.
The exam can involve Microsoft Entra ID, RBAC, management groups, subscriptions, Azure Policy, Key Vault, Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Storage Accounts, Azure SQL, Managed Instance, Cosmos DB, backup, Site Recovery, Availability Zones, Virtual Networks, ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway, Azure Firewall, Application Gateway, Front Door, Load Balancer, Traffic Manager, Azure DNS, Private Link, App Service, Functions, AKS, Container Apps, and VM Scale Sets.
AZ-305 scenarios usually ask for the best design, not the exact button to click. Read for constraints such as compliance, latency, cost, RTO, RPO, hybrid connectivity, identity boundaries, governance, data consistency, and operational visibility. The most attractive answer is often the one that balances those constraints with the least unnecessary complexity.
Use these DotCreds paths when you are ready to practice, compare options, or keep studying.
Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert is the credential this DotCreds guide is organized around. Use this page to understand the topic, then move into practice or the guided course when you are ready.
Start with the beginner guide and study roadmap, then use practice questions to find weak areas before you spend time rereading everything.
It can be worth studying when the skills match your target role, current experience, and next job move. The related certifications page can help compare nearby options.
Study time depends on your background. Use a self-paced plan, review missed questions, and keep the official objectives close while you practice.
Start with a focused practice set, then use your missed questions to decide what to study next.
Official and vendor docs used to ground this page.
Official Microsoft certification page for Azure Solutions Architect Expert, including role description, prerequisite certification, required AZ-305 exam, and assessed skills.
Official AZ-305 study guide with the current audience profile, skills measured, domain ranges, and detailed solution architecture objectives.
Explains Azure Blob Storage access tiers, useful when designing storage solutions that balance performance, retention, and cost.
Explains reliability targets and metrics used when designing Azure architectures for availability and recovery objectives.
Explains Azure SQL Database automated backups, retention, and recovery behavior relevant to business continuity design.
Flexible search understands AI-901, ai901, ai 901, 901, ai, network plus, and saa c03.