DP-900 Describe core data concepts Practice Question
Which TWO Azure services are primarily used for batch processing of large volumes of data? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse Azure Data Lake Storage (a storage service) with a processing service, or mistakenly think Azure SQL Database can handle large-scale batch processing due to its ability to run bulk insert operations, but it lacks the distributed compute and parallel architecture required for true batch processing at scale.
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 correct because it provides a cloud-based data warehousing and analytics service that uses massively parallel processing (MPP) to run complex queries and batch processing jobs over large datasets, often using PolyBase or T-SQL to transform and load data in bulk. Azure Databricks is correct because it is an Apache Spark-based analytics platform optimized for batch processing, allowing users to run distributed data processing jobs (e.g., ETL, data transformation) across large volumes of data using DataFrames and RDDs in a cluster environment.
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 Synapse Analytics
Why this is correct
Synapse provides SQL and Spark engines for batch processing.
- ✗
Azure SQL Database
Why it's wrong here
SQL Database is for transactional workloads, not batch processing.
- ✗
Azure Stream Analytics
Why it's wrong here
Stream Analytics is for real-time stream processing.
- ✓
Azure Databricks
Why this is correct
Databricks provides Apache Spark for batch and stream processing.
- ✗
Azure Data Lake Storage
Why it's wrong here
Data Lake Storage is a storage layer, not a processing service.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Data Roles and Core Concepts
Key term
Azure Databricks
Azure Databricks is a fast, easy, and collaborative Apache Spark-based analytics platform optimized for Azure that lets data teams prepare data, run machine learning models, and build data pipelines using a single workspace.
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.
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