DP-300 Practice Question: Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources
You have an Azure SQL Database that is experiencing performance issues. You suspect that a recent deployment introduced a regression in a stored procedure. You need to identify the query plan change and the specific query that is performing poorly. What should you use?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that real-time tools like DMVs or Profiler can show historical plan changes, when only Query Store provides that capability.
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
✓
Query Store
Query Store is the correct tool because it retains historical query plans and runtime statistics, enabling you to detect plan changes and performance regressions. It can show when a stored procedure's plan changed and how its performance degraded. Other tools either lack historical data (DMVs), are unavailable (Profiler), or lack query-level detail (Azure Monitor metrics).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Azure Monitor metrics
Why it's wrong here
Azure Monitor metrics provide resource utilization data like CPU and DTU, but they do not capture individual query plans or stored procedure performance. They can indicate that performance degraded, but not which query or plan changed. To identify a specific query regression, you need query-level diagnostics, which Azure Monitor metrics do not provide. Thus, it is not the right tool for this task.
- ✓
Query Store
Why this is correct
Query Store captures query plans, runtime statistics, and history, allowing you to identify plan changes and performance regressions over time. You can pinpoint the stored procedure and see when its plan changed and how performance degraded. This is the ideal tool for diagnosing regressions because it retains historical data and provides built-in reporting for plan changes and top resource consumers.
- ✗
SQL Server Profiler
Why it's wrong here
SQL Server Profiler is not supported for Azure SQL Database. Even for on-premises, it captures trace events in real-time but does not store historical plan data for comparison. It could capture a live trace, but it would not show the previous plan. For Azure SQL Database, Extended Events or Query Store are preferred. Profiler is not available, making this option invalid.
- ✗
Dynamic management views (DMVs)
Why it's wrong here
DMVs provide current execution statistics and can show active queries and waits, but they do not retain historical data. Once a query completes, its plan and stats may be gone. To identify a regression from a recent deployment, you need historical plan and performance data. DMVs alone cannot show what the plan was before the deployment, so they are insufficient for this scenario.
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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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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
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