Resolve DTU Usage Spikes by Scheduling Jobs Off-Peak
This DP-300 practice question tests your understanding of monitor, configure, and optimize database resources. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
Exhibit
Azure Monitor metric: DTU consumption for database 'ordersdb' over the last hour:
Time: 10:00 AM - DTU: 45%
Time: 10:15 AM - DTU: 80%
Time: 10:30 AM - DTU: 90%
Time: 10:45 AM - DTU: 95%
Time: 11:00 AM - DTU: 100%
Additionally, there is a recurring job that runs every hour from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM, causing high DTU usage.
Refer to the exhibit. You observe DTU usage reaching 100% at 11:00 AM. Which recommendation would best resolve the performance issue?
Exhibit
Azure Monitor metric: DTU consumption for database 'ordersdb' over the last hour:
Time: 10:00 AM - DTU: 45%
Time: 10:15 AM - DTU: 80%
Time: 10:30 AM - DTU: 90%
Time: 10:45 AM - DTU: 95%
Time: 11:00 AM - DTU: 100%
Additionally, there is a recurring job that runs every hour from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM, causing high DTU usage.
A
Schedule the recurring job to run at a different time, such as midnight.
Moving the job to off-peak hours can reduce contention and prevent DTU exhaustion.
B
Enable read scale-out to offload reporting queries.
Why wrong: Read scale-out is for read-only workloads, not for reducing DTU usage from a job.
C
Increase the service tier to S3 to provide more DTUs.
Why wrong: This would increase cost and may not address the root cause of the job causing spikes.
D
Create an index on the tables used by the job.
Why wrong: Indexing might improve query performance but may not solve the overall DTU exhaustion if the job is not the only culprit.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Schedule the recurring job to run at a different time, such as midnight.
The exhibit shows a pattern of increasing DTU usage. The recurring job runs from 10:00 to 10:30, but the peak at 11:00 suggests another process causing full usage. The best solution is to schedule resource-intensive operations during off-peak hours. Increasing the service tier may help but is not the most targeted approach.
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.
✓
Schedule the recurring job to run at a different time, such as midnight.
Why this is correct
Moving the job to off-peak hours can reduce contention and prevent DTU exhaustion.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable read scale-out to offload reporting queries.
Why it's wrong here
Read scale-out is for read-only workloads, not for reducing DTU usage from a job.
✗
Increase the service tier to S3 to provide more DTUs.
Why it's wrong here
This would increase cost and may not address the root cause of the job causing spikes.
✗
Create an index on the tables used by the job.
Why it's wrong here
Indexing might improve query performance but may not solve the overall DTU exhaustion if the job is not the only culprit.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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.
Visual reference
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this DP-300 question in full detail.
Identify which DP-300 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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: Schedule the recurring job to run at a different time, such as midnight. — The exhibit shows a pattern of increasing DTU usage. The recurring job runs from 10:00 to 10:30, but the peak at 11:00 suggests another process causing full usage. The best solution is to schedule resource-intensive operations during off-peak hours. Increasing the service tier may help but is not the most targeted approach.
What should I do if I get this DP-300 question wrong?
Identify which DP-300 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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