Question 920 of 919
DP-300 Plan and implement data platform resources Practice Question
You are configuring Azure SQL Database for an e-commerce application that experiences variable traffic. You need to ensure that the database can automatically scale resources based on demand without manual intervention. The solution must also support scaling to zero compute when not in use to save costs. Which Azure SQL Database offering should you use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse the auto-scaling of serverless with the resource pooling of elastic pools, or assume Hyperscale's high performance includes cost-saving idle scaling, but only serverless offers the specific 'scale to zero' capability.
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
✓
Azure SQL Database serverless.
Azure SQL Database serverless is the correct choice because it automatically scales compute resources based on demand and supports pausing the database when idle, effectively scaling to zero compute to save costs. This aligns perfectly with the requirements of variable traffic and cost optimization without manual intervention.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Azure SQL Database serverless.
Why this is correct
Serverless auto-scales and pauses to zero compute during inactivity.
- ✗
Azure SQL Database elastic pool.
Why it's wrong here
Elastic pool scales but does not pause to zero.
- ✗
Azure SQL Database Hyperscale.
Why it's wrong here
Hyperscale does not pause automatically.
- ✗
Azure SQL Database Business Critical tier.
Why it's wrong here
Business Critical does not support serverless.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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