I am currently preparing for the new Microsoft exam DP-300 Administering Relational Databases on Microsoft Azure. That is why I want to share my new updated DP-300 Microsoft Azure Database Administrator Certification Exam Study Guide with you. If you are passing the DP-300 exam, you will earn the Microsoft Certified Azure Database Administrator Associate certification, which you understand how to implement and manage the operational aspects of cloud-native and hybrid data platform solutions built with Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Azure Data Services. The Azure Database Administrator uses a variety of methods and tools to perform day-to-day operations, including applying knowledge of using T-SQL for administrative management purposes.
To learn and prepare for the exam, I usually use a couple of online resources, mainly Microsoft Docs and Microsoft Learn, which I am going to share with you. You can find more information about how I prepare for a Microsoft Certification exam on my blog post: How to prepare and pass Microsoft Certification Exam.
Also, check out other Microsoft Azure Certification Exam Study Guides:
- Exam AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-303: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design Certification Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-305: Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Certification Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-600: Configuring and Operating a Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack Hub Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-700: Microsoft Azure Network Engineer Exam Study Guide
- Exam SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Exam Study Guide
Here is my DP-300 Azure Database Administrator Associate Certification Exam Study Guide
It is essential to get familiar with the exam objectives and skills measured first. That is why I recommend reading the description of the exam and the skills measured.
Exam DP-300 Administering Relational Databases on Microsoft Azure
Candidates for this exam are database administrators and data management specialists that manage on-premises and cloud relational databases built with Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Azure Data Services.
The Azure Database Administrator implements and manages the operational aspects of cloud-native and hybrid data platform solutions built on Azure Data Services and SQL Server. The Azure Database Administrator uses a variety of methods and tools to perform day-to-day operations, including applying knowledge of using T-SQL for administrative management purposes.
This role is responsible for management, availability, security and performance monitoring and optimization of modern relational database solutions. This role works with the Azure Data Engineer role to manage operational aspects of data platform solutions.
The high-level view of the skills measured in the exam:
- Plan and implement data platform resources (15-20%)
- Implement a secure environment (15-20%)
- Monitor and optimize operational resources (15-20%)
- Optimize query performance (5-10%)
- Perform automation of tasks (10-15%)
- Plan and implement a High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HADR) environment (15-20%)
- Perform administration by using T-SQL (10-15%)
You can find more information on the exam website.
Free Online Microsoft Learn DP-300 Exam Study Guide resources
Microsoft Learn provides you with free online training and learning paths for different Microsoft technologies. They not just offer reading material, but also control questions and free online labs. Here are some relevant Microsoft Learn modules and learning paths for the DP-300 Administering Relational Databases on Microsoft Azure Certification Exam. Microsoft Learn is an important part of my DP-300 Azure Database Administrator exam study guide.
The team also just made it easier to prepare with the new DP-300 related learning paths on Microsoft Learn. I highly recommend that you take these for your DP-300 exam preparation.
- Azure SQL fundamentals
- Plan and implement data platform resources
- Implement a secure environment for a database service
- Monitor and optimize operational resources in SQL Server
- Optimize query performance in SQL Server
- Automate tasks in SQL Server
- Plan and implement a high availability and disaster recovery environment
Microsoft Docs DP-300 Azure Database Administrator study guide resources
One thing I always used to prepare for my Microsoft exams is Microsoft Docs. Here are the relevant Microsoft Docs which I used to prepare and study for the DP-300 exam.
Plan and Implement Data Platform Resources (15-20%)
Deploy resources by using manual methods
- deploy database offerings on selected platforms
- configure customized deployment templates
- apply patches and updates for hybrid and IaaS deployment
Recommend an appropriate database offering based on specific requirements
- evaluate requirements for the deployment
- evaluate the functional benefits/impact of possible database offerings
- evaluate the scalability of the possible database offering
- evaluate the HA/DR of the possible database offering
- evaluate the security aspects of the possible database offering
Configure resources for scale and performance
- configure Azure SQL database/elastic pools for scale and performance
- configure Azure SQL managed instances for scale and performance
- configure SQL Server in Azure VMs for scale and performance
- calculate resource requirements
- evaluate database partitioning techniques, such as database sharding
Evaluate a strategy for moving to Azure
- evaluate requirements for the migration
- evaluate offline or online migration strategies
- evaluate requirements for the upgrade
- evaluate offline or online upgrade strategies
- Covering moving to Azure strategy
Implement a migration or upgrade strategy for moving to Azure
- implement an online migration strategy
- implement an offline migration strategy
- implement an online upgrade strategy
- implement an offline upgrade strategy
- Covering Migration or Upgrade Topics:
Implement a Secure Environment (15-20%)
Configure database authentication by using platform and database tools
- configure Azure AD authentication
- create users from Azure AD identities
- configure security principals
Configure database authorization by using platform and database tools
- configure database and object-level permissions using graphical tools
- apply principle of least privilege for all securables
Implement security for data at rest
- implement Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)
- implement object-level encryption
- implement Dynamic Data Masking
- implement Azure Key Vault and disk encryption for Azure VMs
Implement security for data in transit
- configure server and database-level firewall rules
- implement Always Encrypted
Implement compliance controls for sensitive data
- apply a data classification strategy
- configure server and database audits
- implement data change tracking
- perform a vulnerability assessment
Monitor and Optimize Operational Resources (15-20%)
Monitor activity and performance
- prepare an operational performance baseline
- determine sources for performance metrics
- interpret performance metrics
- assess database performance by using Intelligent Insights for Azure SQL Database and Managed Instance
- configure and monitor activity and performance at the infrastructure, server, service, and database levels
Implement performance-related maintenance tasks
- implement index maintenance tasks
- implement statistics maintenance tasks
- configure database auto-tuning
- automate database maintenance tasks (Azure SQL agent jobs, Azure automation, SQL server agent jobs)
- manage storage capacity
Identify performance-related issues
- configure Query Store to collect performance data
- identify sessions that cause blocking
- assess growth/fragmentation of databases and logs
- assess performance-related database configuration parameters (including AutoClose, AutoShrink, AutoGrowth)
Configure resources for optimal performance
- configure storage and infrastructure resources, optimize IOPS, throughput, and latency, optimize tempdb performance, optimize data and log files for performance
- configure server and service account settings for performance
- configure Resource Governor for performance
Configure a user database for optimal performance
- implement database-scoped configuration
- configure compute resources for scaling
- configure Intelligent Query Processing (IQP)
Optimize Query Performance (5-10%)
Review query plans
- determine the appropriate type of execution plan (live Query Statistics, Actual Execution Plan, Estimated Execution Plan)
- identify problem areas in execution plans
- extract query plans from the Query Store
Evaluate performance improvements
- determine the appropriate Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) to gather query performance information
- identify performance issues using DMVs
- identify and implement index changes for queries
- recommend query construct modifications based on resource usage
- assess the use of hints for query performance
Review database table and index design
- identify data quality issues with duplication of data
- identify normal form of database tables
- assess index design for performance
- validate data types defined for columns
- recommend table and index storage including filegroups
- evaluate table partitioning strategy
- evaluate the use of compression for tables and indexes
Perform Automation of Tasks (10-15%)
Create scheduled tasks
- manage schedules for regular maintenance jobs
- configure multi-server automation
- configure notifications for task success/failure/non-completion
Evaluate and implement an alert and notification strategy
- create event notifications based on metrics
- create event notifications for Azure resources
- create alerts for server configuration changes
- create tasks that respond to event notifications
Manage and automate tasks in Azure
- perform automated deployment methods for resources
- automate Backups
- automate performance tuning and patching
- implement policies by using automated evaluation modes
Plan and Implement a High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HADR) Environment (15-20%)
Recommend an HADR strategy for a data platform solution
- recommend HADR strategy based on RPO/RTO requirements
- evaluate HADR for hybrid deployments
- evaluate Azure-specific HADR solutions
- identify resources for HADR solutions
- Business continuity and database recovery – SQL Server
- About Log Shipping (SQL Server)
- Database Mirroring (SQL Server)
- Always On Failover Cluster Instances (SQL Server)
- What is an Always On availability group?
- Always On availability groups: a high-availability and disaster-recovery solution
- SQL Server Backup and Restore with Microsoft Azure Blob Storage Service
Test an HADR strategy by using platform, OS, and database tools
- test HA by using failover
- test DR by using failover or restore
Perform backup and restore a database by using database tools
- perform a database backup with options
- perform a database restore with options
- perform a database restore to a point in time
- configure long-term backup retention
Configure HA/DR by using OS, platform, and database tools
- configure replication
- create an Availability Group
- configure auto-failover groups
- integrate a database into an Availability Group
- configure quorum options for a Windows Server Failover Cluster
- configure an Availability Group listener
Perform Administration by Using T-SQL (10-15%)
Examine system health
- evaluate database health using DMVs
- evaluate server health using DMVs
- perform database consistency checks by using DBCC
Monitor database configuration by using T-SQL
- assess proper database autogrowth configuration
- report on database free space
- review database configuration options
Perform backup and restore a database by using T-SQL
- prepare databases for Always On Availability Groups
- perform transaction log backup
- perform restore of user databases
- perform database backups with options
Manage authentication by using T-SQL
- manage certificates
- manage security principals
Manage authorization by using T-SQL
- configure permissions for users to access database objects
- configure permissions by using custom roles
Additional Tips and Resources
I hope this DP-300 Microsoft Azure Database Administrator Certification Exam Study Guide helps you pass the exam. I also recommend that you open a free Azure account if you don’t have one yet. You can create your free Azure account here. Also, check out my blog posts about Microsoft Azure Certification:
- Why you should become Microsoft Azure certified
- How to pick the right Azure exam certification path
- How to prepare and pass a Microsoft Azure exam
I hope you enjoyed my DP-300 Azure Database Administrator Study Guide. Did I miss any link, or do you have any recommended DP-300 Microsoft Azure Database Administrator Certification Exam Study resources? Let me know in the comments.
Tags: Administrator, Azure, Azure Database Administrator, Azure SQL, Certification, Database, Database Administrator, DB, DP-300, DP-300 Study Guide, Exam, Exam Prep, Learn, Microsoft, Microsoft Learn, MSSQL, Prep, SQL, SQL Server, Study Guide Last modified: October 13, 2021
Hello Thomas. Thank you for creating this study guide. As you work at Microsoft, I would appreciate if you highlight the significant differences (if any) between the Microsoft Learn resources you documented above and the Microsoft Official Courseware (DP-300T00-A).
When I did last year they had MySQL and PostgreSQL issues.