DP-300 Plan and implement data platform resources Practice Question
You are configuring Azure SQL Database for a new e-commerce application that must support high read throughput for product catalog queries. The application uses Entity Framework Core and requires that read-only queries be offloaded to a secondary replica to reduce load on the primary. Which feature should you enable?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse read scale-out with Active Geo-Replication, assuming that any readable secondary must be in a different region, but read scale-out works within the same region and is specifically designed for read-only workload offloading.
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
✓
Enable read scale-out and configure the application to use read-only intent.
Read scale-out in Azure SQL Database allows you to offload read-only workloads to a readable secondary replica by setting the application connection string's `ApplicationIntent=ReadOnly`. This reduces load on the primary replica, which is essential for high read throughput in an e-commerce catalog scenario. Entity Framework Core can use this by specifying `ReadOnly` in the connection string or via a custom interceptor.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Enable read scale-out and configure the application to use read-only intent.
Why this is correct
Read scale-out uses a secondary replica for read-only queries.
- ✗
Enable Query Performance Insights and create indexes for frequent queries.
Why it's wrong here
This improves performance but does not offload reads.
- ✗
Configure Active Geo-Replication with a readable secondary in a different region.
Why it's wrong here
Geo-replication is for disaster recovery, not for offloading reads in the same region.
- ✗
Enable automatic tuning to force parameterization of queries.
Why it's wrong here
Automatic tuning does not offload read traffic.
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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