DP-300 Configure and manage automation of tasks Practice Question
You need to automate the scaling of an Azure SQL Database in response to CPU usage using Azure Automation. Which Azure service should you use to monitor CPU metrics and trigger the runbook?
⚠ Common exam trap
DP-300 often tests the confusion between Azure Monitor metric alerts and Log Analytics, where candidates may think Log Analytics triggers runbooks, but metric alerts are the correct service for metric-based automation.
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
✓
Azure Monitor metric alerts
Azure Monitor metric alerts are used to monitor CPU metrics and trigger actions such as runbooks in Azure Automation. You can create an alert rule based on a metric like CPU percentage, and configure an action group that triggers a runbook. This is the standard way to automate scaling based on 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 SQL Analytics
Why it's wrong here
Azure SQL Analytics is a monitoring solution that visualises performance in Log Analytics; it does not generate the metric alert that invokes an Automation runbook. It suits dashboards and troubleshooting. Triggering runbooks from CPU thresholds requires Azure Monitor metric alerts with an action group.
- ✗
Azure Log Analytics
Why it's wrong here
Log Analytics stores and queries log and metric data but does not itself raise alerts that trigger runbooks; an alert rule must be created on top of it. It suits centralised telemetry and KQL analysis. The question asks which service monitors CPU metrics and triggers the runbook, which Azure Monitor does directly.
- ✗
Kusto Query Language (KQL)
Why it's wrong here
KQL is a query language, not a service, so it cannot monitor metrics or fire a runbook. It suits writing queries inside Log Analytics or Azure Monitor. The scenario needs a monitoring service whose metric alert action group calls the Automation runbook, which Azure Monitor provides.
- ✓
Azure Monitor metric alerts
Why this is correct
Azure Monitor metric alerts evaluate platform metrics such as CPU percentage on a near-real-time basis and fire an action group that invokes the Azure Automation runbook via a webhook. This satisfies the stem's requirement to monitor CPU usage and trigger scaling automatically, unlike log-based alerts which add query latency.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Configuring Automation Tasks for Database Administration
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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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
This DP-300 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DP-300 exam.