Author: Abdul Kazi

Discounted Microsoft Certification Exams

Microsoft is offering the below certification exams at a discounted rate of USD $15 for folks who can confirm they were furloughed or unemployed due to COVID-19.

Certification NameCertification Exam
Microsoft Certified: Azure FundamentalsExam AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
Microsoft Certified: Azure Data FundamentalsExam DP-900: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI FundamentalsExam AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals
Microsoft Certified: Power Platform FundamentalsExam PL-900: Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals
Microsoft 365 Certified: FundamentalsExam MS-900: Microsoft 365 Fundamentals
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator AssociateExam AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator
Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer AssociateExam AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer AssociateExam AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies
Microsoft Certified: Power Platform App Maker AssociateExam PL-100: Microsoft Power Platform App Maker
Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator AssociateExam MS-700: Managing Microsoft Teams
Microsoft 365 Certified: Security Administrator AssociateExam MS-500: Microsoft 365 Security Administration
Microsoft 365 Certified: Developer AssociateExam MS-600: Building Applications and Solutions with Microsoft 365 Core Services
Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst AssociateExam DA-100: Analyzing Data with Microsoft Power BI

Once you click on the certification exam link, scroll down to “Schedule exam”

There you have it, this is a great opportunity to get certified without breaking the bank.
Happy studying!

Windows Virtual Desktop – Host Pool Setup

Windows Virtual Desktop Spring 2020 is now generally available. I will walk you through setting up the Windows Virtual Desktop Host Pool.

Login to the Azure portal and search for “Windows Virtual Desktop”
Click “Create a host pool” to create your first host pool.
Click either “Add” or “create host pool”
There are (2) types of host pool; Persona & Pooled. The maximum number of users that have concurrent sessions on a session host. Breadth-first load balancing distributes new user sessions across all available session hosts in the host pool. Depth-first load balancing distributes new user sessions to an available session host with the highest number of connections but has not reached its maximum session limit threshold.
The virtual machine size and number of virtual machines will depend on the use case. I recommend a minimum of 2 virtual machines.
Windows Virtual Desktop does require either an on-premise Active Directory ( Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)) or Azure Active Directory Domain Services (Azure AD DS) so the virtual machine(s) can be part of a domain.
Workspace is the new name for Windows Desktop Tenant
Once the validation process is complete, click on “create” button to create the host pool.

There you have it, the Windows Virtual Desktop host pool does take time to provision so be patient with the process.

Azure Solutions Architect Expert

Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification mainly focuses on compute, network, storage, and security. I recommend getting the Azure Administrator Associate & Azure Security Engineer Associate before pursuing the Solutions Architect certification, and the below document outlines the Solutions Architect certification journey.

Azure-Solutions-Architect-certification-journey

Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies (beta)
Exam AZ -303
Microsoft Azure Architect Design (beta)
Exam AZ – 304

Skills Outline Guide
AZ-303
AZ-304

Learning Path
Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework
Architect network infrastructure in Azure
Architect storage infrastructure in Azure
Architect compute infrastructure in Azure
Architect infrastructure operations in Azure
Architect a data platform in Azure
Architect infrastructure operations in Azure
Architect migration, business continuity, and disaster recovery
Architect modern applications in Azure
Architect secure infrastructure in Azure

Additional Resources
Azure Architecture Center
Microsoft Docs