THE KNOWLEDGE DISTILLATION SERIES

Certification study guides built for understanding

Know why, not just what. Independent study guides for Microsoft Azure, VMware Cloud Foundation, Veeam data protection, Nutanix multicloud infrastructure, Databricks data engineering and TOGAF® enterprise architecture certification exams, from Distilled Press.

2V0-13.252V0-15.252V0-16.252V0-17.25AI-103AI-200AI-300AZ-104AZ-305AZ-400AZ-700AZ-802MD-102SC-5002V0-18.25AB-650DP-800NCP-MCI-7.5OGEA-101DBX-DEPDBX-GENAIPL-300SC-300SC-401AB-900AI-901AZ-900DP-600DP-700DP-750DP-900OGEA-102SC-200SC-900VBR-13VONE-13VRO-13

See every study guide   Where do I start?   Which certification, which book?

Available now

On Amazon in Kindle and paperback editions.

Azure infrastructure

Cover of AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator

AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator

Know which role, setting or tool does the job, and why.

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Cover of AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions

AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions

Choose the right design, and explain why.

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Cover of AZ-400: Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions

AZ-400: Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions

Know which branch policy, pipeline feature or deployment pattern fits the delivery requirement, in GitHub or Azure DevOps, and why.

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Cover of AZ-802: Administering Windows Server

AZ-802: Administering Windows Server

Know which Windows Server role, tool or Azure service fits the task, on-premises or hybrid, and why.

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Azure networking

Cover of AZ-700: Designing and Implementing Microsoft Azure Networking Solutions

AZ-700: Designing and Implementing Microsoft Azure Networking Solutions

Know where the traffic flows, and why.

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Cloud and AI security

Cover of SC-500: Implementing End-to-End Security Controls for Cloud and AI Workloads

SC-500: Implementing End-to-End Security Controls for Cloud and AI Workloads

Know which control enforces it, and why.

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Azure AI

Cover of AI-103: Developing AI Apps and Agents on Azure

AI-103: Developing AI Apps and Agents on Azure

Know which service, tool and guardrail fits, and why.

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Cover of AI-200: Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure

AI-200: Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure

Know which container, data, messaging and security option fits an AI app, and why.

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Cover of AI-300: Operationalizing Machine Learning and Generative AI Solutions

AI-300: Operationalizing Machine Learning and Generative AI Solutions

Know how models reach production, and stay there.

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Microsoft 365 and Copilot

Cover of MD-102: Managing and Securing Microsoft 365 Endpoints by using Intune

MD-102: Managing and Securing Microsoft 365 Endpoints by using Intune

Know which Intune enrolment, policy or setting fits each device, and why.

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VMware private cloud

Cover of 2V0-13.25: VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Architect

2V0-13.25: VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Architect

Know which VCF design decision meets the requirement, and why.

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Cover of 2V0-15.25: VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Support

2V0-15.25: VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Support

Know where a VCF fault lives, which log or tool shows it, and the fix.

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Cover of 2V0-16.25: VMware vSphere Foundation 9.0 Administrator

2V0-16.25: VMware vSphere Foundation 9.0 Administrator

Know which vSphere, vSAN and VCF Operations setting fits, and why.

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Cover of 2V0-17.25: VMware Cloud Foundation Administrator

2V0-17.25: VMware Cloud Foundation Administrator

Know which VCF component, model and policy fits, and why.

Buy on AmazonGlossaryStudy notes

Coming soon

23 more books are written and on their way to Amazon. Their study notes, study plans and glossary terms are already online.

Coming November 2026 2V0-18.25 AB-650 DP-800 NCP-MCI-7.5 OGEA-101

Coming December 2026 DBX-DEP DBX-GENAI PL-300 SC-300 SC-401

Coming January 2027 AB-900 AI-901 AZ-900 DP-600 DP-700 DP-750 DP-900 OGEA-102 SC-200 SC-900 VBR-13 VONE-13 VRO-13

See every coming-soon guide

Beyond the Exam

Books that go past any exam outline: one subject followed through the vendor's own framework, from the first decisions to code that was tested in a real environment. They aren't written for an exam: they assume you know the services and ask what to do with them.

Cover of Azure Landing Zones
Coming December 2026

Azure Landing Zones

Make the landing zone decisions that last, then build them as code.

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The series glossary

Every term from every Ultra Transcenders book in one place: 9,106 cloud, security, AI, backup, data protection, hyperconverged infrastructure, data engineering and enterprise architecture terms, each explained in a sentence or two and linked to Microsoft Learn, Broadcom TechDocs, the Veeam Help Center, the Nutanix Support Portal, the Databricks documentation or the TOGAF Standard.

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About the series

Know why, not just what.

Ultra Transcenders are independent study guides for Microsoft certification exams, written for people who want to pass and understand what they passed. Each book distils what an exam really tests into the design decisions, comparisons and trade-offs that matter, with no padding and no screenshots of settings you can find in the portal.

Every guide is organised by technology rather than by exam objective, so each chapter works as a stand-alone reference for one area of Azure long after exam day.

In every book

Written for understanding, not memorising

The series is built on a simple idea: memorised answers might get you through one exam, but understanding carries you through the next one, the interview and the design review. These books contain no exam questions. They explain the knowledge the exams expect, so you can answer questions you have never seen.

Written by Tony Rough, a cloud architect with more than twenty years in IT infrastructure who holds the Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Administrator and Azure Security Engineer certifications.

Ultra Transcenders is an independent series from Distilled Press and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Microsoft Corporation.

About the author

Tony Rough is a cloud architect with more than twenty years in IT infrastructure, designing Azure platforms for UK organisations at a Microsoft partner. He holds the Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Administrator and Azure Security Engineer certifications and has passed more than thirty Microsoft exams. Ultra Transcenders is the series he wished he'd had.