DP-300 Practice Question: Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources
Your Azure SQL Managed Instance is experiencing high PAGELATCH_SH waits. You need to reduce this contention. What should you implement?
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
✓
Add more data files to the filegroup
Adding more data files to the filegroup spreads out page allocations, reducing contention for allocation structures and thus decreasing PAGELATCH_SH waits. Option A is incorrect because scaling up may provide more resources but does not directly address the page latch contention caused by allocation bottlenecks. Option B is incorrect because delayed durability only affects transaction log write behavior, not page latches. Option C is incorrect because a readable secondary replica does not alleviate latch contention on the primary; it is designed for read workload offloading, not contention reduction.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Scale up the managed instance to a higher service tier
Why it's wrong here
Scaling to a higher service tier adds CPU, memory, and IOPS, yet PAGELATCH_SH is a latch wait on in-memory page access, not a resource shortage. It is tempting because scaling fixes many performance problems, and it would be correct when waits stem from exhausted compute or storage throughput.
- ✗
Enable delayed durability
Why it's wrong here
Delayed durability changes when transaction log records are flushed to disk, reducing WRITELOG waits, not PAGELATCH_SH contention on data pages. It is tempting because both are wait types, and it would be correct when log write latency, rather than concurrent page access, is the bottleneck.
- ✗
Configure a readable secondary replica
Why it's wrong here
A readable secondary replica offloads read workloads but does not alter how the primary serialises page access, so PAGELATCH_SH contention on hot pages persists. It is tempting because replicas relieve resource pressure generally, and it would be correct when read traffic, not page-level insert contention, is the bottleneck.
- ✓
Add more data files to the filegroup
Why this is correct
Adding data files spreads insert activity across multiple allocation bitmaps, relieving PAGELATCH_SH contention on last-page insert hotspots. This directly addresses the stem's high PAGELATCH_SH waits, which stem from concurrent inserts competing for the same page and allocation structures within a single file.
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Implementing High Availability for Azure SQL Databases
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.
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