Managing Azure Networking

Managing Azure Networking is the fourth skill area of the AZ-104 exam, covering the design, deployment, and security of Azure Virtual Networks, connectivity between networks, and traffic management across cloud and hybrid environments.

The skill revolves around Azure Virtual Networks as a foundational network isolation boundary, enabling administrators to segment workloads, control traffic flow, and establish private IP-based communication between Azure resources. Administrators must master subnet design and configuration, implement network security groups and application security groups to filter traffic at the network and application layers, configure Azure Firewall for centralized network protection, and establish connectivity through VNet peering, VPN Gateway, and Azure ExpressRoute for private, dedicated hybrid connectivity. The scope extends to Azure DNS for private name resolution, Azure Load Balancer and Application Gateway for distributing traffic across backend resources, and Azure Bastion for secure RDP/SSH access to VMs.

For the AZ-104 certification exam, candidates must demonstrate hands-on ability to create and configure VNets and subnets, implement and evaluate effective security rules in NSGs, configure Azure Firewall and Bastion, establish VNet peering and VPN connectivity, and implement Azure DNS and load balancing solutions.