Navigating the Certification Hierarchy Diagram
To complement the study material on https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/courses/dp-800t00 please click on the following diagram and click on the 
to expand this drawing, click on any rectangle to access more detailed revision notes.
1. Design and Develop Database Solutions (35-40%)
Focus on designing scalable, secure, and resilient database architectures across SQL Server, Azure SQL, and Microsoft Fabric.
Key skills:
- Design relational, JSON, temporal, and graph data models
- Select appropriate SQL platforms and deployment options
- Design for high availability, disaster recovery, and scalability
- Implement security, compliance, and governance requirements
- Build data ingestion, integration, and change-processing solutions
Exam keywords: Data modeling • Normalization • Partitioning • Replication • Security • Compliance • ETL/ELT • High Availability • Azure SQL • Fabric
2. Develop AI-Enabled Database Solutions (35-40%)
Focus on building database applications that integrate AI capabilities and vector-based search.
Key skills:
- Write advanced T-SQL and database code
- Work with semi-structured data (JSON/XML)
- Implement vector data, embeddings, and vector search
- Build Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) solutions
- Integrate Azure OpenAI and external AI services
- Create APIs and data access layers for AI applications
- Support real-time and event-driven data processing
Exam keywords: T-SQL • JSON • Vector Search • Embeddings • Semantic Search • RAG • Azure OpenAI • APIs • CDC • Streaming
3. Secure, Optimize, and Deploy Database Solutions (25-30%)
Focus on operational excellence, performance tuning, security, and DevOps practices.
Key skills:
- Optimize queries and indexing strategies
- Monitor and troubleshoot performance issues
- Implement database security and auditing
- Apply CI/CD pipelines for database deployments
- Manage schema changes and migrations
- Deploy infrastructure using automation and Infrastructure as Code
- Monitor costs and optimize resource utilization
Exam keywords: Performance Tuning • Query Store • Indexing • Security • Auditing • GitHub • CI/CD • Database Projects • Infrastructure as Code • Cost Optimization
DP-800 Exam Memory Aid
Design → Develop → Deploy
| Domain | Focus Question |
|---|---|
| Design & Develop Database Solutions | How should the database be structured? |
| Develop AI-Enabled Database Solutions | How do I add AI, vectors, embeddings, and RAG? |
| Secure, Optimize & Deploy Database Solutions | How do I run it securely, efficiently, and at scale? |
Most important AI topics to master for DP-800:
- Embeddings
- Vector data types
- Vector search
- Semantic search
- RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
- Azure OpenAI integration
- AI-assisted database development
These AI capabilities are the distinguishing topics that separate DP-800 from traditional SQL developer certifications.