Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) Practice Exam

What is the description of a cloud-based EDW that uses Massively Parallel Processing (MPP)?

1. CosmosDB

2. Azure SQL Database

3. SQL Data Warehouse

4. HDInsight

The correct answer is: SQL Data Warehouse

A cloud-based Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) that utilizes Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) is best described by SQL Data Warehouse. This technology allows for efficient handling of large volumes of data analytics by distributing data across multiple nodes, enabling parallel processing capabilities. This means that queries can be executed simultaneously across these nodes, significantly improving performance and reducing the time required to retrieve data. In the context of Azure, SQL Data Warehouse (now referred to as Azure Synapse Analytics) is designed to work optimally for large-scale data warehousing and analytics needs, making it a suitable choice for enterprises looking to leverage cloud computing for complex data workloads. The MPP architecture inherently supports workloads that require high-performance analytics, offering flexibility and scalability as data requirements grow. Although other options like CosmosDB, Azure SQL Database, and HDInsight serve different purposes within the Azure ecosystem, they do not specifically embody the characteristics that define a cloud-based EDW with MPP capabilities. CosmosDB is a globally distributed multi-model database service, Azure SQL Database is a relational database service which does not inherently support MPP, and HDInsight is a cloud service that makes it easier to process data using big data frameworks such as Hadoop. None of these fit the specific description of an EDW