How to optimize Azure SQL Database performance after migration?

DP-300 By islever Editorial Last updated Aug 23, 2026

Short answer

A vertical scaling

Question

Case study - This is a case study. Case studies are not timed separately. You can use as much exam time as you would like to complete each case. However, there may be additional case studies and sections on this exam. You must manage your time to ensure that you are able to complete all questions included on this exam in the time provided. To answer the questions included in a case study, you will need to reference information that is provided in the case study. Case studies might contain exhibits and other resources that provide more information about the scenario that is described in the case study. Each question is independent of the other questions in this case study. At the end of this case study, a review screen will appear. This screen allows you to review your answers and to make changes before you move to the next section of the exam. After you begin a new section, you cannot return to this section. To start the case study - To display the first question in this case study, click the Next button. Use the buttons in the left pane to explore the content of the case study before you answer the questions. Clicking these buttons displays information such as business requirements, existing environment, and problem statements. If the case study has an All Information tab, note that the information displayed is identical to the information displayed on the subsequent tabs. When you are ready to answer a question, click the Question button to return to the question. Overview - ADatum Corporation is a financial services company that has a main office in New York City. Existing Environment. Licensing Agreement ADatum has a Microsoft Volume Licensing agreement that includes Software Assurance. Existing Environment. Network Infrastructure ADatum has an on-premises datacenter and an Azure subscription named Sub1. Sub1 contains a virtual network named Network1 in the East US Azure region. The datacenter is connected to Network1 by using a Site-to-Site (S2S) VPN. Existing Environment. Identity Environment The on-premises network contains an Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) forest. The forest contains a single domain named corp.adatum.com. The corp.adatum.com domain syncs with a Microsoft Entra tenant named adatum.com. Existing Environment. Database Environment The datacenter contains the servers shown in the following table. DB1 and DB2 are used for transactional and analytical workloads by an application named App1. App1 runs on Microsoft Entra hybrid joined servers that run Windows Server 2022. App1 uses Kerberos authentication. DB3 stores compliance data used by two applications named App2 and App3. DB3 performance is monitored by using Extended Events sessions, with the event_file target set to a file share on a local disk of SVR3. Resource allocation for DB3 is managed by using Resource Governor. Requirements. Planned Changes - ADatum plans to implement the following changes: • Deploy an Azure SQL managed instance named Instance1 to Network1. • Migrate DB1 and DB2 to Instance1. • Migrate DB3 to Azure SQL Database. • Following the migration of DB1 and DB2, hand over database development to remote developers who use Microsoft Entra joined Windows 11 devices. • Following the migration of DB3, configure the database to be part of an auto-failover group. Requirements. Availability Requirements ADatum identifies the following post-migration availability requirements: • For DB1 and DB2, offload analytical workloads to a read-only database replica in the same Azure region. • Ensure that if a regional disaster occurs, DB1 and DB2 can be recovered from backups. • After the migration, App1 must maintain access to DB1 and DB2. • For DB3, manage potential performance issues caused by resource demand changes by App2 and App3. • Ensure that DB3 will still be accessible following a planned failover. • Ensure that DB3 can be restored if the logical server is deleted. • Minimize downtime during the migration of DB1 and DB2. Requirements. Security Requirements ADatum identifies the following security requirements for after the migration: • Ensure that only designated developers who use Microsoft Entra joined Windows 11 devices can access DB1 and DB2 remotely. • Ensure that all changes to DB3, including ones within individual transactions, are audited and recorded. Requirements. Management Requirements ADatum identifies the following post-migration management requirements: • Continue using Extended Events to monitor DB3. • In Azure SQL Database, automate the management of DB3 by using elastic jobs that have database-scoped credentials. Requirements. Business Requirements ADatum identifies the following business requirements: • Minimize costs whenever possible, without affecting other requirements. • Minimize administrative effort. You need to recommend a solution to ensure that the performance of DB3 is optimized after the migration to Azure SQL Database. The solution must meet availability requirements. What should you include in the recommendation? - Exhibit: How to optimize Azure SQL Database performance after migration?

Exhibit: How to optimize Azure SQL Database performance after migration?

vertical scaling Correct Answer
a custom resource pool
Resource Governor
horizontal scaling

Key Takeaways

The question tests knowledge of Azure SQL Database limitations versus on-premises SQL Server features, specifically that Resource Governor is not available in Azure SQL Database, requiring vertical scaling instead.

When migrating an on-premises SQL Server database to Azure SQL Database, Resource Governor is not supported, making vertical scaling the correct approach to optimize performance. Community consensus strongly supports vertical scaling as the only viable option for managing compute resources in Azure SQL Database.

Common mistake: Option C (Resource Governor) is the most common wrong answer because candidates remember it was used on-premises for DB3 performance management, but fail to recognize that Resource Governor is not supported in Azure SQL Database.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

Vertical scaling (Option A) is correct because Azure SQL Database allows you to change the service tier and compute size (DTUs or vCores) to match workload demands. This directly addresses the requirement to manage performance issues caused by resource demand changes from App2 and App3. The Azure portal and T-SQL support dynamic scaling without requiring database restarts in most cases.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Option B (custom resource pool) and Option C (Resource Governor) are incorrect because these features are not available in Azure SQL Database - they are SQL Server on-premises or Managed Instance features only. Option D (horizontal scaling) through sharding adds significant complexity and is not appropriate for this scenario where a single database's compute resources need optimization. The image in the question shows Resource Governor configuration, which is a distractor since it cannot be migrated to Azure SQL Database.

Community Comment Notes

Comment [2] provides the critical insight that Resource Governor cannot be used with Azure SQL Database, linking to Microsoft documentation about upgrading or downgrading primary databases. Comment [4] correctly explains that vertical scaling allows adjustment of compute resources based on workload demands, while Comment [5] incorrectly selects Resource Governor, demonstrating the common confusion between on-premises and cloud capabilities.

Official Reference

These links open the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Exam Strategy

When migrating from on-premises SQL Server to Azure SQL Database, always verify which features are supported in the target platform. Resource Governor, custom resource pools, and other instance-level features are typically not available in Azure SQL Database, making vertical scaling the primary performance optimization method.

Community Votes

100%

100% of anonymous learners picked answer A. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 5 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 5

JJJR 👍 3 Answered A

Answer is A https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/failover-group-configure-sql-db?view=azuresql&tabs=azure-portal%2Cazure-powershell-manage&pivots=azure-sql-single-db#upgrading-or-downgrading-primary-database Answer is NOT C because you cannot use resource governor with Azure SQL Database.
ae8a90c 👍 3

I stand correct option A is the best choice
ae8a90c 👍 2

I think the option B is correct
bingomutant 👍 1

A - vertical scaling - Azure SQL Database supports vertical scaling, which allows you to adjust the compute resources (such as CPU and memory) for a database based on the workload demands. This is essential for managing performance issues, especially if App2 and App3's resource demands increase over time. Resource Governor (Option C) is used in on-premises SQL Server to manage SQL resources and is not available in Azure SQL Database. Horizontal scaling (Option D) is typically used in distributed systems, but Azure SQL Database does not support native horizontal scaling in the same sense. Instead, you can scale up or down vertically. A custom resource pool (Option B) applies to SQL Server but is not available for Azure SQL Database.
angelvenkovicch 👍 1

Resource governor - C

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