DP-203 Self-hosted Integration Runtime Practice Question
You have an Azure Data Factory pipeline that loads data from an on-premises SQL Server to Azure Synapse Analytics. The pipeline fails intermittently with network connectivity errors. You need to ensure reliable data transfer with minimal latency. Which solution should you recommend?
⚠ Common exam trap
DP-203 often tests the distinction between Azure IR (cloud) and self-hosted IR (on-prem bridge) — the trap is picking a VPN or Azure IR when the question explicitly involves on-premises data and reliability requirements.
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
✓
Deploy a self-hosted IR with high availability on two nodes
A self-hosted Integration Runtime (IR) is required for Azure Data Factory to reach on-premises SQL Server, and deploying it with high availability across two nodes eliminates the single point of failure causing intermittent connectivity errors. The self-hosted IR runs inside the corporate network, so it uses the existing network path rather than requiring new VPN infrastructure, and HA mode ensures failover if one node goes down. This directly addresses both reliability and minimal latency.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Set up a site-to-site VPN gateway
Why it's wrong here
A site-to-site VPN provides network connectivity between on-premises and Azure, but it does not directly improve the reliability of the data transfer pipeline. The pipeline still relies on an integration runtime, and without a high-availability SHIR, connectivity errors can still occur.
- ✓
Deploy a self-hosted IR with high availability on two nodes
Why this is correct
A self-hosted integration runtime with two high-availability nodes installs on-premises, keeping the SQL Server connection local while providing failover, so intermittent network failures between the corporate network and Azure no longer break the pipeline and latency stays low.
- ✗
Stage data in Azure Blob Storage using sharded files
Why it's wrong here
Sharded staging adds a Blob Storage hop and does not address the underlying network instability between on-premises SQL Server and Azure. It is tempting because staging decouples extraction from loading and can improve throughput, but the intermittent connectivity errors originate at the source link, which staging cannot repair.
- ✗
Use an Azure Integration Runtime instead
Why it's wrong here
An Azure Integration Runtime cannot reach on-premises SQL Server without a self-hosted runtime or gateway; it only serves cloud data stores. It is tempting because Azure IRs scale elastically and reduce management overhead, but they provide no line-of-sight to on-premises networks, so connectivity errors persist.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Implement Azure Synapse Analytics
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.
Key term
Data Transformation Pipelines
Data transformation pipelines are automated sequences of steps that take raw data from a source, clean and reshape it into a usable format, and then load it into a destination for analysis or storage.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
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.