🔬 Lab Environment Setup

Free Azure Access Options

Azure Free Account
- $200 credit for 30 days
- 55+ always-free services
- Key free services for AZ-305:
  - Azure Active Directory (free tier)
  - Azure Virtual Networks
  - Azure Key Vault (750 hours)
  - Azure Functions (1M requests)
Training Platforms with Free Azure Labs

📐 Architecture Resources

Microsoft Well-Architected Framework

Azure WAF - Core framework
AWS WAF - Compare/contrast
Google Cloud Architecture Framework - Compare/contrast

Cloud Adoption Framework

Reference Architectures

🎯 Exam-Focused Lab Areas

Identity & Governance
- Azure AD tenant setup
- RBAC configurations
- Policy assignments
- Management groups
Data Storage
- Storage accounts
- SQL databases
- Cosmos DB
- Data protection options
Business Continuity
- Backup vaults
- Site recovery
- Availability sets/zones
- Load balancers
Infrastructure
- Virtual networks
- App Service plans
- Container instances
- Serverless functions

💡 Real-World Focus Areas

Cost Management
- Use Azure Pricing Calculator
- Enable cost alerts
- Review Azure Cost Optimization Guide
Security Baseline
Monitoring & Operations
- Azure Monitor
- Log Analytics
- Application Insights
- Network Watcher

🚀 Getting Started

Create Azure Free Account
Enable MFA
Install required tools:
- Azure CLI
- PowerShell 7
- VS Code + Azure Extensions
- Azure Storage Explorer

⚠️ Resource Constraints (Free Tier)

VM sizes: B1s, B1ls only
Storage: 5GB LRS Blob
Database: Basic tier only
Functions: 1M executions
Bandwidth: 15GB outbound

💰 Cost Control Tips

Use Azure Advisor
Set spending limits
Clean up after labs
Use auto-shutdown for VMs
Leverage consumption-based services