Wednesday, 1 February 2017

Microsoft Certification 70-473 : Designing and Implementing Cloud Data Platform Solutions

I recently passed the Microsoft exam 70-473 "Designing and Implementing Cloud Data Platform Solutions", here's my insight into the certification for anyone else thinking of studying and sitting this exam. I've also included a selection of my most useful links I found whilst looking for relevant online content.

Generally, if you have experience with SQL Server (2008+) then focus your study on hybrid scenarios, HA/DR, auditing, monitoring, security and the differences between SQL Server (on-prem Vs Azure) and Azure SQL Database.
Having some Azure certs already will also give you a small head-start. Also, knowing the different MS tools available and when to use them was key.

With the absence of any MS Exam References and Certification videos my preparation material was based on MSDN, Azure and Technet articles, so lots and lots of online reading. I did find various online videos that dealt with specific aspects of the exam, but in the end I stuck to the docs and took the Mindhub practice exam I had as part of the (no longer available) Microsoft Exam Booster Pack.

I hope these prove useful (Note: not all objective areas have a link, if you find a good one then let me know)...


·         Design a hybrid SQL Server solution
o    Design Geo/DR topology,
o    design a data storage architecture,
o    design a security architecture,
o    design a data load strategy
·         Implement SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines (VMs)
o    Provision SQL Server in an Azure VM,
o    configure firewall rules,
o    configure and optimise storage,
o    migrate an on-premises database to Microsoft Azure,
o    configure and optimise VM sizes by workload
·         Design a SQL Database solution
o    Design a solution architecture,
o    design Geo/DR topology,
o    design a security architecture,
o    design a data load strategy,
o    determine the appropriate service tier
·         Implement SQL Database
o    Provision SQL Database,
o    configure firewall rules,
o    configure active geo-replication,
o    migrate an on-premises database to SQL Database,
o    configure for scale and performance
·         Design and implement data warehousing on Azure
o    Design a data warehousing solution on Azure,
o    design a data load strategy and topology,
o    configure SQL Data Warehouse,
o    migrate an on-premises database to SQL Data Warehouse

·         Design and implement SQL Server Database security
o    Configure firewalls;
o    manage logins, users and roles;
o    assign permissions;
o    configure auditing;
o    configure transparent database encryption
·         Implement Azure SQL Database security
o    Configure firewalls;
o    manage logins, users, and roles;
o    assign permissions;
o    configure auditing;
o    configure row-level security;
o    configure data encryption;
o    configure data masking;
o    configure Always Encrypted

·         Design and implement high availability solutions
o    Design a high availability solution topology,
o    implement high availability solutions between on-premises and Azure,
o    design cloud-based backup solutions,
o    implement backup and recovery strategies
·         Design and implement scalable solutions
o    Design a scale-out solution,
o    implement multi-master scenarios with database replication,
o    implement elastic scale for SQL Database
·         Design and implement SQL Database data recovery
o    Design a backup solution for SQL Database,
o    implement self-service restore,
o    copy and export databases

·         Monitor and troubleshoot SQL Server VMs on Azure
o    Monitor database and instance activity,
o    monitor using dynamic management views (DMVs) and dynamic management functions (DMFs),
o    monitor performance and scalability
·         Monitor and troubleshoot SQL Database
o    Monitor and troubleshoot SQL Database,
o    monitor database activity,
o    monitor using DMVs and DMFs,
o    monitor performance and scalability
·         Automate and manage database implementations on Azure
o    Manage SQL Server in Azure VMs with PowerShell,
o    manage Azure SQL Database with PowerShell,
o    configure Automation and Runbooks

Related Videos

Ignite Exam Prep Session - Channel 9
Exam Boot Camp - MAPA
1.1/3.1 SQL Server HA/DR with Azure
1.2 Migrate SQL Server to Azure
1.2 SQL Server in Azure VMs
1.4/4.2 Hybrid Cloud workloads SQL
1.5 Elastic Data Warehouse as-a-service
2.2 Securing data in SQL Database
3.1 Design a scale-out solution
3.2 Elastic Database with Azure SQL Database
3.3 Implementing SQL Database Data Recovery
4.1 Monitor and Troubleshoot SQL Server
4.3 SQL Server and SQL Database Powershell

Other Links

General Introduction
SQL Server on Azure VMs Learning Path
SQL Database Intro
TechNet SQL Server Reference
MSDN SQL Server Reference
SQL Server (2008) Data Loading White Paper
SQL Server Customer Advisory Team (SQLCAT)
SQL Server Solution Design
Hybrid SQL Server Scenarios
Migrate On-prem to Azure VMs
Training Course

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