DP-300 Plan and implement data platform resources Practice Question
You are designing a security strategy for Azure SQL Database. You need to ensure that database access is secured using Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) authentication. Which THREE actions should you take? (Choose THREE.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse enabling Entra ID authentication with disabling SQL Server authentication (Option B) or with enabling TDE (Option D), both of which are independent security controls not required for Entra ID-based access.
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 a Microsoft Entra ID administrator for the Azure SQL logical server.
Option A is correct because every Azure SQL logical server must have a Microsoft Entra ID administrator provisioned (via the server's Microsoft Entra admin setting) before Entra authentication can be used to manage and connect to the database. Option C is correct because applications should authenticate using Microsoft Entra ID with MFA, leveraging token-based authentication (for example, Microsoft.Data.SqlClient with Authentication=Active Directory Interactive/Password or managed identity) to enforce strong, centralized identity controls. Option E is correct because contained database users mapped to Microsoft Entra ID principals (CREATE USER ... FROM EXTERNAL PROVIDER) allow Entra logins to access the database without requiring server-level logins, which is the recommended pattern for Entra-authenticated database access. Option B is not required: disabling SQL authentication is optional and not mandatory for enabling Entra ID authentication, and it can break existing tooling or break-glass scenarios. Option D is not relevant here because TDE provides encryption at rest for data files and does not implement Entra ID authentication for database access.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create a Microsoft Entra ID administrator for the Azure SQL logical server.
Why this is correct
Creating a Microsoft Entra ID administrator for the logical server establishes the identity that can manage Entra-authenticated access. Without this server-level administrator, database users cannot be mapped to Microsoft Entra ID principals, so it is a required action.
- ✗
Disable SQL Server authentication after migrating to Entra ID.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling SQL authentication does not by itself secure access via Microsoft Entra ID; the required actions are creating an Entra administrator, connecting with Entra credentials, and granting contained database users. Disabling SQL logins suits hardened environments once Entra access is already configured and verified.
- ✓
Configure applications to use Microsoft Entra ID with MFA.
Why this is correct
Applications connecting to Azure SQL Database must authenticate with Microsoft Entra ID and enforce MFA, satisfying the stem's requirement for Entra ID-based access. This replaces SQL logins with token-based authentication, so clients must be configured to obtain and present Entra ID tokens with MFA completed.
- ✗
Enable Transparent Data Encryption (TDE).
Why it's wrong here
TDE encrypts data at rest on disk; it does not govern authentication, so it cannot secure database access through Microsoft Entra ID. Enabling TDE is the right action when the requirement is encryption of data and log files, not identity-based sign-in.
- ✓
Create a contained database user mapped to a Microsoft Entra ID principal.
Why this is correct
A contained database user mapped to a Microsoft Entra ID principal lets that identity authenticate directly against the database without a server-level login, which is precisely how Entra ID authentication is granted in Azure SQL Database. Without this mapping, the Entra principal cannot access the database.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Managing Identity and Access for Azure SQL
Key term
Transparent Data Encryption
Transparent Data Encryption is a security feature that automatically encrypts data written to a database and decrypts it when read, without requiring any changes to the application.
Key term
Azure SQL Authentication
Azure SQL Authentication is the process of verifying a user's identity to access an Azure SQL database using either a username and password (SQL Authentication) or a Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) identity.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.