AZ-104 Practice Tests, Labs & Hands-On Practice 2026

If you’ve been grinding through video courses and multiple-choice question banks and still feel shaky about the real Azure portal, you’re not alone. Candidates who prep almost entirely from question dumps consistently report the same problem on exam day: the scenario-based case studies and drag-and-drop configuration tasks feel unfamiliar, because reading about a Network Security Group is very different from actually building one. That gap between “I recognize this answer” and “I could do this in a live subscription” is the single biggest reason people walk out of the AZ-104 practice tests feeling confident, then walk out of the real exam feeling blindsided.

This guide, brought to you by PassITExams, is built to close that gap. Instead of another list of trivia questions, you’ll get a complete, self-contained AZ-104 exam prep system: a 30-day study plan, a breakdown of the current skills-measured domains, curated AZ-104 practice tests 2026 (free and paid), and most importantly, ten hands-on labs you can run in a real Azure free-tier subscription this afternoon. Every lab below is scenario-based, timed, and mapped directly to an official exam domain, so your AZ-104 labs hands-on practice time is never wasted on busywork.

Most candidates want a clear answer to one question before they start: how long does it actually take to prepare for AZ-104? The realistic timeline depends on your background, but pairing structured study with hands-on work is what shortens the path. You can see the full breakdown of preparation time by experience level here: how long does it take to prepare for AZ-104.

We’ll also cover what’s actually different about the 2026 version of the exam, including the growing emphasis on Microsoft Entra Workload Identities, expanded Private Link scenarios, and lightweight AI-service awareness inside the governance and monitoring domains; details that older 2023-era study guides simply don’t reflect. By the end of this article you’ll have a printable cheat sheet, a study tracker, a full AZ-104 free labs bundle, and a week-by-week schedule that pairs every practice test with a matching lab so knowledge and muscle memory build together.

Scroll down for your first free lab now, the hands-on labs are ready to go the moment you finish reading the exam blueprint below.

Why Most Candidates Fail AZ-104 (and How Hands-On Labs Fix It)

Ask around in any Azure study group and you’ll often hear a similar story: someone scored consistently above 85% on their AZ-104 mock exam with labs-style question banks, then still struggled on the real thing’s case-study, where they had to reason through a multi-step scenario instead of picking from four familiar-looking answers. The exam’s official skills outline is built around doing; deploying, configuring, troubleshooting; not just recognizing terminology, and that’s exactly where pure question-bank prep quietly breaks down.

The imbalance is easy to see once you look at how most people actually study. Search “AZ-104 prep” and the overwhelming majority of results are multiple-choice dumps, useful for memorizing service names and default values, but incapable of teaching you what happens when a subnet delegation blocks a private endpoint, or why a storage account’s network rules silently deny a connection that “should” work. Reading the correct answer to that scenario is not the same skill as diagnosing it live, and the exam is scored on the latter.

Hands-on labs close this gap in three concrete ways:

• Pattern recognition under pressure: after you’ve actually broken and fixed an NSG rule, the case-study version of that problem stops looking like a trick question.
• Muscle memory for the portal, CLI, and PowerShell: the exam frequently asks “which command accomplishes this,” and typing the command yourself beats memorizing syntax from a slide.
• Real troubleshooting instinct: Azure’s own diagnostic tools (Network Watcher, Storage diagnostics, Azure Monitor) only make sense once you’ve used them to chase down a problem you caused yourself.

That’s the philosophy behind every AZ-104 hands-on lab below: each one is designed to make you break something on purpose, then fix it, which is a far better rehearsal for the exam’s troubleshooting scenarios than any static practice question.

Your Complete AZ-104 Practice Plan

We built this article to be worked through, not just read once. Here’s the recommended flow: skim the updated exam domains to refresh the current skills weighting, pick two or three AZ-104 practice tests to track your baseline, then rotate through the hands-on labs while following the 30-day study calendar below. Grab the free lab bundle further down so you have offline copies of every lab, the cheat sheet, and the tracker before you start.

We recommend this daily routine for anyone with a full-time job studying part-time:

For a complete structured approach that combines theory, labs, and practice tests, follow our full AZ-104 study guide. It also shows the best way to use mock exams effectively: how to prepare AZ-104 with mock exams.

If you only have 30–45 minutes on a given day, prioritize the lab over the theory, actively doing something in the portal retains far better than passively reading, and it’s the fastest route to real Microsoft Azure Administrator hands-on practice.

Updated AZ-104 Exam Topics & Domains (2026 Version)

As of the official AZ-104 skills-measured outline, the exam is organized into five domains. Here’s the current weighting and what each one actually covers in practice:

A few things have meaningfully shifted heading into 2026 that older guides tend to miss:

• Workload Identities: Microsoft Entra Workload ID scenarios (federated credentials for apps/services instead of stored secrets) now show up inside the identity domain, so it’s worth running through the official Workload ID overview before exam day.
• Private Link expansion: expect more networking-domain scenarios involving private endpoints for storage and PaaS services rather than pure public-IP configurations; see the Private Link documentation.
• Lightweight AI-service awareness: you won’t need deep AI/ML skills, but governance-domain questions increasingly touch on managing access and cost controls for Azure AI resources the same way you’d manage any other resource type.

For the complete official domain breakdown and skills measured, see the detailed AZ-104 exam topics and the full AZ-104 exam guide.

Best AZ-104 Practice Tests (Free + Paid) 2026 Updated

Question banks are only as good as how closely they mirror the real exam’s scenario style. Here are five options worth your time, mixing free and paid so you can build a realistic AZ-104 mock exam with labs routine without overspending.

The highest-leverage way to use any of these is to pair each test with the matching lab category below: score below 70% on a networking-heavy test, then immediately run Lab 3 or Lab 4 before you retest. Testing and doing in the same sitting is what actually moves the needle for Azure Administrator practice tests and labs combined.

Hands-On Labs & Interactive Practice (The Real Secret to Passing)

Before you start, create a free-tier Azure account if you don’t already have one, it includes a credit and a set of always-free services, which covers everything below. We recommend spinning up a dedicated resource group per lab (e.g., rg-az104-lab01) so cleanup is a single command when you’re done.

If you want a dedicated deep-dive into the best free and paid hands-on exercises mapped to every domain, explore our complete collection of AZ-104 labs.

Lab 1: RBAC & Custom Roles (Identity & Security)

Domain: Manage Azure identities and governance

1. Create a resource group named rg-az104-lab01.
2. Add a test user in Microsoft Entra ID (Users > New user).
3. Assign the built-in “Reader” role scoped only to the resource group.
4. Create a JSON-based custom role that allows starting/stopping VMs but not deleting them, then assign it to the test user.
5. Sign in as the test user (or use “Try it” impersonation) and verify the permission boundary.

Lab 2: Conditional Access & Workload Identities

Domain: Manage Azure identities and governance (2026 focus area)

1. Register an app in Microsoft Entra ID and enable a federated credential under Workload ID settings.
2. Create a Conditional Access policy requiring MFA for admin roles.
3. Test the policy in report-only mode before enforcing it.
4. Review sign-in logs to confirm the policy evaluated correctly.

Lab 3: VNet Peering & NSG Troubleshooting

Domain: Implement and manage virtual networkingCreate two VNets in the same region with non-overlapping address spaces.

1. Peer them and confirm connectivity between two test VMs (one per VNet).
2. Deliberately add an NSG rule that blocks the traffic, then use Network Watcher’s IP flow verify to diagnose it.
3. Fix the rule and re-test.

Lab 4: Private Endpoint for Storage (2026 Topic)

Domain: Implement and manage virtual networking / storage

1. Create a storage account and disable public network access.
2. Create a private endpoint inside your lab VNet for the blob service.
3. Configure the private DNS zone so name resolution points to the private IP.
4. Confirm a VM inside the VNet can reach the storage account, while a connection from outside cannot.

Lab 5: Blob Lifecycle & Storage Networking

Domain: Implement and manage storage

1. Create a storage account with a container and upload sample files.
2. Configure a lifecycle management rule to move blobs to Cool tier after 30 days.
3. Add a storage firewall rule restricting access to your own IP.
4. Test access from an allowed and a blocked location.

Lab 6: VM Availability Zones & Scale Sets

Domain: Deploy and manage Azure compute resources

1. Deploy a Virtual Machine Scale Set across two availability zones.
2. Configure autoscale rules based on CPU percentage.
3. Simulate load (or manually trigger a scale event) and observe the scale-out.
4. Scale back in and confirm graceful instance removal.

Lab 7: ARM Template Deployment

Domain: Deploy and manage Azure compute resources

1. Export an ARM template from an existing resource group.
2. Modify a parameter (e.g., VM size) in the template.
3. Deploy the modified template via CLI (az deployment group create).
4. Validate the deployment and review the deployment history blade.

Lab 8: Azure Monitor & Log Analytics Alerts

Domain: Monitor and maintain Azure resources

1. Create a Log Analytics workspace and connect a VM to it.
2. Write a simple Kusto query to check CPU metrics.
3. Create an alert rule that fires when CPU exceeds a threshold.
4. Trigger the condition and confirm the alert notification arrives.

Lab 9: Azure Backup & Recovery Vault Restore

Domain: Monitor and maintain Azure resources

1. Create a Recovery Services vault and enable backup on a test VM.
2. Trigger an on-demand backup.
3. Delete a file inside the VM, then restore from the recovery point.
4. Confirm the file is restored.

Lab 10: Cost Management & Broken-Access Troubleshooting

Domain: Troubleshooting & cost management (cross-domain)

1. Set a budget alert in Cost Management for your lab subscription.
2. Deliberately misconfigure an RBAC assignment so a test user loses access to a resource they need.
3. Use the Access Control (IAM) “Check access” tool to diagnose the missing permission.
4. Correct the assignment and verify the fix, then review the Cost Analysis view for the labs you’ve run so far.

Run through all ten and you’ll have touched every domain in the current blueprint with real, hands-on repetitions, exactly the kind of AZ-104 troubleshooting labs practice that a static question bank can’t replicate.

Free Downloadable Resources

• AZ-104 Complete Hands-On Lab Bundle: PDF write-ups plus every script and template referenced above (custom-role-rbac.json, vnet-peering-setup.ps1, sample-vm-template.json, deploy.sh).
• AZ-104 2026 Quick Reference Cheat Sheet: one-page PDF summarizing domain weights, key service limits, and CLI/PowerShell command equivalents.
• 30-Day AZ-104 Study Tracker: a shareable spreadsheet template with a row per day for theory, lab, and practice-question checkboxes.
• AZ-104 Practice Tests, Labs & Hands-on Practice PDF: Full write-ups of all ten labs plus scripts and templates: Download the complete practice tests & labs PDF
• AZ-104 Labs Checklist & Study Path: Printable checklist so you never miss a lab: Download the Labs Checklist Study Path
• PassITExams AZ-104 Study Guide – Free Checklist & Notes: Condensed notes and tracker: Download the free study guide checklist & notes

30-Day AZ-104 Practice Test Schedule

Aim for your final two mock exams in Week 4 to be full-length and timed under real exam conditions: 100–120 minutes, no notes: so pacing isn’t a surprise on exam day.

Bonus Tips & Common Mistakes

Exam day strategies:

• Flag and skip long case-study questions on your first pass, then return once you’ve banked easier points.
• Read every answer option fully: AZ-104 distractors are often “technically true but doesn’t answer the actual question.”
• Watch your time per case study; if a scenario has 5+ questions, budget roughly double the time of a standalone question.

Red flags that cause people to fail:

• Studying only multiple-choice banks with zero hands-on time in the actual portal.
• Skipping CLI/PowerShell entirely and relying only on the Azure Portal GUI.
• Ignoring the newer 2026 topics (Workload Identities, Private Link) because older study guides don’t mention them.

Converting practice into real-world skills: keep every lab resource group running for a day or two after you finish it, and try to break it a second way, a different NSG misconfiguration, a different RBAC scope error. The goal isn’t just passing the exam; it’s building the instincts of someone who can actually run an Azure environment, which is exactly what employers are hiring for.

Conclusion

Passing AZ-104 on your first attempt comes down to one simple shift: treat hands-on labs as the main event and practice tests as the checkpoint, not the other way around. You now have a mapped exam blueprint, five vetted AZ-104 practice tests, ten scenario-based labs covering every domain, a 30-day schedule, and a free downloadable bundle to keep it all organized. Bookmark this page and grab your free bundle above so you can come back to it as you work through the calendar.

The candidates who pass comfortably aren’t the ones who memorized the most questions, they’re the ones who’ve actually broken and fixed things in a real subscription. That’s the approach PassITExams builds every study guide around, and you’ve got everything you need to be one of them. Ready to practice? Click the link below to start your first hands-on lab now!