DP-300 Practice Question: Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources
You are monitoring an Azure SQL Database and notice that the average CPU usage is 80% and the average data IO percentage is 70%. You need to identify the most likely cause of the high resource usage. What should you check first?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often jump to 'blocking and deadlocks' (Option C) because they associate high resource usage with concurrency issues, but sustained CPU and IO are far more commonly driven by inefficient queries rather than blocking.
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
✓
Use Query Store to identify top resource-consuming queries
High average CPU (80%) and data IO (70%) suggest that the database is under sustained load from inefficient or resource-intensive queries. Query Store captures query execution plans, runtime statistics, and resource consumption per query, making it the fastest way to pinpoint the top resource consumers. Checking Query Store first allows you to identify the specific queries driving CPU and IO, which is the most direct diagnostic step.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Check for long-running maintenance tasks
Why it's wrong here
Long-running maintenance tasks such as index rebuilds are scheduled and intermittent, so they would not produce sustained average CPU of 80% with 70% data IO. Checking them is tempting during known maintenance windows, but continuous load indicates ongoing query workload rather than scheduled jobs.
- ✗
Check for connection pooling issues
Why it's wrong here
Connection pooling problems surface as connection timeouts or exhaustion errors, not as sustained CPU and data IO consumption. Checking pooling is tempting when applications report connectivity failures, but 80% CPU with 70% IO reflects query execution cost, so expensive queries or missing indexes warrant investigation first.
- ✗
Check for blocking and deadlocks
Why it's wrong here
Blocking and deadlocks manifest as waits and lock contention, which suppress CPU rather than drive it to 80% alongside 70% data IO. Checking them is tempting when queries stall, but sustained high CPU with high IO points to expensive query plans or missing indexes instead.
- ✓
Use Query Store to identify top resource-consuming queries
Why this is correct
Query Store captures execution plans and runtime statistics, letting you identify the specific queries driving the 80% CPU and 70% data IO. It directly satisfies the need to find the resource-consuming cause rather than guessing at infrastructure or indexing issues.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Monitoring Database Performance with Azure Tools
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.
Key term
Query Store
Query Store is a built-in SQL Server feature that captures and stores a history of query execution plans and performance data for easy monitoring and troubleshooting.
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