DP-300 Practice Question: Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources
You are monitoring an Azure SQL Database that is experiencing high DTU usage. Which TWO metrics should you examine to determine whether the bottleneck is CPU or I/O?
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
✓
Log write bytes per second.
Average CPU percentage directly measures CPU utilization, indicating a CPU bottleneck when high. Log write bytes per second measures the throughput of transaction log writes, which is a key indicator of I/O activity and can reveal an I/O bottleneck. Therefore, both A and B are correct metrics to diagnose whether the high DTU usage is caused by CPU or I/O.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Log write bytes per second.
Why this is correct
Correct. High log write bytes per second indicates significant I/O activity from transaction log writes, helping to identify an I/O bottleneck.
- ✓
Average CPU percentage.
Why this is correct
Correct. High average CPU percentage directly shows that the CPU is heavily utilized, indicating a CPU bottleneck.
- ✗
Number of deadlocks per second.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Number of deadlocks per second measures concurrency issues, not resource usage like CPU or I/O.
- ✗
Used storage space in GB.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Used storage space in GB is a capacity metric, not a performance metric for identifying CPU or I/O bottlenecks.
- ✗
Number of active sessions.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Number of active sessions indicates concurrency, not resource utilization; it does not directly pinpoint CPU or I/O bottlenecks.
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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