Microsoft · Free Practice Questions · Last reviewed May 2026
36real exam-style questions organised by domain, each with the correct answer highlighted and a plain-English explanation of why it's right — and why the others are wrong.
Your company runs a mission-critical application on Azure SQL Database in the East US region. You need to ensure automatic failover with zero data loss in case of a regional outage. Which deployment option should you use?
Deploy a Business Critical tier database and configure an auto-failover group with a readable secondary in a paired region.
Business Critical supports synchronous replication and auto-failover groups, ensuring zero data loss on failover.
Deploy a General Purpose tier database with geo-replication.
Deploy a Hyperscale tier database with zone redundancy.
Deploy a Serverless tier database with active geo-replication.
You administer a SQL Managed Instance in the West Europe region. You need to create a disaster recovery replica in North Europe with automated failover. The replica must be readable and support backups. What should you configure?
Set up log shipping from West Europe to North Europe.
Configure active geo-replication between the instances.
Create a failover group, but note the secondary is not readable.
Create a failover group with the secondary instance in North Europe.
Failover groups provide automated failover and readable secondary for Managed Instance.
You have an Azure SQL Database in the Business Critical tier with a failover group to a secondary region. The primary region experiences a full outage. What is the expected recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) if you initiate a manual failover?
RTO of 5 minutes, RPO of 1 second.
RTO of 30 seconds, RPO of 5 seconds.
RTO of 1 hour, RPO of 5 minutes.
RTO of 30 seconds, RPO of 0.
Synchronous replication ensures zero data loss and fast failover.
Your company uses Azure SQL Database Hyperscale tier for a large data warehouse. You need to implement disaster recovery with the ability to perform point-in-time restore in the secondary region. What is the best approach?
Configure geo-replication to a secondary Hyperscale database in the secondary region.
Geo-replication provides a readable secondary and allows point-in-time restore in the secondary region.
Configure auto-failover groups between regions.
Use geo-restore of automated backups.
Create a failover group with manual failover.
You are designing a high availability solution for an Azure SQL Database used by a critical application. The application requires no more than 5 seconds of data loss and automatic failover within 1 minute. Which service tier and configuration should you choose?
Hyperscale tier with geo-replication and auto-failover group.
Hyperscale tier with zone redundancy.
General Purpose tier with active geo-replication.
Business Critical tier with zone redundancy.
Zone redundancy provides automatic failover within region with zero data loss.
You have a SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machine running a critical OLTP workload. You need to achieve high availability with automatic failover and no shared storage. The solution must use Azure features and avoid complex clustering configurations. What should you implement?
Configure an Always On Availability Group with automatic failover.
Availability Groups provide automatic failover without shared storage.
Set up log shipping to a secondary VM.
Use database mirroring with automatic failover.
Deploy a Windows Server Failover Cluster Instance (FCI) using Azure Shared Disks.
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Practice this domainA company is deploying Azure SQL Managed Instance and needs to ensure that the failover group provides automatic failover with zero data loss during a regional outage. The secondary region is 500 miles away. Which data replication mode should be configured?
Synchronous replication
Synchronous replication ensures zero data loss.
Geo-replication
Snapshot replication
Asynchronous replication
A retail company is migrating its on-premises SQL Server database to Azure SQL Database. The database has a table with 500 million rows and receives 10,000 INSERT operations per second during peak hours. The application requires read-committed snapshot isolation. Which Azure SQL Database tier and configuration should the DBA recommend to minimize cost while meeting performance requirements?
Business Critical tier with 8 vCores
Serverless tier with auto-pause
General Purpose tier with 2 vCores
Hyperscale tier with 4 vCores
Hyperscale supports high INSERT throughput and RCSI is enabled by default.
A DBA needs to create a new Azure SQL Database and wants to ensure that the database automatically fails over to a secondary region without manual intervention. The recovery point objective (RPO) is 5 seconds. What should the DBA configure?
Active geo-replication with failover group
Failover groups provide automatic failover and synchronous replication for RPO of 5 seconds.
Standard geo-replication
Local redundancy with automatic failover
Read-scale out
A company has an Azure SQL Managed Instance that is experiencing high CPU usage. The DBA observes that a specific query is causing high compile time due to parameter sniffing. The query is executed frequently with varying parameter values. Which approach should the DBA use to reduce CPU usage without changing the T-SQL code?
Create a plan guide to force a specific plan
Use optimize for ad hoc workloads
Add query store and force the last good plan
Enable forced parameterization for the database
Forced parameterization treats literals as parameters, reducing recompilations.
A healthcare company is required to encrypt all patient data at rest and in transit. They are deploying Azure SQL Database. Which combination of features should they implement to meet this requirement?
Transparent data encryption (TDE) and TLS 1.2
TDE encrypts data at rest, TLS encrypts data in transit.
Dynamic data masking and row-level security
Azure Active Directory authentication and firewall rules
Always Encrypted and transparent data encryption (TDE)
A DBA is migrating a large on-premises database to Azure SQL Database using the Data Migration Assistant (DMA). The migration fails with an error indicating that the source database contains cross-database queries. What is the best remediation?
Use elastic database query to reference external tables
Create a linked server in Azure SQL Database
Migrate to Azure SQL Managed Instance instead
Refactor the application to eliminate cross-database queries or use elastic query
Refactoring or using elastic query resolves the issue.
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Practice this domainA production Azure SQL Database is experiencing high CPU usage during peak hours. The database uses the S3 service tier. You need to reduce CPU usage without changing the service tier. Which action should you take?
Increase the maximum number of concurrent workers.
Identify and create missing indexes.
Missing indexes cause table scans, increasing CPU usage; adding indexes reduces CPU.
Reduce MAXDOP to 1.
Increase MAXDOP to 8.
You manage an Azure SQL Managed Instance with a large database. You notice that the automatic tuning recommendations are not being applied. You need to ensure that automatic tuning is enabled for the instance. Which PowerShell cmdlet should you run?
Set-AzSqlInstanceDatabase with -AutoTuningProperties
This is the correct cmdlet and parameter to enable auto-tuning on a Managed Instance database.
Set-AzSqlDatabase with -AutoTuningProperties
Set-AzSqlInstance with -DtcEnabled
Set-AzSqlServer with -AdministratorLogin
You have an Azure SQL Database that uses the General Purpose service tier. You notice that the log write throughput is consistently near the limit. What should you do to improve log write performance?
Migrate to the Business Critical service tier.
Business Critical provides higher log write throughput.
Enable accelerated database recovery.
Migrate to the Hyperscale service tier.
Increase the DTU purchase model to a higher tier.
You are monitoring an Azure SQL Database using Query Performance Insight. You see a query with high duration and high CPU usage. The query plan shows a clustered index scan. What is the most likely cause and recommendation?
Fragmented clustered index; rebuild the clustered index.
Insufficient memory; increase the service tier.
Missing nonclustered index; create an index on the predicates.
An index seek would reduce CPU and duration.
Parameter sniffing; add OPTION (RECOMPILE).
You need to configure Azure SQL Database to automatically adjust indexing based on workload patterns. Which feature should you enable?
Azure Advisor
Intelligent Insights
Automatic tuning
Automatic tuning can automatically create and drop indexes.
Query Store
You deploy a new Azure SQL Database and need to ensure that all queries are logged for performance analysis. Which configuration should you enable?
Data classification
Server-level audit
Diagnostic settings for SQLInsights
Query Store
Query Store captures query runtime statistics and plans.
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Practice this domainA company uses Azure SQL Managed Instance. They need to automate index maintenance for all databases in the instance. The solution must minimize administrative overhead and use built-in Azure features. What should you do?
Use Azure Automation with a PowerShell runbook that connects to each database and runs index maintenance.
Configure a SQL Agent job on the instance to run index maintenance on the master database.
Create an elastic job agent with a T-SQL script for index maintenance targeting all databases.
Elastic job agent is designed for automating tasks across databases in a managed instance with minimal overhead.
Use Azure Data Factory to schedule a stored procedure execution for each database.
You need to automatically scale an Azure SQL Database based on workload patterns. The solution must use built-in Azure features and minimize manual intervention. Which feature should you configure?
Use Azure Data Factory to scale the database based on pipeline triggers.
Create an Azure Automation runbook that scales the database on a schedule.
Configure autoscale settings for the Azure SQL Database.
Autoscale automatically adjusts resources based on workload.
Use an elastic pool and manually adjust eDTUs.
You are responsible for automating backups of on-premises SQL Server databases to Azure Blob Storage. The solution must use the least administrative effort and provide point-in-time restore capability. What should you implement?
Configure SQL Server Managed Backup to Microsoft Azure.
Managed Backup automates backup scheduling and retention, and supports point-in-time restore.
Install Azure Backup Server on-premises and configure backup of SQL Server databases.
Use SQL Server Agent jobs to perform full, differential, and log backups to an Azure Blob Storage URL.
Use Azure Data Factory to copy database backups to Blob Storage.
You manage an Azure SQL Database that supports a critical application. You need to automate the process of rebuilding indexes that have fragmentation above 30% on a weekly basis. The solution must use built-in database features and minimize performance impact. What should you do?
Create a SQL Agent job that runs ALTER INDEX REBUILD on all indexes with fragmentation >30%.
Use Azure Automation to run a PowerShell script that checks fragmentation and rebuilds indexes.
Enable automatic tuning and set the 'Force plan' and 'Create index' options.
Automatic tuning automatically manages index creation and performance without manual intervention.
Schedule a weekly job using elastic jobs to reorganize all indexes.
You need to automate the deployment of schema changes to multiple Azure SQL Databases in different regions. The solution must support rollback and version control. Which technology should you use?
Use Azure Data Factory to run stored procedures for schema changes.
Use SQL Server Agent jobs to run deployment scripts on schedule.
Use Azure DevOps with a database project and release pipelines.
Provides CI/CD, version control, and ability to roll back changes.
Use Azure Automation with PowerShell scripts to execute T-SQL scripts.
You are configuring automated backups for an Azure SQL Database. Which TWO settings can you configure?
Backup compression.
Backup frequency (full, differential, log).
Point-in-time restore interval.
Backup retention period (in days).
Configurable from 7 to 35 days.
Geo-redundant storage (GRS) for backups.
You can choose between LRS and GRS for backup storage.
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Practice this domainA company runs a critical Azure SQL Database in the West US region. To meet a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 5 seconds and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 30 seconds during a regional outage, which deployment option should be used?
Use an Auto-Failover Group with a secondary in West US 2
Deploy the database in the Business Critical tier with zone-redundant configuration in West US
Zone-redundant Business Critical provides fast failover within seconds and RPO of 5 seconds.
Enable geo-zone-redundant backup storage and perform point-in-time restore
Configure Active Geo-Replication with a readable secondary in East US
A company has an Azure SQL Managed Instance in the East US region. They need to implement disaster recovery with automatic failover to a paired region. The solution must minimize data loss to less than 5 seconds. Which feature should they use?
Active Geo-Replication with a secondary in East US 2
Enable geo-redundant backup storage and restore to West US
Configure an Auto-Failover Group with a secondary instance in West US
Auto-failover groups for managed instance provide automatic failover and RPO of 5 seconds.
Set up a Failover Group with manual failover to a secondary in West US
A company runs SQL Server 2019 on Azure Virtual Machines in an availability set. They need to achieve high availability for a critical database with automatic failover and no shared storage. The solution must minimize downtime during planned maintenance. What should they implement?
Configure Log Shipping to a secondary VM
Deploy a Failover Cluster Instance using Azure Shared Disks
Create an Always On Availability Group with an availability group listener
Always On AG provides automatic failover and no shared storage.
Use Database Mirroring with automatic failover
A company uses Azure SQL Database Hyperscale tier for a large database. They need to perform a disaster recovery drill by failing over to a secondary region with minimal data loss. The secondary is in a paired region and is readable. Which approach should they use?
Restore a geo-redundant backup to the secondary region
Configure Active Geo-Replication to the secondary region
Create a named replica in the secondary region and fail over manually
Use an Auto-Failover Group with the secondary in the paired region
Auto-failover groups support Hyperscale and allow failover with minimal data loss.
Which TWO options are required to configure a SQL Server Always On Availability Group on Azure Virtual Machines?
Internal Load Balancer
Required for the listener.
Azure Files share for witness
Windows Server Failover Cluster
Required for availability group.
Azure SQL Database
VPN gateway between regions
Which THREE factors should be considered when choosing between Azure SQL Database active geo-replication and auto-failover groups for disaster recovery?
Automatic failover capability
Auto-failover groups provide automatic failover; active geo-replication does not.
Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 1 second
Number of readable secondary replicas required
Active geo-replication supports up to 4, auto-failover groups support only 1.
Support for SQL Server Authentication
Granular control over individual database failover
Active geo-replication allows per-database failover; auto-failover groups fail over all databases in the group.
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Practice this domainYou are configuring Azure SQL Database firewall rules for a new application. The application runs on Azure VMs in the same region. To minimize latency and security risk, which approach should you use?
Add a firewall rule allowing all Azure IP addresses.
Configure a virtual network service endpoint and a virtual network firewall rule.
Service endpoints provide secure, low-latency connectivity from the VNet to Azure SQL.
Add a firewall rule for each VM's public IP address.
Add a firewall rule allowing all Azure services to access the database.
You need to audit all successful and failed login attempts to an Azure SQL Database. Which feature should you enable?
Azure SQL Auditing
Auditing tracks database events and writes them to an audit log.
Advanced Threat Protection
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)
SQL Vulnerability Assessment
Your company has a strict policy that Azure SQL Database backups must be encrypted with customer-managed keys stored in Azure Key Vault. You configure TDE with AKV integration. After a key rotation, you find that long-running queries start failing with encryption errors. What is the most likely cause?
The service principal used for AKV access has expired.
The previous key version was disabled or deleted in AKV.
TDE requires all previous key versions to be enabled to decrypt existing data.
The new key is in a different Azure region than the database.
The database is using service-managed TDE and cannot switch to customer-managed keys.
You are designing a secure environment for Azure SQL Database. Which authentication method provides the strongest security and supports multi-factor authentication?
Certificate-based authentication
Azure Active Directory authentication
Azure AD authentication supports MFA and conditional access.
SQL authentication with strong passwords
Windows authentication
Your Azure SQL Database is configured with Advanced Threat Protection (ATP). You receive an alert about a SQL injection attack. After investigation, you confirm the attack was blocked. However, you need to ensure that future similar attacks are automatically prevented without manual intervention. What should you configure?
Enable Transparent Data Encryption (TDE).
Run SQL Vulnerability Assessment weekly.
Enable Azure SQL Auditing to log all queries.
Configure the firewall to automatically block the attacker's IP address.
The firewall can be set to block IPs after a detected attack.
A developer reports that they cannot connect to an Azure SQL Database using Azure AD authentication. The developer is a member of an Azure AD group that has been granted db_datareader role in the database. The connection string uses Active Directory Password authentication. What is the most likely issue?
The Azure AD group has not been created as a database user.
Azure AD groups must be mapped to a database user using CREATE USER [group] FROM EXTERNAL PROVIDER.
The server firewall is blocking the connection.
The developer's IP address is not allowed.
Multi-factor authentication is required but not configured.
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Practice this domainThe DP-300 exam has 50 questions and must be completed in 120 minutes. The passing score is 700/1000.
Scenario-based questions covering exam objectives with detailed answer explanations.
The exam covers 6 domains: Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery environment, Plan and implement data platform resources, Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources, Configure and manage automation of tasks, Plan and configure high availability and disaster recovery, Implement a secure environment. Questions are weighted by domain — higher-weight domains appear more on your actual exam.
No. These are original exam-style practice questions written against the official Microsoft DP-300 exam objectives. They are not copied from the real exam. Courseiva focuses on genuine understanding, not memorisation of braindumps.
Courseiva tracks your accuracy per domain and routes you toward weak areas automatically. Free, no account required.