@Ben Cohn Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Forum, Thank you for posting your query here!
To optimize your experience with DP-203 labs without incurring high costs or long setup times, consider the following strategies:
Utilize Free Azure Credits: If you have access to Azure credits, such as those provided with Visual Studio subscriptions or free monthly credits for certain Azure services, you can use these to cover the costs of resources required for the labs.
Azure for Students: If you're a student, you may be eligible for the Azure for Students offer, which provides free credits to use on Azure services.
Microsoft Learn: Explore the modules on Microsoft Learn related to DP-203, which provide free, interactive learning paths and sandbox environments for hands-on practice without any cost.
Optimize Resource Usage: Instead of deleting resources after each lab, you can stop or deallocate them to save costs when not in use. This way, you can avoid the setup time for subsequent labs.
Lab Scheduling: Plan your lab activities so that you can complete multiple labs within a short time frame, minimizing the total time resources are active and thereby reducing costs.
Shared Resources: Some labs may allow you to use shared resources, which can reduce the number of resources you need to create and the associated costs.
Cost Management Tools: Use Azure's cost management tools to track your spending and stay within budget.
- Community Support: Engage with the Azure community on forums or platforms like GitHub, where you might find optimized lab setups shared by other users that are quicker to install and cost-effective.
- Use pre-configured lab environments: Some training providers offer pre-configured lab environments that you can use to complete the labs for DP-203. These environments are often provided as part of a training course or certification program.
- Optimize your lab environment: To reduce the time it takes to complete the labs, you can optimize your lab environment by using smaller VM sizes, reducing the number of resources you are using, and minimizing the amount of data you are storing.
- Use Azure credits: If you have access to Azure credits, you can use them to complete the labs for DP-203 without incurring any costs. Azure credits are often provided as part of a Microsoft certification program or as part of an Azure subscription.
Remember to always clean up resources you no longer need and to keep an eye on your usage to prevent unexpected charges. [1][2]
References
[1] MicrosoftLearning/dp-203-azure-data-engineer - GitHub
[2] Hands On material/exercises for DP-203 and AZ-204 - Reddit
Please do not forget to "Accept the answer” and “up-vote” wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members.