Secure, monitor, and optimize data storage and data processing →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
DP-203 Practice Question: Secure, monitor, and optimize data storage and data processing
You are designing a data pipeline in Azure Data Factory that processes sensitive customer data. The pipeline must use a copy activity to move data from Azure Blob Storage to Azure Synapse Analytics. You need to ensure that data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and that the pipeline uses the most secure authentication method. Which authentication method should you use for the sink dataset?
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
✓
Managed Identity
Managed Identity is the most secure authentication method because it uses Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) to authenticate to Azure Synapse Analytics without storing any credentials in the pipeline. This eliminates the risk of secret exposure and provides automatic credential rotation. SQL authentication (Option D) requires embedded credentials, service principal (Option C) requires secret management, and storage account key (Option B) is a shared secret that cannot be used to authenticate to Synapse as a sink.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Managed Identity
Why this is correct
Managed Identity eliminates the need for secrets and provides secure, seamless authentication.
- ✗
Storage account key
Why it's wrong here
Storage account key is a shared secret and less secure than Managed Identity.
- ✗
Service principal
Why it's wrong here
Service principal requires storing a secret or certificate, adding management overhead.
- ✗
SQL authentication
Why it's wrong here
SQL authentication uses username/password, which are less secure and require secret management.
Quick reference
Azure Blob Storage Tier Comparison
| Tier | Storage Cost | Retrieval Cost | Latency | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot | Highest | Lowest | Immediate | Active data, frequent reads |
| Cool | Lower | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / month |
| Cold | Lower still | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / quarter |
| Archive | Lowest | Highest + rehydration delay | Hours | Long-term compliance retention |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Azure Data Engineering
Key term
Azure Data Factory
Azure Data Factory is a cloud-based data integration service that lets you create, schedule, and orchestrate data pipelines to move and transform data from various sources to destinations.
Key term
Azure Synapse Analytics
Azure Synapse Analytics is a cloud-based data integration, warehousing, and analytics service that brings together big data and data warehouse capabilities under one platform.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DP-203 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DP-203 exam.