DP-300 Query Store Practice Question
You need to recommend a performance monitoring solution for a new Azure SQL Managed Instance deployment. The solution must provide historical query performance data and the ability to compare performance before and after index changes. What should you include in the recommendation?
⚠ Common exam trap
DP-300 often tests the misconception that DMVs provide historical data, but they are transient and reset on restart; Query Store is the only feature designed for historical query performance analysis.
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 with custom retention settings
Query Store is the only feature that persists query execution plans and runtime statistics in the database, enabling historical performance analysis and before/after comparisons for index changes. It captures query text, plans, and runtime metrics over time, which is exactly what is needed to compare performance before and after index modifications. Custom retention settings allow you to control how long the data is kept, ensuring you have the necessary history.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Query Store with custom retention settings
Why this is correct
Query Store persists query, plan and runtime statistics in the database itself, giving historical performance data and plan comparison across index changes. Custom retention settings keep that history long enough to compare before-and-after behaviour on the Managed Instance.
- ✗
SQL Server DMVs
Why it's wrong here
DMVs expose only current, in-memory state that resets on restart, so they cannot supply the retained historical query data needed to compare performance across an index change. They would be correct for ad-hoc live troubleshooting, not longitudinal before-and-after analysis.
- ✗
Azure SQL Analytics solution in Log Analytics
Why it's wrong here
Azure SQL Analytics is a deprecated Log Analytics solution that surfaces metrics and telemetry, not the per-query execution history needed to compare plans before and after index changes. It would suit general resource-health dashboards, whereas Query Store retains that query-level regression data natively.
- ✗
Azure SQL Database Intelligent Insights
Why it's wrong here
Intelligent Insights detects anomalous performance regressions automatically and reports them, but it does not retain the per-query execution history required to compare before and after index changes. It would be the right pick for proactive anomaly alerting rather than deliberate index-tuning comparisons.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Optimizing Database Query and Index Performance
Key term
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Azure SQL Managed Instance is a fully managed cloud database service that gives you nearly all the features of Microsoft SQL Server on your own server, without you having to manage the hardware or operating system.
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.
About these practice questions
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JA
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.