This AZ-400 practice question tests your understanding of design and implement a source control strategy. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Your company uses Azure DevOps and has a large monorepo with multiple teams. Developers report that Git operations are slow due to the repository size. Which approach should you recommend to improve performance while maintaining a single repository?
Use Git LFS to store all files
Why wrong: Git LFS is for large files only.
Split the monorepo into multiple smaller repositories
Why wrong: This changes the source control strategy.
Add a .gitattributes file with filter directives
Why wrong: .gitattributes does not improve clone/fetch speed.
Enable sparse checkout and shallow fetch
Sparse checkout limits checkout to needed files; shallow fetch limits history depth.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Enable sparse checkout and shallow fetch
Sparse checkout and shallow fetch are designed to improve Git performance in large monorepos by limiting the working tree to specific directories (sparse checkout) and reducing the history depth (shallow fetch). This keeps the repository intact as a single unit while significantly reducing the amount of data transferred and stored locally, directly addressing the slow Git operations without breaking the monorepo structure.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Use Git LFS to store all files
Why it's wrong here
Git LFS is for large files only.
Split the monorepo into multiple smaller repositories
Why it's wrong here
This changes the source control strategy.
Add a .gitattributes file with filter directives
Why it's wrong here
.gitattributes does not improve clone/fetch speed.
Enable sparse checkout and shallow fetch
Why this is correct
Sparse checkout limits checkout to needed files; shallow fetch limits history depth.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse performance improvements with repository restructuring, assuming that splitting the repo (Option B) is the only way to speed up Git, when Azure DevOps supports native Git features like sparse checkout and shallow fetch that preserve the monorepo architecture.
Detailed technical explanation
Sparse checkout works by configuring the `core.sparseCheckout` setting and defining patterns in `.git/info/sparse-checkout` to limit which files are present in the working tree, while shallow fetch uses `--depth` (e.g., `git fetch --depth=1`) to truncate commit history. In practice, combining these with `--shallow-since` or `--single-branch` can dramatically reduce clone and fetch times for monorepos with deep histories, though care is needed as shallow clones may limit certain Git operations like `git bisect` or merging across deep branches.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
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FAQ
Design and implement a source control strategy — This question tests Design and implement a source control strategy — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Enable sparse checkout and shallow fetch — Sparse checkout and shallow fetch are designed to improve Git performance in large monorepos by limiting the working tree to specific directories (sparse checkout) and reducing the history depth (shallow fetch). This keeps the repository intact as a single unit while significantly reducing the amount of data transferred and stored locally, directly addressing the slow Git operations without breaking the monorepo structure.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
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