DP-300 Practice Question: Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources
A company has an Azure SQL Database that experiences periodic performance degradation. The database uses the General Purpose service tier. You need to identify the most common performance bottlenecks. You enable the Query Store and collect data for a week. Which Query Store view should you query to find queries that have the highest total resource consumption over time?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse sys.dm_exec_query_stats (a live, cache-dependent DMV) with the Query Store's historical views, assuming both provide the same aggregated data, but only Query Store views retain data across plan evictions and time intervals for long-term analysis.
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
✓
sys.query_store_query_stats
A is correct because sys.query_store_query_stats aggregates runtime statistics per query across all plans and time intervals, making it the ideal view to identify queries with the highest total resource consumption (e.g., CPU, I/O, duration) over the collected week. Query Store captures historical execution data, and this view provides the cumulative metrics needed to pinpoint the most resource-intensive queries for performance bottleneck analysis.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
sys.query_store_query_stats
Why this is correct
This view provides aggregated runtime statistics like total CPU, IO, and duration for each query.
- ✗
sys.query_store_plan
Why it's wrong here
This view shows execution plan details, not aggregated resource consumption.
- ✗
sys.dm_exec_query_stats
Why it's wrong here
This DMV returns statistics from the plan cache, which may not have historical data.
- ✗
sys.dm_db_resource_stats
Why it's wrong here
This DMV shows CPU, IO, and memory consumption at the database level, not per query.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Overview of Azure Data Platform Options
Key term
Query Store
Query Store is a built-in SQL Server feature that captures and stores a history of query execution plans and performance data for easy monitoring and troubleshooting.
Key term
Azure SQL Performance Tuning
Azure SQL Performance Tuning is the process of optimizing the speed and efficiency of queries and database operations in Microsoft Azure SQL Database or SQL Managed Instance to reduce latency and improve throughput.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DP-300 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-300 exam.