DP-900 Describe an analytics workload on Azure Practice Question
You are a business analyst at a manufacturing company. The company uses Azure SQL Database to store production data. You need to create a Power BI report that shows real-time machine efficiency. The report must refresh every 5 minutes to show current metrics. You have been granted read-only access to the database. The database is under heavy load from transactional applications, and you want to minimize additional impact. Which approach should you take to create the report?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse DirectQuery with real-time capability, not realizing that DirectQuery sends live queries to the source for every interaction, which would exacerbate database load rather than minimize it.
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
✓
Use Power BI Import mode with incremental refresh policy to load only new data every 5 minutes
B is correct because Power BI Import mode with an incremental refresh policy allows you to load only new or changed data every 5 minutes, minimizing the load on the heavily used Azure SQL Database. This approach avoids repeated full table scans, reduces query impact, and still provides near-real-time metrics for the report.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Disable the Power BI Query Cache to reduce database load
Why it's wrong here
Disabling the Power BI Query Cache is counterproductive for reducing database load. The query cache stores the results of DAX queries for report visuals, so subsequent interactions (slicer changes, page loads) can be served from memory instead of hitting the underlying database. When disabled, every tile and report interaction forces a live query against the source, increasing the query volume and database load. This option worsens the problem and does nothing to address the 5-minute freshness requirement.
- ✓
Use Power BI Import mode with incremental refresh policy to load only new data every 5 minutes
Why this is correct
Using Import mode with an incremental refresh policy is the correct approach because it copies data into Power BI's fast in-memory VertiPaq engine, ensuring interactive reports never query the operational database directly. An incremental refresh policy partitions data by time (e.g., a date/time column) and, when configured to run every 5 minutes, only loads new or changed rows from the most recent partition rather than performing a full table refresh. This dramatically reduces database load while meeting the strict freshness target, as only the delta is pulled from the source.
- ✗
Configure Power BI to use DirectQuery mode to ensure real-time data
Why it's wrong here
Configuring Power BI to use DirectQuery mode sends every user interaction—filter changes, drill-downs, row-level security evaluations, and even initial page loads—as native queries to the source database in real time. With multiple concurrent users on a manufacturing dashboard, this generates a continuous, heavy query stream that can degrade or even block the source system. DirectQuery may provide real-time data, but it increases source load rather than reducing it, and it does not support efficient 5-minute incremental refresh; it contradicts the core requirement.
- ✗
Export the data to a CSV file and import it into Power BI daily
Why it's wrong here
Exporting the data to a CSV file and importing it daily fails the 5-minute refresh requirement because the data would be up to 24 hours stale between exports. Additionally, a full daily CSV import is a batch operation that reloads the entire dataset, not just new or changed rows, so it offers no reduction in database load and introduces manual pipeline steps that are error-prone and inflexible. This approach also misses the need for near-real-time freshness and cannot be tuned to a 5-minute cadence without moving to an automated incremental process.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Data Roles and Core Concepts
Key term
Data
Data is raw, unprocessed information, like numbers, words, or measurements, that can be stored, processed, and analyzed by computers.
Key term
Table
A table is a structured collection of data organized into rows and columns, used in databases and spreadsheets to store and manage information efficiently.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
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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.