Domain 2 · 45–50%

Get data

Prepare data

5 measured skills Blueprint Jul 2026
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Get data

Objective coverage

  • Create a data connection
  • Discover data by using OneLake catalog and Real-Time hub
  • Ingest or access data as needed
  • Choose between different data stores
  • Implement OneLake integration for Eventhouse and semantic models

Access is an architectural choice

Before choosing an ingestion button, describe where the data lives, who controls it, how current it must be, and which engine will consume it. Copying, referencing, mirroring, and streaming solve different problems. A copy provides a separately managed representation. A shortcut provides a reference with its own access and availability dependencies. Mirroring replicates supported source changes. Event ingestion supports continuous operational data. A connection describes how a service reaches a source; it does not by itself move or authorize every row.

Northstar combines order records from an operational database, product files from a supplier, and delivery events from vehicles. Finance needs reconciled daily totals. Dispatch needs recent event analysis. Analysts need reusable tables and a governed semantic model. One tool does not have to perform all three tasks. A defensible design makes the contracts between stages visible: source freshness, transformation grain, security identity, and consumer expectations.

Create a data connection

A connection binds a supported connector to endpoint information, authentication, and other required settings. It may be a cloud connection or use a gateway when the source is not directly reachable by the service. Distinguish the human creating the connection, the identity stored or selected for source access, and the identity consuming downstream data. They can differ. A successful connection test establishes a particular connectivity and authentication check; it does not establish that every intended table, query, or scheduled refresh will succeed.

Identify the connector, source address, database or path, required authentication type, and network route. Confirm whether a gateway is needed and who administers it. Create or select an approved connection using the supported Fabric experience. Grant connection usage only to the relevant authors or items. Test the exact table or query, then bind the pipeline, dataflow, or model that will use it. Validate the scheduled or service execution path, not only a local Desktop preview. Document credential rotation and ownership so that an employee departure does not silently break refresh.

An analyst can query an internal SQL server from their laptop because it is on the corporate network. A service refresh fails because the cloud service cannot reach that server through the same route. Northstar configures the appropriate gateway and an authorized connection, maps the model to it, and tests refresh using the service path. If the failure changes from network timeout to table permission denied, the gateway solved connectivity but source authorization still needs work. Adding the analyst as workspace Admin would not correct the gateway route or database grant.

Diagnose in layers: name resolution and reachability, connector support, authentication, source permissions, gateway or cloud binding, then query behavior. A preview may run under a different credential from a scheduled job. A connection can also remain valid while an upstream schema change breaks the consuming transformation. Keep credential material out of notebooks and public repository examples. On the exam, a connection, a gateway, and a data-access permission are complementary requirements. None should be presented as a universal substitute for the others.

Scenario: Desktop refresh works on a corporate laptop, while the same published model times out before reading an internal source. What should you verify first?

Answer: Verify the service's network route and required gateway configuration, then its connection binding and credentials. Reproduce the refresh through the service identity. A successful local preview does not demonstrate cloud reachability, and granting broader workspace rights does not create a network path.

Recall: Which identities participate in a service refresh? What evidence distinguishes a source permission failure from a network timeout?

Discover data by using OneLake catalog and Real-Time hub

Discovery tools help people find existing assets before creating another copy. OneLake catalog organizes discoverable Fabric data and its governance context. Real-Time hub focuses on discovering and connecting to streaming and event-oriented data. Discovery is not authorization: seeing an item or its metadata does not necessarily permit reading its contents. Evaluate purpose, owner, endorsement, freshness, and access requirements before adopting an asset. An asset with a familiar name can still use a different business definition or grain.

Begin with the analytical question and required latency. Search the relevant discovery surface, inspect the item's type and owner, and examine its description and governance signals. Check whether it represents raw events, curated tables, or a reusable semantic model. Confirm the available connection or consumption path and request the appropriate access through the organization's process. Inspect sample schema and known freshness evidence after authorization. Prefer an existing governed asset when its semantics fit; do not choose it solely because it is easy to find.

Finance finds Sales Curated in OneLake catalog and Dispatch finds Delivery Events in Real-Time hub. Sales Curated has one row per posted order line and refreshes after reconciliation. Delivery Events has multiple status records per shipment and arrives continuously. Joining the two without reducing events to the required grain could multiply finance totals. Discovery solved the finding problem, not the modeling problem. The analyst records the owner, grain, timestamp meaning, and intended use of each asset before designing the combined dataset.

If an expected item is absent, check tenant and workspace context, supported item types, permissions, and discovery configuration. If it appears but cannot be read, inspect the requested consumption path and data permissions. A certification badge indicates a governed trust process, not universal fitness for every question. A real-time source may still have end-to-end delay through ingestion, transformation, and serving. The exam distinction is between finding an asset, establishing access, and deciding that its content meets the analytical requirement.

Scenario: An analyst finds a certified model but cannot create a report against it. Should the team copy its tables into a new lakehouse immediately?

Answer: First inspect the model's intended audience and Build permission, and confirm that its measures and grain fit the task. Resolve authorized reuse before creating another copy. A catalog entry and certification do not automatically grant authoring access or prove that a physical copy is necessary.

Recall: When is Real-Time hub the more relevant starting point? Why should grain and timestamp semantics be recorded during discovery?

Ingest or access data as needed

Data can be moved into a managed destination or accessed through a supported reference. Copy activities and related ingestion tools create or update target data. Shortcuts expose supported external or internal data through OneLake without requiring an independently scheduled full copy for every consumer. Mirroring replicates changes from supported sources. Streaming tools handle continuous event flows. Compare ownership, retention, latency, transformation needs, source load, and failure recovery before selecting one. “No copy” does not mean “no security or availability dependency.”

Record whether consumers need a stable snapshot, continuously updated replica, or live access to an owned source. Verify connector and source support. Establish the least-privilege connection, destination, schema, and update contract. For a copy, decide append versus replacement or keyed update and how retries behave. For a shortcut, validate both the target and source access paths and current limitations. For mirroring, inspect initial synchronization, supported changes, and lag. For events, define event time, arrival time, duplicate handling, and the downstream serving path.

Supplier product attributes are published as governed Delta data that Northstar may reference, while the order system must be relieved of repeated analytical scans. A supported shortcut can expose the supplier data, and a supported replication or incremental ingestion path can maintain analytical orders. Delivery events flow to an event-oriented store. Each choice has a separate acceptance check: supplier permissions and schema, order reconciliation and change lag, and event latency and duplicates. If supplier access is revoked, an existing shortcut does not become an independently owned backup.

Avoid choosing a mechanism from its marketing description alone. A mirror has supported source and object constraints. A shortcut may preserve a dependency that violates an offline or retention requirement. A copy can drift if updates and deletes are ignored. A stream can deliver duplicate or late events. Troubleshoot the specific stage: source availability, authentication, transfer, target write, or consumer refresh. An exam question asking for minimal duplication may favor a reference; one requiring an independently retained historical snapshot may require a managed copy and retention design.

Scenario: A team needs historical supplier snapshots even after the supplier overwrites its current table. Is a shortcut alone sufficient?

Answer: No. A shortcut exposes the supported referenced data; it does not by itself create Northstar's independently retained history. Design an authorized snapshot or change-retention process with explicit keys, timestamps, and validation. A shortcut may still be useful as an access route into that process.

Recall: Which source changes can a simple append-only copy miss? What makes a retry safe when an ingestion job partially completed?

Choose between different data stores

A lakehouse supports lake-oriented engineering and open table access across engines. A warehouse serves relational analytics and SQL-centered dimensional workloads. An Eventhouse supports event and time-series analytics using KQL. These are workload choices rather than rankings. Consider the consuming languages, transaction requirements, update patterns, data shapes, operational skills, latency, and governance. A SQL analytics endpoint associated with a lakehouse does not turn every lakehouse operation into a warehouse operation; supported write and query surfaces differ.

Write down representative queries and data-change operations before selecting the store. Identify whether the team mainly prepares mixed files with Spark, maintains relational analytical tables with T-SQL, or explores high-volume events with time-window queries. Check connector support, security requirements, and semantic-model integration. Prototype the critical path with representative data and concurrency. Validate correctness and freshness first, then measure cost and response time. Multiple stores can cooperate, but every extra representation needs a clear owner and consistency contract.

Finance maintains conformed dimensions and sales facts with a SQL-skilled team, making a warehouse a strong candidate. Data science prepares supplier files with Spark and benefits from a lakehouse. Dispatch analyzes device events using KQL and benefits from an Eventhouse. The semantic model can present governed business measures without pretending these underlying workloads are identical. If Finance later requires a Spark transformation, that does not automatically invalidate the warehouse choice; an upstream lakehouse preparation stage may be appropriate if the data contract is explicit.

Language familiarity is evidence about team fit, but it is not the only requirement. A SQL preference should not obscure a strict event-latency need, and a Spark preference should not obscure a relational serving contract. Inspect the actual Fabric surface area rather than assuming all SQL Server or Spark features are available everywhere. Diagnose wrong-store symptoms by measuring the critical operations: ingestion latency, transformation complexity, transaction behavior, concurrency, and query shape. On the exam, select from stated workload constraints instead of always choosing the most familiar item.

Scenario: A dispatch team needs rapid KQL exploration of high-volume device events, while Finance needs reconciled dimensional reporting. Must both use the same store?

Answer: No. An Eventhouse can serve event analysis and a warehouse or lakehouse can supply curated financial data, with an explicit transformation and freshness contract between them where needed. Choose each serving path from its workload and avoid unnecessary copies without sacrificing correctness.

Recall: How does a lakehouse SQL analytics endpoint differ from a warehouse's writable SQL surface? Which measurements would show that a store choice meets the requirement?

Implement OneLake integration for Eventhouse and semantic models

OneLake integration can expose data from other Fabric experiences as Delta tables for reuse. Eventhouse OneLake availability makes supported KQL database data available through a Delta representation to other engines. Semantic-model OneLake integration exports supported Import table data to OneLake. These flows have different producers and timing. Neither should be confused with Direct Lake, where a semantic model reads prepared Delta data from OneLake. Draw the direction of data movement before reasoning about refresh, ownership, or security.

For Eventhouse, inspect the database's supported OneLake availability settings and the tables to expose; verify materialization status and end-to-end availability before attaching another consumer. For a semantic model, confirm capacity, tenant settings, and model permissions, enable supported OneLake integration, and run a model refresh so eligible Import data is written out. Inspect integration refresh history and the resulting tables. Then test the downstream engine's access and schema. Review whether security controls from the producing experience apply to the exported representation; do not infer inherited model RLS at the file level.

Northstar's operations model imports a small classification table maintained by an approved source. OneLake integration exposes that imported table for a separate Fabric workflow after the required refresh. Meanwhile, Eventhouse exposes delivery records through OneLake availability for lake-based analysis. A new Direct Lake model could read suitable Delta tables, but that is a third, consuming step. Calling all three “Direct Lake refresh” would obscure which producer must run and which permissions govern the downstream read. The acceptance test records a known new row at each boundary.

A feature switch being enabled does not prove that data is already materialized or current. Inspect refresh history, availability status, schema, and the identity reading the files. If KQL shows a new event while the Delta consumer does not, investigate the export or availability boundary before changing DAX. If an exported Import table exists but is stale, inspect the semantic-model refresh and integration history. Distinguish object availability, data freshness, and permission to read. Security and model calculations are not automatically equivalent to a raw Delta representation.

Scenario: An owner enables semantic-model OneLake integration but cannot find a newly added imported row in the exported Delta table. What lifecycle event and evidence should be checked?

Answer: Check that the model completed the required refresh after the row became available, then inspect OneLake integration history and the exported table with an authorized identity. Enabling the setting alone is not proof of a completed export. Separate an export failure from a downstream permission failure.

Recall: Which direction does semantic-model OneLake integration move data? How does that differ from a Direct Lake model reading a lakehouse table?

A source-to-consumer acceptance exercise

Create a paper design for Northstar with three source cards. The first card represents the order database and says that updates and cancellations are possible. The second represents a supplier Delta table whose owner can replace files. The third represents delivery events that can arrive late. For each card, choose a supported ingestion or access mechanism and write one failure that your design must detect. Do not use “refresh succeeded” as the only acceptance statement.

For orders, a useful check reconciles business keys and net totals after an update and a cancellation. For supplier data, a useful check verifies current authorization and documents whether historical snapshots are required. For events, a useful check compares event time with arrival time and tests how a delayed event affects an analysis window. Now add the semantic model and write the data freshness that a report consumer can actually expect. This final freshness is the combined result of all required stages, not the latency claimed by the first ingestion mechanism.

Suppose the order pipeline finishes at 08:00, the transformation finishes at 08:10, and an Import model last refreshed at 07:45. The report is not current to 08:10 merely because the warehouse is. A refresh or other supported consumption lifecycle must complete after the relevant data is available. Conversely, a report that reads a current source through a suitable live query path may have different freshness and load characteristics. The design should specify which behavior is intended and how it will be observed.

Finally, change one requirement: the supplier contract requires Northstar to stop reading data immediately when access is revoked. A design that silently retains unrestricted snapshots might violate that contract even if it improves availability. A design that depends on a shortcut should communicate the resulting availability dependency. Architecture choices are not isolated technical preferences; they encode ownership and business constraints. In exam questions, those constraints often determine the correct choice among several technically possible mechanisms.

Shared Fabric foundations

The following field notes adapt this project’s original DP-700 explanations for the shared Fabric foundation. They provide supporting engineering context for the DP-600 objectives above; they do not add separate measured objectives.

Choose an appropriate data store

Store Best fit Key clue
Lakehouse Open files/Delta, Spark engineering, mixed structured data Multiple engines need the same OneLake data
Warehouse Governed relational analytics and T-SQL Dimensional SQL serving and transactions dominate
Eventhouse High-ingest, time-series/log analytics with KQL Low-latency event exploration and time windows dominate
Operational database Application transactions Point writes and application consistency, not analytical scans

Do not choose from language preference alone. Consider concurrency, update pattern, governance, latency, file/table format, and consumers.

Choose between Dataflows Gen2, notebooks, KQL, and T-SQL for data transformation

Dataflow Gen2 is Power Query-based, visual, and approachable for reusable tabular shaping. Notebooks provide PySpark/Python/SQL flexibility and distributed control. T-SQL fits set-based relational transformations close to a warehouse. KQL fits telemetry, logs, semi-structured events, and time-series analysis in Eventhouse.

Dataflow Gen2 in depth

A useful Dataflow Gen2 review follows the data:

  1. Connect and authenticate to a source.
  2. Assign correct data types early; type drives comparison, arithmetic, and folding behavior.
  3. Select/rename columns and filter rows to reduce unnecessary data.
  4. Clean values: replace errors, trim/standardize text, handle nulls, and remove duplicates using an explicit key.
  5. Combine data: merge performs a join; append stacks compatible rows.
  6. Reshape: split/merge columns, pivot/unpivot, group, aggregate, and add derived columns.
  7. Define destination and write behavior, then monitor refresh.

Query folding pushes supported transformations back to the source. Keep foldable filters and projections early, inspect folding indicators/query plans when available, and avoid assuming every connector or step folds. A nonfolding custom operation can force much more data into the mashup engine.

Schema strategy matters. Fixed destination schema gives predictable downstream contracts; automatic or dynamic handling eases evolution but can surprise consumers. Treat added columns, removed columns, type changes, and renamed columns as different events with explicit policy. Dataflow destinations and update methods vary, so verify whether append, replace, or another supported behavior matches the target.

Use Dataflow Gen2 for analyst-friendly transformations and managed destinations; use a notebook when logic needs libraries, tests, complex algorithms, or distributed tuning. Use SQL/KQL when the data already lives in the corresponding engine and set-based work can remain close to storage.

Create and manage OneLake shortcuts

A shortcut is an independent OneLake object pointing to a target path. It avoids an extra copy and exposes supported external or internal data through the OneLake namespace. Deleting the shortcut does not delete the target; moving or deleting the target can break the shortcut.

Create table shortcuts in the lakehouse Tables area for supported table formats and file shortcuts in Files. Plan the cloud connection and credentials, source permissions, shortcut security, cache behavior, and schema evolution. The shortcut is read-through access, so source availability and network latency remain relevant.

Implement mirroring

Mirroring adds a source database or catalog to Fabric. Database mirroring continuously replicates supported operational data into OneLake Delta tables. Metadata mirroring synchronizes catalog metadata and uses shortcuts to open-format data in place. Open mirroring accepts change files written to a Fabric landing zone according to the published specification.

Choose a shortcut for selected open-format tables/folders, mirroring for a database/catalog as a unit, and pipeline/copy when custom cadence, complex shaping, or a non-OneLake destination is needed. Mirrored tables are not general-purpose writable replicas; change the source and let synchronization propagate.

Ingest data by using pipelines

Pipeline Copy Activity supports controlled movement across connectors and destinations. Parameterize dataset/path/table names, choose mappings deliberately, configure parallelism from measurements, and preserve source metadata. Use staging only when required by the connector or performance design.

Capture rows read/written/skipped, duration, throughput, run ID, watermark, and rejected records. Retry transient throttling or network faults with backoff; do not repeatedly retry invalid credentials or deterministic schema errors.

Data-store decision workshop

Choose the store from the dominant access and mutation pattern. A lakehouse keeps Delta and files in OneLake for open, multi-engine engineering and analytics. A warehouse provides a relational, governed T-SQL serving experience for dimensional models and concurrent BI. An Eventhouse is designed for high-rate, time-oriented ingestion and KQL exploration. An operational database owns application transactions and point reads/writes; copying or mirroring its data to an analytical store protects the application from scan-heavy workloads.

Prerequisites include the right Fabric capacity, workspace/item permissions, source connectivity, and a retention/security design. Procedure: quantify data volume and velocity, latency objective, update/delete frequency, transaction needs, query language, concurrency, file-format interoperability, and consumers; score each store; prototype the highest-risk query and load. A lakehouse is not automatically fastest for every SQL dashboard, and a warehouse is not the right landing zone for arbitrary binary files.

Scenario. A team receives Parquet telemetry plus curated sales dimensions. Land and engineer open telemetry in a lakehouse, serve governed star-schema BI from a warehouse when T-SQL concurrency dominates, and use Eventhouse when subsecond KQL exploration over incoming events is required. Do not force one store merely to avoid architecture decisions. Troubleshoot a poor fit by measuring ingestion delay, scan volume, concurrency waits, update complexity, and duplicated copies. Mini-lab: rank all four stores for (1) images plus JSON, (2) a finance star schema, (3) live device logs, and (4) order entry, explaining which requirement eliminated each alternative.

Shortcuts and mirroring

A OneLake shortcut is metadata that exposes a target path under another OneLake location. Internal shortcuts reference Fabric/OneLake data; external shortcuts use a connection to supported storage. Create the connection with least privilege, choose a unique shortcut name and correct target, and place supported Delta tables under Tables or general content under Files. Validate Spark, SQL, or other intended access and define who owns credential rotation, source schema changes, cache behavior, and target availability. Deleting the shortcut deletes the reference, not target data; deleting or moving the target breaks the reference. Choose a shortcut to avoid copying selected existing data, not when you need isolation from source outages or a transformed historical snapshot.

Failure lab. Create a test shortcut, query a known row count, revoke source read, and observe the error without changing the target. Restore permission, then rename or move a test target and diagnose the reference. Check shortcut path, connection identity, source ACL, supported format, Delta log, schema refresh/synchronization, and any cache or acceleration layer. A user may have access to the shortcut item but lack source data authorization through the chosen credential path.

Mirroring represents a broader, continuously synchronized source. Database mirroring captures supported operational changes into read-only analytical Delta representation. Metadata mirroring synchronizes catalog metadata and uses shortcuts to open data in place. Open mirroring accepts correctly formed change data written to a Fabric landing zone. Verify source/version support, network and authentication, required source privileges, key/change semantics, capacity, and unsupported data types before creation. Select source objects, start replication, monitor initial snapshot and ongoing lag, and validate counts and changes—including deletes.

Choose mirroring for low-friction replication or catalog-wide access when the source fits; choose shortcut for selected in-place open data; choose pipeline copy for scheduled/custom mappings and transformations. Do not write directly to a mirrored target as if it were the operational source. For stale data, inspect source change capture/retention, replication status, rejected tables or types, permissions, capacity, and lag. Mini-lab: insert, update, and delete one source row, record when each appears, pause or break connectivity, and prove the monitoring evidence identifies the last synchronized point.

Pipeline ingestion

Copy Activity separates source connection, source query/path, column mapping, sink behavior, and performance settings. Build a parameterized pipeline with typed source/destination identifiers, validate them against an allow-list, and use dynamic expressions only to assemble controlled values. Configure explicit mapping when schema stability matters. Capture a run ID and source version, write rejects separately, and validate rows read, copied, skipped, and written. Grant the pipeline identity only the necessary read and target write rights; store secrets in managed connections, not parameters or logs.

Tune from measurements: source query selectivity, partitioned reads, parallel copies, ForEach concurrency, staging, sink batch/commit behavior, network, and capacity. More parallelism can throttle a source or create small files. Retry transient network or throttling faults with backoff; repair authentication, mapping, constraint, and type errors before rerun. Mini-lab: copy two date partitions through one parameterized child pipeline, force one deterministic mapping error, verify only that partition fails, correct it, and rerun without duplicating the successful partition.

Design and implement full and incremental data loads

A full load replaces or rebuilds the target from the complete selected source. It is simple and self-reconciling but can be expensive and disruptive. An incremental load selects only changes since a trusted position, reducing work while increasing state-management complexity.

Change signal Strength Main risk
Monotonic ID Simple Updates and deletes may be invisible
Modified timestamp Widely available Clock precision, ties, and late commits
Source CDC/version Captures inserts, updates, and often deletes Retention and ordering must be managed
File/path partition Efficient for append-oriented sources Rewritten or late partitions need reconciliation

Persist a high-water mark only after the target transaction or durable write succeeds. Read an overlap window when timestamps can collide or arrive late, then deduplicate by business key and source version. A safe retry either overwrites a deterministic partition or performs an idempotent upsert.

MERGE dbo.Customer AS target
USING #CustomerStage AS source
ON target.CustomerBusinessKey = source.CustomerBusinessKey
WHEN MATCHED AND source.ModifiedAt > target.ModifiedAt THEN
  UPDATE SET CustomerName = source.CustomerName,
             ModifiedAt = source.ModifiedAt
WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN
  INSERT (CustomerBusinessKey, CustomerName, ModifiedAt)
  VALUES (source.CustomerBusinessKey, source.CustomerName, source.ModifiedAt);

MERGE is not automatically correct: the staged source must contain at most one winning row per target key, delete semantics must be explicit, and concurrency must be tested. Periodic full or bounded reconciliation detects changes missed by the incremental signal.

Full and incremental load field guide

Separate four decisions: selection chooses source changes, transport moves them, application changes the target, and control state records progress. A full load selects the complete scope and commonly replaces, truncates/reloads, or swaps a rebuilt target. An incremental load selects a bounded change set and applies inserts, updates, and possibly deletes. A pipeline, notebook, or SQL procedure can participate in either pattern; the tool does not define the semantics.

For timestamp incrementals, read the last committed watermark W0, choose an upper bound W1 at run start, and extract ModifiedAt > W0 AND ModifiedAt <= W1, usually with a justified overlap before W0. Land the extract with source version and run ID, validate it, select one winning version per business key, and apply it idempotently. Reconcile counts and control totals. Only after the target commit succeeds, store W1 as the new committed watermark. Preserve the staged range until the run is recoverable.

Use a full load for small datasets, first loads, recovery, or sources without a trustworthy change signal. Use CDC when inserts, updates, deletes, and ordering must be captured. Use a timestamp or version watermark when it is stable and indexed. Use partition discovery for append-oriented files, but include a late partition policy. Incremental loading saves work at the cost of state, delete handling, and reconciliation. Periodic bounded or full comparisons are the safety net against silent gaps.

Worked recovery. The committed watermark is 10:00. A run chooses 10:15, loads staging, merges the target, and crashes before saving control state. On retry it reads the same interval, ranks duplicate staged rows by source version, and performs the same keyed upsert; the result remains one current row per key. If the watermark had advanced before the merge, the retry would begin after 10:15 and permanently miss the interval. This is why progress follows durable target success.

For missing rows, inspect source change retention, extraction bounds, time-zone conversion, precision ties, overlap, rejected rows, merge predicates, and when the watermark advanced. For duplicates, inspect source-key uniqueness, winning version logic, target constraints, and concurrent writers. For slow loads, measure source scan, transfer, staging, target application, and validation separately. Mini-lab: run the same increment twice, fail once before target commit and once after target commit but before control update, and prove the final target and watermark are correct in both cases.

Sources and provenance

The measured objectives follow the DP-600 blueprint effective July 21, 2026. Product references were retrieved for this edition; the book manifest records the actual retrieval time and SHA-256 of each downloaded HTML response. Examples and scenarios are original teaching material. Shared field guides reuse this project’s original DP-700 writing where the underlying Fabric concepts apply. Microsoft Learn remains authoritative, especially for current feature support and capacity limits.

Read · Try · Explain · Revisit

Practice this chapter

Original learning activities, grounded in the chapter and Microsoft documentation. These are not official exam questions.

Your self-checks measure practice, separately from reading progress. Answers stay in this browser; no AI grading or account is used.

Create a data connection

A connection binds a supported connector to endpoint information, authentication, and other required settings.

Not attempted

Discover data by using OneLake catalog and Real-Time hub

Discovery tools help people find existing assets before creating another copy.

Not attempted

Ingest or access data as needed

Data can be moved into a managed destination or accessed through a supported reference.

Not attempted

Choose between different data stores

A lakehouse supports lake-oriented engineering and open table access across engines.

Not attempted

Implement OneLake integration for Eventhouse and semantic models

OneLake integration can expose data from other Fabric experiences as Delta tables for reuse.

Not attempted
Explore 1 diagram & 2 worked examples

From requirements to evidence

Authored conceptual flow. Each step has its own responsibility and acceptance evidence; this is not a screenshot of Fabric.

  1. DiscoverFind the asset and record owner, grain, and freshness.
  2. AuthorizeEstablish the supported connection and identity.
  3. Access or ingestChoose reference, copy, replication, or event flow.
  4. ConsumeVerify prepared data and the model’s separate freshness boundary.

A service-only connection failure

Authored teaching fixture. A laptop reaches an internal SQL server but the service refresh times out.

  1. Trace

    Identify the service network route and gateway requirement.

  2. Bind

    Configure the approved gateway connection and service credentials.

  3. Validate

    Run the actual service refresh and inspect source permissions if the error changes.

Expected result. Connectivity and authorization are diagnosed separately through the production-shaped route.

Check your reasoning. Why would workspace Admin not create the missing network path?

Revisit the chapter: connections example Microsoft references: Data source management - Microsoft Fabric ↗

Producer and consumer freshness

Authored teaching fixture. A semantic model exports an Import table through OneLake integration.

  1. Enable

    Confirm supported capacity, tenant settings, and model permissions.

  2. Refresh

    Complete the required model refresh and inspect integration history.

  3. Read

    Query the exported Delta table with an authorized downstream identity.

Expected result. A known new row is observed at both the producer and exported-table boundary.

Check your reasoning. How does this direction differ from Direct Lake reading a Delta source?

Try a scenario

0 of 6 self-checked
1Create a data connectionNot attempted

Create a data connection

A Power BI Desktop model can reach an on-premises SQL server from a corporate laptop. The published model cannot reach that server from the service. The SQL server has no public endpoint. Which component provides the required supported network path? Choose one answer. A. Configure an on-premises data gateway B. Enable XMLA Read Write C. Change the semantic model to DirectQuery without a gateway D. Refresh the report page

Show a hint

A connection binds a supported connector to endpoint information, authentication, and other required settings.

Reveal worked explanation

Correct answer: A. Configure an on-premises data gateway The service needs a supported route to the private SQL server. DirectQuery still needs connectivity; XMLA and report refresh do not provide that route.

Watch for this misconception. The service needs a supported route to the private SQL server. DirectQuery still needs connectivity; XMLA and report refresh do not provide that route.

Which points did your original answer include?

This is your assessment against the key points, not an automated correctness score or exam-readiness prediction.

Change one condition

The error changes from timeout to permission denied after gateway repair. What does that show?

Reveal the variant explanation

Connectivity may now be working, while source authorization still fails. Inspect the service connection identity and database permissions rather than repeatedly changing network settings.

2Discover data by using OneLake catalog and Real-Time hubNot attempted

Discover data by using OneLake catalog and Real-Time hub

An analyst finds a certified semantic model in OneLake catalog. The analyst has Read but not Build permission and needs to create a report from the model. Which additional permission should be requested? Choose one answer. A. Workspace Admin B. Model Build C. Warehouse write access D. Model certification permission

Show a hint

Discovery tools help people find existing assets before creating another copy.

Reveal worked explanation

Correct answer: B. Model Build Build supports authoring from the model. Workspace administration, warehouse writes, and certification authority exceed or do not address that task.

Watch for this misconception. Build supports authoring from the model. Workspace administration, warehouse writes, and certification authority exceed or do not address that task.

Which points did your original answer include?

This is your assessment against the key points, not an automated correctness score or exam-readiness prediction.

Change one condition

The model is accessible but defines booked rather than recognized revenue. Should certification override that mismatch?

Reveal the variant explanation

No. Confirm the business definition with its owner and select or create an appropriate governed asset. Certification does not make an asset suitable for a different analytical question.

3Ingest or access data as neededNot attempted

Ingest or access data as needed

A supplier replaces its current Delta table each month. Your organization must retain an independently managed copy of each month for seven years. Which design meets the retention requirement? Choose one answer. A. Create only a shortcut to the current table B. Rename the shortcut each month without copying data C. Create authorized monthly snapshots with defined retention D. Use a field parameter to select the month

Show a hint

Data can be moved into a managed destination or accessed through a supported reference.

Reveal worked explanation

Correct answer: C. Create authorized monthly snapshots with defined retention A reference to changing source data does not by itself preserve independently retained historical contents.

Watch for this misconception. A reference to changing source data does not by itself preserve independently retained historical contents.

Which points did your original answer include?

This is your assessment against the key points, not an automated correctness score or exam-readiness prediction.

Change one condition

The contract forbids retaining supplier data after access is revoked. How does that change the snapshot proposal?

Reveal the variant explanation

Reassess the retention design against the contract. A persistent independent copy may be inappropriate even when technically convenient; document the approved access and deletion obligations.

4Choose between different data storesNot attempted

Choose between different data stores

A team must explore high-volume device events with KQL and time-window aggregations. Which Fabric store best matches this workload? Choose one answer. A. A Fabric warehouse B. An Eventhouse C. A Fabric lakehouse D. A Fabric SQL database

Show a hint

A lakehouse supports lake-oriented engineering and open table access across engines.

Reveal worked explanation

Correct answer: B. An Eventhouse Eventhouse is designed for KQL event analysis. The other stores serve different primary workloads; a familiar SQL interface does not satisfy this KQL requirement.

Watch for this misconception. Eventhouse is designed for KQL event analysis. The other stores serve different primary workloads; a familiar SQL interface does not satisfy this KQL requirement.

Which points did your original answer include?

This is your assessment against the key points, not an automated correctness score or exam-readiness prediction.

Change one condition

The team knows SQL well but the dispatch latency requirement is still strict. Should language preference decide alone?

Reveal the variant explanation

No. Prototype the event workload against its latency and query requirements, then weigh operating skills alongside measured capability. Familiarity is one constraint, not the entire decision.

5Implement OneLake integration for Eventhouse and semantic modelsNot attempted

Implement OneLake integration for Eventhouse and semantic models

OneLake integration is enabled for an eligible Import semantic model. A new source row has not yet been loaded by a model refresh. You need the row in the model’s exported Delta table. What should you do next? Choose one answer. A. Refresh only the report visuals B. Run the required model refresh and verify the integration result C. Change the report to use a different visual D. Create a shortcut to the existing exported table without refreshing the model

Show a hint

OneLake integration can expose data from other Fabric experiences as Delta tables for reuse.

Reveal worked explanation

Correct answer: B. Run the required model refresh and verify the integration result The eligible Import data must first be loaded and exported through the model refresh/integration lifecycle. Reading the existing export again does not add an unrefreshed source row.

Watch for this misconception. The eligible Import data must first be loaded and exported through the model refresh/integration lifecycle. Reading the existing export again does not add an unrefreshed source row.

Which points did your original answer include?

This is your assessment against the key points, not an automated correctness score or exam-readiness prediction.

Change one condition

The exported table is current but the reader gets access denied. Should the producer refresh again?

Reveal the variant explanation

Not as the first action. Inspect the downstream identity and OneLake permissions; freshness and authorization are separate acceptance checks.

6Three freshness clocksNot attempted

Ingest or access data as needed

A warehouse load finishes at 08:10. Its Import semantic model last refreshed at 07:45. At 08:20 a user opens a report that queries that model. The model has not refreshed again. Which data does the report query? Choose one answer. A. The warehouse’s 08:10 data automatically B. The model’s imported data from its last successful refresh C. The source data as of 08:20 through DirectQuery D. A new copy created when the report opens

Show a hint

Trace each boundary to the consumer.

Reveal worked explanation

Correct answer: B. The model’s imported data from its last successful refresh Import queries use the imported representation. Opening a report does not automatically convert the model to DirectQuery or perform a new Import refresh.

Watch for this misconception. Import queries use the imported representation. Opening a report does not automatically convert the model to DirectQuery or perform a new Import refresh.

Which points did your original answer include?

This is your assessment against the key points, not an automated correctness score or exam-readiness prediction.

Change one condition

The report instead uses a supported DirectQuery path. Is an Import refresh still the missing step?

Reveal the variant explanation

No. Inspect source freshness and the actual live query and visual refresh behavior instead of applying an Import lifecycle assumption.

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