- A
Scale up to a higher service tier or increase DTUs
Scaling up provides more resources, reducing DTU consumption percentage.
- B
Scale down to a lower service tier
Why wrong: Scaling down reduces resources, increasing DTU consumption percentage.
- C
Enable geo-replication
Why wrong: Geo-replication does not reduce DTU consumption on the primary.
- D
Enable read scale-out
Why wrong: Read scale-out offloads read workloads but does not reduce DTU consumption.
Question 159 of 963
DP-300 Practice Question: Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources
This DP-300 practice question tests your understanding of monitor, configure, and optimize database resources. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 are monitoring an Azure SQL Database that is running a mission-critical workload. You notice that the DTU consumption is consistently above 90% during peak hours. You need to recommend a solution to reduce the DTU consumption. What should you recommend?
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
✓
Scale up to a higher service tier or increase DTUs
When DTU consumption consistently exceeds 90%, the database is resource-constrained, leading to performance degradation. Scaling up to a higher service tier or increasing DTUs directly provides more CPU, memory, and I/O resources, alleviating the bottleneck and reducing DTU utilization percentage. This is the standard corrective action for sustained high DTU usage in Azure SQL Database.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Scale up to a higher service tier or increase DTUs
Why this is correct
Scaling up provides more resources, reducing DTU consumption percentage.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Scale down to a lower service tier
Why it's wrong here
Scaling down reduces resources, increasing DTU consumption percentage.
- ✗
Enable geo-replication
Why it's wrong here
Geo-replication does not reduce DTU consumption on the primary.
- ✗
Enable read scale-out
Why it's wrong here
Read scale-out offloads read workloads but does not reduce DTU consumption.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse high DTU consumption with a need for high availability or read scaling, but the correct response is to increase resource capacity via scaling up.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
DTU (Database Transaction Unit) is a blended measure of CPU, memory, and I/O resources. Sustained DTU > 90% indicates resource saturation, which can cause query timeouts and blocking. Scaling up increases the DTU limit, allowing the same workload to consume a lower percentage of the total available resources. For example, moving from S2 (50 DTUs) to S3 (100 DTUs) halves the utilization percentage for the same workload. Azure SQL Database also provides automatic tuning features like index recommendations, but scaling is the immediate capacity fix.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DP-300 question test?
Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources — This question tests Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Scale up to a higher service tier or increase DTUs — When DTU consumption consistently exceeds 90%, the database is resource-constrained, leading to performance degradation. Scaling up to a higher service tier or increasing DTUs directly provides more CPU, memory, and I/O resources, alleviating the bottleneck and reducing DTU utilization percentage. This is the standard corrective action for sustained high DTU usage in Azure SQL Database.
What should I do if I get this DP-300 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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.
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