- A
Azure Stream Analytics
Why wrong: Azure Stream Analytics is designed for real-time stream processing and can output to dashboards, but it does not natively support ad-hoc T-SQL queries on historical batch data combined with live streams.
- B
Azure Synapse Analytics
Azure Synapse Analytics unifies big data and data warehousing. It can ingest streaming data via Event Hubs, query both streaming and batch data using T-SQL across the data lake, and support dashboarding, making it the best fit for both real-time and ad-hoc requirements.
- C
Azure Databricks
Why wrong: Azure Databricks is excellent for data engineering and machine learning with Python, Scala, and SQL. However, it does not provide native T-SQL support and is less suited for users who need a traditional T-SQL query experience.
- D
Azure Analysis Services
Why wrong: Azure Analysis Services is a semantic modeling service that requires pre-built models and is not designed for real-time streaming ingestion or ad-hoc T-SQL queries on raw data lake files.
DP-900 Describe an analytics workload on Azure Practice Question
This DP-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe an analytics workload 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 smart building monitoring company ingests real-time sensor data (temperature, humidity, occupancy) from thousands of IoT devices into Azure Event Hubs. The company also stores historical building blueprints and maintenance records as CSV files in Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2. The engineering team needs to build a dashboard that displays live sensor readings overlaid on building floor plans, and also allows facility managers to run ad-hoc T-SQL queries that combine live sensor data with historical maintenance records. Which Azure service should they use as the primary analytics platform to meet both requirements?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"primary"Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
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 Analytics
Azure Synapse Analytics is the correct choice because it provides a unified analytics platform that combines big data and data warehousing. It can ingest real-time streaming data from Azure Event Hubs via its built-in Spark pools or pipelines, and also run ad-hoc T-SQL queries against both the live sensor data (staged in tables) and historical CSV files stored in Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 using serverless SQL pools. This meets both the real-time dashboard and ad-hoc T-SQL query requirements.
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.
- ✗
Azure Stream Analytics
Why it's wrong here
Azure Stream Analytics is designed for real-time stream processing and can output to dashboards, but it does not natively support ad-hoc T-SQL queries on historical batch data combined with live streams.
- ✓
Azure Synapse Analytics
Why this is correct
Azure Synapse Analytics unifies big data and data warehousing. It can ingest streaming data via Event Hubs, query both streaming and batch data using T-SQL across the data lake, and support dashboarding, making it the best fit for both real-time and ad-hoc requirements.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Azure Databricks
Why it's wrong here
Azure Databricks is excellent for data engineering and machine learning with Python, Scala, and SQL. However, it does not provide native T-SQL support and is less suited for users who need a traditional T-SQL query experience.
- ✗
Azure Analysis Services
Why it's wrong here
Azure Analysis Services is a semantic modeling service that requires pre-built models and is not designed for real-time streaming ingestion or ad-hoc T-SQL queries on raw data lake files.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose Azure Stream Analytics because they focus only on the real-time dashboard requirement, overlooking the need for ad-hoc T-SQL queries against historical data, which Stream Analytics cannot fulfill.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Azure Stream Analytics is designed for real-time stream processing and can output to dashboards, but it does not natively support ad-hoc T-SQL queries on historical batch data combined with live streams.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Synapse Analytics uses a distributed query engine (PolyBase) to query data in Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 using T-SQL without moving the data, enabling seamless integration of live sensor data (stored in tables) with historical CSV files. Its serverless SQL pool can query CSV files directly via OPENROWSET, while dedicated SQL pools provide high-performance data warehousing for aggregated streaming data. The real-time dashboard can be built using Power BI connected to Synapse, which supports both streaming and batch data sources.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DP-900 question test?
Describe an analytics workload on Azure — This question tests Describe an analytics workload on Azure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Synapse Analytics — Azure Synapse Analytics is the correct choice because it provides a unified analytics platform that combines big data and data warehousing. It can ingest real-time streaming data from Azure Event Hubs via its built-in Spark pools or pipelines, and also run ad-hoc T-SQL queries against both the live sensor data (staged in tables) and historical CSV files stored in Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 using serverless SQL pools. This meets both the real-time dashboard and ad-hoc T-SQL query requirements.
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: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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