DP-300 Automatic tuning Practice Question
You have an Azure SQL Database that uses automatic tuning. Which TWO benefits does automatic tuning provide?
⚠ Common exam trap
Automatic tuning in Azure SQL Database includes only index creation and plan regression correction. It does not include auto-scaling, read replicas, or statistics updates.
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
✓
Automatically identify and correct query plan regressions
Options B and E are correct. Automatic tuning can identify and correct query plan regressions (B) and automatically create missing indexes (E). Option A is wrong because automatic tuning does not automatically scale the service tier; that's auto-scale. Option C is wrong because automatic tuning does not automatically create read replicas. Option D is wrong because automatic tuning does not automatically update statistics.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Automatically scale up the database service tier
Why it's wrong here
Automatic tuning adjusts indexes and plans, not the service tier or compute size; scaling is performed by autoscale or manual tier changes. It is tempting because elastic scaling addresses performance problems that tuning also targets, and autoscale would be correct when the requirement is handling variable workload demand rather than query plan regression.
- ✓
Automatically identify and correct query plan regressions
Why this is correct
Automatic tuning detects plan regressions by comparing query performance over time and forces the last known good plan, restoring throughput without manual intervention. This directly addresses the regression-correction benefit, distinct from index creation or parameter forcing.
- ✗
Automatically create read replicas
Why it's wrong here
Automatic tuning does not provision read replicas; that is handled by active geo-replication or the business-critical tier's built-in replicas. It is tempting because read scale-out improves query performance, the same goal as tuning, and read replicas would be correct when the requirement is offloading read-only reporting workloads rather than correcting regressed execution plans.
- ✗
Automatically update statistics
Why it's wrong here
Automatic tuning's statistics management is handled by the automatic plan correction and index features, but updating statistics is performed by the automatic statistics update setting, which is a separate database-level configuration, not a benefit of automatic tuning itself. It is tempting because statistics maintenance is a genuine tuning concern, and auto-update statistics is the correct choice when the question asks about automatic statistics maintenance rather than automatic tuning benefits.
- ✓
Automatically create missing indexes
Why this is correct
Automatic tuning continuously analyses query workload and creates indexes that the optimiser would benefit from, directly addressing missing-index recommendations. This reduces manual index administration and improves query performance without intervention, satisfying the benefit of automated index management within Azure SQL Database.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Optimizing Database Query and Index Performance
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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