Describe how data is stored
Tell structured, semi-structured and unstructured data apart, and name common file formats and stores.
Partners and press
Overview
Data comes in more than one shape. This exam tests where each one lives.
DP-900 is a Fundamentals exam for people beginning with data in the cloud, covering core concepts and Azure data services. It covers relational data and SQL, non-relational data and Cosmos DB, and large-scale and real-time analytics with Power BI. It is not a prerequisite for any role-based exam, the exam runs 45 minutes, and the credential does not expire.
11Modules
45Minutes
4Skills
8Roles
What it tests
Learn all the way down.
Learn all the way down.
Perform when it matters.
Work with relational concepts
Explain normalization, read common SQL statements, and name the Azure SQL family and open-source database services.
Choose non-relational storage
Describe Blob, Files and Table storage, and the use cases and APIs of Azure Cosmos DB.
Describe analytics on Azure
Explain ingestion, batch and streaming processing, and what Power BI adds to a data model.
Course outline
From rows, files and documents
From rows, files and documents
to the right Azure data store.
We design this course ourselves. Microsoft runs the exam and issues the credential, and LUNARTECH is independent of Microsoft.
Everything in data work begins with its shape. You tell structured, semi-structured and unstructured data apart, and meet the common file formats and stores for each.
- Structured, semi-structured and unstructured data
- Delimited text, JSON, XML and Parquet
- Databases, files and data lakes
- Choosing how to store a data set
- Reading a sample of each format
You build A catalog of six sample data sets, each labeled by shape, format and the store that suits it.
A system that takes orders and a system that reports on them have different needs. You compare transaction processing with analytics, and learn what consistency means for the first and scale means for the second.
- Transaction processing and the idea of ACID
- Analytical processing and reporting
- Operational data compared with analytical data
- Batch and real-time processing
- Matching a workload to a design
You build A two-column comparison of a shop’s order system and its sales reporting needs.
Data work is shared across several jobs. You meet the database administrator, data engineer and data analyst, see what each does and which tools they use, and how their work hands off.
- Database administrators
- Data engineers
- Data analysts
- How the roles hand work to each other
- Tools each role uses
You build A map of one data project that shows what each role does at each step.
Relational databases organize data into tables that point at each other. You learn rows, columns and keys, see why data is split into several tables, and meet normalization as a way to avoid repeated and conflicting data.
- Tables, rows and columns
- Primary and foreign keys
- Relationships between tables
- Normalization and why it helps
- Indexes and views
You build A normalized design for a small shop database, drawn as connected tables.
SQL is the common language of relational data. You read and write simple queries to select, filter, join and summarize rows, and know the difference between changing data and changing structure.
- SELECT, WHERE and ORDER BY
- Joining tables
- GROUP BY and aggregate functions
- INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE
- Creating and altering tables
- Stored procedures at a glance
You build A set of SQL queries that answer five questions about a sample shop database.
Azure runs relational databases in several ways, from fully managed to your own server. You compare Azure SQL options and the open-source database services, and decide which one suits a given application.
- Azure SQL Database
- Azure SQL Managed Instance
- SQL Server on a virtual machine
- Azure Database for PostgreSQL and MySQL
- Managed against self-managed: what you give up and gain
- Choosing a relational service for an application
You build A recommendation of a relational service for three sample applications, with reasons.
Not all data fits in tables. You learn what Azure Blob, Files and Table storage hold, how a storage account organizes them, and which one suits images, shared files or simple key-value records.
- Storage accounts and their services
- Blob storage for unstructured data
- Azure Files for shared file systems
- Table storage for key-value data
- Access tiers and redundancy
You build A storage layout that places a company’s images, shared documents and device records.
Cosmos DB is Azure’s globally distributed database for non-relational data. You learn the data models it supports, how its APIs differ, and what throughput and global distribution mean for an application.
- Document, key-value, column-family and graph models
- The NoSQL API and other APIs
- Throughput and request units
- Partitioning at a glance
- Global distribution and consistency
- When Cosmos DB is the right choice
You build A decision note that picks Cosmos DB or another store for three sample applications.
Analytics begins with getting data to one place. You learn how data is ingested, stored in lakes and warehouses, and processed in batches or as a stream, and meet the Azure and Fabric services that do each.
- Extract, transform and load against extract, load and transform
- Data lakes and data warehouses
- Batch processing at scale
- Streaming and real-time processing
- Microsoft Fabric as one analytics platform
You build A diagram of a data flow from three sources to a warehouse, with a streaming branch.
Data only changes decisions when people can see it. You learn how Power BI turns a data model into reports and dashboards, and how a model, a visual and a filter work together.
- From data to a model in Power BI
- Reports, dashboards and visuals
- Filters and slicers
- Choosing a chart that fits the question
- Sharing a report with others
You build A simple Power BI report built on a small sales data set.
One scenario joins the course. You take a small business’s data and choose how to store it, query it, analyze it and show it, using what you know about each Azure data service.
- Listing the business’s data and its shapes
- Choosing relational and non-relational stores
- Planning ingestion and analytics
- Planning reports for decision makers
- Explaining the design and its trade-offs
You build A data design for a small business that names each store, flow and report, with reasons.
Issued by
Certifying body · Independent of LUNARTECH
Microsoft
Microsoft publishes its exam outlines and runs its certification program through Microsoft Learn. Exams are delivered through Pearson VUE, and Associate, Expert and Specialty credentials renew each year through a free, unproctored online assessment. LUNARTECH is independent of Microsoft.
How you get there
Top-tier roles go to people who can do the work.
Top-tier roles go to people who can do the work.
Here’s how you get there.
Know where you start.
Microsoft expects familiarity with relational and non-relational data, and with transactional and analytical workloads.
Work through the course.
Eleven modules, designed by LUNARTECH, at your own pace.
Sit it with Microsoft.
Microsoft runs the exam and issues the credential, so you register and book directly with them.
Support
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Certificate of completion
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DP-900 course
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Pricing
This course comes with the membership.
This course comes with the membership.
So does everything else.
One membership opens every course, certification, workshop and masterclass in the Academy. Every plan starts with a 3-day free trial. You register and book the exam directly with Microsoft.
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In practice
Eight roles.
Eight roles.
One credential across them all.
No single job owns it. Here’s where each role leans hardest, and where its work ends up.
- 01Data concepts
- 02Relational data
- 03Non-relational
- 04Analytics
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Know where the data sits before you query it. Analytical stores answer different questions from live ones.
Data concepts, Analytics
Retail and e-commerce, Marketing and analytics
-
Batch and streaming need different pipelines. Pick the store that fits how the data arrives.
Data concepts, Non-relational, Analytics
Financial services, Software companies
-
Relational and non-relational stores are not rivals. Each has a workload it handles best.
Relational data, Non-relational
Financial services, Healthcare
-
Ask for the right kind of data, not just more of it. Power BI shows what the model can answer.
Data concepts, Analytics
Retail and e-commerce, Marketing and analytics
-
Models start with knowing what kind of data you hold. Concepts like structure and scale guide the first step.
Data concepts, Analytics
Financial services, Software companies
-
Apps choose between SQL tables and document stores. Fundamentals shows what each is good at.
Relational data, Non-relational
Software companies, Retail and e-commerce
-
Product metrics depend on data someone had to collect. Analytics terms help you ask for the right cut.
Data concepts, Analytics
Software companies, Marketing and analytics
-
Campaign numbers pass through several data stores. Knowing the basics tells you where to look.
Analytics
Marketing and analytics, Retail and e-commerce
- Retail and e-commerce
- Financial services
- Healthcare
- Software companies
- Marketing and analytics
Data Analyst
Know where the data sits before you query it. Analytical stores answer different questions from live ones.
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Updated November 2026.
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No. Microsoft issues it. LUNARTECH is independent of Microsoft, and its names and marks belong to it. When you finish a course of ours, you earn a LUNARTECH certificate of completion for that course.
No. We design this course ourselves, around what the exam covers. Microsoft has no part in it, and you still register and book the exam directly with Microsoft.
45 minutes, proctored, in English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Indonesian, Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Chinese (Traditional), Italian. The passing score is 700 or greater.
Microsoft expects familiarity with relational and non-relational data, and with transactional and analytical workloads.
Does not expire.
We last reviewed it on 5 November 2026, from Microsoft’s own pages. Details change, so check the official page before you book.
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The course
Build the skills behind DP-900.
Show you speak data: relational, non-relational, analytics. Start with a free trial, or enroll in a plan and work through the course at your own pace. Microsoft runs the exam and issues the credential.
LUNARTECH is independent of the vendors and certifying bodies listed here. Their names, exam titles and marks belong to them, exams are run by them, and credentials are issued by them. Reviewed 5 November 2026. Catalogues change often, so confirm the details on the official page before you book.
