DP-900: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals
Master core data concepts, relational data services in Azure, non-relational data architectures, and modern cloud data analytics and warehousing solutions.
Official Exam Specification & Quick Facts
Question Difficulty Breakdown
Recommended Study Guides & Exam Preparation Blueprints
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Exam Guidelines & Simulation Rules
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The DP-900 exam features 40-60 multiple-choice, drag-and-drop, and scenario questions with a 60-minute duration. The registration fee is $99 USD, and the passing threshold is 700/1000 (70%).
The syllabus tests four core pillars: (1) Describe core data concepts (~25-30%), (2) Identify considerations for relational data on Azure (~20-25%), (3) Describe considerations for working with non-relational data on Azure (~15-20%), and (4) Describe an analytics workload on Azure (~25-30%).
Relational data organizes information in structured tables with predefined rows, columns, and foreign key relationships, queried via SQL. Non-relational (NoSQL) data accommodates unstructured or semi-structured data formats (documents, key-value, column-family, graphs) without rigid schemas.
Azure SQL Database is a fully managed serverless/provisioned DB engine ideal for new cloud-native apps. SQL Managed Instance provides 100% on-premises SQL Server compatibility (SQL Agent, cross-DB queries). SQL Server on Azure VMs is an IaaS solution providing full operating system control.
Azure Cosmos DB natively supports five major APIs: Core (SQL), MongoDB, Apache Cassandra, Gremlin (Graph), and Azure Table, enabling developers to build applications using their preferred data model and query language.
Batch processing ingests and processes large historical blocks of data on a scheduled basis (e.g., nightly ETL). Streaming processing analyzes data records continuously in real time as events occur with sub-second latency (e.g., IoT telemetry, stock trades).
Azure Synapse Analytics is an integrated enterprise analytics service that unifies data integration (Data Factory pipelines), big data analytics (Apache Spark), and enterprise data warehousing (Dedicated and Serverless SQL pools) into a single workspace.
Azure Data Factory is a cloud-native ETL/ELT data integration service. It allows data engineers to construct visual data-driven pipelines that extract data from disparate on-premises and cloud sources, transform it, and load it into analytical sinks.
OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) systems handle high-frequency, low-latency transactional CRUD operations (e.g., banking transactions). OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) systems execute complex aggregations and columnar scans across massive historical datasets for business intelligence.
Power BI connects natively to Azure SQL, Azure Cosmos DB, Synapse Analytics, and Azure Data Lake Storage, enabling analysts to model data, create interactive visualization reports, and publish dashboards to executive teams.
Microsoft Fundamentals certifications, including DP-900, do not expire and do not require periodic renewal.
DP-900 is tailored for database administrators, data engineers, software developers, and business intelligence analysts starting their cloud data journey before pursuing DP-203, DP-300, or DP-600.