Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900) interview questions
The Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900) questions interviewers ask most, with short answers you can explain in your own words. Tap a question to see the answer.
01Structured vs semi-structured vs unstructured data?+
Structured fits tables, semi-structured has flexible fields like JSON, unstructured has no fixed format like images and documents.
02OLTP vs OLAP?+
OLTP handles many small transactions. OLAP handles large analytical queries over history.
03Batch vs streaming?+
Batch processes data in groups on a schedule. Streaming processes events continuously as they arrive.
04What is normalisation?+
Splitting data into related tables to reduce duplication and keep it consistent.
05DDL vs DML?+
DDL defines structure (CREATE, ALTER, DROP). DML changes data (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE).
06Azure SQL Database vs Managed Instance vs SQL on a VM?+
SQL Database is fully managed PaaS for one database. Managed Instance is near full SQL Server compatibility as PaaS. SQL on a VM is IaaS with full control.
07What open-source databases does Azure offer?+
Azure Database for PostgreSQL and Azure Database for MySQL as managed services.
08What is Azure Cosmos DB?+
A globally distributed NoSQL database with low latency and several APIs, including NoSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin and Table.
09What is a partition key in Cosmos DB?+
The property used to spread data across partitions. A good one has many distinct values and spreads load evenly.
10Cosmos DB consistency levels?+
Strong, bounded staleness, session, consistent prefix and eventual, trading consistency for latency and availability.
11Blob vs ADLS Gen2 vs Azure Files vs Table storage?+
Blob for objects, ADLS Gen2 for analytics with folders, Files for SMB file shares, Table for simple key-value data.
12What file formats are common in analytics?+
CSV, JSON, Parquet, Avro and ORC. Parquet is the usual choice for analytics.
13What is a data warehouse?+
A store optimised for analytical queries on cleaned, modelled historical data.
14What is a data lakehouse?+
A data lake with warehouse features such as ACID tables and SQL, often using Delta format.
15What is Azure Data Factory used for?+
Orchestrating and moving data between sources with pipelines.
16What is Microsoft Fabric?+
An all-in-one SaaS analytics platform on OneLake, covering data engineering, warehousing, real-time analytics and Power BI.
17What is Azure Databricks?+
An Apache Spark based analytics platform for big data processing and machine learning.
18What is real-time analytics on Azure?+
Ingest with Event Hubs or eventstreams, process with Stream Analytics, Spark or Fabric Real-Time Intelligence, then visualise live.
19What is Power BI used for?+
Building interactive reports and dashboards on top of data models.
20Which roles work with data?+
Database administrators manage databases, data engineers build pipelines, data analysts create reports and insights.
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