DP-300 Practice Question: Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources
You manage an Azure SQL Database with the General Purpose service tier. The database experiences performance degradation during peak hours. You enable automatic tuning and want to ensure that the database automatically corrects plan regressions caused by parameter sniffing. Which automatic tuning option should you enable?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse automatic tuning options that address index management with those that handle plan regressions.
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
✓
FORCE LAST GOOD PLAN
Enabling FORCE LAST GOOD PLAN automatic tuning allows Azure SQL Database to automatically detect and mitigate plan regressions caused by parameter sniffing. When a query plan regresses, the feature forces the last known good plan, restoring performance without manual intervention. This is the precise mechanism for the described issue.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
DROP INDEX
Why it's wrong here
DROP INDEX automatic tuning removes redundant or unused indexes. While this can improve performance by reducing overhead, it does not fix plan regressions due to parameter sniffing. The scenario requires correcting suboptimal plans, not removing indexes.
- ✗
CREATE INDEX
Why it's wrong here
CREATE INDEX automatic tuning identifies missing indexes and creates them to improve query performance. However, it does not address plan regressions caused by parameter sniffing, which is the specific issue in this scenario. Enabling this option would not automatically correct the problematic query plans.
- ✓
FORCE LAST GOOD PLAN
Why this is correct
FORCE LAST GOOD PLAN automatically detects plan regressions caused by parameter sniffing and forces the last known good plan. This directly addresses the issue by reverting to a plan that performed well previously, ensuring stable performance during peak hours.
- ✗
AUTO_UPDATE_STATISTICS
Why it's wrong here
AUTO_UPDATE_STATISTICS automatically updates statistics when data changes, which can help with query optimization but does not specifically correct plan regressions from parameter sniffing. It is a database-level setting, not an automatic tuning option for plan correction.
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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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
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