DP-900: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals Certification

Describe core data concepts by distinguishing structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data, with examples from relational databases and csv or Excel files, plus Azure blob storage, json, xml, and yaml formats.

Explore data storage options by data type and business needs, from relational databases like Azure SQL Database to Cosmos DB and blob storage.

Describe common data workloads: OLTP for day-to-day transactions, OLAP for analysis, and data warehouse for reporting, with Azure options like Azure SQL Database, Cosmos DB, Synapse, and HDInsight.

Identify the three core data roles—data administrator, data engineer, and data analyst—and their duties securing, backing up, governing data, moving data between systems, and analyzing data for insight.

Explore relational databases’ features: structured data in tables with a predefined schema, primary keys for unique rows, indexes to speed queries, and views as virtual tables for restricted access.

Learn how normalization reduces data redundancy and improves data integrity by redesigning tables with a unique primary key and referential links, such as a manager_id referencing an employee_id.

Learn how normalization structures database design to reduce redundancy and improve integrity, focusing on the first, second, and third normal forms, primary keys, and atomic columns.

Explore Azure SQL Server databases with a hands-on demo, connecting via SQL Server Management Studio to a sample database, and running select, where, and update queries.

Explore structured query language, the standard for querying relational databases across vendors such as Azure SQL Server, Oracle, and MySQL, and the main SQL families: DDL, DML, DCL.

Explore creating and using a database view in SQL Server Management Studio by transforming a query into a view, selecting specific columns, and granting view-specific permissions for secure access.

Learn how to create and use stored procedures with input parameters, execute and alter them, and encapsulate complex sql logic for efficient execution.

Discover how database indexes improve query performance by using primary keys and creating non-unique indexes on customer ID, email, and first name, while noting trade-offs for inserts and updates.

Explore non-relational data and NoSQL, contrast with relational databases, and learn how data stores like XML, JSON, and document databases support flexible web data.

Compare Azure relational databases across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, from SQL Server on VM to Azure SQL Database, elastic pools, Synapse Analytics, and managed instances for MySQL and PostgreSQL.

Learn provisioning and deployment of Azure SQL databases within the Azure portal, including creating a database, configuring a server, pricing, and networking for relational data.

learn how to deploy Azure SQL databases using ARM templates with Azure Resource Manager, exploring JSON templates, parameters, and deploying multiple copies via PowerShell or Azure CLI.

Explore azure sql database security through firewall rules, public network access controls, and IP filtering. Set server firewall, enforce minimum TLS versions, and plan virtual networks for non-azure service connectivity.

Master relational query tools using the Azure portal query editor, Azure Data Studio, and SQL Server Management Studio, plus the SQL command line for running scripts.

Explore Azure relational databases, including SQL Server on VM, SQL managed instance, Azure SQL Database, and Azure databases for MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MariaDB.

Explore non-relational data types in Azure data fundamentals, including JSON documents, document databases Cosmos DB, column family data, key-value table storage, graph databases, time series, blob storage, and Azure search.

Understand when to use NoSQL vs relational databases, leveraging Cosmos DB for global scale, open source options, and data integrity via normalization and lookups.

Explore Azure non-relational options, focusing on Cosmos DB’s enterprise-grade, multi-model APIs, strict consistency, global distribution, latency SLAs; compare Azure Table, blob, and file storage for cost, performance, and scalability.

Create an azure cosmos db in the azure portal and compare it to non-relational and relational databases, while configuring deployment options, geo redundancy, public endpoint access, backups, and encryption.

Create and query a Cosmos DB container with JSON items and a dynamic, non-relational schema, using select statements and the public API with the URL and keys.

Learn to manage Cosmos DB with Arm templates, deploying accounts and databases via resource templates, and maintain infrastructure as code with PowerShell or Azure CLI scripts.

Configure Cosmos DB networking to restrict access to selected networks or private access, manage read-write and read-only keys, and rotate keys to keep them private.

Learn how Cosmos DB enables geo-replication across global regions, creating read-only copies and multi-region read/write setups to boost availability while managing costs.

Explore how a modern data warehouse ingests data from data sources, stores it in a data lake, and uses Azure Data Factory, Synapse Analytics, and Power BI to enable analytics.

Azure data factory serves as a data orchestration tool that ingests data from multiple sources, performs transformations, and orchestrates pipelines to a destination.

Explore data visualization with Power BI to view, interact with, and deploy paginated, interactive, and dashboard reports via Power BI service and server.

Connect to data sources, understand the data model in memory and relational schemas, build reports in Power BI desktop, then publish and share them within the content workflow.

Conclude your journey through the DP-900 Azure data fundamentals course. Schedule your exam on the Microsoft website, review your notes, and wish you success.