DP-900 Practice Question: Identify considerations for relational data on Azure
This DP-900 practice question tests your understanding of identify considerations for 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 retail company uses Azure SQL Database to store inventory data. They notice excessive blocking and deadlocks during peak hours. Which design change would best reduce these issues?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Add appropriate indexes to reduce lock duration
Adding appropriate indexes reduces the number of rows scanned during queries, which shortens lock duration and lowers the chance of blocking and deadlocks. In Azure SQL Database, indexes help queries become more efficient by using seeks instead of scans, minimizing the time locks are held on resources.
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.
✗
Implement read replicas for reporting queries
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas offload only read queries, not update conflicts.
✗
Use the READ UNCOMMITTED isolation level
Why it's wrong here
This reduces blocking but risks dirty reads; not a recommended best practice for inventory accuracy.
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Scale up to a higher service objective
Why it's wrong here
Scaling up may improve overall throughput but does not specifically address locking issues.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse scaling up (more resources) with performance tuning, but the DP-900 exam tests understanding that blocking and deadlocks are primarily caused by inefficient query execution, not insufficient hardware.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Azure SQL Database uses row-level locking and lock escalation; without proper indexes, queries may perform table scans that lock many rows for longer periods. In a real-world scenario, a missing index on a frequently filtered column (e.g., ProductID) can cause every UPDATE to scan the entire table, leading to lock contention that deadlocks with concurrent transactions. Indexes enable key lookups and reduce the lock footprint from thousands of rows to just a few.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this DP-900 question in full detail.
Identify considerations for relational data on Azure — This question tests Identify considerations for 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: Add appropriate indexes to reduce lock duration — Adding appropriate indexes reduces the number of rows scanned during queries, which shortens lock duration and lowers the chance of blocking and deadlocks. In Azure SQL Database, indexes help queries become more efficient by using seeks instead of scans, minimizing the time locks are held on resources.
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: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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