PL-900 Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Apps Practice Question
You are troubleshooting a canvas app that connects to a SQL Server database through an on-premises data gateway. Users in the finance department receive an error stating the app cannot reach the data source, while users in IT can use the app normally. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that access to the gateway itself is sufficient, when each gateway connection has its own user list that must be managed separately.
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
✓
The finance users have not been granted access to the on-premises data gateway connection.
On-premises data gateway connections maintain a separate list of users who may use the connection. If finance users are omitted from that list, their apps cannot authenticate through the gateway and report the data source as unreachable, while IT users who were added work normally. Gateway machine availability and SQL Server connection limits would affect all users, and database permission errors would produce different messages.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The finance users lack the necessary permissions on the SQL Server database.
Why it's wrong here
If finance users lacked SQL Server permissions, the error would typically be an authentication or access-denied message from SQL Server, not a generic inability to reach the data source. The gateway connection uses stored credentials, so individual database permissions are less likely to produce a reachability error.
- ✗
The gateway is installed on a machine that is turned off during finance working hours.
Why it's wrong here
If the gateway machine were offline, all users including IT would experience failures, not just finance. A time-based outage would also affect IT users who work the same hours. The selective failure by department points to a permission issue rather than gateway availability.
- ✓
The finance users have not been granted access to the on-premises data gateway connection.
Why this is correct
On-premises data gateway connections have their own user list separate from the gateway itself. If finance users are not added as users of the specific connection, their apps cannot use it, producing a data source unreachable error. IT users were likely added, explaining why only they succeed.
- ✗
The SQL Server database has reached its maximum number of concurrent connections.
Why it's wrong here
A connection limit would cause intermittent or global failures, not a consistent failure isolated to one department. The gateway pools and reuses connections, so hitting a hard concurrent limit that only affects finance users is unlikely. This does not explain the department-specific pattern.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
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