Studying for the DP-900 exam

Recently released within the Microsoft Certification family was the DP-900: Azure Data Fundamentals exam. I sat the exam as a Beta exam, so I didn't get the results instantly when I sat the exam, but I recently received the good news that I had passed the exam, I thought I'd share some of the material that I used to study with to help others. If you've never sat a Beta exam before or looking for some advice around it there is a great post here that covers off more information.

Now Data Platform technology isn't something that I am an expert in, I've dabbled over the years, mainly with SQL Server but not much beyond on that. However, I love to learn new things and stretch myself every now and again, hence the reason for trying this exam. I've based what I am studying off the official skills measured section on the DP-900: Azure Data Fundamentals site.

Core Data Concepts

This section (according to the exam objectives) is all around focusing on knowing what certain types of data is, the differences and key characteristics. I have a rough understanding of the various data concepts that are out there, purely from working in IT for a good number of years. However to ensure what I knew was correct and update myself I dived into the "Explore core data concepts" Microsoft Learn module.

Relational Data on Azure

This section covers off things like being able to compare the various different data services offered in Azure, and having a basic understanding of how to configure these services. Again, having worked with Azure for a number of years I have some base knowledge of the services and the differentiators between them. Again though, I turned to Microsoft Learn for some learning material and found the "Explore relational data in Azure" module. I also spent some time within Azure itself spinning up some resources and just looking at the options that you get an also the different pricing tiers to see what differences in features (if any) there were across these tiers.

Non-Relational Data on Azure

The third section of the exam this time is all around the non-relational data services within Azure. Understanding the key basics of what non-relational data, how Azure Storage can be used in non-relational data scenarios and again how to manage these services within Azure. Parts of this section are definitely outside my comfort zone, so again I utilised a Microsoft Learn module - "Explore non-relational data in Azure". I'd also recommend having a look at these services within Azure and also reading more documentation on this section, if like me it's not an area you are familiar with.

Analytics Workload on Azure

Although this section is weighted as two other sections it does seem to cover off a wider variety of topics. If you look at the exam objectives there are four sub sections covering things like data loading best practices to visualising data within Power BI. The "Explore modern data warehouse analytics in Azure" covers off a lot of this, if not all of it. But again, if you aren't familiar or some of the sections you cover are completely new to you I'd say spend some time either using the services or go into the Microsoft Docs and reading a bit more about it. 👍

Overview

Now this is just a start for the study material and I would say have a look at the exam objectives, the material I've suggested and do your own research. I am sure there is other great reference material out there that could help you study for the exam. If you have any suggestions please do reach out and let me know. 😀