Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ-304) Practice Test

What is the best monitoring solution for SQL Server databases to support real-time and long-term analysis?

1. Dynamic management views

2. Trace flags

3. Azure Monitor

4. SQL Server Profiler

The correct answer is: Azure Monitor

Azure Monitor is the optimal monitoring solution for SQL Server databases when a comprehensive approach to real-time and long-term analysis is required. This platform offers an extensive set of features specifically designed to gather performance metrics, logs, and telemetry data from various Azure resources, including SQL Server. By leveraging Azure Monitor, users can gain insights into the performance and health of their databases through real-time alerts, dashboards, and a range of analytics tools. It allows for proactive monitoring, enabling teams to respond swiftly to potential issues before they affect user experience or application performance. Moreover, Azure Monitor supports long-term data retention and analysis by integrating with Azure Log Analytics, which means users can keep historical data and conduct detailed investigations or trend analysis over extended periods. Other options, while having their own monitoring capabilities, do not provide the same level of integrated, comprehensive real-time and long-term visibility as Azure Monitor. Dynamic management views are useful for immediate insights into the state of SQL Server but lack historical analytics capabilities and require manual querying. Trace flags are primarily used for debugging and performance enhancements rather than structured monitoring. SQL Server Profiler is designed for tracing events in SQL Server but is less effective for ongoing monitoring at scale and can negatively impact performance when used extensively. Therefore, Azure Monitor emerges as