- A
Rebuild the columnstore indexes on the table
Rebuilding reduces fragmentation and improves partition pruning.
- B
Convert the table to a rowstore heap
Why wrong: Rowstore is slower for large analytical queries.
- C
Create statistics on the date column
Why wrong: Statistics help but fragmentation is the likely root cause.
- D
Increase the number of partitions for the table
Why wrong: More partitions can increase overhead and not fix fragmentation.
Question 320 of 851
DP-203 Develop data processing Practice Question
This DP-203 practice question tests your understanding of develop data processing. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 financial services firm uses Azure Synapse Analytics to process daily trade data. The data is stored in a dedicated SQL pool as partitioned tables by date. Recently, queries that filter on a specific date range have become slow. You suspect that partition pruning is not working effectively. What should you do to improve query performance?
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
✓
Rebuild the columnstore indexes on the table
Rebuilding columnstore indexes reorganizes and compresses the data, which can improve partition elimination by ensuring that each partition's columnstore segments are well-structured and aligned with the partition boundaries. Over time, as data is inserted, updated, or deleted, columnstore indexes can become fragmented, leading to inefficient partition pruning and slower query performance on date-range filters.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Rebuild the columnstore indexes on the table
Why this is correct
Rebuilding reduces fragmentation and improves partition pruning.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Convert the table to a rowstore heap
Why it's wrong here
Rowstore is slower for large analytical queries.
- ✗
Create statistics on the date column
Why it's wrong here
Statistics help but fragmentation is the likely root cause.
- ✗
Increase the number of partitions for the table
Why it's wrong here
More partitions can increase overhead and not fix fragmentation.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume poor partition pruning is always due to incorrect partitioning strategy or missing statistics, overlooking the fact that columnstore index fragmentation can prevent effective partition elimination even when the partition scheme is correct.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Columnstore indexes in Azure Synapse Dedicated SQL Pool store data in compressed column segments per partition. When fragmentation occurs (e.g., due to many small deltastore rowsets), the query engine may scan more segments than necessary, reducing the effectiveness of partition pruning. Rebuilding the index consolidates these segments and removes deleted rows, restoring optimal segment elimination and improving I/O for date-range queries.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DP-203 question test?
Develop data processing — This question tests Develop data processing — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Rebuild the columnstore indexes on the table — Rebuilding columnstore indexes reorganizes and compresses the data, which can improve partition elimination by ensuring that each partition's columnstore segments are well-structured and aligned with the partition boundaries. Over time, as data is inserted, updated, or deleted, columnstore indexes can become fragmented, leading to inefficient partition pruning and slower query performance on date-range filters.
What should I do if I get this DP-203 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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