Databricks-DE-Pro Cost and Performance Optimization Practice Question
A data engineer is configuring a Databricks SQL warehouse to handle a workload that consists of many concurrent short queries during business hours and almost no queries at night. The engineer wants to minimize cost while ensuring low latency during peak hours. Which configuration should the engineer use?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that disabling auto-stop is necessary to avoid cold starts, but serverless warehouses start quickly and idle cost outweighs the benefit.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use a serverless SQL warehouse with auto-stop set to 10 minutes and auto-scale enabled.
A serverless SQL warehouse with auto-stop and auto-scaling provides the best balance: it scales up for concurrency during peak hours, scales down and stops when idle, and charges only for usage. The short auto-stop minimizes idle cost, while auto-scaling ensures low latency. Other options either incur idle cost or cannot handle variable concurrency efficiently.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use a serverless SQL warehouse with auto-stop disabled to avoid cold starts.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling auto-stop keeps the warehouse running 24/7, incurring continuous cost even when no queries are running. While it avoids cold starts, the cost is much higher than necessary for a workload with predictable idle periods. Serverless warehouses are designed to start quickly, so cold starts are minimal.
- ✗
Use a classic SQL warehouse with auto-scaling enabled and auto-stop set to 5 minutes.
Why it's wrong here
Classic warehouses can auto-scale, but they are not serverless, so they still incur cost for the underlying VMs even when idle until auto-stop triggers. A 5-minute auto-stop may cause frequent cold starts during sporadic query bursts, increasing latency. Serverless is more cost-effective for intermittent workloads because it charges per query and scales instantly.
- ✗
Use a classic SQL warehouse with a fixed cluster size and auto-stop set to 60 minutes.
Why it's wrong here
A classic warehouse with fixed size cannot scale to handle variable concurrency, leading to either high latency during peaks or wasted resources during off-peak. A 60-minute auto-stop keeps the warehouse running idle for an hour after the last query, increasing cost. This configuration does not minimize cost while ensuring low latency.
- ✓
Use a serverless SQL warehouse with auto-stop set to 10 minutes and auto-scale enabled.
Why this is correct
Serverless SQL warehouses automatically scale based on query load and can stop when idle, so they incur cost only when running queries. Setting auto-stop to 10 minutes ensures the warehouse shuts down quickly after the last query, minimizing idle cost. Auto-scaling handles concurrency during peak hours, providing low latency without over-provisioning.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
About these practice questions
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Databricks exam blueprint
This Databricks-DE-Pro practice question is part of Courseiva's free Databricks certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the Databricks-DE-Pro exam.