DP-300 Practice Question: Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources
You are tuning an Azure SQL Database that uses the General Purpose service tier. The database experiences high transaction log write waits during peak hours, and you observe that the log rate is frequently near its limit. You need to increase the maximum log rate for the database. What should you do?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is thinking that adding more vCores or storage will increase the log rate, when the limit is actually tied to the service tier's storage subsystem.
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
✓
Change the database to the Business Critical service tier.
The maximum log rate in Azure SQL Database is determined by the service tier and hardware generation. General Purpose has a lower log rate limit than Business Critical, which uses local SSD and offers higher throughput. To increase the log rate, you must move to Business Critical. Scaling compute within General Purpose or increasing storage does not raise the log rate limit. ADR improves recovery but not log throughput.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Change the database to the Business Critical service tier.
Why this is correct
The Business Critical tier uses local SSD storage and has a significantly higher maximum log rate compared to General Purpose. This directly addresses the log write wait issue by providing faster log throughput. While it increases cost, it is the correct action when the log rate is the bottleneck and needs to be raised beyond the General Purpose limit.
- ✗
Enable accelerated database recovery (ADR) on the database.
Why it's wrong here
Accelerated database recovery improves availability by reducing recovery time, but it does not change the maximum log rate. It manages version store and log truncation more efficiently, but the underlying log write throughput limit remains unchanged. Enabling ADR will not increase the log rate and therefore will not solve the log write wait problem.
- ✗
Scale up the database to a higher compute size within the General Purpose tier.
Why it's wrong here
Scaling up within General Purpose increases vCores and memory, which can improve overall throughput, but it does not increase the maximum log rate beyond the tier's limit. The log rate limit is determined by the service tier and hardware generation, not by the number of vCores alone. Therefore, this action may not resolve the log write bottleneck if the limit is already reached.
- ✗
Increase the maximum storage size of the database.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing storage size adds more space for data and log files, but it does not affect the log write throughput limit. The log rate is a function of the service tier and hardware, not the amount of storage allocated. Therefore, this action will not increase the maximum log rate and will not alleviate the log write waits.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Implementing High Availability for Azure SQL Databases
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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Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
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