DP-900 Practice Question: Identify considerations for relational data on Azure
A startup is migrating its on-premises SQL Server database to Azure. They want the least administrative overhead for patching and backups. Which Azure data service should they choose?
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 SQL Database
Azure SQL Database is a fully managed platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that automates patching, backups, and high availability. Option A is wrong because Azure Database for PostgreSQL is a different database engine, not SQL Server. Option B is wrong because SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines (IaaS) requires manual patching and backup management. Option D is wrong because Azure Cosmos DB is a NoSQL database, not relational.
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 Database for PostgreSQL
Why it's wrong here
Azure Database for PostgreSQL is a relational database service, but it runs the PostgreSQL engine, not Microsoft SQL Server. Migrating from SQL Server to PostgreSQL requires rewriting T-SQL stored procedures, functions, and triggers into PL/pgSQL, and you must adjust for differences in data types, indexing, and transaction handling. It is not a compatible lift-and-shift target, so it is incorrect for this migration.
- ✗
SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines
Why it's wrong here
SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines is an IaaS solution where you get full administrative control over the OS and SQL Server instance. This means you are responsible for applying OS and SQL Server patches, managing your own backups, and configuring high availability (e.g., Always On Availability Groups) manually. While it supports migration, it introduces ongoing operational overhead that a startup would typically want to avoid compared to a fully managed PaaS option.
- ✓
Azure SQL Database
Why this is correct
Azure SQL Database is a fully managed relational database service built on the SQL Server engine, offering near-total compatibility with on-premises SQL Server databases via the Data Migration Assistant and Database Migration Service. It automates patching, backups, point-in-time restore, and provides built-in high availability with a 99.99% SLA, plus intelligent features like automatic performance tuning and threat detection. This makes it the most appropriate choice for a startup wanting to offload maintenance while keeping a relational SQL Server model.
- ✗
Azure Cosmos DB
Why it's wrong here
Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed, multi-model NoSQL database that supports document, key-value, graph, and column-family APIs, but it does not provide a relational model with standard SQL Server semantics. Migrating a SQL Server database would require redesigning the schema into JSON documents, and you would lose native cross-table ACID transactions (unless using transactional batches with bounded scopes). It is fundamentally a NoSQL solution, so it is not suitable for a straightforward relational migration.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Data Roles and Core Concepts
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
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.
About these practice questions
This DP-900 question is part of Courseiva's 820-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
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.