AZ-305: designing Microsoft Azure infrastructure solutions
Exam version: Skills measured as of April 17, 2026 | Passing score: 700/1000 | Duration: ~100-120 minutes
Who is this for?
As a candidate for this certification, you have subject matter expertise in designing cloud and hybrid solutions that run on Azure, including compute, network, storage, monitoring, and security. You advise stakeholders and translate business requirements into designs that align with the Azure Well-Architected Framework and Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure.
You should have advanced experience and knowledge of IT operations, including networking, virtualization, identity, security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data platforms, and governance. You should also have experience with Azure administration, Azure development, and DevOps processes.
Prerequisite certification: AZ-104: Azure Administrator Associate (recommended)
Skills at a glance
| Domain | Weight | Challenges |
|---|---|---|
| Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions | 25-30% | 01-13 |
| Design data storage solutions | 20-25% | 14-24 |
| Design business continuity solutions | 15-20% | 25-33 |
| Design infrastructure solutions | 30-35% | 34-49 |
| Cross-domain capstone | All | 50 |
Challenges are organized by exam domain. Within each domain, challenges progress from individual skills to domain capstones that combine multiple concepts. The last challenge (50) is a full cross-domain architecture exercise.
How this exam differs from AZ-104
| Aspect | AZ-104 (Administrator) | AZ-305 (Architect) |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Implementation and management | Design and decision-making |
| Question style | "How do you configure X?" | "Which solution best meets these requirements?" |
| Skills tested | CLI commands, portal steps | Service selection, trade-offs, architecture |
| Scenario depth | Single-service tasks | Multi-service, multi-requirement scenarios |
| Framework alignment | N/A | Well-Architected Framework, CAF |
How this site works
Each challenge follows a design-focused format:
- Business Scenario | Company profile with requirements, constraints, and budget
- Exam Skills Covered | Exact bullets from the official study guide
- Design Tasks | "Design a solution that..." with specific requirements
- Decision Matrix | Compare service options with trade-offs
- Validation | Deploy a proof-of-concept to verify the design
- Architecture Diagram | Visualize the solution
- Knowledge Check | Exam-style scenario questions
- Cleanup | Scripts to delete resources and avoid costs
Prerequisites
- Azure subscription | Free account ($200 credit) or Azure for Students ($100)
- AZ-104 knowledge | Familiarity with Azure administration (this exam builds on it)
- Azure CLI installed or use Azure Cloud Shell
- Conceptual understanding of networking, identity, storage, and compute