DP-300 Practice Question: Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources
You are monitoring an Azure SQL Database using Azure Monitor metrics. You need to configure alerts to notify the operations team when the database is approaching resource limits. Which two metrics should you use to detect potential CPU and I/O bottlenecks? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is choosing metrics like log_write_percent or workers_percent that are related to resource usage but not specifically CPU or read I/O, which are the bottlenecks in question.
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
✓
cpu_percent
To detect CPU and I/O bottlenecks, the cpu_percent and physical_data_read_percent metrics are the most direct indicators. cpu_percent shows CPU utilization, while physical_data_read_percent reflects I/O read pressure. These metrics are available in Azure Monitor and can be used to trigger alerts when thresholds are exceeded, enabling proactive management.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
sessions_percent
Why it's wrong here
The sessions_percent metric shows the percentage of allowed concurrent sessions in use. It is useful for detecting connection limits, but it does not directly measure CPU or I/O resource consumption. Therefore, it is not the best choice for identifying CPU and I/O bottlenecks.
- ✗
log_write_percent
Why it's wrong here
The log_write_percent metric measures the percentage of log write throughput consumed. While important for write-heavy workloads, it is not a direct indicator of CPU or read I/O bottlenecks. The scenario focuses on CPU and I/O, so this metric is less relevant for the stated goal.
- ✓
cpu_percent
Why this is correct
The cpu_percent metric represents the percentage of CPU usage by the database. It is a direct indicator of CPU pressure. Alerting when this metric consistently exceeds a threshold, such as 80%, helps identify CPU bottlenecks before they impact performance. This metric is available in Azure Monitor for Azure SQL Database.
- ✓
physical_data_read_percent
Why this is correct
The physical_data_read_percent metric indicates the percentage of data read from disk relative to the maximum allowed for the service tier. High values suggest I/O bottlenecks and potential storage throttling. Monitoring this metric allows proactive scaling or query optimization to reduce physical reads.
- ✗
workers_percent
Why it's wrong here
The workers_percent metric indicates the percentage of worker threads in use. While high worker usage can correlate with CPU pressure, it is not a direct CPU metric. The cpu_percent metric is more straightforward for CPU bottleneck detection. Workers_percent is more about thread exhaustion than raw CPU.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Managing Environment Configurations and Resource Governance
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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JA
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.