Azure Services for AZ-305

The AZ‑305 exam tests your ability to design solutions, not just recite service facts. You must understand how Azure services combine to meet functional requirements, satisfy non‑functional constraints, and justify the trade‑offs that every architecture decision demands. This section equips you with the design‑oriented service knowledge required to think like an Azure Solutions Architect.

This services subsection organises Azure capabilities from an architecture perspective. For each service, you will learn its design role, the scenarios where it excels, and the trade‑offs you must evaluate when making recommendations.

What this section covers

Every service page in this section goes beyond a feature list. You will find:

• A clear architecture purpose: what the service is designed to solve.
• Design considerations: limits, SLAs, cost models, and integration patterns.
• Common exam topics: the types of requirements and constraints that typically point to this service.
• Trade‑off analysis: how the service compares with alternatives for scalability, resilience, security, and cost.
• Connections to skills and architectures: which exam objectives and reference patterns the service supports.

For deep technical specifications and quick reference details, CloudComputingDevPro provides complementary service‑by‑service documentation.

Core Azure service categories for AZ‑305

The exam draws heavily on a well‑defined set of services. They are grouped below into the architecture categories you will work with when designing enterprise solutions.

Category	Key services	Design focus
Compute	Azure Virtual Machines, Virtual Machine Scale Sets, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure App Service, Azure Functions, Azure Container Apps	Choosing the right compute platform for performance, portability, and operational overhead. Evaluating serverless vs. containerised vs. IaaS models.
Networking	Azure Virtual Network, hub‑spoke topology, Azure Load Balancer, Application Gateway, Azure Front Door, ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway, Azure DNS, Azure Private Link	Designing secure, scalable connectivity across regions and on‑premises. Understanding traffic routing, global distribution, and private endpoints.
Storage	Azure Blob Storage, Azure Files, Azure NetApp Files, managed disks, Azure Data Lake Storage	Selecting storage based on access patterns, durability, and performance tiers. Designing for data protection, replication, and lifecycle management.
Identity and Access	Microsoft Entra ID, Azure RBAC, managed identities, conditional access, Azure AD B2B/B2C, Privileged Identity Management	Architecting identity as the security perimeter. Federating identities, delegating access, and enforcing least privilege across subscriptions and tenants.
Security and Governance	Azure Policy, management groups, Azure Blueprints, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Azure Key Vault, Azure Firewall, Azure DDoS Protection	Building compliance guardrails, encrypting data, and protecting workloads. Designing governance at scale with landing zones.
Observability and Operations	Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Azure Backup, Azure Site Recovery	Designing for operational health, alerting, and disaster recovery. Defining monitoring strategies aligned with business SLAs.
Integration and Platform Services	Azure API Management, Azure Service Bus, Event Grid, Event Hubs, Azure Logic Apps, Azure Data Factory	Decoupling services, enabling asynchronous communication, and building event‑driven architectures. Integrating with external systems and orchestrating data flows.

How to think about Azure services in architecture design

AZ‑305 moves your mindset from “which button do I click” to “which service best fulfills the requirement, and what are the consequences?” For every service you evaluate, run through these architecture lenses:

• Workload fit – Does the service align with the application’s performance and feature needs?
• Scalability – Can it scale out/in or up/down to match demand? What are the scaling limits?
• Availability – What is the service’s SLA? How does it contribute to an overall composite SLA? Does it support availability zones or multi‑region deployment?
• Resilience – How does the service behave during failures? What redundancy options exist?
• Security – How is data protected in transit and at rest? What identity and network controls are available?
• Manageability – What is the operational burden? How are updates, patching, and configuration managed?
• Cost trade‑offs – How does the pricing model interact with usage patterns? Are there cost optimisation levers like reserved capacity or consumption tiers?

Practicing this evaluation on every service will prepare you for the design‑decision questions that dominate the exam.

Common design questions AZ‑305 learners should ask

When you encounter a business requirement in a scenario, use these questions to guide your service selection:

• Which service best fits the requirement, and what makes it better than the next best alternative?
• What is the trade‑off between simplicity and flexibility? Would a managed service save operational effort at the cost of customisation?
• How does the service support high availability? Does it span zones, regions, or require additional configuration?
• What happens during failure or a regional outage? What is the expected recovery behaviour?
• How does this choice affect operations and cost? Will it require specialised skills, or can it be maintained with existing team knowledge?

These questions mirror the architecture thinking assessed at the Expert level. The Architecture Library and Scenarios sections put them into practice with concrete examples.

Suggested learning order

There is no single correct sequence, but most AZ‑305 candidates find this architectural progression effective:

1. Identity and Governance – The foundation of every enterprise design. Start with Entra ID, management groups, and Azure Policy.
2. Networking – Understand hub‑spoke, hybrid connectivity, and global traffic routing before placing workloads.
3. Compute – Evaluate IaaS, containers, and serverless options within the networking and identity frameworks you’ve established.
4. Storage and Data Platforms – Select the right storage for applications and analytics, then integrate them with compute and networking.
5. Observability and Operations – Design monitoring, backup, and disaster recovery as you build, not as an afterthought.
6. Integration and Platform Services – Apply messaging, eventing, and API patterns to decouple components and support evolving business needs.

Related AZ‑305 pages

Service knowledge becomes exam‑ready when combined with skills, architectures, and real‑world scenarios.

• AZ‑305 Certification Overview – Understand how services fit within the full exam blueprint.
• Skills – Official Microsoft skills expanded with architecture design principles.
• Architectures – Proven patterns including landing zones, hybrid networking, and business continuity.
• Scenarios – Apply your service knowledge to realistic business problems with trade‑off analysis.
• Resources – Study guides, checklists, and official Microsoft references.

What to do next

Choose a service category that aligns with a skill domain you are currently studying, or follow the suggested learning order above. Read the overview, explore individual service pages, and then test your ability to make design decisions with a scenario exercise.

If you are beginning your AZ‑305 architecture journey, start with the Identity and Governance category—it underpins every secure, enterprise‑grade solution you will design.