The answer is to create aggregations in the Power BI model. This is correct because aggregations store pre-summarized data in memory, allowing Power BI to serve high-level queries from the cached aggregate table rather than sending every request to Snowflake via DirectQuery, which drastically reduces query volume and latency. On the PL-300 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to optimize DirectQuery performance without modifying the source—a common trap is assuming you must change the data source or switch to Import mode, but aggregations provide a hybrid solution that balances speed with real-time detail. A useful memory tip is to think of aggregations as a “summary shortcut” for your DirectQuery reports: they handle the big-picture questions fast, while only falling back to the warehouse for granular drill-downs.
PL-300 Prepare the data Practice Question
This PL-300 practice question tests your understanding of prepare the data. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You have a Power BI dataset that uses DirectQuery to a Snowflake data warehouse. Users report that reports are slow. You need to improve query performance without changing the data source. What should you configure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create aggregations in the Power BI model
Option D is correct because creating aggregations in the Power BI model allows pre-summarized data to be stored in memory, reducing the volume of queries sent to Snowflake via DirectQuery. This improves performance without altering the data source, as aggregations can serve high-level queries from cached data while falling back to DirectQuery for detailed queries.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 Query Folding in Power Query
Why it's wrong here
Query folding pushes transformations to source; not applicable for DirectQuery in this way.
✗
Change the dataset to Import mode
Why it's wrong here
This would require a full data load, not leveraging DirectQuery benefits.
✗
Increase the number of concurrent queries in Power BI Service
Why it's wrong here
This does not improve individual query performance.
✓
Create aggregations in the Power BI model
Why this is correct
Aggregations can pre-cache summaries, reducing query volume to source.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Query Folding (which is about transformation pushdown) with performance optimization for DirectQuery, or mistakenly think increasing concurrency or switching to Import mode are viable solutions when the constraint explicitly forbids changing the data source.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Aggregations in Power BI work by creating a separate table with pre-calculated measures at a higher granularity (e.g., daily sales instead of transaction-level). When a report query can be satisfied by the aggregation table, Power BI uses the cached aggregation data instead of sending a full SQL query to Snowflake, drastically reducing network round trips and compute load. In real-world scenarios, this is especially effective for large fact tables with billions of rows where users frequently slice by time or category.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Prepare the data — This question tests Prepare the data — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create aggregations in the Power BI model — Option D is correct because creating aggregations in the Power BI model allows pre-summarized data to be stored in memory, reducing the volume of queries sent to Snowflake via DirectQuery. This improves performance without altering the data source, as aggregations can serve high-level queries from cached data while falling back to DirectQuery for detailed queries.
What should I do if I get this PL-300 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Your Power BI dataset uses DirectQuery to a SQL Server data warehouse. Users report that reports are slow. You need to improve performance without changing the data source. What should you do?
hard
A.Switch the dataset to Import mode.
B.Disable the 'Enable query reduction' option in Power BI Desktop.
✓ C.Create aggregated tables in Power BI using the Aggregations feature.
D.Increase the memory limit of the on-premises data gateway.
Why C: Option C is correct because creating aggregated tables in Power BI using the Aggregations feature allows you to pre-summarize data at a higher granularity while still using DirectQuery. This reduces the amount of data queried from the SQL Server data warehouse, improving report performance without changing the underlying data source or switching to Import mode.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
Question Discussion
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This PL-300 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 PL-300 exam.
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