Instructor guide for AZ-020: Microsoft Azure solutions

for AWS developers

Purpose
This document is for Microsoft Certified Trainers teaching the AZ-020: Microsoft Azure solutions for AWS
developers course.

Course design
This course focuses on Azure features that developers need to be aware of to successfully develop on Azure
and highlights areas of Azure development that differs from AWS. The course assumes students are skilled in
AWS development and/or are AWS developer Certified. AZ-020 is based on a subset of the content and labs
used in AZ-204 but not aligned with an exam. AZ-020 is a 3 day course (versus 5 days for AZ-204). While
there is less material than in AZ-204, the instructor may need to adjust the course to fit the audience needs
and class time.

Labs and demonstrations

Most modules in the course include a lab. The lab guides are available in the Microsoft Learning GitHub
repository for AZ-204. The lab numbers referenced in AZ-020 are the lab numbers used in AZ-204 and do not
map to the AZ-020 module numbers for modules 9, 10, and 11.

In addition to the lab guide, any supplemental files, such as scripts and templates, are also provided. If you
have trouble with a slow connection, or if you don't have time for participants to complete the labs, you can
use lab videos to demonstrate key steps. The lab videos are available on GitHub. For more information, see
AZ-204 Lab Recordings and Demos. Note that Azure instances for lab steps can take as much as 15 minutes
to be created.

Because it is assumed the students are relatively new to Azure, when you demonstrate the Azure portal, show
the different ways of navigating the portal and consider highlighting the following items:

Create a resource button/menu

Search

Keyboard shortcuts

Help Links (has link to keyboard shortcut for instance)

Themes

Customizing

Recent Resources

Blade navigation

Cloud Shell
Describe that we are focusing on jumping immediately to guided hands-on labs to acclimate all students to
Azure portal, Azure features and their relationships.

A good resource for things to show is https://microsoft.github.io/AzureTipsAndTricks/.

Important: The labs and the demos are designed to be performed on the VMs that are provided
for the course. The VMs include all necessary tools to complete the demos and labs. Labs performed
outside of the VMs is an unsupported scenario.

Azure subscriptions

To complete the labs and any demonstrations in this course, students need an Azure subscription. The
recommended way to give students access to Azure is by requesting Microsoft Learning Azure Passes.

You can request Microsoft Learning Azure Passes for yourself and your students. Ensure that you
request these passes at least two weeks before the class starts. After receiving the passes each student
will need to activate their pass.

It is very important you ensure students activate their passes before class. You don’t want to lose time
configuring the passes.

Note: It is also important you ensure the Azure pass can be used for the demos and labs.
What's included with the Microsoft Learning Azure Passes can change over time. It's possible
these changes may impact demos and labs.

Course timing
The following tables show the approximate daily timings for a three-day course delivery. Note that far more
than three days of training content has been included in Skillpipe and in the facilitator slide decks. You will
need to determine which content to teach and which content to discard to reach the three-day delivery
schedule. The number of slides is an approximation; changes will occur over time. Duration is shown in h:mm.
In a later section, we suggest ways to modify the content that may affect the module timing.

Day 1

Topic Duration Start time End Time

Module 0 (16 slides) 0:30 9:00 AM 9:30 AM

Break 0:15 9:30 AM 9:45 AM

Module 01 (50 slides) 1:40 9:45 AM 11:25 AM

Break 0:15 11:25 AM 11:40 AM

Module 02 (start, 63 slides) 0:50 11:40 AM 12:30 PM

Lunch 1:00 12:30 PM 1:30 PM

Module 02 (finish) 0:50 1:30 PM 2:20 PM

Module 03 (64 slides) 1:40 2:20 PM 4:00 PM

 Topic Duration Start time End Time

Wrap up 0:15 4:00 PM 4:15 PM

Day 2

Topic Duration Start time End Time

Day 1 Review 0:15 9:00 AM 09:15 AM

Module 04 (74 slides) 1:45 09:15 AM 11:00 AM

Break 0:15 11:00 AM 11:15 AM

Module 05 (22 slides) 0:30 11:15 AM 11:45 AM

Lunch 1:00 11:45 AM 12:45 PM

Module 06 (61 slides) 1:30 12:45 PM 2:15 PM

Break 0:15 2:15 PM 2:30 PM

Module 07 (67 slides) 1:30 2:30 PM 4:00 PM

Day 3

Topic Duration Start time End Time

Day 2 review 0:15 9:00 AM 9:15 AM

Module 08 (52 slides) 1:15 9:15 AM 10:30 AM

Break 0:15 10:30 AM 10:45 AM

Module 09 (78 slides) 1:30 10:45 AM 12:15 PM

Lunch 1:00 12:15 PM 1:15 PM

Module 10 (46 slides) 1:00 1:15 PM 2:15 PM

Break 0:15 2:15 PM 2:30 PM

Module 11 (45 slides) 1:30 2:30 PM 4:00 PM

Wrap-up 0:15 4:00 PM 4:15 PM

Preparing to teach
In the next sections, we will cover the main course components and how they can used in class. This includes
PowerPoint slides, module review questions, reference links, demos/practice exercises, and labs. You are
encouraged to use this content to create the best learning experience for your students.

Course modification suggestions

The following is a list of suggested ways that you can modify the content to make it more engaging to
participants or alter the amount of time required for a module.
 The first four modules have the labs integrated into the lecture material. The remaining modules have
the labs at the end. For those modules, you may want to consider distributing the lab exercises through
the lecture content.

Chat topic slides have been integrated in the decks with suggestions for topics to discuss as a class. You
may want to replace them with your own question, a poll, or a quiz question, and add additional
opportunities for discussions.

You can add additional activities by using surveys or quizzes. For more information, see
https://www.mentimeter.com or https://doodle.com.

To save time, you may convert a lab to a demo that you have prepped and partially completed before
showing it to the class.

PowerPoint slides

PowerPoint slides are provided to help you teach the course. But if you simply read the slide you will not have
enough content to fill the scheduled time. Be sure to go through the materials in the main content for the
course to ensure you’re covering things fully.

The Module 00 PowerPoint file includes an agenda, listing modules and lessons for the course. It also
includes an instructor introduction slide and a slide introducing the classroom facilities. We recommend
you customize these slides for your specific situation.

The PowerPoint files include slides that are designated as demonstrations. The course includes a good
deal of hands-on guidance that is combined with additional information to create a richer learning
experience for the student.

Demos presented in the course

The student materials contain all of the demos in the course. You might choose to have them follow along as
you perform your demonstration. Students should use the VMs included with the course; they contain all of
the tools and frameworks to complete the demos and labs.

Many of the demos include links to tools used in the demos. These links are provided only for the scenario
where the student wishes to practice on their own.

Module review questions

Module review questions are provided at the end of each module. You may wish to supplement with
questions of your own choosing. You can use these review questions in several ways:

As a group, go through the questions before moving on to another section.

Sprinkle the questions into the content as you cover the appropriate material.

Reference links

The course content for the students includes many reference links. The main reason for this is the Azure
documentation is constantly being updated.
 Before you teach the course, use the reference links to validate the content is still current. Pay attention
to capabilities and limits. For example, preview features and virtual machine sizes.

Let students know they can use the reference links after the course to review and confirm what they
learned.

Course resources
As part of teaching this course, you will be provided with a PDF format Course Handbook. It includes all the
content for the course as it appears online hosted on Skillpipe. At the end of each module, you will find a
module summary that includes a Resources section. The Resources section provides links to where the same
module content is publicly available on docs.microsoft.com.

We also recommend you bookmark these helpful Azure resources.

Microsoft Learning Community Blog: Get the latest information about the certification tests and exam
study groups.

Microsoft Learn: Free role-based learning paths and hands-on experiences for practice

Azure Fridays: Join Scott Hanselman as he engages one-on-one with the engineers who build the
services that power Microsoft Azure, as they demo capabilities, answer Scott's questions, and share
their insights.

Microsoft Azure Blog: Keep current on what's happening in Azure, including what's now in preview,
generally available, news & updates, and more.

Azure Documentation: Stay informed on the latest products, tools, and features. Get information on
pricing, partners, support, and solutions.

Connect with others

MCT Central – Your one stop for all things MCT. Stay up to date with the latest MCT news, learn about
upcoming events, find job opportunities, or connect with other MCTs around the world. You can also
ask questions and discuss a variety of topics including courseware and certification with Microsoft and
other MCTs through the MCT Central Forums.

MOC Courseware Support – If there are problems with a course or you need to log a support ticket,
contact the Official Support channel for MOC courses. This channel is monitored by support agents and
is the quickest way to log your course support issue.

Instruction overview
Module 0: Welcome

Lesson 1: About this course

Module 1: Build a Web App in Azure

Students will learn how to build a web application on the Azure App Service platform. They will learn how the
platform functions and how to create, configure, scale, secure, and deploy to the App Service platform. Note
that the lab is distributed throughout the lessons in a lab-first teaching approach. Lab 1 (AZ-204) is used in
this module.

Lesson 1: Build a back-end API in Azure

Lesson 2: Build a front-end application in Azure

Lesson 3: Scaling App Services

Lesson 4: App Service on Linux

Module 2: Introduction to Azure Functions

This module covers creating Functions apps, and how to integrate triggers and inputs/outputs into the app.
Note that the lab is distributed throughout the lessons in a lab-first teaching approach. Lab 2 (AZ-204) is used
in this module.

Lesson 1: Introduction to Azure Functions

Lesson 2: Develop Azure Functions

Lesson 3: Implement Durable Functions

Module 3: Developing Solutions that use Blob Storage

Students will learn how Azure Blob storage works, how to manage data through the hot/cold/archive blob
storage lifecycle, and how to use the Azure Blob storage client library to manage data and metadata. Note
that the lab is distributed throughout the lessons in a lab-first teaching approach. Lab 3 (AZ-204) is used in
this module.

Lesson 1: Azure Blob storage core concepts

Lesson 2: Managing the Azure Blob storage lifecycle

Lesson 3: Working with Azure Blob storage

Module 4: Global Data Distribution with Azure Cosmos DB

Students will learn how Cosmos DB is structured and how data consistency is managed. Students will also
learn how to create Cosmos DB accounts and create databases, containers, and items by using a mix of the
Azure Portal and the .NET SDK. Note that the lab is distributed throughout the lessons in a lab-first teaching
approach. Lab 4 (AZ-204) is used in this module.

Lesson 1: Azure Cosmos DB overview

Lesson 2: Azure Cosmos DB Structure and Partitioning

Lesson 3: Working with Azure Cosmos DB

Lesson 4: Migrate SQL data to Azure Cosmos DB

Lesson 5: Access Azure Cosmos DB by using .NET

Module 5: Create and Deploy ARM Templates

Students will learn how to create and deploy Azure Resource Manager templates that can be used to speed
new deployment, create consistency across resources, and reduce resource deletion complexity.

Lesson 1: Create and deploy ARM templates

Module 6: Implement User Authentication and Authorization

Students will learn how to leverage the Microsoft Identity Platform v2.0 to manage authentication and access
to resources. Students will also learn how to use the Microsoft Authentication Library and Microsoft Graph to
authenticate a user and retrieve information stored in Azure, and how and when to use Shared Access
Signatures.

Lesson 1: Microsoft Identity Platform

Lesson 2: Microsoft Authentication Library

Lesson 3: Microsoft Graph

Lesson 4: Authorizing access to data in Azure Storage

Lab 6 (AZ-204): Use MSAL to authenticate and access Microsoft Graph

Module 7: Implement Secure Cloud Solutions

This module covers how to secure the information (keys, secrets, certificates) an application uses to access
resources. It also covers securing application configuration information.

Lesson 1: Key Vault

Lesson 2: Managed identities for Azure resources

Lesson 3: Azure App Configuration

Lab 7 (AZ-204): Access resource secrets more securely across services

Module 8: Implement API Management

Students will learn how to publish APIs, create policies to manage information shared through the API, and to
manage access to their APIs by using the Azure API Management service.

Lesson 1: Introduction to API Management

Lesson 2: API Management policies

Lesson 3: API Management security

Lab 8 (AZ-204): Creating a multi-tier solution by using services in Azure

Module 9: Develop Event-based Solutions

Students will learn how to build applications with event-based architectures.

Lesson 1: Azure Event Grid

 Lesson 2: Azure Event Hubs

Lab 10 (AZ-204): Publishing and subscribing to Event Grid events

Module 10: Develop Message-based Solutions

Students will learn how to build applications with message-based architectures.

Lesson 1: Implement solutions that use Azure Service Bus

Lesson 2: Implement solutions that use Azure Queue Storage queues

Lab 11 (AZ-204): Asynchronously processing messages by using Azure Storage Queues

Module 11: Monitor Azure Solutions

Students will learn how to instrument their applications to retrieve data for use in App Insights. App Insights
provides a view into an app’s performance so that it can be optimized.

Lesson 1: Overview of Azure Application Insights

Lesson 2: Instrument an app for monitoring

Lab 12 (AZ-204) Monitoring services that are deployed to Azure

Feedback
These courses are different from the traditional MOC courses that have been provided in the past. We have
provided a framework for you to work with. Take time to prepare and think about the value that only an
instructor can bring to training. We hope to partner with you to provide an exceptional student experience
and we welcome your feedback.

Happy learning!

Azure Developer Courseware Development Team