DP-900 Describe core data concepts Practice Question
A globally distributed online auction platform uses a replicated database system across multiple Azure regions. The system must continue accepting bids (writes) even if a network partition occurs between regions, because auctions cannot be interrupted. The business decides that during a partition, some users might see slightly outdated item prices (read inconsistency) but all bids must be recorded. According to the CAP theorem, which two properties is this system prioritizing?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is that candidates often focus only on CAP properties and forget that other properties like Durability are also essential in practice. Also, they may confuse CAP's Consistency with ACID consistency. The correct answers include both a CAP pair and an additional non-CAP property.
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
✓
Availability (A) and Partition Tolerance (P)
The CAP theorem defines three properties: Consistency (C), Availability (A), and Partition Tolerance (P). The system continues accepting bids during network partitions, prioritizing Availability (every request receives a response) and Partition Tolerance (system operates despite network splits). Option A (Availability and Partition Tolerance) directly describes this AP trade-off. Option D (Durability and Availability) is incorrect because Durability is not a CAP property; it belongs to ACID. The question specifically asks for CAP properties, so only A is correct.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Availability (A) and Partition Tolerance (P)
Why this is correct
Correct. The system must accept writes during partitions (Partition Tolerance) and ensure every request gets a response (Availability), even if read inconsistency occurs.
- ✗
Consistency (C) and Partition Tolerance (P)
Why it's wrong here
Choosing Consistency and Partition Tolerance would mean that during a network partition, the system cannot guarantee availability (e.g., it might refuse writes or reads from some regions to maintain consistency). This is not what the scenario describes—the system must keep accepting bids.
- ✗
Consistency (C) and Availability (A)
Why it's wrong here
According to the CAP theorem, it is impossible to guarantee both Consistency and Availability in the presence of a network partition. The system must tolerate partitions, so this combination is not achievable in practice.
- ✗
Durability and Availability
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Although Durability is important for recording bids, it is not part of the CAP theorem. The question asks for properties according to CAP, so this option is invalid.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DP-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DP-900 exam.