M56204A - Core Azure Development

Duration

5 Days

Level

200 - Intermediate

Vendor

Microsoft, Azure

Legacy MOC Code

AZ-204

Course
Overview

Not every Azure application includes generative AI.

Across businesses worldwide, developers continue to build APIs, web applications, background services, integrations, event-driven systems, and serverless solutions using Azure’s core platform services. These applications rely on technologies such as Azure App Service, Azure Functions, Azure Storage, Azure Service Bus, Cosmos DB, Key Vault, and Azure Monitor—the same services that power thousands of production workloads every day.

Artificial intelligence is becoming an important part of application development, but AI is only one component of a modern cloud solution.

Before an application can call an AI model, it still needs authentication, storage, APIs, messaging, monitoring, deployment, and secure access to data.

Those are the skills this course develops.

If your goal is to become a capable Azure developer—or to prepare yourself for AI-powered development in the future—this course provides the practical foundation that every Azure application is built upon.

This five-day instructor-led course is designed primarily for Azure Administrators who have some experience with Azure and want a more in depth administrative knowledge of Azure services and how to architect a solution. Lessons include virtualisation, automation, networking, storage, identity, security, data platform, and application infrastructure. This course outlines how decisions in each of these areas affect an overall solution.

Audience
Profile

This course is designed for software developers who want to build modern applications using Microsoft Azure.

Whether you’re new to Azure or looking to strengthen your cloud development skills, this course provides a practical, hands-on introduction to the core services used to build real-world Azure applications.

This course is ideal for:

  • Software developers with experience in C#, .NET, or another modern programming language.
  • .NET developers looking to transition from on-premises applications to the cloud.
  • Backend developers building APIs, microservices, and serverless applications.
  • Developers who want to understand Azure’s core platform services before moving into AI-focused development.
  • Azure developers who want to refresh or expand their knowledge of Azure application development.
  • Anyone who previously intended to study for AZ-204 and wants to learn the valuable Azure development skills it covered.

Prerequisites

To get the most from this course, you should have:

  • A basic understanding of software development concepts.
  • Experience writing code in C# and .NET (recommended), although many of the Azure concepts apply regardless of language.
  • Familiarity with REST APIs, HTTP, and JSON.
  • A Microsoft Azure subscription (a free Azure account is sufficient for many of the demonstrations and labs).

No prior Azure experience is required, as we’ll introduce each service from first principles before building increasingly capable cloud applications.

After Completing This Course

By the end of the course, you’ll have the knowledge and practical experience to design, build, secure, deploy, and monitor cloud-native applications using Azure’s core services.

You’ll also have the Azure development foundation needed to confidently progress to more specialised topics, including AI-200, Azure AI services, cloud architecture, and DevOps.

Course
Outline

ModuleLessonSubjects
1. Implement Azure App Service Web Apps1.1 Explore Azure App ServiceExamine Azure App Service
Examine Azure App Service plans
Deploy to App Service
Explore authentication and authorization in App Service
Discover App Service networking features
 1.2 Configure web app settingsConfigure application settings
Configure general settings
Configure path mappings
Enable diagnostic logging
Configure security certificates
 1.3 Scale apps in Azure App ServiceExamine scale out options
Identify autoscale factors
Enable autoscale in App Service
Explore autoscale best practices
 1.4 Explore deployment slotsExplore staging environments
Examine slot swapping
Swap deployment slots
Route traffic in App Service
2. Implement Azure Functions2.1 Explore Azure FunctionsDiscover Azure Functions
Compare hosting options
Scale Azure Functions
 2.2 Develop Azure FunctionsAzure Functions development
Create triggers and bindings
Connect Functions to Azure services
3. Develop solutions that use Blob Storage3.1 Explore Blob StorageBlob Storage overview
Resource types
Security features
 3.2 Manage Blob lifecycleLifecycle management
Lifecycle policies
Archive and rehydration
 3.3 Work with Blob StorageStorage SDK
Create clients
Containers
Metadata and properties
4. Develop solutions that use Azure Cosmos DB4.1 Explore Cosmos DBBenefits
Resource hierarchy
Consistency levels
APIs
Request Units
 4.2 Work with Cosmos DB.NET SDK
Stored procedures
Triggers
User-defined functions
Change Feed
5. Implement Containerized Solutions5.1 Azure Container RegistryRegistry concepts
Storage
Build tasks
Dockerfiles
 5.2 Azure Container InstancesContainer Instances
Restart policies
Environment variables
Azure Files
 5.3 Azure Container AppsContainer Apps
Authentication
Revisions & Secrets
Dapr integration
6. Implement User Authentication & Authorization6.1 Microsoft Identity PlatformIdentity platform
Service principals
Permissions & consent
Conditional Access
 6.2 Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL)MSAL overview
Initialize client applications
 6.3 Shared Access SignaturesSAS overview
When to use SAS
Stored access policies
 6.4 Microsoft GraphGraph overview
REST API
SDKs
Best practices
7. Implement Secure Azure Solutions7.1 Azure Key VaultKey Vault overview
Best practices
Authentication
 7.2 Managed IdentitiesIdentity flow
Configure identities
Acquire tokens
 7.3 Azure App ConfigurationApp Configuration
Key-values
Feature flags
Secure configuration
8. Implement API Management8.1 API ManagementAPI Management overview
Gateways
Policies
Subscriptions
Certificates
9. Develop Event-based Solutions9.1 Azure Event GridEvent Grid
Schemas
Durability
Webhooks
Filtering
 9.2 Azure Event HubsEvent Hubs
Capture
Scaling
Security
Client SDK
10. Develop Message-based Solutions10.1 Azure Message QueuesService Bus
Queues
Topics & Subscriptions
Azure Queue Storage
11. Monitor & Troubleshoot Azure Solutions11.1 Monitor app performanceApplication Insights
Log-based metrics
Instrumentation
Availability tests
Application Map
12. Integrate Caching & Content Delivery12.1 Azure Cache & CDNAzure Cache for Redis
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

Other
Information