DP-900 Practice Question: Describe considerations for working with non-relational data on Azure
This DP-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe considerations for working with non-relational data on azure. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company stores historical sales data in Azure Blob Storage. The data is accessed about once per month and must be immediately available for read when needed. The company wants to minimize storage cost while meeting the access requirement. Which access tier should they use?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Clue: "immediately / without restart"
Why it matters: Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Hot tier has the highest storage cost and is intended for frequently accessed data.
B
Cool tier
Correct. Cool tier provides low-latency access at a lower storage cost than Hot, suitable for data accessed monthly.
C
Cold tier
Why wrong: Incorrect. Cold tier is for data accessed very rarely (a few times a year) and has higher read costs, making it less optimal for monthly access.
D
Archive tier
Why wrong: Incorrect. Archive tier has the lowest storage cost but requires hours to rehydrate, not suitable for immediate access.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Cool tier
The Cool tier is optimal because the data is accessed only once per month, but must be immediately available for reads. Cool tier offers lower storage cost than Hot tier while maintaining low-latency access (no retrieval delay), meeting the requirement at minimal cost.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Hot tier
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Hot tier has the highest storage cost and is intended for frequently accessed data.
✓
Cool tier
Why this is correct
Correct. Cool tier provides low-latency access at a lower storage cost than Hot, suitable for data accessed monthly.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "minimum / minimize", "immediately / without restart" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Cold tier
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Cold tier is for data accessed very rarely (a few times a year) and has higher read costs, making it less optimal for monthly access.
✗
Archive tier
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Archive tier has the lowest storage cost but requires hours to rehydrate, not suitable for immediate access.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may choose Hot tier because they think 'immediately available' requires the highest performance tier, overlooking that Cool and Cold tiers also provide instant access with lower storage costs.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Blob Storage access tiers are optimized for different access patterns: Hot for frequent reads (multiple times per day), Cool for infrequent reads (once per month), Cold for rare reads (once per quarter), and Archive for long-term backup (accessed rarely, with rehydration times from 1 to 15 hours). The Cool tier offers a balance of low storage cost and instant read access, with a 30-day minimum storage duration and higher read costs than Hot, but the monthly access pattern aligns perfectly with its design.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this DP-900 question in full detail.
Describe considerations for working with non-relational data on Azure — This question tests Describe considerations for working with non-relational data on Azure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Cool tier — The Cool tier is optimal because the data is accessed only once per month, but must be immediately available for reads. Cool tier offers lower storage cost than Hot tier while maintaining low-latency access (no retrieval delay), meeting the requirement at minimal cost.
What should I do if I get this DP-900 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize", "immediately / without restart". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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