Azure SQL Database Administrator

Azure SQL Server Database Administrator Online Test: How it is structured and how it can help you hire your best candidate

Using our Azure SQL Server Database Administrator online assessment test will assure your candidate’s skills administering a SQL Server environment using 24 highly detailed questions.

All questions represent practical and general knowledge around Azure SQL Server administration and should be known by strong database administrators.

The test is put together by the world-renowned SQLskills.com team. They’ve authored more than 65 in-depth Pluralsight courses on SQL Server (on-premises and on Azure), have been providing the highest quality SQL Server training and consulting since 1995, and are intimately familiar with all aspects of SQL Server and the chapters in this test. They also have extensive experience interviewing SQL Server Database Administrator (DBA) candidates for their clients.

The sub-chapters were picked after considering the broad scope of Azure SQL Server database administration, and the SQLskills team has assessed the six most vital areas to evaluate the qualifications and practical experience of a specific candidate. See all chapters to the right.
By using our Azure SQL Server Database Administrator online assessment test, recruiting talented DBAs will be easier. You will have a significantly higher chance of employing a strong candidate, as well as eliminating the risk of hiring an under-qualified candidate who lacks real-world experience.

How would you use this test?

This online assessment test has a number of use cases:

• Evaluate SQL Server DBAs on their understanding of Azure SQL Server administration fundamentals
• Filter out candidates for your work based on their ability to understand complex scenarios
• Make sure that candidates have real-world, practical knowledge of administering SQL Server on Azure, instead of just book knowledge or having taken an Azure administration ‘boot camp’

Which areas (chapters) will be covered in the test, and why was it chosen that way?

Deployment Options
In order to have a successful deployment or migration to Azure, one of the fundamental requirements for a good DBA candidate is to understand each of the deployment options and service tiers. This helps to ensure the chosen deployment option can handle the workload and scale as necessary as the workload changes.

Security
Security is a hot topic in the IT industry today and is essential for an Azure SQL Server DBA to be familiar with. A strong candidate should have experience with encryption features at various levels (such as Dynamic Data Masking, Always Encrypted, and Transparent Data Encryption) as well as the ability to properly configure users, logins, roles, and permissions.

Performance Troubleshooting
Probably the most important task of a DBA is maintaining workload performance and throughput, and identifying the cause of a problem quickly. A strong candidate will know how to collect and interpret metrics from a variety of sources and use that information zero in on the root cause of an issue. Furthermore, candidates should be able to choose an appropriate way to alleviate the problem and restore normal performance.

Monitoring
As a follow-on to performance troubleshooting, a DBA should also be proactively monitoring for potential issues before they impact user functionality. This means a strong candidate for an Azure DBA position needs to know what built-in services exist in the Azure Portal to help monitor for and alert on conditions.

High Availability and Restore
Nothing is more important than a company’s data and SQL Server has a variety of technologies to aid in preserving access to the data tier when disaster strikes. Candidates should be familiar with high availability options in Azure and how to monitor and configure them, as well as what restore options exist and how to use them.

Database Maintenance and Automation
Apart from monitoring performance and solving issues that arise, another regular task that a DBA must perform or automate is database maintenance. A strong candidate will know why and how to implement efficient index fragmentation detection and removal, statistics updates, and consistency checks and how to automate these in an Azure environment.