Azure DP-300 study guide
Azure DP-300 · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate credential is an intermediate-level, role-based certification for database administrators who manage cloud, on-premises, and hybrid relational database infrastructure. Microsoft positions it for professionals who implement and manage the operational aspects of data platform solutions built on Azure SQL services and SQL Server, covering management, availability, security, and performance monitoring and optimization, along with evaluating migration strategies between Azure and on-premises. The Azure DP-300 study guide has 5 sections and about 1,572 words.
01Plan and Implement Data Platform Resources
Azure SQL has four landing spots: Azure SQL Database (single database or elastic pool), Azure SQL Managed Instance , SQL Server on Azure VMs , and Azure SQL Edge. Single databases fit well-scoped line-of-business apps; elastic pools fit many databases with spiky, non-overlapping usage; Managed Instance gives near-full SQL Server surface area (cross-database queries, SQL Agent, CLR, Service Broker) with PaaS patching; VMs give OS control and are the fallback when a feature is unsupported.
298 words, about 1 min02Implement a Secure Environment
Authentication options are SQL logins (server admin or contained users), Microsoft Entra ID (supports MFA and centralized group membership), and Windows auth on VMs and Managed Instance. Prefer contained database users mapped to Entra groups - they travel with the database through geo-failover.
348 words, about 2 min03Monitor, Configure, and Optimize Database Resources
Query Store records query text, plans, runtime statistics, and waits. It is on by default for Azure SQL and is a prerequisite for Automatic Tuning (CREATE INDEX, DROP INDEX, FORCE LAST GOOD PLAN) and automatic plan correction.
311 words, about 2 min04Configure and Manage Automation of Tasks
SQL Agent exists on Managed Instance and SQL Server on Azure VMs - not in Azure SQL Database. Elastic Database Jobs are the Azure SQL Database equivalent: a job agent database, a target group (databases across one or more servers), and T-SQL job steps.
293 words, about 1 min05Plan and Configure HA/DR
Azure SQL Database and Managed Instance are always highly available inside a region: the platform maintains multiple replicas and fails over automatically without user action. Zone redundancy spreads those replicas across availability zones within the region.
322 words, about 2 min