DP-300 Practice Question: Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources
You are managing an Azure SQL Database that uses the vCore purchasing model. You need to configure an alert that fires when the database's CPU usage exceeds 80% for 10 minutes. You want to minimize administrative effort. What should you do?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is overcomplicating the solution by using Log Analytics or custom jobs, when Azure Monitor metric alerts provide a built-in, low-effort mechanism.
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 alert rule in Azure Monitor based on the cpu_percent metric.
Azure Monitor metric alerts can directly monitor the cpu_percent metric for Azure SQL Database. You can set a threshold of 80% over a 10-minute aggregation window. This requires minimal configuration and no custom code. Other options either do not support the requirement (automatic tuning), are not available (SQL Agent), or involve more effort (Log Analytics). Therefore, creating an Azure Monitor alert rule is the correct and most efficient solution.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Configure a diagnostic setting to stream logs to Log Analytics and create a log alert.
Why it's wrong here
Streaming logs to Log Analytics and creating a log alert is possible, but it is more complex and has higher latency than using platform metrics. Azure Monitor metric alerts are simpler and faster for resource metrics like CPU. Diagnostic logs are better for query-level auditing or error logs, not for basic resource utilization alerts. This option requires more setup and is not the least administrative effort.
- ✓
Create an alert rule in Azure Monitor based on the cpu_percent metric.
Why this is correct
Azure Monitor provides built-in metrics for Azure SQL Database, including cpu_percent. You can create an alert rule that triggers when the average cpu_percent exceeds 80% over a 10-minute window. This is the most direct and least administrative effort because it uses platform metrics and the Azure Monitor alerting framework, with no need to write custom queries or deploy additional components.
- ✗
Enable automatic tuning and configure it to send email notifications.
Why it's wrong here
Automatic tuning does not monitor CPU usage or send alerts based on resource consumption. It focuses on query plan and index recommendations. It cannot be configured to alert when CPU exceeds a threshold. Therefore, it does not meet the requirement of alerting on CPU usage and would not provide the needed notification.
- ✗
Create a SQL Agent job that checks sys.dm_db_resource_stats and sends an email.
Why it's wrong here
Azure SQL Database does not support SQL Server Agent. While you could use Elastic Database Jobs or Azure Automation to run T-SQL and send email, that requires more administrative effort than using Azure Monitor alerts. Additionally, sys.dm_db_resource_stats returns data at 15-second intervals for the last hour, so you would need to aggregate over 10 minutes. This approach is more complex and not the least effort.
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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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
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.