DP-600 - Implement and Manage Semantic Models - Section 3.6

Configure Direct Lake behaviour, including fallback and refresh, choose between Direct Lake on OneLake and on SQL endpoints, and implement incremental refresh.

Configure Direct Lake mode to read Delta tables from OneLake without importing data, and understand when framing causes fallback to DirectQuery. Choose between Direct Lake on OneLake and Direct Lake on the SQL analytics endpoint, and implement an incremental refresh policy to limit data refreshed to recent partitions.

Direct Lakefallback to DirectQueryDirect Lake on OneLake vs SQL endpointincremental refreshrefresh policy

Practice question for this objective

Free sampleImplement and Manage Semantic Modelshard

A team builds a "Direct Lake" "semantic model" over Delta tables in a "Lakehouse". Reports must read brand-new rows the instant data engineers write them, and the model must keep working even if the read-only "SQL analytics endpoint" lags behind the latest Delta commit. Which "Direct Lake" variant should the engineer choose?

  • A"Direct Lake" on OneLake, which reads the Delta tables straight from "OneLake" and does not depend on the "SQL analytics endpoint" staying in sync with the latest commit Correct
  • B"Direct Lake" on SQL endpoint, which routes every read through the "SQL analytics endpoint" so the model always matches what that endpoint currently exposes to queries
  • CImport mode refreshed on a schedule, which loads the Delta rows into the model cache so reports query an in-memory copy that is fast and fully detached from "OneLake"
  • DDirectQuery over the "SQL analytics endpoint", which pushes each report query to the endpoint at run time so visuals always resolve against the live SQL surface
Choose "Direct Lake" on OneLake when the model must read the latest Delta commit without depending on the "SQL analytics endpoint" sync. "Direct Lake" on OneLake reads Parquet columns from the Delta tables in "OneLake" directly, so it surfaces the newest committed rows immediately, whereas the SQL endpoint variant inherits any lag in the endpoint's metadata refresh.

Why A is correct: "Direct Lake" on OneLake binds to the Delta tables in "OneLake" directly, so it reflects the newest committed rows without waiting for the read-only SQL surface to refresh its metadata.

Why B is wrong: This variant resolves tables through the "SQL analytics endpoint", whose metadata sync can lag the latest Delta commit, so it can miss the freshest rows the stem demands.

Why C is wrong: Import duplicates the data and only updates on a refresh schedule, so brand-new rows are invisible until the next refresh, which contradicts the instant-freshness requirement.

Why D is wrong: DirectQuery still depends on the "SQL analytics endpoint" and gives up the in-memory speed of "Direct Lake", so it both lags and performs worse than the required approach.

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