What should you focus on for your Azure interview?
Which topics should you start with?
Security, identity, and governance appeared in 19 of 82 interviews. Networking appeared in 18 of 82 interviews. Start with these topics. Can you explain access controls and network choices, not just name Azure services?
- Can you explain tenant architecture, Entra, RBAC, and managed identities?
- Can you describe how a hub-and-spoke network works and why you would use it?
- Can you explain private endpoints and why you would use one to access Key Vault?
- Can you compare Azure NSGs with AWS security groups and network ACLs?
For the hub-and-spoke question, also check whether you can name the equivalents in AWS or GCP.
Which common questions should you be able to answer?
“What are Azure Functions?” was the most asked question, appearing in 4 of 82 interviews. Comparing Azure and AWS was also among the most asked questions. Can you answer both before moving to the service choices below?
- What roles do Azure Functions and Service Bus play in a backend application?
- What is Blob Storage, what are its properties, and when would you use it?
- How do you manage secrets in Azure DevOps pipelines and retrieve them from Key Vault?
- How do you monitor cloud costs with Azure Cost Management or custom tools?
Can you explain design and troubleshooting choices?
The questions cover service selection, deployment controls, and operational troubleshooting. Use these checks to test whether you can explain how parts of a system work together.
- For AKS, can you describe request routing, resource allocation, and private clusters?
- For messaging, can you explain retries, ordering, and delivery guarantees?
- For migration and recovery, can you explain backup selection, storage redundancy, and Azure Site Recovery?
- For monitoring, can you describe how you would use logs, dashboards, and Application Insights?
What code and deployment tasks should you check?
A code-writing task appeared in 1 of 82 interviews: writing code to create an Azure virtual machine. Can you write that code?
The questions also cover Terraform and CI/CD. Can you explain resource imports, drift detection, deployment controls, and deployment automation?
Who gets asked Azure
The 20 most asked Azure questions
Counted by interview, not by mention: a question asked twice in one conversation counts once.
What are Azure Functions?
Asked in 4 of 82 interviews · last asked Aug 12 · Concept · Junior
Show answer
Azure Functions is a serverless service that runs small pieces of code when an event occurs. A function can start from an HTTP request, a timer, or a queue message. Azure manages the servers, so I can focus on tasks such as building APIs, processing files, and handling background jobs.
- Each function has one trigger that starts it.
- Optional bindings simplify reading from and writing to other services.
- Scaling, costs, and execution limits depend on the hosting plan.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer is checking whether you understand event-driven code, serverless hosting, and common uses for Azure Functions.
Other ways it was asked
- “How do Azure Functions work?”
- “How do Azure Functions work, and what are they used for?”
How would you compare Azure and AWS?
Asked in 3 of 82 interviews · last asked Oct 6 · Concept · Mid-level
Show answer
Azure and AWS both offer computing, storage, networking, databases, and managed services. Azure often fits teams already using Microsoft tools, while AWS also supports Microsoft workloads and has a broad service range. I would compare workload needs, team skills, regional availability, and total cost rather than call one better.
- Azure Virtual Machines and Amazon EC2 both provide virtual servers.
- Azure Blob Storage and Amazon S3 both provide object storage.
- Azure integrates closely with Microsoft Entra ID and other Microsoft tools.
- Both support hybrid cloud; pricing, service features, and regional availability differ.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer is checking whether you can compare core services and choose a platform based on business needs.
Other ways it was asked
- “What is the difference between AWS and Azure?”
How does Azure hub-and-spoke networking work, why use it, and what equivalents exist in AWS or GCP?
Asked in 2 of 82 interviews · last asked Sep 10 · Concept · Senior
Show answer
Azure hub-and-spoke networking connects workload VNets to a central hub VNet, usually through VNet peering. The hub provides shared services such as firewalls, DNS, and VPN or ExpressRoute gateways. This centralizes security and connectivity while keeping workloads separate. AWS Transit Gateway and GCP Network Connectivity Center provide similar central connectivity between networks.
- VNet peering is not transitive: peering each spoke with the hub does not automatically connect the spokes.
- Spoke-to-spoke traffic needs direct peering or routing through a hub firewall or network appliance.
- Gateway transit lets spokes use the hub’s VPN or ExpressRoute gateway when configured.
- Shared services reduce duplication, but routing, availability, and traffic costs still need planning.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer checks whether you understand centralized networking, peering limits, shared gateways, and similar services across clouds.
Other ways it was asked
- “What are the benefits of using a hub in Azure when connecting multiple VNets?”
- “What is Azure's hub-and-spoke networking model, and what similar models are available in AWS or GCP?”
How do Azure NSGs compare with AWS security groups and network ACLs?
Asked in 2 of 82 interviews · last asked Aug 19 · Concept · Mid-level
Show answer
Azure NSGs are stateful filters applied to subnets or network interfaces, with allow and deny rules. AWS security groups are stateful, allow-only filters attached to resources through network interfaces. AWS network ACLs are stateless subnet filters with allow and deny rules. Use security groups for resource access, network ACLs for subnet boundaries, and NSGs for either scope.
- Stateful filters automatically allow return traffic; AWS network ACLs need rules for both directions.
- NSGs and network ACLs evaluate rules by priority; the first match wins.
- If subnet and interface NSGs both apply, both must allow the traffic.
- Azure NSGs remain stateful even when applied to a subnet.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer is checking whether you understand scope, state tracking, rule evaluation, and practical use across clouds.
Other ways it was asked
- “In AWS or Azure, explain the difference between security groups and network ACLs and when you would use each.”
- “In Azure, how do access control lists and network security groups differ in granularity and practical use?”
What are Azure private endpoints, and why use one to access Key Vault?
Asked in 2 of 82 interviews · last asked Sep 10 · Concept · Mid-level
Show answer
An Azure private endpoint is a network interface with a private IP address in your virtual network that connects to a service through Azure Private Link. For Key Vault, it keeps traffic off the public internet. You can disable public network access, but allowed trusted Azure services can still bypass this restriction.
- Traffic between your network and Key Vault stays on the Microsoft backbone.
- Configure DNS so the vault’s hostname resolves to its private endpoint IP address.
- Creating a private endpoint does not automatically disable public network access.
- Applications still need authentication and permission to read secrets, keys, or certificates.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer checks whether you understand private connectivity, DNS, and the difference between network access and permissions.
Other ways it was asked
- “What is the purpose of Azure Private Link when connecting to an Azure Key Vault?”
- “What are private endpoints in Azure, and why would you use them?”
What is Azure Blob Storage, what are its properties, and when would you use it?
Asked in 2 of 82 interviews · last asked Sep 14 · Concept · Junior
Show answer
Azure Blob Storage is a cloud object storage service for unstructured data, such as images, videos, and documents. It stores blobs in containers within a storage account and scales to hold large amounts of data. I use it for backups, media files, logs, and data lakes.
- Supports block blobs for files, append blobs for append-only data, and page blobs for random reads and writes.
- Standard block blobs offer Hot, Cool, Cold, and Archive tiers; archived data must be rehydrated before reading.
- Redundancy options keep copies within one region or across regions to protect data.
- Access can use Microsoft Entra ID or shared access signatures; data is encrypted at rest.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer is checking whether you understand object storage, its main features, and when to use it.
Other ways it was asked
- “Could you please define Azure Blob Storage and its use case?”
- “What is Azure Blob Storage, and what are its properties?”
What roles do Azure Functions and Azure Service Bus play in a backend application?
Asked in 2 of 82 interviews · last asked Oct 16 · Design · Mid-level
Show answer
Azure Functions runs backend code when an event occurs, such as an HTTP request or a new message. Azure Service Bus stores and delivers messages between services, so they can work independently. Together, Service Bus can hold tasks in a queue, and a Function can process them in the background.
- Functions runs code; Service Bus handles messaging.
- Queues distribute work among consumers; topics and subscriptions send messages to multiple subscribers.
- Service Bus supports retries and dead-letter queues for messages that cannot be processed.
- Messages can be delivered again, so processing should safely handle duplicates.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer is checking whether you can separate code execution from messaging and explain how they work together.
Other ways it was asked
- “What is the difference between Azure Service Bus and Azure Functions, and when would you use each?”
- “How can Azure Functions and Azure Service Bus be used in a backend application, and what purpose does each serve?”
- “What role does Azure Service Bus play in a backend architecture?”
How do you manage secrets in Azure DevOps pipelines and retrieve them from Azure Key Vault?
Asked in 2 of 82 interviews · last asked Sep 10 · Tooling · Mid-level
Show answer
I store secrets in Azure Key Vault and retrieve them with AzureKeyVault@2 or a linked variable group. I use an Azure service connection with workload identity federation and grant its identity only the required secret permissions. I pass secrets through secret variables or explicitly mapped environment variables, and never commit or print them.
- Use Key Vault Secrets User with RBAC, or Get and List permissions with access policies.
- For AzureKeyVault@2, ensure the pipeline agent can reach the vault through its network rules.
- Secret masking is not foolproof; avoid logging secrets or passing them as command-line arguments.
- Limit pipeline access to the service connection and secret variable group.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer checks whether you can retrieve secrets securely while controlling identity permissions, pipeline access, and accidental exposure.
Other ways it was asked
- “How do you manage secrets in Azure DevOps?”
- “Have you used Key Vault? How would you pull secrets, passwords, and tokens in a live pipeline?”
How do you monitor cloud costs using Azure Cost Management tools or custom tooling?
Asked in 2 of 82 interviews · last asked Oct 6 · Tooling · Mid-level
Show answer
I use Azure Cost Management to track spending by subscription, resource group, service, and tag. I set budgets and alerts, review forecasts, and check Azure Advisor for savings recommendations. For custom reports, I use cost exports or APIs. Before deployment, I estimate costs with the Azure Pricing Calculator.
- Cost Analysis shows spending trends and helps identify expensive resources.
- Budget alerts warn about spending; they do not automatically stop resources.
- Consistent tags help assign costs to teams and projects.
- Cost data can be delayed, so monitoring is not real-time.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer checks whether you can track spending, detect overspending, and choose built-in tools or custom reporting.
Other ways it was asked
- “How do you monitor cloud costs? Do you use Azure Cost Management tools or build your own tooling?”
- “What tools does Azure provide for estimating and monitoring costs?”
What challenges commonly arise in a business analyst's day-to-day work on Azure projects, and how do you address them?
Asked once · last asked Mar 16 · Scenario · Mid-level
Show answer
Common challenges are unclear requirements, conflicting priorities, data access limits, and changing cloud costs. I clarify needs with stakeholders, agree on priorities, and write testable acceptance criteria. I work with Azure engineers and security teams to resolve access issues and check feasibility. I track scope changes and their impact on cost and delivery.
- Use process maps and examples to find missing or unclear requirements.
- Agree on priorities and record decisions when stakeholders disagree.
- Plan for data quality, access approvals, and security rules early.
- Review Azure cost estimates with engineers when requirements change.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer checks whether you can manage daily project problems while connecting business needs with Azure delivery constraints.
What criteria do you use to select Azure services for a project?
Asked once · last asked May 14 · Tooling · Senior
Show answer
I choose Azure services based on the project’s needs, budget, and the team’s skills. I compare performance, scaling, availability, security, and data location requirements. I prefer managed services when they reduce maintenance without limiting what we need. I test the main options with a small prototype and estimate both running and support costs.
- Start with workload needs, expected traffic, and required uptime.
- Check security, compliance, data location, and integration with existing systems.
- Compare total cost, including maintenance, licensing, and data transfer.
- Balance managed service benefits against limits, team skills, and dependence on Azure.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer wants to see whether you connect service choices to real requirements and explain the trade-offs.
What is the difference between Azure App Service and Amazon EC2?
Asked once · last asked Jun 15 · Concept · Mid-level
Show answer
Azure App Service is a managed platform for hosting web apps and APIs. Amazon EC2 provides virtual machines that you configure and manage. App Service manages the underlying servers and operating system, while EC2 gives you more control but more maintenance work.
- App Service is platform as a service; EC2 is infrastructure as a service.
- App Service manages the host operating system; with EC2, you manage the guest operating system and patches.
- Both support scaling, but setup and available options differ.
- Azure Virtual Machines is a closer match to EC2 than App Service.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer is checking whether you understand managed platforms versus virtual machines and their control and maintenance trade-offs.
How would you create an Azure virtual machine without a public IP address?
Asked once · last asked Aug 10 · Tooling · Mid-level
Show answer
I would create the VM in a virtual network and set Public IP to None on the Networking tab. Its network interface would have only a private IP address. I would connect through Azure Bastion, a VPN, or ExpressRoute instead of exposing RDP or SSH to the internet.
- With Azure CLI, use az vm create with --public-ip-address "".
- Use network security group rules to allow only the required private access.
- Plan outbound access separately; no public IP does not automatically mean no internet access.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer checks whether you can create a private VM and explain secure access to it.
Write code to create a virtual machine in Azure.
Asked once · last asked Aug 10 · Write code · Mid-level
Show answer
Use Azure CLI to create a resource group, then create the VM with `az vm create`. This example creates an Ubuntu VM and generates SSH keys if needed. It does not open an inbound SSH rule.
- Sign in and select the correct Azure subscription before creating resources.
- The command also creates supporting resources, including a virtual network, network interface, and OS disk.
- Allow SSH only from trusted sources if remote access is needed.
- VMs and supporting resources can incur charges.
Codeaz login az account set --subscription "<subscription-id>" az group create --name demo-rg --location eastus az vm create --resource-group demo-rg --name demo-vm \ --image Ubuntu2204 --size Standard_D2s_v5 \ --admin-username azureuser --generate-ssh-keys \ --public-ip-sku Standard --nsg-rule NONEWhat the interviewer checks: The interviewer checks whether you can provision a VM with valid settings and understand authentication, networking, and access.
What is a host pool in Azure Virtual Desktop, and what is it used for?
Asked once · last asked Aug 10 · Concept · Junior
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A host pool in Azure Virtual Desktop is a group of virtual machines called session hosts. These machines provide desktops or remote apps to users. A pooled host pool shares machines across users, while a personal host pool assigns each user a dedicated machine.
- Pooled host pools distribute user sessions across available session hosts.
- Personal host pools give users their own assigned session host.
- Application groups control which desktops or apps users can access.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer is checking whether you understand how host pools organize desktop delivery and how pooled and personal pools differ.
What steps would you follow to create an Azure Virtual Desktop environment?
Asked once · last asked Aug 10 · Tooling · Mid-level
Show answer
First, check user licenses, choose an identity setup, and prepare the Azure network. Create a host pool and session host VMs, then join them to Microsoft Entra ID or Active Directory and register them with the pool. Link an application group to a workspace and assign users. Configure apps, profiles, security, and monitoring, then test user access.
- Choose pooled hosts for shared capacity or personal hosts for dedicated user desktops.
- Application groups publish either full desktops or RemoteApp applications.
- For pooled hosts, use FSLogix profile containers on supported storage to keep user profiles across sessions.
- Allow required outbound connections; Azure Virtual Desktop does not require inbound RDP ports.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer checks whether you understand the setup order, core components, and requirements for secure user access.
How do breadth-first and depth-first load balancing differ in Azure Virtual Desktop?
Asked once · last asked Aug 10 · Concept · Mid-level
Show answer
Breadth-first spreads new user sessions across available session hosts in a pooled Azure Virtual Desktop host pool. Depth-first sends new sessions to the busiest available host until its session limit is reached, then uses another host. Breadth-first balances the load, while depth-first uses fewer hosts and can support cost savings with autoscaling.
- Both methods respect the host pool’s maximum session limit.
- Users reconnecting to existing sessions return to their original host.
- Depth-first does not shut down unused hosts by itself.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer is checking whether you understand session placement and the trade-off between spreading load and using fewer hosts.
Other ways it was asked
- “What are the two load balancing techniques used in AVD?”
- “What is the difference between breadth-first and depth-first load balancing in Azure Virtual Desktop?”
What is FSLogix, and how is it used with Azure Virtual Desktop?
Asked once · last asked Aug 10 · Concept · Mid-level
Show answer
FSLogix is a tool that stores a user’s Windows profile in a virtual disk called a profile container. With Azure Virtual Desktop, it attaches this disk at sign-in, so users keep their settings and profile data across session hosts. Containers usually sit on shared storage, such as Azure Files or Azure NetApp Files.
- Profile containers use VHD or VHDX files stored outside the session host.
- FSLogix is commonly used with pooled desktops, where users may reach different hosts at each sign-in.
- Shared storage needs correct permissions, enough capacity, and fast access.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer checks whether you understand how user profiles persist across Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts.
When would you use a golden image for Azure Virtual Desktop?
Asked once · last asked Aug 10 · Concept · Mid-level
Show answer
I would use a golden image when several Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts need the same apps, settings, and Windows setup. It makes deployments consistent and speeds up adding or replacing hosts. I would test and version each image before using it in production.
- Best for host pools where users need a standard desktop and app set.
- Azure Compute Gallery can store image versions and share them across regions.
- Updating the image does not update existing hosts; they need separate patching or replacement.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer is checking whether you understand consistent session host deployment and how image updates affect existing hosts.
Can you explain cloud computing and how Microsoft Azure containers work?
Asked once · last asked Aug 13 · Concept · Junior
Show answer
Cloud computing means using computing resources over the internet instead of owning and managing all the hardware. Containers package an application and its dependencies into an image that runs in an isolated environment. Azure Container Instances runs containers without you managing servers. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) manages Kubernetes clusters to deploy, scale, and coordinate container workloads.
- Cloud resources can grow or shrink with demand, and costs usually depend on usage.
- Containers share the host operating system kernel, making them lighter than virtual machines.
- Container images are often stored in Azure Container Registry before deployment.
- Data that must survive container replacement needs persistent storage.
What the interviewer checks: The interviewer is checking whether you understand cloud basics, container isolation, and Azure services for running containers.
Azure fundamentals and compute interview questions
These questions cover cloud basics, provider comparisons, certifications, and choosing Azure compute services such as virtual machines and App Service. 25 questions.
Why would you choose GCP over Azure or AWS?
Asked once · last asked Apr 28 · Concept
Other ways it was asked
- “Why might an architect choose GCP over AWS or Azure?”
- “What would be a basic use case for choosing GCP, AWS, or Azure?”
What is Azure Arc?
Asked once · last asked Feb 9 · Concept · Junior
What are Microsoft Azure and Active Directory, and what are they used for?
Asked once · last asked Mar 7 · Concept · Junior
What is the AZ-204 certification?
Asked once · last asked May 31 · Concept · Junior
Which Microsoft Azure certifications are relevant to designing and implementing enterprise-scale Azure data architectures, such as Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Data Engineer Associate, Azure Administrator Associate, or Azure AI Engineer Associate?
Asked once · last asked Jun 10 · Concept · Mid-level
Which aspects of server management does Azure App Service handle?
Asked once · last asked Jun 15 · Concept · Mid-level
What is Azure cloud?
Asked once · last asked Aug 10 · Concept · Junior
What is an Azure Virtual Machine Scale Set?
Asked once · last asked Aug 21 · Concept · Junior
What are Azure Container Instances?
Asked once · last asked Aug 21 · Concept · Junior
What does the SLA in Azure mean?
Asked once · last asked Aug 31 · Concept · Junior
What is the difference between an availability zone and a region in Azure?
Asked once · last asked Sep 4 · Concept · Junior
What are the basic steps to set up an Azure virtual machine?
Asked once · last asked Sep 4 · Tooling · Junior
Show 1 more
What is Azure Orbital?
Asked once · last asked Sep 4 · Concept · Junior
Azure networking interview questions
Explore questions about VNets, peering, hub-and-spoke designs, hybrid connections, private endpoints, DNS, firewalls, and load balancing. 21 questions.
What is your methodology for troubleshooting intermittent connectivity issues in a multi-cloud environment involving AWS and Azure?
Asked once · last asked Jul 16 · Scenario · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “What is your methodology for troubleshooting intermittent connectivity issues in a large-scale multi-cloud environment?”
What is the difference between Azure Traffic Manager and a load balancer?
Asked once · last asked Feb 9 · Concept · Mid-level
At what infrastructure layer, other than APIM, would you configure an India-only access restriction?
Asked once · last asked Feb 11 · Design · Senior
How would you implement Layer 7 load balancing in Azure?
Asked once · last asked Mar 9 · Scenario · Mid-level
What connectivity would you propose for five VNets that need low-latency, high-throughput connections to on-premises, with no encryption requirement?
Asked once · last asked Mar 11 · Design · Senior
Where would ExpressRoute terminate in Azure, and what configuration element would you need?
Asked once · last asked Mar 11 · Concept · Mid-level
What is ExpressRoute Global Reach, and what does it do?
Asked once · last asked Mar 11 · Concept · Mid-level
How would you connect resources in an Azure resource group to an on-premises site?
Asked once · last asked Mar 19 · Scenario · Mid-level
What steps would you take to connect an on-premises router to AWS or Azure?
Asked once · last asked Apr 7 · Scenario · Senior
What are cloud on-ramps for hyperscalers such as Microsoft and AWS, and how are they used?
Asked once · last asked May 7 · Concept · Mid-level
How would you deploy Check Point firewalls in Azure?
Asked once · last asked Jul 17 · Design · Mid-level
How would you design a network security architecture for 400 branches, two data centers, Azure connectivity, and a remote workforce accessing services hosted in the data centers? What solution components would you consider?
Asked once · last asked Aug 6 · Design · Senior
Show 6 more
What is peering in Azure?
Asked once · last asked Aug 10 · Concept · Mid-level
What is the difference between an NSG and Azure Firewall?
Asked once · last asked Aug 18 · Concept · Mid-level
How would you create and configure a load balancer in Azure?
Asked once · last asked Aug 21 · Tooling · Mid-level
How would you describe Microsoft’s ExpressRoute offering?
Asked once · last asked Mar 11 · Concept · Junior
What is an NSG?
Asked once · last asked Aug 18 · Concept · Junior
What pipelines and network connectivity options are available in Azure?
Asked once · last asked Jan 8 · Concept · Mid-level
Azure security, identity and governance interview questions
Check your understanding of tenants, landing zones, Entra, access controls, managed identities, secrets, encryption, and data governance. 26 questions.
What are system-assigned and user-assigned managed identities, and when would you choose each?
Asked once · last asked Apr 24 · Scenario · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “How would you choose between a system-assigned and a user-assigned managed identity in Azure?”
- “What is an example of a use case for a system-assigned or user-assigned managed identity in Azure?”
- “What are system-assigned and user-assigned managed identities?”
What are managed identities and service principals, and when would you use them in the cloud?
Asked once · last asked Jan 29 · Concept · Mid-level
What are the core Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) principles you follow when deploying an Azure landing zone?
Asked once · last asked Feb 9 · Concept · Senior
How would you configure Key Vault roles so an application can access secrets but individual users cannot?
Asked once · last asked Feb 9 · Scenario · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “If you use Key Vault, how would you make sure the application can access a key or secret but individual users cannot?”
- “Which Azure roles would you use to let an application access Key Vault secrets, and where would you define them?”
What are the top three security considerations when integrating Power Pages with Dataverse environments through Azure Service Bus?
Asked once · last asked Mar 2 · Scenario · Senior
How would you protect invoice data in a processing pipeline at rest and in transit using encryption methods, key management, Azure Key Vault, TLS, and storage-level encryption?
Asked once · last asked Mar 9 · Scenario · Senior
Can you explain what a managed identity is in Azure?
Asked once · last asked Apr 24 · Concept · Mid-level
For a RAG application or another generic use case, where would a user-assigned managed identity be more relevant? Can you give me an example?
Asked once · last asked Apr 24 · Scenario · Senior
How does CyberArk execute credential checkout in a workflow for accessing a SQL database after Azure RBAC just-in-time escalation?
Asked once · last asked May 8 · Tooling · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “Can you describe a workflow for integrating CyberArk with an Azure subscription-based RBAC role to access a database in an Azure cloud instance?”
- “After a user receives an Azure RBAC role through Entra ID and just-in-time escalation, how would credential checkout work to access a SQL database?”
When infrastructure is deployed using tools such as Terraform, how would CyberArk discover it in the subscription, and would onboarding be user-initiated or automated?
Asked once · last asked May 8 · Scenario · Senior
What is the difference between built-in and custom Azure RBAC roles, and when would you use a custom role?
Asked once · last asked May 8 · Concept · Mid-level
How would you identify identities assigned custom Azure roles whose credentials require management and rotation?
Asked once · last asked May 8 · Scenario · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “How would you identify newly created custom Azure RBAC roles and ensure their associated credentials are included in a rotation process?”
- “How do you determine which Azure resources or custom roles require credential management and rotation in a large environment?”
Show 14 more
What offensive security assessments would you perform in an Azure environment?
Asked once · last asked Jun 5 · Scenario · Senior
What do you use in Azure to grant admin rights only when needed?
Asked once · last asked Jun 26 · Concept · Mid-level
How would you troubleshoot a failed Azure Key Vault rename?
Asked once · last asked Sep 3 · Scenario · Mid-level
Can you add the private link back and then recreate an Azure Key Vault?
Asked once · last asked Sep 3 · Scenario · Senior
What Azure permissions does the identity running Terraform need to add a private link and recreate an Azure Key Vault?
Asked once · last asked Sep 3 · Tooling · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “What Terraform permissions are required to add a private link and recreate an Azure Key Vault?”
Do you know what service principals are, and how would you use service principals in a CI/CD pipeline?
Asked once · last asked Sep 10 · Concept · Mid-level
What security and governance decisions should be considered when architecting an Azure tenant?
Asked once · last asked Sep 22 · Design · Senior
How do you manage security in the Azure portal?
Asked once · last asked Jan 8 · Tooling · Mid-level
How would you implement identity and access management strategies in Azure using Entra ID, RBAC, or managed identities?
Asked once · last asked Oct 23 · Tooling · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “How have you implemented identity and access management strategies in Azure, particularly around Entra ID, RBAC, or managed identities?”
What is Windows and what is Azure Cloud Security?
Asked once · last asked Aug 12 · Concept · Junior
What is the difference between Azure and Entra?
Asked once · last asked Aug 18 · Concept · Junior
What is Azure Attestation?
Asked once · last asked Sep 4 · Concept · Junior
How would you describe an Azure tenant's high-level architecture, including its traffic flows and entry points?
Asked once · last asked Sep 22 · Design · Senior
What is Microsoft Purview?
Asked once · last asked Sep 25 · Concept · Junior
Azure storage, database and AI interview questions
Questions here cover storage accounts, Blob Storage, databases, search, Azure OpenAI, AI Foundry, and machine learning integrations. 14 questions.
What is Azure AI Foundry, and what can it be used for?
Asked once · last asked May 27 · Concept · Mid-level
How do Azure OpenAI and the OpenAI API differ, including latency and response quality?
Asked once · last asked Jul 16 · Concept · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “Is there any difference between the normal OpenAI API and Azure OpenAI?”
- “How do the OpenAI API and Azure OpenAI compare in latency and response quality?”
How can Microsoft 365 logs be integrated into an Azure Machine Learning anomaly-detection model, and what types of anomalies can it detect?
Asked once · last asked Aug 11 · Concept · Senior
What is the purpose of a partition key in Azure Cosmos DB?
Asked once · last asked Sep 23 · Concept · Mid-level
How would you choose a database for a project hosted on Azure while keeping the option to self-host PostgreSQL?
Asked once · last asked Oct 2 · Design · Senior
How would you implement full-text search for customer documents and search across system logs and traces in Azure?
Asked once · last asked Oct 2 · Design · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “Which Azure services can support full-text search across documents, logs, and traces?”
How does Azure implement hybrid search that combines vector search with BM25?
Asked once · last asked Oct 2 · Concept · Senior
When would you choose Azure OpenAI instead of Llama or another available model or API?
Asked once · last asked Oct 9 · Design · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “Why did you choose Azure OpenAI instead of Llama or another available model or API?”
What are Basic and elastic pools in Azure SQL, and how do you configure them?
Asked once · last asked Jan 8 · Tooling · Mid-level
What are Azure SQL and Azure SQL Managed Instance, and what types are available?
Asked once · last asked Jan 8 · Concept · Mid-level
What types of Azure Storage accounts are available?
Asked once · last asked Sep 3 · Concept · Junior
What is the difference between Azure Blob Storage and PySpark?
Asked once · last asked Sep 14 · Concept · Junior
Show 1 more
What types of resources would you provision in Azure for a data platform?
Asked once · last asked Sep 16 · Scenario · Mid-level
Azure Functions and Service Bus interview questions
Work through serverless and messaging questions about Functions, Service Bus, retries, ordering, delivery guarantees, API policies, and business application integrations. 19 questions.
How can an Azure Function read from or write to a database while processing a request?
Asked once · last asked May 7 · Tooling · Mid-level
How should an order service handle a connection failure when publishing a message to Azure Service Bus?
Asked once · last asked Sep 4 · Scenario · Senior
In APIM, how would you set up a rule or policy to validate requests coming from two different IDs?
Asked once · last asked Feb 11 · Tooling · Senior
If the two Dataverse environments must communicate through a Service Bus broker, what are the pros and cons of using Azure Functions, Logic Apps, Power Automate, or another approach?
Asked once · last asked Mar 2 · Design · Senior
When should you use Azure Service Bus and Azure Functions with Dynamics 365, and what are the advantages of these solutions?
Asked once · last asked Apr 6 · Scenario · Senior
How would you build a serverless environment using Azure Functions and other cloud infrastructure?
Asked once · last asked May 15 · Tooling · Mid-level
If you have a Python script hosted on Azure and want to create a custom connector for it, how would you do that?
Asked once · last asked Jun 9 · Tooling · Mid-level
How does Azure Service Bus preserve message-processing order in a distributed system when multiple consumers handle nearly simultaneous flash-sale orders?
Asked once · last asked Jun 18 · Design · Senior
How would you design the flow from publishing an event to consuming it with Azure Service Bus, including consumer counts and partitions?
Asked once · last asked Jun 18 · Design · Senior
How would you use Azure Service Bus in a web app?
Asked once · last asked Sep 1 · Tooling · Mid-level
How would you ensure reliable message delivery and handle traffic spikes in an Azure Service Bus consumer?
Asked once · last asked Sep 1 · Design · Senior
Where should retry logic live to ensure Azure Service Bus messages reach a consumer after it recovers?
Asked once · last asked Sep 4 · Scenario · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “If a notification service is unavailable, how can an architecture ensure queued notifications are delivered when it recovers, and where should that logic reside?”
- “Where should message retries be handled in an architecture using Azure Service Bus: in the service, the broker, or a consumer?”
Show 5 more
When publishing messages to Azure Service Bus, would you publish each event immediately or batch messages first, and why?
Asked once · last asked Sep 4 · Design · Senior
How would you prevent data loss and duplicate processing when delivering messages through Azure Service Bus?
Asked once · last asked Sep 18 · Scenario · Senior
What problems is Azure Service Bus suited to, and what kinds of tasks can it handle?
Asked once · last asked Sep 18 · Concept · Mid-level
How would you route a request through Azure Service Bus when the system needs to send a request and receive a response?
Asked once · last asked Sep 18 · Design · Senior
Why use Azure Functions for the computation instead of handling it directly in the backend APIs?
Asked once · last asked Oct 16 · Design · Mid-level
Azure Kubernetes Service interview questions
AKS questions cover cluster design, provisioning, request routing, deployments, resource allocation, private clusters, Key Vault integration, and troubleshooting. 13 questions.
How would you troubleshoot an application on AKS when many of its pods are Pending despite available CPU and no clear issues in the events?
Asked once · last asked Aug 7 · Scenario · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “What could cause application pods on AKS to remain Pending despite available CPU and no clear issues in the events?”
How would you design and deploy two microservices from separate Azure Repos repositories to AKS, including the architecture, deployment steps, and tools?
Asked once · last asked Jan 31 · Design · Senior
Can you walk me through the workflow for a request to an API hosted on AKS, especially the components it passes through inside AKS before reaching the pod?
Asked once · last asked Apr 14 · Design · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “What components does an API request pass through inside AKS before reaching a pod?”
How and where do you configure CPU and memory requests and limits for AKS workloads?
Asked once · last asked Apr 14 · Tooling · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “How do you configure resource allocations for an API workload in AKS, and where do you specify them?”
- “Where in an AKS workload configuration do you specify CPU and memory resources?”
How do you expose Azure Key Vault certificates as AKS ingress secrets, and which driver is required?
Asked once · last asked Apr 14 · Tooling · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “How would you integrate an SSL certificate from Azure Key Vault with AKS so it is available as a Kubernetes secret for ingress, and what driver is required?”
- “Which component or driver is needed to retrieve a certificate from Azure Key Vault into AKS?”
What are the differences between public and private AKS clusters?
Asked once · last asked Apr 14 · Concept · Mid-level
If a private AKS cluster is configured correctly but fails to start during creation, what network-level configuration might be needed?
Asked once · last asked Apr 14 · Scenario · Senior
What DNS configuration, including conditional forwarding, is needed to keep a private AKS cluster reachable if its IP changes after a restart?
Asked once · last asked Apr 14 · Scenario · Senior
What prerequisites are needed to deploy an AKS cluster, and how does the handshake work?
Asked once · last asked Sep 3 · Concept · Senior
How would you rename an AKS cluster after it has been created?
Asked once · last asked Sep 3 · Scenario · Mid-level
How do Kubernetes workloads retrieve secrets from Azure Key Vault, and how can managed identity help?
Asked once · last asked Sep 22 · Scenario · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “How do you get the secrets from Key Vault to Kubernetes?”
- “How would Kubernetes workloads retrieve database connection strings from Azure Key Vault, and what role can managed identity play?”
What tasks are involved in operating Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)?
Asked once · last asked May 7 · Tooling · Mid-level
Show 1 more
What is Azure Kubernetes Service?
Asked once · last asked Aug 21 · Concept · Junior
Azure DevOps and Terraform interview questions
Review questions on repositories, artifacts, CI/CD pipelines, deployment controls, Terraform imports, drift detection, and automation. 14 questions.
How can you manage multi-stage deployments with Azure DevOps?
Asked once · last asked Feb 9 · Tooling · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “How do you maintain multi-stage deployment pipelines in Azure DevOps?”
How do you integrate Terraform code into Azure DevOps?
Asked once · last asked Feb 9 · Tooling · Mid-level
If a feature branch must follow a particular process, how would you enforce that through an Azure DevOps pipeline so the process cannot be bypassed?
Asked once · last asked Feb 9 · Scenario · Senior
If you created an Azure Service Bus using Terraform and a developer manually added queues and subscriptions, how would you detect those infrastructure changes?
Asked once · last asked Aug 4 · Scenario · Mid-level
How can you automate application deployments to AKS?
Asked once · last asked Aug 7 · Scenario · Mid-level
How do you build and manage a CI/CD pipeline in Azure DevOps?
Asked once · last asked Aug 13 · Tooling · Mid-level
How would you approach automating deployment for single-tenant environments on Azure, with separate app instances and databases per customer?
Asked once · last asked Sep 1 · Design · Senior
Why would you choose Terraform over Azure-native infrastructure tools such as ARM or Bicep?
Asked once · last asked Sep 10 · Concept · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “Why would a company use Terraform even when Azure-native tools like ARM or Bicep are available?”
- “What are the differences between Terraform and Bicep, and why would you choose Terraform over Bicep?”
In an environment where some Azure resources were created manually in the portal, how would you onboard them to Terraform?
Asked once · last asked Sep 10 · Scenario · Senior
How would you build an end-to-end Azure DevOps pipeline using YAML or Python?
Asked once · last asked Oct 23 · Tooling · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “Can you walk me through your experience writing Azure DevOps pipelines in YAML or using Python with your pipelines, with a concrete end-to-end example?”
How would you manage Azure infrastructure across CI/CD pipelines, logging and monitoring, and application security?
Asked once · last asked Jan 31 · Scenario · Mid-level
What is the Azure equivalent of GitHub?
Asked once · last asked Mar 20 · Concept · Junior
Show 1 more
What package types are supported by Azure Artifacts?
Asked once · last asked Sep 4 · Concept · Junior
Azure migration, backup and disaster recovery interview questions
Migration and recovery questions focus on Azure Migrate, stability after migration, backups, storage redundancy, and Azure Site Recovery. 11 questions.
How would you change an Azure Storage account to use geo-redundant storage?
Asked once · last asked Sep 3 · Scenario · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “What steps, including backups, would you take before changing an Azure Storage account to geo-redundant storage?”
For migrating physical servers and Hyper-V or VMware virtual machines to Azure, would you use agent-based or agentless migration, and how would you deploy the chosen approach?
Asked once · last asked Feb 9 · Scenario · Senior
For a customer exiting a data center with physical servers and virtual servers on Hyper-V and VMware, what types of Azure Migrate appliances would you deploy?
Asked once · last asked Feb 9 · Scenario · Senior
What is the difference between agent-based and agentless migration in Azure Migrate?
Asked once · last asked Feb 9 · Concept · Mid-level
How would you keep an existing application stable and maintain its performance after migrating it to Azure?
Asked once · last asked May 11 · Scenario · Senior
Explain the step-by-step process of setting up Azure Site Recovery for disaster recovery on an Azure virtual machine.
Asked once · last asked Aug 15 · Tooling · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “How do you set up and configure the Azure Site Recovery agent for disaster recovery on an Azure virtual machine?”
How do you back up Azure resources, and what is Azure Site Recovery?
Asked once · last asked Aug 21 · Tooling · Mid-level
How would you migrate a backup from one environment to Azure?
Asked once · last asked Aug 21 · Scenario · Mid-level
What backup methods are available for Azure SQL and Cosmos DB, and how would you perform a backup?
Asked once · last asked Sep 3 · Tooling · Senior
How would you implement backups for Azure SQL and Cosmos DB using Terraform?
Asked once · last asked Sep 3 · Tooling · Senior
Why is it important to choose an appropriate backup method for an Azure resource?
Asked once · last asked Sep 3 · Concept · Mid-level
Azure monitoring and troubleshooting interview questions
Prepare to discuss monitoring tools, logs, dashboards, Sentinel, automated fixes, cloud costs, troubleshooting, and explaining the benefits of automation. 17 questions.
How would you set up observability and automated remediation in Azure Monitor or Log Analytics to detect anomalies such as latency spikes or unauthorized access attempts and trigger self-healing actions for the pipeline? Consider alerts, dashboards, and runbooks.
Asked once · last asked Mar 9 · Tooling · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “How would you design alerting thresholds, escalation policies, and automated runbooks in Azure Monitor and Log Analytics so that real-time anomalies, such as latency spikes or unauthorized access, trigger self-healing actions while routing only pertinent alerts to the right on-call engineers?”
How would you select and integrate logging and monitoring tools with an AKS or Kubernetes cluster?
Asked once · last asked Jan 31 · Tooling · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “What logging and monitoring tools have you used, and how do you integrate them with an AKS or Kubernetes cluster?”
How would you get custom metrics from different AKS namespaces into a Dynatrace dashboard, including deciding which metrics to define and transfer?
Asked once · last asked Jan 31 · Tooling · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “How do you get custom metrics from different AKS namespaces into the Dynatrace dashboard? What metrics would you transfer, and have you defined any custom metrics?”
How would you implement logging and monitoring for an Azure Functions integration using Azure Service Bus?
Asked once · last asked Mar 2 · Tooling · Senior
How would you safely automate remediation for a 90% CPU alert in Azure using scaling, restarts, or throttling, while preventing flapping and ensuring idempotent runbooks through debounce logic and circuit breakers, and which metrics would verify success?
Asked once · last asked Mar 9 · Scenario · Senior
Other ways it was asked
- “How would you implement automated remediation for a critical CPU 90% alert in Azure, such as scaling out resources, restarting services, or throttling traffic, while avoiding flapping alerts and ensuring runbook actions are idempotent and safe? Consider debounce logic, circuit-breaker patterns, and the metrics you would monitor to verify success.”
How would you create an automatic response in Microsoft Sentinel?
Asked once · last asked Jun 26 · Tooling · Mid-level
What do you use to ingest logs from a virtual machine into Azure?
Asked once · last asked Jun 26 · Tooling · Mid-level
What tools and steps would you use to identify and resolve the root cause of an issue in Azure or Microsoft 365?
Asked once · last asked Aug 11 · Scenario · Mid-level
How do you reduce false-positive alerts in Microsoft Sentinel?
Asked once · last asked Aug 24 · Tooling · Mid-level
How would you monitor and respond to stuck messages or a growing dead-letter queue in Azure Service Bus?
Asked once · last asked Sep 18 · Scenario · Senior
How would you pitch automating Azure registry checks to a nontechnical operations team?
Asked once · last asked Sep 22 · Scenario · Mid-level
Which operational metrics should you track with Azure Monitor and Application Insights, and how?
Asked once · last asked Oct 6 · Tooling · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “What are the key metrics and signals you want to monitor in Azure Monitor or Application Insights?”
- “How do you observe error rates and operational metrics using Azure Monitor and Application Insights?”
Show 4 more
How would you implement Azure Monitor and Log Analytics to create operational dashboards?
Asked once · last asked Oct 23 · Tooling · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “How have you implemented and used Azure Monitor and Log Analytics, and can you walk me through an example where you created operational dashboards?”
How would you use Azure Monitor and Log Analytics data to identify operational insights and drive improvements?
Asked once · last asked Oct 23 · Behavioral · Mid-level
Other ways it was asked
- “What operational insights or improvements have you driven using Azure Monitor and Log Analytics data?”
In Microsoft Sentinel, where in the menu or configuration do you find the detection rules?
Asked once · last asked Jun 26 · Tooling · Junior
What challenges can arise when checking Azure registries manually?
Asked once · last asked Sep 22 · Scenario · Junior
Related interview questions
- Cloud Engineer interview questions
- Software Engineer interview questions
- DevOps Engineer interview questions
- System Administrator interview questions
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- Network Engineer interview questions
- AWS interview questions
- Docker interview questions
- Kubernetes interview questions
- Terraform interview questions
- CI/CD interview questions
- Linux interview questions
- Active Directory and Windows Server interview questions
How this list is made
Every question here was asked by a real interviewer in a real job interview that a candidate ran MeetAssist in. After the call, the interviewer's questions are pulled from the transcript. Practice sessions, tests, exams and anything that was not a job interview are dropped.
Questions are rewritten so they make sense on their own: names of people, employers and clients are removed, and speech-to-text mistakes are fixed. Small talk, logistics and questions about one candidate's own résumé are left out. Rephrasings of the same question are merged, and the count is the number of different interviews it came up in.
The interviews come from candidates who use MeetAssist, so they lean towards software, data and AI roles: the shares describe these interviews, not every Azure interview. Answers to the most asked questions are written and checked by an editor; a "common mistake" is shown only when reviews of real answers in these interviews show it, with the count.
82 interviews, 50 candidates, Jan 2026 to Oct 2026. Updated every month with new interviews.
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