Describe considerations for working with non-relational data on Azure →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
DP-900 Practice Question: Describe considerations for working with non-relational data on Azure
A company stores IoT sensor data in Azure Blob Storage. The data is structured as JSON files organized by date. Data scientists need to query this data using SQL statements without moving it. Which Azure service should they use to enable this?
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 Synapse Serverless SQL
Azure Synapse Serverless SQL enables querying JSON files directly in Azure Blob Storage using T-SQL without moving the data. Option A (Azure SQL Database) is a relational database that requires data to be loaded into tables. Option B (Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2) is a storage layer, not a query service. Option C (Azure Cosmos DB) is a NoSQL database that can store JSON but requires moving data from Blob Storage.
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 Database
Why it's wrong here
Azure SQL Database is a managed, schema-bound relational database service. It does not provide a way to connect to IoT JSON files in Azure Blob Storage and query them directly; you would first have to import or load the data into tables before running T-SQL queries. This makes it unsuitable when the requirement is to query files in place without moving data.
- ✗
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2
Why it's wrong here
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 is a storage solution built on Blob Storage that adds a hierarchical namespace for organizing directories and files. It gives you a file-based data lake, but it has no query engine of its own: it cannot parse or return results from the IoT JSON files you store in it, unlike a true analytics service.
- ✗
Azure Cosmos DB
Why it's wrong here
Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed, multi-model NoSQL database that stores data as items inside containers and supports querying through its own SQL-like API or SDKs. It does not attach to Azure Blob Storage, so it cannot read or query your IoT sensor JSON files where they reside in Blob Storage. Therefore, Cosmos DB is a data store for applications, not a serverless query service for external blobs.
- ✓
Azure Synapse Serverless SQL
Why this is correct
Azure Synapse Serverless SQL is the appropriate choice because its OPENROWSET function can query JSON (or CSV/Parquet) files directly in Azure Blob Storage or Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 using T-SQL. It does this without requiring you to import the data into a database or provision a dedicated SQL pool, and it uses a pay-per-query model. This lets you run ad hoc analytics on IoT sensor data in place, exactly matching the requirement.
Quick reference
Azure Blob Storage Tier Comparison
| Tier | Storage Cost | Retrieval Cost | Latency | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot | Highest | Lowest | Immediate | Active data, frequent reads |
| Cool | Lower | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / month |
| Cold | Lower still | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / quarter |
| Archive | Lowest | Highest + rehydration delay | Hours | Long-term compliance retention |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Data Roles and Core Concepts
Key term
Azure Cosmos DB
Azure Cosmos DB is a fully managed, globally distributed NoSQL database service that offers fast reads and writes anywhere in the world with automatic scaling and multiple consistency models.
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.
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