DP-203 Practice Question: Secure, monitor, and optimize data storage and data processing
You are optimizing the performance of an Azure Synapse Analytics dedicated SQL pool. Which THREE of the following actions will most likely 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
✓
Create materialized views for frequently used aggregations
Materialized views precompute and store aggregated results, reducing the need to scan large tables on every query. Option C is correct because partitioning large fact tables on a date column enables partition elimination, which reduces the amount of data scanned for queries that filter on the partition key. Option D is correct because result-set caching allows repeated queries to return cached results directly without recomputation. Option B is incorrect: using a smaller distribution column does not necessarily improve data distribution and can cause data skew if the column has low cardinality. Option E is incorrect: converting all tables to heap tables removes indexes, which typically degrades query performance; heaps are primarily used for staging or loading data, not for performance optimization.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create materialized views for frequently used aggregations
Why this is correct
Materialized views store precomputed results, speeding up queries.
- ✗
Use a smaller distribution column to improve data distribution
Why it's wrong here
Smaller distribution columns can lead to data skew; round-robin or hash distribution is better.
- ✓
Partition large fact tables on a date column
Why this is correct
Partition pruning reduces the amount of data read.
- ✓
Enable result-set caching for repetitive queries
Why this is correct
Caching reduces recomputation for identical queries.
- ✗
Convert all tables to heap tables to avoid index maintenance
Why it's wrong here
Heap tables are not optimized for read performance; clustered columnstore indexes are better.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 760 original DP-203 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.