Microsoft · AZ-802
Validates the ability to deploy, manage, and troubleshoot Windows Server in on-premises and hybrid Azure environments. Covers identity, security, networking, storage, high availability, disaster recovery, and monitoring for Windows Server workloads.
Practice Questions
600
≈ 12 practice exams
Duration
120 minutes
Passing Score
700/1000
Difficulty
AssociateLast Updated
Sep 2026
This AZ-802 practice exam tracks Microsoft's official study guide, dated June 22, 2026 and still current as of September 2026. Deploy and manage AD DS is the heaviest domain at 20 to 25 percent of the marks, with storage and file services and monitoring and troubleshooting at 15 to 20 percent each, so those three areas alone decide roughly half of your score. The remaining four domains, hybrid workload management, virtual machines, networking, and securing Windows Server infrastructure, carry 10 to 15 percent each, and the question bank mirrors that weighting.
AZ-802 replaces the AZ-800 and AZ-801 pair, which retire on September 30, 2026, and it carries a rename: passing it earns Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Administrator Associate, the successor to the Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate title, and the new credential page is already live on Microsoft Learn. You get 120 minutes through Pearson VUE, at a test center or online proctored, you need a scaled 700 on a 1000-point scale, and the exam is offered in English only for now. Expect scenario questions that reach across domains: hybrid identity with Microsoft Entra Connect Sync, Azure Arc-enabled servers, Hyper-V and Azure VM management, Azure File Sync, and Active Directory recovery all appear in applied contexts rather than as isolated definitions.
Microsoft still lists no official practice assessment for AZ-802 as of September 2026; its own guidance says one usually arrives within about eight weeks of an exam leaving beta, and the AZ-802 study guide currently points candidates at the AZ-800 assessment instead. That makes independent question practice the main way to pressure-test your readiness before booking. Start with the 30 free questions to benchmark yourself, then work through the full 600-question bank until your accuracy holds steady across all seven domains, especially AD DS, storage, and troubleshooting, where most of the marks sit.
The Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate, earned by passing exam AZ-802, validates a professional's ability to deploy, manage, and troubleshoot Windows Server workloads across both on-premises and hybrid Azure environments. AZ-802 consolidates the content previously covered by two separate exams—AZ-800 (Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure) and AZ-801 (Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services)—into a single associate-level credential, with AZ-800 and AZ-801 retiring on September 30, 2026. The exam entered beta in June 2026 and covers a broad range of hybrid infrastructure topics including Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), hybrid identity with Microsoft Entra ID, Hyper-V virtualization, containerization, storage management, and hybrid networking.
Candidates are assessed on their ability to use core administrative toolsets such as Windows Admin Center, PowerShell, Azure Arc, Azure Policy, Azure Monitor, Azure Update Manager, Microsoft Defender for Identity, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud. The certification also covers high availability and disaster recovery strategies, server and workload migration to Azure, and end-to-end monitoring and troubleshooting of Windows Server environments. It is a role-based credential that reflects the real-world skills required of hybrid infrastructure administrators who bridge traditional on-premises Windows Server management with cloud-native Azure services.
This certification is designed for IT professionals who administer Windows Server as a workload in hybrid environments—both on-premises and in Azure. Relevant job roles include system administrators, infrastructure engineers, identity and access administrators, network engineers, security engineers, support engineers, and technology managers who are responsible for Windows Server operations at their organizations. Candidates typically collaborate with architects and cloud engineers on hybrid deployments.
Ideal candidates will have several years of hands-on experience with Windows Server operating systems and should be comfortable working across on-premises Active Directory, Azure IaaS virtual machines, and hybrid connectivity scenarios. Those who previously held the Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate certification via AZ-800 and AZ-801 can maintain their credential through the standard annual renewal assessment rather than sitting the full AZ-802 exam.
Microsoft does not enforce formal prerequisites for AZ-802, but candidates are strongly recommended to have several years of practical experience administering Windows Server in enterprise environments before attempting the exam. Foundational knowledge of Active Directory Domain Services, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, and Windows Server networking is essential, as these topics form a significant portion of the exam content.
Familiarity with Azure fundamentals—particularly Azure IaaS, Azure Arc, Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), and hybrid connectivity concepts—is also expected. Candidates without prior Azure exposure may benefit from first earning the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) certification or completing relevant Microsoft Learn learning paths. Hands-on experience with tools such as Windows Admin Center, PowerShell remoting, and Hyper-V is strongly recommended, as many exam questions are scenario-based and require applied knowledge.
AZ-802 is an associate-level exam administered through Pearson VUE, available via online proctoring or at an authorized testing center. You have 120 minutes to complete the exam, which typically contains 40-60 questions. A passing score of 700 out of 1000 is required. The exam uses a scaled scoring model, meaning 700 does not equate directly to 70% correct answers. While AZ-802 is in beta, results are not scored immediately; scores are released after the beta data-collection period ends.
Question types include single-answer multiple choice, multiple-response, drag-and-drop, hotspot (active screen), and yes/no scenario-based questions. The exam is currently offered in English only, with localized versions typically released approximately eight weeks after the English version. Candidates whose preferred language is unavailable may request an additional 30 minutes. Microsoft recommends registering with a personal Microsoft account (MSA) rather than an organizational account to ensure exam records are permanently retained. A free exam sandbox is available at aka.ms/examdemo to familiarize candidates with the interface before exam day.
Earning the Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate credential positions professionals for roles such as Windows Server Administrator, Hybrid Cloud Administrator, Infrastructure Engineer, and Systems Engineer in organizations that maintain on-premises Windows Server environments alongside Azure workloads. These roles are consistently in demand across enterprise IT departments, government agencies, healthcare, and financial services. As organizations pursue hybrid cloud strategies rather than full cloud migration, Windows Server expertise with Azure integration skills remains highly valuable and difficult to automate away.
According to industry salary surveys, Windows Server administrators with hybrid cloud skills and Microsoft certifications typically earn between $85,000 and $130,000 annually in the United States, depending on experience, location, and scope of responsibility. Compared to cloud-only certifications such as AZ-104 (Azure Administrator), this certification differentiates candidates who can manage the full hybrid lifecycle—on-premises Active Directory, hybrid networking, and Azure IaaS—making it particularly valuable for mid-to-large enterprises where full datacenter retirement is not imminent. The credential renews annually via a free, unproctored online assessment on Microsoft Learn, keeping certified professionals current with platform updates.
5 sample questions with answers and explanations. The full bank has 600 questions, enough for 12 full-length practice exams.
Preview — answers shown1. Relecloud operates a Windows Server 2022 single-domain Active Directory environment. The IT team discovers that multiple domain controllers are failing to create new user and computer accounts, even though existing user authentication and resource access continue to function normally. Which FSMO role must be seized or transferred to resolve this issue? (Select one!)
Explanation
The RID Master allocates pools of Relative IDs (RIDs) to each domain controller, which are combined with the domain SID to form unique Security Identifiers for new objects. When the RID Master is unavailable, domain controllers eventually exhaust their pre-allocated RID pools and cannot create new security principal objects such as users, computers, or groups. Existing objects and authentication continue to function normally because they already have assigned SIDs. PDC Emulator failure immediately impacts password change propagation, time synchronization, account lockout processing, and GPO editing — not object creation. Infrastructure Master failure causes stale cross-domain group membership references in multi-domain forests but does not affect the ability to create new objects. Domain Naming Master is only required when adding or removing domains from the forest and its failure does not impact day-to-day object creation within existing domains.
2. Tailspin Toys' network team manages DHCP and DNS services distributed across 15 Windows Server 2022 servers in their enterprise environment. The team is evaluating Windows Server IP Address Management (IPAM) to centralize visibility and administration. Which two server roles does Windows Server IPAM support for centralized discovery, monitoring, and management? (Select two!)
Multiple correct answersExplanation
Windows Server IP Address Management is designed specifically to centrally manage Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol and Domain Name System services within an enterprise environment. IPAM provides IP address space planning and utilization tracking, DHCP server and scope administration including failover configuration and policy management, DNS zone and record visibility, and integrated IP address reporting across both services from a single management console. Active Directory Domain Services is used by IPAM as a discovery mechanism to automatically locate managed servers on the network but is not itself a role that IPAM administers or controls. Network Policy Server provides RADIUS-based network access policy and authentication services and falls entirely outside the scope of IPAM management. Remote Desktop Services is a session virtualization platform with no relationship to IP address space management, DHCP administration, or DNS zone management.
3. Fabrikam's domain controller infrastructure experienced an unexpected failure of the server hosting a critical FSMO role. Following the failure, helpdesk staff report that user password changes are not being reflected immediately across the domain, the Group Policy Management Console is defaulting to an offline domain controller for GPO editing, and domain member time synchronization has become inconsistent. Which FSMO role has failed? (Select one!)
Explanation
PDC Emulator failure causes all three symptoms described in this scenario. The PDC Emulator receives priority replication of password changes before those changes propagate to other domain controllers, so its absence means password updates appear delayed for users whose authenticating DC has not yet received the latest change. The PDC Emulator is also the authoritative time synchronization source for the domain hierarchy and is the default target for the Group Policy Management Console when editing GPOs. Schema Master failure only impacts attempts to extend or modify the Active Directory schema, such as installing applications like Exchange that require schema changes, and has no effect on authentication or time synchronization. RID Master failure would eventually prevent new user, computer, and group objects from being created once domain controllers exhaust their locally allocated RID pools, but existing objects and ongoing authentications continue normally. Infrastructure Master failure causes stale phantom references for cross-domain group memberships in multi-domain forests but does not affect password change propagation, time synchronization, or GPO editing targets.
4. Coho Winery is preparing for a scheduled maintenance window during which their primary Hyper-V host will be taken offline for hardware upgrades. Their order management application VM is actively replicated to a disaster recovery site using Hyper-V Replica. The operations team needs to switch the workload to the replica site with zero data loss before the maintenance begins. Which type of failover should the administrator initiate? (Select one!)
Explanation
Planned failover is the correct failover type for this scenario. During a planned failover, Hyper-V Replica first synchronizes all remaining pending changes from the primary VM to the replica site to ensure zero data loss, then gracefully shuts down the primary VM and brings the replica VM online. This process is designed specifically for maintenance scenarios where the primary site will be intentionally taken offline and the administrator has time to perform an orderly transition. Test failover brings the replica VM online in an isolated network environment for disaster recovery testing purposes without interrupting ongoing replication or affecting the primary VM, and is not appropriate for an operational workload migration. Unplanned failover is used when the primary site has failed unexpectedly and is unavailable, meaning pending replication changes may not have been fully transferred, potentially resulting in data loss. Reverse replication is a subsequent operation performed after a failover to reverse the replication direction, allowing the now-active replica site to replicate changes back to the restored original primary host; it is a post-failover step, not a failover type itself.
5. Lamna Healthcare hosts an electronic health records (EHR) application on a Hyper-V virtual machine in its primary datacenter. Hyper-V Replica is configured with a replica VM at a secondary disaster recovery site. The IT team must periodically validate that the replica VM boots and operates correctly without stopping the production EHR VM or disrupting the ongoing replication relationship. Which type of failover should the administrator initiate? (Select one!)
Explanation
Test failover creates a temporary isolated copy of the replica VM in a private virtual network, allowing administrators to validate that the VM boots and runs correctly without interrupting the production VM or the active replication relationship. Once validation is complete, the temporary VM is deleted and replication continues normally from the primary site. Planned failover gracefully shuts down the production VM, completes synchronization of all pending changes, and promotes the replica — it is an intentional migration that reconfigures the replication direction and causes a controlled production outage. Unplanned failover immediately promotes the replica without waiting for pending replication and is intended for disaster scenarios where the primary site has already failed and data loss may occur. Reverse replication is performed after a failover to synchronize changes accumulated on the replica back to the original primary site before resuming normal operation.
Because AZ-802 sits under the same Candidate Agreement as every other Microsoft exam, getting caught with braindump material here does not just cost you AZ-802. Microsoft's policy allows revoking your entire certification history and banning you from future exams, and appeals have to reach Microsoft's certification security team within 14 days or they are not reviewed.
If you already hold other Microsoft credentials, that risk-to-reward math gets worse, not better. CertCompanion's AZ-802 bank has 600 practice questions, 30 free, covering hybrid identity, storage, and compute the way the real exam actually weights them.
AZ-802 (Administering Windows Server) is the single associate-level Microsoft exam that consolidates the retiring AZ-800 and AZ-801 pair. It opened for beta in June 2026 and covers Windows Server administration across on-premises, hybrid, and Azure environments, from Active Directory and Hyper-V to Azure Arc and Azure File Sync. It is currently offered in English only.
Both exams retire on September 30, 2026, and cannot be scheduled from October 1, 2026. Until then, passing the pair still earns the certification; after that date, AZ-802 is the only available path, as Microsoft's credential page now states explicitly.
With retirement set for September 30, 2026, the two-exam route has effectively closed unless your second exam is already booked and you can pass it in time. If you are starting now, prepare for AZ-802 directly: it is one blueprint to study instead of two, and the credential it earns is the current one.
As of September 2026, Microsoft Learn still labels the Windows Server Administrator Associate credential page as beta and has not announced a general availability date. While the exam is in beta, scores are released after the beta data-collection period ends rather than immediately after your sitting.
You have 120 minutes and need a scaled score of 700 out of 1000 to pass. Microsoft associate exams typically contain 40 to 60 questions mixing multiple choice, drag-and-drop, hotspot, and scenario formats. If you fail, you can retake after 24 hours, with longer waits between later attempts.
Seven domains, per the study guide dated June 22, 2026: deploy and manage AD DS (20-25%), manage Windows Server instances and workloads in a hybrid environment (10-15%), manage virtual machines (10-15%), on-premises and hybrid networking (10-15%), storage and file services (15-20%), secure Windows Server infrastructure (10-15%), and monitor and troubleshoot Windows Server environments (15-20%).
USD $165 in the United States, with the price varying by country or region. Scheduling is through Pearson VUE, at a test center or online proctored.
No. As of September 2026, Microsoft Learn states the practice assessment for AZ-802 is not currently available and usually arrives within about eight weeks of an exam leaving beta; the AZ-802 study guide currently links to the AZ-800 assessment instead. Until it ships, independent practice questions are the main way to test yourself under exam-style conditions.
Passing AZ-802 earns Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Administrator Associate, the renamed successor to Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate; the new credential page is already live on Microsoft Learn. Like other associate certifications it renews annually through a free online assessment, and existing holders who certified via AZ-800 and AZ-801 keep their credential through that same renewal, without retaking the full exam.
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