DP-900 Practice Question: Identify considerations for relational data on Azure
Your organization uses Azure SQL Database and needs to audit all database operations for compliance. The audit logs must be stored for at least five years and be easily searchable. What should you configure?
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
✓
Enable auditing and store logs in Azure Blob Storage with a retention policy of five years.
Azure SQL Database auditing can store audit logs in Azure Storage or Log Analytics. For long-term retention (five years) and easy searchability, storing logs in Azure Blob Storage with a retention policy is the most cost-effective and appropriate solution. Option B (Azure Monitor Logs) can be used but may be more expensive for long-term retention. Option C (Azure Sentinel) is a SIEM solution and not primarily for audit log storage. Option D (Transparent Data Encryption) is for encryption at rest, not auditing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Enable auditing and store logs in Azure Blob Storage with a retention policy of five years.
Why this is correct
Azure SQL Database auditing can be configured to write audit logs directly to Azure Blob Storage, which supports configurable retention policies through the 'Retention days' setting. This destination is ideal for long-term compliance because blob storage is cost-effective, and the .xel audit log files can be queried with tools like sys.fn_get_audit_file when needed. A five-year retention policy is fully supported, making this the correct choice for the stated requirement.
- ✗
Enable auditing and store logs in Azure Monitor Logs.
Why it's wrong here
While Azure SQL Database auditing can stream logs to Azure Monitor Logs (Log Analytics), that destination is optimized for operational dashboards and real-time alerts rather than long-term archival. The default retention for Log Analytics is up to 730 days (two years) depending on the pricing tier, so meeting a five-year retention mandate would require additional configuration such as data export or archive, increasing complexity and cost. Because the requirement specifically calls for five years, this option does not directly satisfy it.
- ✗
Use Azure Sentinel to collect and store audit logs.
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft Sentinel is a security information and event management (SIEM) solution that consumes audit logs from sources like Azure SQL Database to detect threats, correlate incidents, and drive investigations. It works on top of Log Analytics workspaces, inheriting the same retention limits, and storing audit data there primarily for security analysis is expensive and not meant for long-term compliance archiving. Retaining five years of audit logs in Sentinel would incur significant cost and does not align with the purpose of the service, making this an incorrect answer.
- ✗
Enable Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) to track changes.
Why it's wrong here
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) protects data at rest by performing real-time I/O encryption and decryption of the database, backups, and transaction logs using a database encryption key (DEK) and a certificate or asymmetric key. It does not capture user actions, query statements, or schema modifications, so it cannot be used to audit operations. TDE is a complementary security control, but it does not provide any logging of attempted or successful access, which is the essence of an audit trail.
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
Encryption at rest
Encryption at rest is the practice of securing stored data by converting it into an unreadable format using cryptographic algorithms, so that even if physical or digital access to the storage medium is obtained, the data remains confidential.
Key term
Data
Data is raw, unprocessed information, like numbers, words, or measurements, that can be stored, processed, and analyzed by computers.
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.