DP-203 Develop data processing Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are required components to set up a data pipeline that uses Change Data Capture (CDC) to incrementally load data from SQL Server to Azure Synapse using Azure Data Factory?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse CDC-based incremental loading with watermark-based incremental loading, leading them to incorrectly select a Lookup activity (Option C) or a staging storage account (Option B) as required components.
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
✓
CDC enabled on the source SQL Server database and tables
Change Data Capture (CDC) must be enabled on the source SQL Server database and the specific tables you intend to track. Without CDC enabled, SQL Server will not generate the change tracking tables (e.g., cdc.<capture_instance>_CT) that Azure Data Factory’s CDC connector reads to identify inserts, updates, and deletes. This is a prerequisite for any incremental load using the native CDC mechanism in ADF.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
CDC enabled on the source SQL Server database and tables
Why this is correct
CDC must be enabled on the source to track changes.
- ✗
A staging Azure Blob Storage account
Why it's wrong here
Staging is optional and not required for CDC.
- ✗
A Lookup activity to get the last watermark
Why it's wrong here
While common, a Lookup activity is not strictly required; watermark can be handled differently.
- ✗
A stored procedure in the source database to capture changes
Why it's wrong here
CDC uses system tables, not custom stored procedures.
- ✓
A linked service to the Azure Synapse dedicated SQL pool
Why this is correct
A linked service is needed to connect to the sink.
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