Quick Answer
The answer is to migrate to the Business Critical service tier. This is correct because the General Purpose tier caps log write throughput at roughly 1.5 MB/s due to its use of remote blob storage for data and logs, whereas Business Critical leverages local SSD storage with a log I/O limit up to 100 MB/s, directly eliminating the bottleneck for high-volume transaction logging. On the DP-300 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of Azure SQL Database service tier architecture and how storage differences impact performance metrics like log write throughput. A common trap is attempting to scale up vCores or increase DTUs within General Purpose, which does not raise the log I/O ceiling. Instead, remember the memory tip: “General Purpose is for general speed; Business Critical is for critical writes.” This distinction is key when the question explicitly mentions log write throughput near its limit, as only a tier change addresses the underlying storage limitation.
This DP-300 practice question tests your understanding of monitor, configure, and optimize database resources. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You have an Azure SQL Database that uses the General Purpose service tier. You notice that the log write throughput is consistently near the limit. What should you do to improve log write performance?
Migrate to the Business Critical service tier.
Business Critical provides higher log write throughput.
Enable accelerated database recovery.
Why wrong: This reduces rollback time, not log throughput.
Migrate to the Hyperscale service tier.
Why wrong: Hyperscale has lower log write throughput per vCore.
Increase the DTU purchase model to a higher tier.
Why wrong: DTU tiers also have log throughput limits; Business Critical is vCore.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Migrate to the Business Critical service tier.
The General Purpose service tier in Azure SQL Database has a maximum log write throughput of 1.5 MB/s for the most common configurations. The Business Critical tier uses local SSD storage and a higher log I/O limit (up to 100 MB/s), which directly addresses log write throughput bottlenecks. Migrating to Business Critical is the correct action because it provides significantly higher log write throughput and lower latency for transaction log writes.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Migrate to the Business Critical service tier.
Why this is correct
Business Critical provides higher log write throughput.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Enable accelerated database recovery.
Why it's wrong here
This reduces rollback time, not log throughput.
Migrate to the Hyperscale service tier.
Why it's wrong here
Hyperscale has lower log write throughput per vCore.
Increase the DTU purchase model to a higher tier.
Why it's wrong here
DTU tiers also have log throughput limits; Business Critical is vCore.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often assume increasing DTUs or moving to Hyperscale will solve all performance issues, but they fail to recognize that log write throughput is a specific architectural limitation of the General Purpose tier that only the Business Critical tier resolves.
Detailed technical explanation
In Azure SQL Database, the General Purpose tier uses remote Azure Premium Storage with a log write throughput cap of approximately 1.5 MB/s for the most common configurations (up to 4.5 MB/s for larger compute sizes). The Business Critical tier uses local SSD storage with a dedicated log write path that can achieve up to 100 MB/s, depending on the service objective. This difference is critical for write-heavy workloads, such as high-frequency OLTP transactions, where log write throughput directly impacts transaction commit latency and overall database performance.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
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FAQ
Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources — This question tests Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Migrate to the Business Critical service tier. — The General Purpose service tier in Azure SQL Database has a maximum log write throughput of 1.5 MB/s for the most common configurations. The Business Critical tier uses local SSD storage and a higher log I/O limit (up to 100 MB/s), which directly addresses log write throughput bottlenecks. Migrating to Business Critical is the correct action because it provides significantly higher log write throughput and lower latency for transaction log writes.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Same concept, more angles
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. You have an Azure SQL Database that uses the Hyperscale service tier. You notice that during peak hours, the log rate is throttled frequently. You need to reduce log write throttling. What should you do?
hardWhy D: Option A is correct because increasing the service level objective (SLO) provides a higher log rate limit, reducing throttling. Option B is wrong because Hyperscale does not allow enabling accelerated database recovery to reduce log generation; it's always enabled. Option C is wrong because using larger transaction batches reduces log rate by reducing commit frequency. Option D is wrong because partitioning large tables does not directly reduce log write throttling; it may even increase.
Variation 2. You have an Azure SQL Database that uses the Hyperscale service tier. You notice that the log rate is consistently high. You need to reduce the log write latency. What should you do?
mediumWhy B: Option B is correct because increasing the log rate limit allows more log throughput, reducing latency. Option A is incorrect because changing tier to General Purpose would reduce performance. Option C is incorrect because data compression does not affect log writes. Option D is incorrect because enabling Accelerated Database Recovery does not reduce log write latency.
Variation 3. You have an Azure SQL Database that uses the Hyperscale service tier. You notice that the log rate is consistently high, causing performance issues. Which metric should you monitor to identify the log generation rate?
easyWhy A: Option B is correct because 'Log IO percent' in Azure SQL Database reflects log generation rate. Option A is wrong because 'Data IO percent' measures data file I/O. Option C is wrong because 'CPU percent' measures processor usage. Option D is wrong because 'DTU used' is for DTU-based tiers, not Hyperscale.
Variation 4. You have an Azure SQL Database that uses the Hyperscale service tier. You notice that the log rate is frequently throttled. Which configuration change can help reduce log rate throttling?
hardWhy B: Increasing the log rate limit allows more transactions per second. Option D is correct. Option A is wrong because Hyperscale does not have compute replicas for log rate. Option B is wrong because changing backup retention does not affect log rate. Option C is wrong because increasing max degree of parallelism may not reduce log generation.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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