DP-900 Beginner Guide for Azure Data Fundamentals

DP-900 is a fundamentals exam. It checks whether you can recognize common data workloads, explain basic relational and non-relational concepts, and choose between Azure data services at a high level. It does not prove production data engineering skill or deep database administration ability.

Structured data fits predictable rows and columns, such as customers, orders, and invoices. Semi-structured data uses flexible formats such as JSON documents. Unstructured data includes files, images, video, and free-form text. Many DP-900 questions begin with the data shape before asking which storage or analytics option fits.

Relational systems organize data into tables with columns, rows, primary keys, and foreign keys. They are common for transactional workloads that need consistency, constraints, and SQL queries. Know how relationships, normalization, views, and indexes support accurate operational data.

Non-relational data models handle flexible or large-scale data patterns. Document databases store JSON-like documents, key-value stores optimize simple lookups, graph databases model connected relationships, and file stores hold large objects. Azure Cosmos DB appears in DP-900 as the main globally distributed NoSQL service to recognize.

Analytical systems help answer business questions across large amounts of data. Data warehouses are optimized for structured reporting, data lakes store varied file-based data, and lakehouse platforms combine lake storage with analytical table behavior. DP-900 expects you to distinguish operational transactions from analytical reporting and exploration.

Azure SQL Database supports managed relational workloads. Azure Cosmos DB supports distributed NoSQL scenarios. Azure Storage and Azure Data Lake Storage support file and object storage. Power BI helps build reports and dashboards, while Microsoft Fabric brings data integration, lakehouse, warehouse, and BI experiences together at a foundational level.