AZ-120
AZ-120
Microsoft Azure
SAP Workloads
The course teaches how to migrate, design, and operate SAP workloads on Azure, covering migration, infrastructure, high‑availability, monitoring, and maintenance to ensure optimal performance and resilience.
120
Minutes
50
Questions
700/1000
Passing Score
$165
Exam Cost
4
Languages
Who Should Take This
It is intended for Azure administrators, solutions architects, or SAP basis consultants who already hold AZ‑104 knowledge and possess hands‑on experience designing and managing SAP environments. These professionals seek to validate specialty‑level expertise, deepen their ability to implement resilient, high‑performance SAP workloads on Azure, and advance their career credentials.
What's Covered
1
Planning SAP migrations, implementing Azure Migrate for SAP, configuring SAP HANA and S/4HANA deployments, and validating migration outcomes.
2
Designing compute, storage, and networking for SAP on Azure; implementing Azure VMs certified for SAP, configuring Azure NetApp Files and Ultra Disks.
3
Configuring SAP high availability with availability zones and load balancers, implementing HANA System Replication, and designing DR strategies.
4
Monitoring SAP systems with Azure Monitor for SAP, managing patching and updates, implementing backup strategies, and optimizing performance.
Exam Structure
Question Types
- Multiple Choice
- Multiple Response
- Case Studies
Scoring Method
Scaled score 100-1000, passing score 700
Delivery Method
Proctored exam, 40-60 questions, 100 minutes
Prerequisites
None required. AZ-104 and SAP experience recommended.
Recertification
Renew annually via free Microsoft Learn renewal assessment
What's Included in AccelaStudy® AI
Adaptive Knowledge Graph
Practice Questions
Lesson Modules
Console Simulator Labs
Exam Tips & Strategy
20 Activity Formats
Course Outline
75 learning goals
1
Domain 1: Migrate SAP Workloads to Azure
3 topics
Designing a migration strategy for SAP workloads
- Evaluate existing SAP landscapes including SAP HANA, S/4HANA, NetWeaver, and legacy ECC systems to classify workloads by migration pattern and determine lift-and-shift, re-platform, or heterogeneous migration suitability.
- Analyze homogeneous versus heterogeneous SAP database migration approaches to determine the optimal path based on source database type, target HANA version, data volume, and downtime tolerance.
- Plan a phased SAP migration strategy that sequences application tiers, database conversions, and cutover windows to minimize business disruption while meeting compliance and performance requirements.
- Recommend an end-to-end SAP migration governance plan integrating workload assessment, dependency mapping, risk scoring, wave sequencing, and rollback procedures for enterprise SAP landscape modernization.
Implementing SAP migration to Azure
- Implement SAP workload discovery and assessment using Azure Migrate to inventory existing SAP servers, databases, and application dependencies for migration planning.
- Implement SAP database migration using SAP SWPM, DMO with SUM, and HANA System Replication to migrate source databases to SAP HANA on Azure with data validation and consistency checks.
- Implement SAP application server migration using lift-and-shift with Azure Migrate or re-platform approaches to deploy SAP application instances on Azure VMs with validated configurations.
- Implement migration testing and cutover procedures including functional validation, performance benchmarking, fallback planning, and go-live execution for SAP workload transitions to Azure.
- Evaluate migration tool selection tradeoffs among Azure Migrate, SAP DMO, HANA System Replication, and third-party migration tools based on source system complexity, downtime constraints, and data volume.
- Recommend a migration execution strategy that integrates tool selection, parallel workstream coordination, environment provisioning sequence, and post-migration validation gates for large-scale SAP landscape transitions.
Designing and implementing identity integration for SAP on Azure
- Implement single sign-on between Microsoft Entra ID and SAP applications using SAML 2.0 federation to enable unified authentication across Azure and SAP landscapes.
- Implement SAP principal propagation using OAuth 2.0 and Microsoft Entra ID to pass authenticated user identities from Azure-hosted front-end applications to SAP back-end systems.
- Analyze identity integration patterns to evaluate tradeoffs between SAML-based SSO, OAuth principal propagation, and certificate-based authentication for SAP on Azure security requirements.
- Recommend an identity governance strategy integrating Microsoft Entra ID conditional access, SAP role-based access controls, and automated user provisioning for comprehensive SAP on Azure identity lifecycle management.
2
Domain 2: Design and Implement an Infrastructure to Support SAP Workloads
4 topics
Designing SAP infrastructure on Azure
- Design SAP HANA VM sizing using SAP-certified Azure VM SKUs including M-series, Mv2-series, and E-series to match HANA memory requirements, SAPS ratings, and workload performance profiles.
- Design SAP application server VM sizing using SAP-certified SKUs with appropriate vCPU, memory, and network throughput configurations to meet SAPS benchmarks for dialog and batch workloads.
- Evaluate storage configuration options for SAP HANA comparing Ultra Disk for data and log volumes, Premium SSD for shared volumes, and Azure NetApp Files for NFS-based file shares to determine optimal IOPS and throughput sizing.
- Analyze SAP VM placement strategies using proximity placement groups, availability zones, and availability sets to evaluate latency, fault domain isolation, and SAP-specific co-location requirements.
- Analyze SAP HANA Large Instances versus VM-based deployments to evaluate memory capacity limits, certification requirements, operational flexibility, and cost implications for very large HANA workloads.
- Recommend a comprehensive SAP infrastructure architecture that integrates VM sizing, storage tiering, placement groups, and availability zone design to optimize performance, resilience, and cost for production SAP landscapes.
Implementing networking for SAP on Azure
- Design virtual network architectures for SAP landscapes including subnet segmentation for database, application, and web tiers with NSG rules enforcing SAP-specific communication patterns.
- Evaluate hybrid connectivity options for SAP comparing ExpressRoute dedicated circuits and VPN Gateway configurations to determine optimal bandwidth, latency, and cost tradeoffs for on-premises to Azure SAP workload connectivity.
- Configure Azure Load Balancer for SAP high availability including health probes for ASCS, ERS, and HANA database instances with floating IP and HA port configurations.
- Analyze SAP network architecture tradeoffs between hub-spoke and flat topologies to evaluate management complexity, security boundary enforcement, and inter-tier latency for SAP workloads.
- Recommend a SAP network architecture strategy integrating VNet design, hybrid connectivity, load balancing, and NSG governance to minimize latency while enforcing security segmentation across all SAP tiers.
Implementing and managing storage for SAP workloads
- Implement Azure NetApp Files volumes for SAP HANA shared storage and NFS-based file shares with appropriate service levels, capacity pools, and snapshot policies for production workloads.
- Configure managed disk storage for SAP application servers using Premium SSD and Standard SSD with appropriate caching policies, disk striping, and write accelerator settings for optimal throughput.
- Analyze storage performance requirements for SAP HANA to evaluate IOPS, throughput, and latency characteristics across Ultra Disk, Premium SSD v2, Azure NetApp Files, and NFS on Azure Files for data and log volumes.
- Recommend a storage architecture strategy for SAP that optimizes cost, performance, and resilience by assigning appropriate storage tiers to HANA data, HANA log, shared, and backup volumes.
Designing and implementing Azure Center for SAP solutions
- Deploy S/4HANA systems using Azure Center for SAP solutions to provision infrastructure, install SAP software, and configure virtual instances with automated deployment workflows.
- Implement registration of existing SAP systems in Azure Center for SAP solutions to enable centralized monitoring, quality checks, and lifecycle management for previously deployed SAP landscapes.
- Analyze Azure Center for SAP solutions quality insights and recommendations to evaluate infrastructure compliance, configuration drift, and SAP best practice adherence for managed SAP environments.
- Recommend an Azure Center for SAP solutions adoption strategy integrating automated deployment, existing system registration, quality monitoring, and lifecycle management to centralize SAP operations governance.
3
Domain 3: Design and Implement High Availability and Disaster Recovery
3 topics
Designing high availability for SAP on Azure
- Design Linux-based SAP high availability using Pacemaker cluster resource managers with STONITH fencing agents, corosync communication, and Azure Load Balancer health probes for ASCS/ERS failover configuration.
- Design Windows-based SAP high availability using Windows Server Failover Clustering with file share witness or cloud witness, cluster shared volumes, and Azure Load Balancer for ASCS/ERS instance configuration.
- Analyze availability zone versus availability set deployment strategies for SAP to evaluate fault isolation, network latency impact, and SLA differences for HANA and application server high availability.
- Recommend a high availability architecture strategy for SAP that integrates clustering technology selection, availability zone placement, load balancer configuration, and fencing mechanisms to achieve target SLAs.
Implementing high availability for SAP components
- Implement SAP HANA System Replication in synchronous mode across availability zones for automatic database failover with pre-load and memory pre-allocation on the secondary node.
- Implement ASCS and ERS high availability using enqueue replication server with cluster resource management to ensure enqueue lock table persistence during planned and unplanned failover events.
- Implement SAP application server high availability using multiple dialog instances, logon group load balancing, and automated health monitoring to distribute workload and eliminate single points of failure.
- Analyze HANA System Replication modes including synchronous, asynchronous, and synchronous with full-sync to evaluate data loss exposure, performance overhead, and failover speed tradeoffs for each replication tier.
- Troubleshoot SAP cluster failover issues by analyzing Pacemaker logs, STONITH fencing events, Azure Load Balancer health probe failures, and resource agent status to identify and resolve HA configuration problems.
- Recommend an SAP component-level HA implementation plan that sequences HANA System Replication, ASCS/ERS clustering, and application server redundancy with failover testing procedures and operational runbooks.
Designing and implementing disaster recovery for SAP on Azure
- Evaluate cross-region disaster recovery architectures for SAP HANA using asynchronous HANA System Replication to a secondary Azure region to determine achievable RPO and RTO targets aligned to business continuity requirements.
- Implement Azure Site Recovery for SAP application servers to replicate VM disks to a secondary region with recovery plans that orchestrate failover sequencing across HANA, ASCS, and application server tiers.
- Analyze SAP backup strategy options comparing Azure Backup for HANA with Backint integration, file-level backups for application servers, and storage-based snapshots to determine recovery granularity and point-in-time recovery capabilities.
- Analyze RPO and RTO tradeoffs across SAP disaster recovery approaches including HANA System Replication, Azure Site Recovery, and backup-restore to determine cost-effective recovery strategies for each SAP tier.
- Recommend a comprehensive SAP disaster recovery strategy that integrates cross-region replication, backup policies, DR testing cadence, and automated recovery orchestration to meet business continuity objectives within budget constraints.
4
Domain 4: Monitor and Optimize SAP Workloads on Azure
3 topics
Monitoring SAP workloads on Azure
- Implement Azure Monitor for SAP Solutions to collect telemetry from SAP HANA, NetWeaver, operating systems, and SQL Server with provider-based data collection and custom alert rules.
- Assess SAP HANA health indicators including memory utilization trends, disk consumption patterns, CPU load distribution, replication lag metrics, and backup success rates to determine proactive intervention thresholds.
- Evaluate SAP NetWeaver application server performance metrics including dialog response times, batch job throughput, enqueue lock statistics, and RFC connection health to identify degradation patterns.
- Implement operating system-level monitoring for SAP VMs using Azure Monitor Agent to collect CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network metrics with alerting thresholds aligned to SAP workload baselines.
- Analyze SAP monitoring data to correlate HANA database metrics, application server performance, and infrastructure telemetry for root cause identification during performance degradation events.
- Recommend a comprehensive SAP monitoring strategy integrating Azure Monitor for SAP Solutions, HANA-level telemetry, NetWeaver health checks, and OS metrics to establish end-to-end observability with escalation workflows.
Optimizing SAP performance on Azure
- Evaluate SAP VM right-sizing opportunities by analyzing CPU utilization, memory consumption, and SAPS benchmark data to determine whether current VM SKUs match actual workload demands.
- Optimize SAP HANA memory management by analyzing column store memory consumption, row store allocation, memory garbage collection, and table partitioning to improve database performance and resource utilization.
- Optimize storage performance for SAP by evaluating disk caching policies, write accelerator settings, storage throughput limits, and I/O queue depth tuning to resolve storage bottlenecks.
- Assess network performance for SAP workloads by analyzing accelerated networking status, inter-zone latency measurements, and ExpressRoute throughput to identify network-related performance constraints.
- Recommend a comprehensive SAP performance optimization plan integrating VM right-sizing, memory tuning, storage optimization, and network performance improvements with cost impact analysis.
Implementing backup for SAP workloads
- Implement Azure Backup for SAP HANA using Backint-certified integration with automated backup scheduling, retention policies, and cross-region vault replication for database protection.
- Implement snapshot-based backup for SAP HANA using Azure managed disk snapshots and Azure NetApp Files snapshots for rapid point-in-time recovery with consistent storage-level captures.
- Configure file-level backup for SAP application servers using Azure Backup agent to protect SAP configuration files, transport directories, and kernel binaries with scheduled retention policies.
- Analyze backup strategy tradeoffs among Backint-based streaming backup, snapshot-based backup, and file-level backup to evaluate recovery granularity, backup window duration, storage cost, and RPO achievability.
- Recommend a unified SAP backup governance strategy integrating HANA Backint scheduling, snapshot-based rapid recovery, file-level protection, and cross-region vault replication with retention compliance requirements.
5
Domain 5: Maintain SAP Workloads on Azure
2 topics
Managing SAP updates and patching on Azure
- Implement OS patching strategies for SAP VMs using Azure Update Management to schedule, test, and deploy operating system updates with minimal disruption to SAP service availability.
- Manage SAP kernel and HANA database update procedures including support package stack application, kernel patch levels, and HANA revision upgrades with pre-update validation and rollback planning.
- Analyze maintenance window planning for SAP on Azure to evaluate patching sequence dependencies across HANA, ASCS, application servers, and operating systems while maintaining HA cluster integrity.
- Recommend a patching governance strategy that coordinates OS updates, SAP kernel patches, and HANA revisions across development, quality, and production landscapes with automated testing gates and approval workflows.
Implementing security for SAP on Azure
- Implement encryption for SAP workloads using Azure Disk Encryption, HANA data volume encryption, and TLS for inter-tier communication to protect data at rest and in transit.
- Configure Azure Key Vault integration for SAP to manage encryption keys, certificates, and secrets with access policies, key rotation schedules, and audit logging for cryptographic material lifecycle.
- Implement network security for SAP using NSG rules, Azure Firewall, and private endpoints to restrict access to SAP systems and enforce zero-trust network segmentation between SAP tiers.
- Evaluate Microsoft Defender for Cloud security recommendations and threat detection alerts for SAP workloads to assess vulnerability severity, configuration compliance gaps, and threat indicator prioritization across SAP infrastructure.
- Analyze SAP on Azure compliance requirements to evaluate regulatory controls, data residency obligations, and audit logging configurations needed for SOX, GDPR, and industry-specific compliance mandates.
- Recommend a security governance strategy for SAP on Azure integrating encryption, key management, network security, threat detection, and compliance monitoring to achieve defense-in-depth across all SAP landscape tiers.
- Architect a unified SAP on Azure operational governance framework that aligns patching cadence, security controls, monitoring coverage, and compliance reporting with organizational change management and risk tolerance.
Hands-On Labs
15 labs
~305 min total
Console Simulator
Practice in a simulated cloud console or Python code sandbox — no account needed. Each lab runs entirely in your browser.
Certification Benefits
Salary Impact
$155,000
Average Salary
Related Job Roles
SAP on Azure Architect
SAP Basis Administrator
SAP Solutions Architect
Cloud Infrastructure Architect
Industry Recognition
Microsoft Azure certifications are among the most valued in enterprise IT, with Microsoft holding the second-largest cloud market share globally and serving as the dominant platform in enterprise and hybrid cloud environments.
Scope
Included Topics
- All domains and task statements in the Microsoft Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty (AZ-120) exam guide: Domain 1 Migrate SAP workloads to Azure (25-30%), Domain 2 Design and implement an infrastructure to support SAP workloads (25-30%), Domain 3 Design and implement high availability and disaster recovery (20-25%), Domain 4 Monitor and optimize SAP workloads on Azure (15-20%), and Domain 5 Maintain SAP workloads on Azure (10-15%).
- Specialty-level SAP on Azure architecture and operations including SAP HANA deployment, S/4HANA migration, NetWeaver workload hosting, Azure Center for SAP solutions, identity integration with Microsoft Entra ID, SAP-certified VM sizing, storage optimization with Azure NetApp Files and Ultra Disk, high availability clustering with Pacemaker and Windows Server Failover Clustering, disaster recovery with HANA System Replication and Azure Site Recovery, and SAP monitoring with Azure Monitor for SAP Solutions.
- Scenario-driven architecture decisions integrating SAP workload requirements with Azure infrastructure capabilities across migration planning, infrastructure design, HA/DR implementation, performance optimization, security hardening, and operational maintenance.
- Key Azure services for SAP workloads: Azure VMs (M-series, Mv2-series, E-series SAP-certified SKUs), Azure NetApp Files, Ultra Disk, Premium SSD, Azure Load Balancer, Proximity Placement Groups, Availability Zones, Availability Sets, Azure Site Recovery, Azure Backup, Azure Monitor for SAP Solutions, Azure Center for SAP solutions, Microsoft Entra ID, ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway, Virtual Networks, NSGs, Azure Firewall, Azure Key Vault, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Azure Migrate, SAP HANA Large Instances.
Not Covered
- SAP application-layer functional configuration including SAP Basis customization, ABAP development, SAP Fiori UI development, and SAP BTP application integration not relevant to Azure infrastructure management.
- Non-Azure SAP hosting approaches including on-premises hardware sizing, third-party cloud provider SAP deployments, and SAP RISE managed service internals.
- SAP licensing models, SAP support package stack details, and SAP marketplace commercial terms that are not stable for durable domain specifications.
- Azure services not listed in the AZ-120 exam guide or not directly relevant to SAP workload hosting and operations.
- Low-level SAP kernel compilation, SAP HANA internal storage engine internals, and database query optimization techniques that fall under SAP HANA administration rather than Azure infrastructure management.
Official Exam Page
Learn more at Microsoft Azure
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