DP-300 Point-in-time restore (PITR) Practice Question
You are a database administrator for a healthcare company that uses Azure SQL Database with Hyperscale tier. The database contains patient records and is critical for operations. You need to automate the process of refreshing the staging database from the production database every night. The refresh process must occur during a maintenance window from 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM. The solution must use point-in-time restore to ensure consistency and must minimize the storage costs. Additionally, the automation must notify the operations team if the refresh fails. What should you do?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates may think that renaming databases after restore is complex, but Azure SQL Database supports renaming databases via T-SQL or PowerShell, making the swap straightforward.
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
✓
Create an Azure Automation runbook that performs a point-in-time restore of the production database to a new database, then renames the databases to swap staging. Schedule the runbook during the maintenance window and configure alerts for failure.
Azure Automation runbooks can schedule a point-in-time restore of the production database to a new database, then rename the databases to swap them, making the restored database the new staging database. This leverages the Hyperscale tier's fast restore and minimizes storage costs by avoiding multiple copies. Alerts can be configured to notify the operations team on failure. Option A is incorrect because Elastic Database Jobs cannot perform restore operations; they are for running T-SQL scripts across databases, not restoring from backups. Option C is incorrect because Azure Data Factory is an ETL tool and cannot perform point-in-time restore of a database. Option D is incorrect because export/import via BACPAC is slower, more expensive, and does not guarantee point-in-time consistency.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use Elastic Database Jobs to run a T-SQL script that uses RESTORE DATABASE from a backup file.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Elastic Database Jobs can run T-SQL scripts across databases but cannot perform RESTORE operations.
- ✓
Create an Azure Automation runbook that performs a point-in-time restore of the production database to a new database, then renames the databases to swap staging. Schedule the runbook during the maintenance window and configure alerts for failure.
Why this is correct
Correct. Azure Automation runbook with PITR and database rename swap meets all requirements: automation, maintenance window, consistency, cost savings, and failure notification via alerts.
- ✗
Use Azure Data Factory to copy data from production to staging using a copy activity.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Azure Data Factory is for data movement and transformation, not for database restore operations.
- ✗
Use Azure SQL Database export to BACPAC from production and import to staging using Azure Automation.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Export/import via BACPAC is slower, more expensive, and does not guarantee point-in-time consistency like PITR.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Overview of Azure Data Platform Options
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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