DP-900 Describe an analytics workload on Azure Practice Question
A company runs a SQL Server database on an Azure virtual machine. They need to offload reporting queries to a read-only copy without modifying the application. Which Azure service should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse read scale-out with Azure SQL Managed Instance or Azure Analysis Services, assuming any read-only copy or analytics service can serve as a transparent offload, but only Azure SQL Database with read scale-out provides automatic, connection-string-based routing without application changes.
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 SQL Database with read scale-out
Azure SQL Database with read scale-out (C) is correct because it creates a read-only replica of the database that can handle reporting queries without modifying the application. The application simply adds `ApplicationIntent=ReadOnly` to the connection string, and the Azure gateway automatically routes read-only queries to the secondary replica, offloading the primary from reporting workloads.
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 Analysis Services
Why it's wrong here
Azure Analysis Services is a managed analytical data modeling service that creates tabular or multidimensional semantic models, not a read-only replica of a transactional database. It compresses and aggregates data into its own in-memory or DirectQuery storage, requiring refresh schedules or separate query paths, and it does not intercept or route queries from your SQL Server VM. Therefore it cannot offload reporting queries directly from the original database; it is an entirely different serving layer for BI modeling.
- ✗
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Why it's wrong here
Azure SQL Managed Instance provides near-100% compatibility with the SQL Server engine but, unlike single Azure SQL databases, it does not offer the built-in read scale-out feature that automatically routes read-only connections to a secondary replica. The service currently supports a read-write primary and high-availability replicas, but reporting queries are not redirected to those replicas via ApplicationIntent, so offloading reads requires manual solutions like transactional replication or an external read replica. Thus, while it is a compatible migration target, it does not fulfill the requirement of automatic read-only routing.
- ✓
Azure SQL Database with read scale-out
Why this is correct
Azure SQL Database with read scale-out is the correct choice because it natively creates multiple readable replicas of your database in Premium, Business Critical, and Hyperscale tiers. By setting ApplicationIntent=ReadOnly in the connection string, the Azure gateway automatically routes reporting queries to an available read-only replica, offloading the primary for transactional work. This feature directly answers the need to reduce load from reporting queries on a SQL Server-compatible database without additional ETL or separate data stores.
- ✗
Azure Synapse Analytics dedicated SQL pool
Why it's wrong here
Azure Synapse Analytics dedicated SQL pool is a cloud-scale data warehouse built on massively parallel processing, designed for petabyte-scale analytical queries, not for acting as an online read replica of an operational database. It requires importing or synchronizing data from the source SQL Server VM via pipelines or external tables, and because it uses a different storage engine and T-SQL dialect with distributed tables, it cannot serve as a transparent read-only copy for the existing application's queries. This option adds latency and complexity rather than providing automatic query offloading.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Azure SQL Services
Key term
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Database is a fully managed relational database-as-a-service (DBaaS) in Microsoft Azure, based on the SQL Server engine, that handles scaling, backups, patching, and high availability automatically.
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
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