This DP-203 practice question tests your understanding of develop data processing. 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.
A data engineer is tasked with optimizing a Spark job in Azure Synapse Analytics that processes 10 TB of data daily. The job currently uses 50 executors with 4 cores each. The performance is bottlenecked by shuffle operations. The engineer wants to reduce shuffle data size. Which technique should be applied?
Coalesce the number of partitions before the shuffle.
Why wrong: Reduces partitions but not shuffle data size.
Increase the number of shuffle partitions.
Why wrong: May increase shuffle overhead.
Broadcast all tables to avoid shuffles.
Why wrong: Not feasible for large datasets.
Use column pruning to select only required columns before shuffle.
Reduces data volume.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Use column pruning to select only required columns before shuffle.
Option B is correct because column pruning reduces the amount of data shuffled by eliminating unnecessary columns. Option A is incorrect because increasing parallelism may increase shuffle overhead. Option C is incorrect because coalescing reduces partitions but does not reduce shuffle data. Option D is incorrect because broadcasting is for small tables, not 10 TB.
Key principle: Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Coalesce the number of partitions before the shuffle.
Why it's wrong here
Reduces partitions but not shuffle data size.
Increase the number of shuffle partitions.
Why it's wrong here
May increase shuffle overhead.
Broadcast all tables to avoid shuffles.
Why it's wrong here
Not feasible for large datasets.
Use column pruning to select only required columns before shuffle.
Why this is correct
Reduces data volume.
Related concept
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
Common exam traps
Subnetting questions often tempt you into counting all addresses. In normal IPv4 subnets, the network and broadcast addresses are not usable host addresses.
Detailed technical explanation
Subnetting questions test whether you can identify the network, broadcast address, usable range, mask and correct subnet. Slow down enough to calculate the block size correctly.
Key takeaway
Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets.
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. Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets. 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
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related DP-203 subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
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FAQ
Develop data processing — This question tests Develop data processing — CIDR notation defines the prefix length..
The correct answer is: Use column pruning to select only required columns before shuffle. — Option B is correct because column pruning reduces the amount of data shuffled by eliminating unnecessary columns. Option A is incorrect because increasing parallelism may increase shuffle overhead. Option C is incorrect because coalescing reduces partitions but does not reduce shuffle data. Option D is incorrect because broadcasting is for small tables, not 10 TB.
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related DP-203 subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
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Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
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