Microsoft has been expanding out the certification offerings around Microsoft Azure. The Provisioning SQL Databases (70-765) exam fits right along with this as it measures expertise around SQL Server and Azure SQL Databases. With the ever increasing adoption of the Cloud, the lines between traditional on-premises style systems / applications and cloud applications is being blurred. This exam fits right along with that as it covers Azure SQL Databases and hosting SQL Server within Virtual Machines (VMs).

Certification Target Audience

The focus on the Provisioning SQL Databases (70-765) certification exam is centered round SQL Server and Azure SQL Database. The exam is designed to target candidates who are Architects, Senior Developers, Infrastructure Specialists, and Development Leads. These candidates should have experience and knowledge of the various cloud service models and service model architectures, data storage options, and data synchronization techniques. It will also be good to have a working knowledge of deployment models, upgrading and migrating databases, and applications and services, in addition to integrating Azure applications with external resources.

Skills Measured

Here is a high level list of the skills and objectives measured on the Provisioning SQL Databases (70-765) exam. The percentages next to each of the objectives represent the percentage of the exam questions that will be focus on that specific objective.

• Implement SQL in Azure (30-35%)
  • Deploy a Microsoft Azure SQL Database
  • Plan for SQL Server installation
  • Deploy SQL Server instances
• Manage databases and instances (35-40%)
  • Configure secure access to Microsoft Azure SQL Databases
  • Configure SQL Server performance settings
  • Manage SQL Server instances
• Deploy and migrate applications (30-35%)
  • Deploy applications to Microsoft Azure SQL Database
  • Deploy applications to SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines
  • Migrate client applications

When studying for this exam, you’ll certainly want to look at the official exam page from Microsoft for the full list of exam objectives covered. You’ll need to study each and every one of the objectives measured on the exam before attempting to take it.

Training Materials

At the time of writing this summary of the 70-765 Provisioning SQL Databases exam, there is a limited amount of Exam specific training material available. You’ll need to rely fairly heavily on the Microsoft documentation when studying for this exam. No exam guide or prep books are available, however there is a Practice Test available.

Happy studying!

About the Author:

Chris Pietschmann

Chris Pietschmann is a Microsoft MVP, HashiCorp Ambassador, and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) with 20+ years of experience designing and building Cloud & Enterprise systems. He has worked with companies of all sizes from startups to large enterprises. He has a passion for technology and sharing what he learns with others to help enable them to learn faster and be more productive.