DP-203 Design and implement data storage Practice Question
Which TWO factors should you consider when choosing between Azure SQL Database and Azure Cosmos DB for a transactional workload that requires low-latency reads and writes globally?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume ACID transactions (Option A) or stored procedures (Option D) are unique to one service, when in fact both Azure SQL Database and Azure Cosmos DB support these features, making them irrelevant as distinguishing factors for global low-latency workloads.
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
✓
Consistency models (strong, bounded staleness, session, eventual, consistent prefix).
Azure Cosmos DB offers multiple well-defined consistency models (strong, bounded staleness, session, consistent prefix, and eventual) that allow you to tune the trade-off between consistency and latency for globally distributed workloads. For a transactional workload requiring low-latency reads and writes globally, choosing the appropriate consistency model (e.g., session or eventual) can significantly reduce write latency by avoiding the overhead of synchronous replication required for strong consistency. This flexibility is a key factor when designing for global distribution with multi-region writes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
ACID transaction support across multiple documents.
Why it's wrong here
SQL Database provides strong ACID; Cosmos DB supports limited multi-document transactions.
- ✗
Support for secondary indexes.
Why it's wrong here
Both support secondary indexes.
- ✓
Consistency models (strong, bounded staleness, session, eventual, consistent prefix).
Why this is correct
Cosmos DB offers five consistency models; SQL Database offers snapshot isolation.
- ✗
Ability to run stored procedures.
Why it's wrong here
Both support stored procedures.
- ✓
Global distribution capabilities with multi-region writes.
Why this is correct
Cosmos DB offers turnkey global distribution, while SQL Database requires active geo-replication.
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