Azure IoT Specialty exam certification Tips + Study Guide

Hello cloud marathoners,

Two weeks ago, I was able to clear the Azure specialty exam – “Azure IoT Developer” and get certified. More importantly, this was a good opportunity to learn about IoT technologies and services in Azure platform.

What is IoT?

An “Internet of Things” (IoT) device is typically made up of a circuit board with sensors attached that use WiFi to connect to the internet. Here are some examples of IoT devices and use cases:

  • A pressure sensor on a remote oil pump.
  • Temperature and humidity sensors in an air-conditioning unit.
  • An accelerometer in an elevator.
  • Presence sensors in a room.

The Azure Internet of Things (IoT) is a collection of Microsoft-managed cloud services that connect, monitor, and control billions of IoT assets. In simpler terms, an IoT solution is made up of one or more IoT devices that communicate with one or more back-end services hosted in the cloud.

Check out the following short video, if you never hear about applications of Internet of Things (aka, IoT).

Is there a comprehesive study guide to follow?

The short answer is YES!

As always start with simple and straight forward Microsoft Learn modules on IoT learning path. But that is not the only resource that i have used.

I personally found it very useful to check the Microsoft Tech community blog posts. The IoT sub-section has many tricks and trips and recommendations. Thus, check the following post that has very good information on exam resources:

AZ-220 IoT Developer Certification Study Guide – is an awesome post from Microsoft employee Paul DeCarlo. By following this post I got many answers on the following questions:

  • How do I know which topics to focus on, what skills does the AZ-220 exam measure?
  • Where can I learn how to apply the concepts measured on the AZ-220 exam in a practical / hands-on manner?
  • I prefer to learn at my leisure with video content, are there any resources that cover the materials in the official docs and Microsoft Learn that I can watch?
  •  Any thoughts on paid courses / practice exams, are there any recommendations?

Where can I get Azure IoT Samples in C# ?

I have used the following GitHub repo in order to get hands-on expereince with Azure IoT. Azure IoT Samples for C# (.NET)

What is next?

Check this awesome IoT Event Learning Path.

It is designed for Solution Architects, Business Decision Makers, and Development teams that are interested in building IoT Solutions with Azure Services. The content is comprised of 5 video based modules that approach topics ranging from IoT device connectivity, IoT data communication strategies, use of artificial intelligence at the edge, data processing considerations for IoT data, and IoT solutioning based on the Azure IoT reference architecture.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this post till this point.

Please, feel free to share your experience, as i am planning to keep this post up to date with your valuable contributions going forward. #keeplearning

Resolving error on Bicep module – on Azure CLI (2.22.0) for Windows 10

If you are seeing “fromisoformat” error while running az bicep version or any other az bicep command – you are not alone πŸ™‚

Check this open issue reported on GitHub by community member – https://github.com/Azure/azure-cli/issues/17718


After updating to the latest Azure CLI (2.22.0) for Windows 10, I am now seeing the same error as others have reported:

Any command such as “az bicep version” is producing the following error:

The command failed with an unexpected error.
Here is the traceback and detailed error:
type object 'datetime.datetime' has no attribute 'fromisoformat'
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "D:\a\1\s\build_scripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\knack/cli.py", line 231, in invoke
File "D:\a\1\s\build_scripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/core/commands/init.py", line 657, in execute
File "D:\a\1\s\build_scripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/core/commands/init.py", line 720, in _run_jobs_serially
File "D:\a\1\s\build_scripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/core/commands/init.py", line 691, in _run_job
File "D:\a\1\s\build_scripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/core/commands/init.py", line 328, in call
File "D:\a\1\s\build_scripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/core/init.py", line 807, in default_command_handler
File "D:\a\1\s\build_scripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/command_modules/resource/custom.py", line 3294, in build_bicep_file
File "D:\a\1\s\build_scripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/command_modules/resource/_bicep.py", line 63, in run_bicep_command
File "D:\a\1\s\build_scripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/command_modules/resource/_bicep.py", line 152, in _load_bicep_version_check_result_from_cache
AttributeError: type object 'datetime.datetime' has no attribute 'fromisoformat'

Is there a temp workaround?

One of the workarounds is to uninstalled Azure CLI 2.22.0 , and then install the prior version 2.21.0. You could confirm 2.21.0 version is working for you by running the same command.

Hope this will be helpful for you, as i faced with this issue hours before my demo to #GlobalAzure 2021 😐

Get started with data transformation services in Azure – Global Azure 2021

Azure Global 2021 event in mid-April 2021

Hello friends,
I am back again, this time with another follow-up announcement of a second Global Azure 2021 session in Azure Data focus area, for ALL of you!

I am truly excited to present the following session on April 17th, live from my broadcasting studio in East Cost:)

This session will be a deep dive into different data movement scenarios using first-class tooling in Azure data echo-system and Azure Data Factory (ADF). We will learn about handy new features and data connectors, while copying and transforming datasets from a Data Lake and SQL Relational Database storages. Thus, tune in to learn about latest developments in Microsoft Azure data transformation services.

In my second session, I will share following journey with you:

Abstract of the upcoming session provided below πŸ˜‰

We will learn about what is ETL and ELT stands for in data world, and how Azure Data Factory (ADF) service could help you. Along the way, we will look into inner-workings and fundamentals of a cloud-based ETL and data integration service that allows you to create data-driven workflows for orchestrating data movement and transforming data at scale.

Finally, we will conclude the session with ADF demo and Q&A

TheCloudMarathoner πŸ™‚

Please let me know, what topics are you interested in?

Transfrom your Azure ARM into Bicep during the Global Azure 2021

Global Azure 2021 event in mid-April.

Hello eveyone,
I am very happy to share exciting news with all of you.

Few days ago, i have receieved an email confirming acceptance of my both Azure sessions for the Global Azure 2021 event. I am truely trilled to present on April 16th and 17th following two sesions for eveyone live:

I am looking forward for your participiation, and tune in to learn about latest developments in Microsoft Azure.

In my first session i will share the following new session with you.

Abstract of the presentation as is:

Infrastructure as a Code (IaC) is important strategy to manage your digital estate in any cloud environment. Simplifying management of your infrastructure while re-using code is even better. In Microsoft Azure, we have ARM (Azure Resource Manager) templates that could declaratively define your cloud project infrastructure.

However, it is not easy to author ARM JSON templates and maintain them when your project grows and requires changes. In this demo heavy session, we will introduce the Azure Bicep language and demonstrate how it simplifies authoring ARM templates for your Azure infrastructure. We will author a manageable, readable, and modularized Azure infrastructure code, while using familiar tools.

TheCloudMarathoner πŸ™‚

Please let me know, what topics are you interested in?

What is a good service to perform data transformation in Azure?πŸ€”

Hello friends and data marathoners!


I am excited to annonce my next Cloud Lunch and Learn tech meetup session with you.

During the previous session, you have learned about how to up-skill existing data and SQL skills with the new Data engineering mindset πŸ‘ŒπŸ‘

Updated: Check out the recorded event session on YouTube: https://youtu.be/h3AaL9AhuXI

I am glad to invite you all – to learn how to get started with Data Transformation services inΒ Microsoft Azure β„’Β 


Thanks you πŸ™ Cloud Lunch and Learn for organizing this session.

Event detail: 24 March @ 18:00 UTC
Open registration πŸ‘‰ https://lnkd.in/dNb5vUr#SharingIsCaring❀️

Fᴏʟʟᴏᴑ ᴍᴇ 🎯 α΄€Ι΄α΄… κœ±α΄›α΄€Κ€α΄› Κα΄α΄œΚ€ α΄„ΚŸα΄α΄œα΄… ☁ α΄Šα΄α΄œΚ€Ι΄α΄‡Κ – 𝐋𝐄𝐓’𝐒 π‚πŽπππ„π‚π“ πŸ‘
#microsoftazure#CloudLunchLearn#azuredata#upskilling#cloud#dataengineering#datatransformation#gettingstarted#continuouslearning

How to up-skill with Azure Data services and get certified?

I am excited to annonce πŸ“’– that my two webinar submissions have been accepted and scheduled by Cloud Lunch and Learn.

Please. join me to learn more about how to up-skill existing data and SQL skills with the new Data engineering mindset πŸ‘ŒπŸ‘

Thanks you πŸ™ @CloudLunchLearn for hosting this event!

Event detail: 17 March @ 18:00 UTC
Open registration πŸ‘‰ https://www.meetup.com/AzureDublin/events/276559449/ Β 
#SharingIsCaring❀️

Fᴏʟʟᴏᴑ ᴍᴇ 🎯 α΄€Ι΄α΄… κœ±α΄›α΄€Κ€α΄› Κα΄α΄œΚ€ α΄„ΚŸα΄α΄œα΄… ☁ α΄Šα΄α΄œΚ€Ι΄α΄‡Κ – 𝐋𝐄𝐓’𝐒 π‚πŽπππ„π‚π“ πŸ‘

What is an Azure administrative unit and its benefits? πŸ€”

The Administrative Units (AU) are Azure AD resources which can contain only users and groups.

AUs could manage permissions πŸ›‘οΈπŸ” in a role to any segment of your organization. For example, you could use AUs to delegate the User Administrator role to regional support specialists, so they can manage users only in the region that they support.

The AUs are especially helpful when an organization whose IT department is scattered across globe and wants to categorize and define relevant geographical boundaries.

Currently, supported scenarious from Azure AD portal are:

  • Create administrative units
  • Add users and groups members of administrative units
  • Assign IT staff to administrative unit-scoped administrator roles.

In addition, assigned users can easily manage their AU users from mystaffΒ MicrosoftΒ website πŸ‘‰ https://mystaff.microsoft.com/

Check out the following Microsoft docs post for more details and use asesπŸ‘‰Β https://lnkd.in/dXMMncJ #SharingIsCaring❀️

Now, if you end up loving this story and want to lean about managing your sers with “My Staff” – then check out this handy post on Micrsoft docs page:

Fᴏʟʟᴏᴑ ᴍᴇ 🎯 α΄€Ι΄α΄… become the #cloudmarathoner β›…πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈπŸƒβ€β™€οΈ – 𝐋𝐄𝐓’𝐒 π‚πŽπππ„π‚π“ πŸ‘

Exam Guide Tips AND prep resources: 2-in-1 sweet combo

My little intro – well, skip this as it might be boring πŸ™

Let’s start with a little bit of background to my somewhat unorthodox journey into Azure Developer cert way back in 2018.

Three years ago, I got a beta exam invite for Azure Core Developer (AZ-200) certification. At the time, there were no readily availiable study materials to learn from and prepare. My focus was on the exam objectives document, with a special highlight on Azure services that I did not have a chance to work with.

Long story short, at the end of the exam I did not know if it was a PASS βœ… or not ❌, as it was a beta exam. However, good and somewhat unexpected “pass news” with a cert email came back in 2 months. I was over the moon 🌜 and delighted to be one of the few candidates to succeed. Later, this exam was retired, as most cert nowadays…

Back to the current time, Feb 2021

Today, I was feeling excited & pumped to go after Azure Developer cert (AZ-204) πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈπŸš΄β€β™‚οΈπŸŠβ€β™‚οΈπŸ’ͺ – and yes, I posted earlier that I will share the result – either pass or fail.

Well, the good news is – I did not have to wait 2 months to learn the result πŸ˜ƒ It was a pass – and not an easy one though, as there were 60% more materials and more detail oriented questions on different inner workings of Azure services.

Let’s give a round of applause πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ to Microsoft Learn modules and Learning path tracks – as they are getting better and better – and help me to cover this material in a somewhat fun way….

How was my actual exam experience?

The overall experience was exciting 😲 and scary 😱 at the same time. Mainly, because of the two case studies appearing at different sections of the exam. Well, at the end of the exam I shared this non pleasant experience by providing feedback ✍. I think every exam participant should be willing to share their experience, as it will be a good set of metrics for exam creators to assess and modify the exam experience to make it better overall.

Speaking about the exam, I got approximately 50 questions❔; where two case studies contained approx. 5-7 questions each. My surprise was to discover πŸ‘€, one case study right in the beginning, and another one right at the end of the exam. It threw my timing a little bit off.

So, be prepared to save enough time for exam case studies (yes, there might be more than one, and I had three in the Microsoft exams last year), no matter what, as they consume a considerable chunk of your time and could cause your brain to start steaming ♨ – due to time constraints.

If you are a Cloud Solutions Architect (aka, CSA) you may find certain questions too technical in nature, like knowing the exact sequence of operations to place each task correctly. Well, if you never played with that specific feature then don’t panic. Just focus on the question and use your #quizskills. As an example: I had several educated guesses ⁉ – on what might be the right order of operations without knowing 100%.

In the real world, you could easily find your way with a quick search on your favorite engine… but an exam is an exam… and you are not penalized for wrong answers.

Good news is: a certain number of questions are high level, and your current CSA experience will be very handy; like assessing/suggesting the workload for the most effective Azure service or solution based on customer requirements.

Exam duration is180 minutes⏰ or 220 min including the feedback time. Generally speaking, this should be enough with a small caveat: You have to plan your time carefully and watch for the exact # of potential questions and remaining case studies of the exam. That said, there were several questions with true/false options, many drag-and-drop scenarios, and multi-select choices that seemed easy and tricky at the same time.

Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate

Where should I start my Azure Developer journey?

The official exam page AZ-204 is a really good place to start. Followed by the suggested learning track and modules in the bottom of the page.

The exam page AZ-204 gets even better with a final section on “Exam resources“. I consider this section a REAL “gem” πŸ’ŽπŸ’ŽπŸ’Ž

Dear friends, stay tuned – as your information on how to earn a #free exam voucher is included in this post. Look into Microsoft’s “Cloud Skills Challenge” program below.

Any other tips or resources for study?

Labs and practice material suggestions

  • Reference to the AZ-204 lab exercises GitHub repo
  • Quick start references on Microsoft Docs

FREE exam voucher through Microsoft Cloud Skills Challenge (Expired – Not a Valid anymore)

For a limited time, Microsoft Learn provides a free, interactive way of learning by combining short step-by-step tutorials, browser-based interactive coding and scripting environments, and task-based achievements to help you advance your technical skills while earning achievements.

What are you waiting for? Register today via this link πŸ‘

That is it folk, I tried to share and illustrate my exam experiences in this post. I hope you will find it helpful and apply to your “Azure developer” certification journey.

Please, feel free to share your experience or thoughts, as i am planning to keep this post up to date with your contributions going forward. #keeplearning

Stay safe and be the 4th with you … #nevergiveup #keeppushing

What is Microsoft Cloud App Security and what it does?

Well, it is a Cloud☁️ Access Security Broker (CASB) πŸ›‘οΈ πŸ” that supports various deployment πŸš€ modes; like log collection, API connectors, and reverse proxy.


You can get a rich visibility, control over data travel, and sophisticated analytics to identify and combat cyberthreats across all yourΒ Microsoft Azure β„’Β and third-party cloud services.

Cloud App Security integrates visibility with your cloud by providing:
βœ”οΈ Cloud Discovery
βœ”οΈ Sanctioning and unsanctioning an app
βœ”οΈ App connectors
βœ”οΈ Conditional Access App Control protection
βœ”οΈ Policy Control
βœ”οΈ Types of apps to migrate

Check out how to get started withΒ MicrosoftΒ Cloud App Security πŸ‘‰Β https://lnkd.in/eZg2Pby#SharingIsCaring❀️

Fᴏʟʟᴏᴑ ᴍᴇ 🎯 α΄€Ι΄α΄… become α΄€Β #cloudmarathonerΒ β›…πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈπŸƒβ€β™€οΈ – 𝐋𝐄𝐓’𝐒 π‚πŽπππ„π‚π“ πŸ‘

Microsoft Azure Data Engineer Certification Tips + Study Guide

Hello my friends,

Last week, I was able to knockout the second “Azure Data Engineer” exam and get the certification. Most importantly, I got a chance to have a deep dive into Azure Data technologies from a holistic solutioning perspective. The main focus areas of this certification are neatly visualized below:

Those exam objectives, are high level focus areas that cover DP-200 and DP-201 exams. The first exam is more technical and has focus toward implementation while the second one is shifting gears toward design and solutioning options based on project requirements.

As dealing with data solutions was not my primary work responsibility, I was really impressed by depth of service options, capabilities and tools that could accelerate many data solutioning projects.

Starting an “Azure Data Engineering” learning journey will help any cloud professional to get deeper understanding on designing different data solutions based on project requirements. In fact, it helped me to get a well informed understanding technical limitations in each solution; like deciding between different data processing and/or storage options and their respective security configurations. Well, enough about intro, let’s look into what it means to be an “Azure Data Engineer” πŸ˜‘πŸ€”

Azure Data Engineer vs Database Administrator

A Database Administrator’s (aka, DBA) job is to ensure everything is working smoothly with things like performance tuning and monitoring, data migrations of third party systems, performing backups, checking performance, and load balancing, and everything to do with databases operations. On the other hand, DBA could also perform data engineering tasks in a small or mid-size organisations.🀠

Azure data engineers are responsible for data-related implementation tasks that include provisioning data storage services, ingesting streaming and batch data, transforming data, implementing security requirements, implementing data retention policies, identifying performance bottlenecks, and accessing external data sources. They are responsible for data-related design tasks that include designing Azure data storage solutions that use relational and non-relational data stores, batch and real-time data processing solutions, and data security and compliance solutions.πŸ‘©β€πŸš€πŸ‘¨β€πŸŽ“

Getting ready for each exam πŸ“†

There is no right or wrong starting point with this certification. I would start with the one that you find more familiar. Here is the exam flow diagram from the official Microsoft learn website:

Exam study resources for DP-200: Implementing an Azure Data Solution

This exam really tests your ability to demonstrate good understanding of setting-up a data processing pipeline and configurations of each component. A lot of questions were on optimizing, operating, loading and reading data from Azure SQL DB and Synapse Analytics (formerly SQL DW), I found them tricky and quite challenging.

The DP-200 exam has around 40-48 questions and is somewhat similar to other Azure Associate exams. The exam duration is fixed around 180 minutes with additional 30 minutes for reading instructions, signing the non-disclosure agreement, and giving feedback to each question at the end.

Expect different types of questions (single choice, multi-choice, binary choice and sorting order) and one or two case studies.

Exam study resources for DP-201: Designing an Azure Data Solution

My exam experience with DP-201 was much smoother, as mainly questions were focused on design related topics and solutioning options. As an Azure Architect – you may find them familiar and a bit easier than the previous exam.

This exam was 150 minutes long and had 42 questions, with much more case studies (i got three on my exam). There were few questions with set of drop-down choices that were easy and tricky at the same time.

That is it folk, i tried to share and illustrate my exam experiences in this post. I hope you will find it helpful and apply to your “Data Engineer-ing” journey.

Please, feel free to share your experience or thoughts, as i am planning to keep this post up to date with your valuable contributions going forward. #keeplearning

Stay safe and be the 4th with you! #nevergiveup