AZ-700 is the harder exam, the more respected cert, and — if you're serious about Azure networking — the only one worth putting on your resume.
That's a claim worth unpacking, because a lot of people default to AZ-104 (Azure Administrator Associate) for their networking knowledge and call it done. That's a mistake if your job is actually about networks.
If you're still figuring out where to start, grab a free AZ-700 practice test and see where you land. It'll tell you fast whether your networking fundamentals are solid or whether you've been skating by on portal clicks.
What AZ-104 Covers on Networking (And Why It's Not Enough)
AZ-104 treats networking as one of six domains. You get VNet basics, NSGs, peering, VPN Gateway configuration, and enough Load Balancer knowledge to pass multiple choice questions. That's fine if you're an Azure admin who touches everything shallowly.
But here's the reality: AZ-104 doesn't teach you why traffic flows the way it does. You learn to configure things without understanding the routing decisions underneath. You can pass AZ-104 without ever having configured BGP, designed an ExpressRoute topology, or thought seriously about asymmetric routing in a hub-spoke architecture.
AZ-700 is different. It expects you to own the network.
What AZ-700 Actually Covers
The exam has six domains, and each one goes somewhere AZ-104 never reaches.
Design and implement core networking infrastructure is the foundational domain — VNets, subnets, IP address planning, DNS architecture (Private DNS Zones vs. Azure DNS vs. custom resolvers). You're expected to design for scale, not just for "it works in my test environment."
Hybrid networking is where AZ-700 earns its reputation. You need to understand both VPN Gateway and ExpressRoute at an architectural level. That means knowing when to use ExpressRoute Direct versus provider-managed circuits, how to configure BGP communities for route filtering, Active-Active vs. Active-Passive VPN gateway configurations, and why you'd deploy ExpressRoute + VPN as coexisting failover paths rather than treating them as interchangeable options.
Routing covers User Defined Routes (UDRs), Border Gateway Protocol fundamentals, and route propagation between VNets, on-premises networks, and Azure services. The exam will absolutely ask you about next-hop types and traffic inspection architectures using NVAs (Network Virtual Appliances). AZ-104 touches none of this seriously.
Load balancing in AZ-700 spans four distinct services — Azure Load Balancer (Layer 4), Application Gateway (Layer 7 with WAF), Azure Front Door (global CDN + WAF + load balancing), and Traffic Manager (DNS-based). Knowing that all four exist isn't enough; you need to know which SKU, which scenario, and the specific tradeoffs. When does Front Door beat Application Gateway? When is Traffic Manager the wrong answer despite being the cheapest? These are real design decisions.
Private access to Azure services covers Private Endpoints, Private Link Service, and Service Endpoints — with a clear-eyed understanding of why Service Endpoints are often the wrong default and Private Endpoints are almost always preferred for production workloads. You also need to know how DNS resolution works for Private Endpoints across peered VNets and hybrid connections, which is genuinely tricky.
Network security and monitoring rounds things out — Azure Firewall (including Firewall Policy vs. Classic rules and Firewall Manager for multi-hub deployments), DDoS Protection plans (Basic vs. Standard, and when the cost is justified), Network Watcher tools (connection monitor, packet capture, flow logs, topology view), and NSG flow log integration with Traffic Analytics.
The Honest Comparison
| Area | AZ-104 Coverage | AZ-700 Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| VNet / Subnets | Surface level | Deep — IP planning, CIDR sizing |
| VPN Gateway | Basic config | Active-Active, BGP, coexist with ER |
| ExpressRoute | Mentioned | Full topology design |
| BGP | Not covered | Required knowledge |
| App Gateway vs LB | One Q or two | Full feature comparison |
| Azure Front Door | Barely | SKUs, routing rules, WAF policies |
| Private Endpoints | Touched | DNS resolution edge cases covered |
| Azure Firewall | Basic | Firewall Manager, IDPS, policy hierarchy |
| NVA architectures | Not covered | Route injection patterns |
If your title includes "network engineer," "cloud infrastructure," or anything adjacent, AZ-104 networking coverage is a footnote. AZ-700 is the substance.
Who Should Skip AZ-700 (Honestly)
If you're a generalist Azure admin who manages storage, compute, identity, and networking with roughly equal depth, AZ-104 is the right exam. It's broad by design.
AZ-700 is not for you if you don't have hands-on networking experience. The exam assumes you understand TCP/IP fundamentals, know what BGP does at a conceptual level before Azure touches it, and have configured at least some network infrastructure in your career. It's not a beginner exam dressed up in specialist clothing.
Who Should Take AZ-700 Instead
Network engineers moving from on-premises to cloud. Infrastructure architects designing hybrid connectivity. Cloud engineers who own the network layer rather than just consuming it. Anyone whose job involves ExpressRoute, Azure Firewall, or multi-region load balancing architectures.
The pass rate for AZ-700 is meaningfully lower than AZ-104. That's not because the content is obscure — it's because the questions require you to reason through scenarios, not just recall configuration steps.
Preparation That Works
The Microsoft-published skills outline for AZ-700 is accurate and detailed. Start there. Then get hands-on: deploy a hub-spoke topology, configure Private DNS Zones, set up a VPN gateway in Active-Active mode, and build a routing table with UDRs that force traffic through an NVA. Doing it once beats reading about it four times.
For scenario-based question practice, ExamCert has AZ-700 practice tests built around the kind of decision-tree questions the real exam uses — not just "what is this service" but "given these requirements, which configuration is correct and why."
You can see the full exam breakdown and start practicing at the AZ-700 exam page before you book your seat.
The Bottom Line
AZ-104 proves you can administer Azure. AZ-700 proves you can architect its network layer.
If networking is your job, take AZ-700. The extra difficulty is the point — it filters out the people who configured a VNet once and called themselves network engineers. Pass it and you've demonstrated something real.
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