DP-900 Describe core data concepts Practice Question
Your organization uses Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 as a data lake. You need to enforce data retention policies automatically, such as deleting files older than 90 days. Which Azure feature should you use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse Azure Policy (which enforces rules on resource configurations) with data lifecycle management (which manages data within storage), or think Azure Data Factory is needed for scheduled deletion, when Azure Blob Storage lifecycle management is the native, policy-driven solution.
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 Blob Storage lifecycle management
Azure Blob Storage lifecycle management allows you to define rules that automatically delete or tier blobs based on age. Since Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 is built on top of Azure Blob Storage, you can use lifecycle management policies to delete files older than 90 days by setting a 'Delete blob' action with a 'daysAfterModificationGreaterThan' filter of 90.
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 Policy
Why it's wrong here
Azure Policy is a governance service that enforces compliance rules on Azure resource configurations, such as requiring a minimum TLS version or specific SKU for storage accounts. It evaluates and audits resource settings but does not apply time-based actions to data, like deleting or tiering blobs based on age. Therefore, it cannot fulfill a data lifecycle or retention requirement.
- ✓
Azure Blob Storage lifecycle management
Why this is correct
Azure Blob Storage lifecycle management is the native feature that automates the transition of blobs to cooler storage tiers (hot, cool, cold, or archive) or deletes them according to rules triggered by the last-modified date or other conditions. For Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2, which is built on Blob Storage, these policies apply directly to the underlying blobs, enabling automated retention and cleanup. This is the correct service for managing data lifecycle.
- ✗
Azure Data Factory
Why it's wrong here
Azure Data Factory is a cloud ETL and data integration service that orchestrates and executes data movement, transformation, and pipeline activities. While you could build custom pipelines to scan and delete blobs, Data Factory itself does not provide automated, configurable lifecycle policies that apply continuously based on blob age. It is a tool for processing data on demand, not a native data lifecycle management mechanism.
- ✗
Azure RBAC
Why it's wrong here
Azure RBAC controls who can perform actions against Azure resources by assigning roles at management group, subscription, resource group, or resource scope. It determines permissions, such as whether a user can read or delete blobs, but it has no concept of retention periods or age-based deletion schedules. Thus, RBAC is about access control, not data lifecycle management.
Quick reference
Azure Blob Storage Tier Comparison
| Tier | Storage Cost | Retrieval Cost | Latency | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot | Highest | Lowest | Immediate | Active data, frequent reads |
| Cool | Lower | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / month |
| Cold | Lower still | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / quarter |
| Archive | Lowest | Highest + rehydration delay | Hours | Long-term compliance retention |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Data Roles and Core Concepts
Key term
Data retention
Data retention is the practice of keeping data for a specific period to meet legal, business, or compliance needs, and then securely disposing of it.
Key term
Blob storage
Blob storage is a cloud service for storing large amounts of unstructured data, such as text or binary data, like documents, images, and videos.
About these practice questions
One of 820 original DP-900 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. 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.