DP-300 Practice Question: Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources
You have an Azure SQL Database that is used by a reporting application. Reports run slowly during the day. You notice that the database is at the S1 tier. You need to improve report performance without changing application code. What should you do?
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
✓
Scale up the database to a higher service tier.
Scaling up to a higher service tier (e.g., S2 or S3) provides more DTUs, which directly addresses the resource bottleneck and improves report performance without changing application code. Option A is incorrect because while rebuilding fragmented indexes can help query performance, it may not be sufficient if the underlying issue is insufficient resources. Option C is incorrect because table partitioning can improve manageability and partition elimination but does not guarantee performance improvement for reports and often requires query changes. Option D is incorrect because read scale-out is only available on the Premium and Business Critical service tiers, not on the S1 tier.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Rebuild fragmented indexes.
Why it's wrong here
Index maintenance can help but may not resolve resource shortage.
- ✓
Scale up the database to a higher service tier.
Why this is correct
Higher DTU allocation directly improves throughput.
- ✗
Implement table partitioning.
Why it's wrong here
Table partitioning can improve query performance for large tables but adds complexity and is not a guarantee for report performance issues caused by insufficient resources.
- ✗
Enable read scale-out to offload reports.
Why it's wrong here
Read scale-out is only available in the Premium and Business Critical service tiers, and the current database is at the S1 tier, so it is not applicable.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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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