Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company uses Azure SQL Database for a financial system. The Transactions table contains millions of rows. Queries frequently aggregate data for the current month, but also need to retain historical data for 7 years. The company wants to improve query performance for the monthly aggregations and simplify data archiving. Which design should they implement?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Create a clustered columnstore index on the entire table.
Incorrect. While a columnstore index can improve analytical query performance, it does not simplify archiving and may degrade insert performance. Partitioning is better for this scenario.
B
Best answer
Partition the table by month and create aligned indexes.
Correct. Partitioning by month supports partition elimination for monthly queries and allows for easy partition switching to archive old data.
C
Distractor review
Use Azure SQL Database elastic pool for the database.
Incorrect. Elastic pools manage resource sharing across databases, not table performance or archiving.
D
Distractor review
Implement transparent data encryption.
Incorrect. Transparent data encryption (TDE) encrypts data at rest but does not improve query performance or simplify archiving.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Related practice questions
Related DP-900 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
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Question 2
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Question 4
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Question 5
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Question 6
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DP-900 question test?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Partition the table by month and create aligned indexes. — Partitioning the Transactions table by month allows the database engine to perform partition elimination, scanning only the relevant partition(s) for monthly aggregations. Partition switching also enables efficient archiving of old data. Clustered columnstore indexes can improve compression and analytical performance but do not offer the same ease of archiving. Partitioning is the standard approach for managing large temporal tables.
What should I do if I get this DP-900 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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