Understand the difference between IaaS vs PaaS SQL offerings (SQL Server on Azure VM vs Azure SQL DB vs Managed Instance).
Practice T-SQL queries — expect questions that require a solid grasp of SQL for managing and querying data.
Spend more time on Skillcertpro mock tests to get used to the exam pattern and question style.
Use the Microsoft Learn paths and official documentation — hands-on experience with Azure Portal, CLI, and ARM templates is crucial.
Take notes on incorrect answers from practice tests and revise them the day before the exam.
Don’t ignore performance tuning — you’ll get questions on Query Store, execution plans, and indexes.
Know where services are configured (e.g., enabling threat detection in SQL Server, configuring Geo-replication, etc.)
Set up alerts and automation — you should know how to automate backups, restores, scaling, and performance insights.
Understand High Availability and DR setups (Failover groups, geo-restore, auto-failover groups).
RBAC and security configuration in both portal and PowerShell/CLI will be tested.
**🔍 High-Priority DP-300 Exam Topics **
🧠 Deployment Models & Configuration Differences between Azure SQL Database, SQL Managed Instance, SQL Server on VM
Elastic pools and serverless tier configuration
DTU vs vCore purchasing models
🔒 Security Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), Always Encrypted, Dynamic Data Masking
Auditing and Advanced Threat Protection settings
Azure AD integration for authentication
🔄 Backup, Restore & High Availability Long-term retention (LTR) vs short-term backup retention
Geo-restore, point-in-time restore
Failover groups vs auto-failover groups
Active geo-replication
🛠 Performance Tuning & Monitoring Query Store, execution plans
Performance recommendations, Intelligent Insights
Index types and maintenance
Monitoring via Log Analytics and Azure Monitor
⚙️ Automation Use of PowerShell, CLI, and ARM templates
Automating scaling, maintenance, and patching
Azure Automation Runbooks
🧾 T-SQL & Database Management Import/export data using BCP, BULK INSERT, Data Factory
Configure and manage elastic jobs
Creating and managing users, logins, and roles
Synapse link integration basics
📈 Monitoring & Alerts Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Alerts
Creating dashboards and alert rules
Querying logs using KQL
hope this helps someone out there. feel free to ask if you’re preparing. good luck!
Official study Guide : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/resources/study-guides/dp-300 Microsoft Self directed course : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/courses/dp-300t00