SQL Server DBA Interview Questions

and answers
Question.1 Which TCP/IP port does SQL Server run on? How can it be changed?
Answer: SQL Server runs on port 1433. It can be changed from the Network Utility TCP/IP
properties.
Question.2 What are the difference between clustered and a non-clustered index?
Answer: A clustered index is a special type of index that reorders the way records in the
table are physically stored. Therefore table can have only one clustered index. The leaf nodes
of a clustered index contain the data pages. A non clustered index is a special type of index in
which the logical order of the index does not match the physical stored order of the rows on
disk. The leaf node of a non clustered index does not consist of the data pages. Instead, the
leaf nodes contain index rows.[sociallocker]
Question.3 What are the different index configurations a table can have?
Answer: A table can have one of the following index configurations:
No indexes

A clustered index

A clustered index and many nonclustered indexes

A nonclustered index

Many nonclustered indexes

Question.4 What are different types of Collation Sensitivity?

Answer:
Case sensitivity – A and a, B and b, etc.

Accent sensitivity

Kana Sensitivity – When Japanese kana characters Hiragana and Katakana are treated
differently, it is called Kana sensitive.

Width sensitivity – A single-byte character (half-width) and the same character represented as
a double-byte character (full-width) are treated differently than it is width sensitive.

Question.5 What is OLTP (Online Transaction Processing)?

Answer: In OLTP – online transaction processing systems relational database design use
the discipline of data modeling and generally follow the Codd rules of data normalization in
order to ensure absolute data integrity. Using these rules complex information is broken down
into its most simple structures (a table) where all of the individual atomic level elements
relate to each other and satisfy the normalization rules.
Question.6 What’s the difference between a primary key and a unique key?
Answer: Both primary key and unique key enforces uniqueness of the column on which they
are defined. But by default primary key creates a clustered index on the column, where are
unique creates a nonclustered index by default. Another major difference is that, primary key
doesn’t allow NULLs, but unique key allows one NULL only.
Question.7 What is difference between DELETE and TRUNCATE commands?
Answer: Delete command removes the rows from a table based on the condition that we
provide with a WHERE clause. Truncate will actually remove all the rows from a table and
there will be no data in the table after we run the truncate command.
TRUNCATE:
TRUNCATE is faster and uses fewer system and transaction log resources than DELETE.

TRUNCATE removes the data by deallocating the data pages used to store the table’s data,
and only the page deallocations are recorded in the transaction log.

TRUNCATE removes all rows from a table, but the table structure, its columns, constraints,
indexes and so on, remains. The counter used by an identity for new rows is reset to the seed
for the column.

You cannot use TRUNCATE TABLE on a table referenced by a FOREIGN KEY constraint.
Because TRUNCATE TABLE is not logged, it cannot activate a trigger.

TRUNCATE cannot be rolled back.

TRUNCATE is DDL Command.

TRUNCATE Resets identity of the table

DELETE:
DELETE removes rows one at a time and records an entry in the transaction log for each
deleted row.

If you want to retain the identity counter, use DELETE instead. If you want to remove table
definition and its data, use the DROP TABLE statement.

DELETE Can be used with or without a WHERE clause

DELETE Activates Triggers.

DELETE can be rolled back.

DELETE is DML Command.

DELETE does not reset identity of the table.

Note: DELETE and TRUNCATE both can be rolled back when surrounded by
TRANSACTION if the current session is not closed. If TRUNCATE is written in Query
Editor surrounded by TRANSACTION and if session is closed, it can not be rolled back but
DELETE can be rolled back.

Question.8 When is the use of UPDATE_STATISTICS command?

Answer: This command is basically used when a large processing of data has occurred. If a
large amount of deletions any modification or Bulk Copy into the tables has occurred, it has
to update the indexes to take these changes into account. UPDATE_STATISTICS updates
the indexes on these tables accordingly.
Question.9 What is the difference between a HAVING CLAUSE and a WHERE
CLAUSE?
Answer: They specify a search condition for a group or an aggregate. But the difference is
that HAVING can be used only with the SELECT statement. HAVING is typically used in a
GROUP BY clause. When GROUP BY is not used, HAVING behaves like a WHERE
clause. Having Clause is basically used only with the GROUP BY function in a query
whereas WHERE Clause is applied to each row before they are part of the GROUP BY
function in a query.
Question.10 What are the properties and different Types of Sub-Queries?
Answer:
Properties of Sub-Query

A sub-query must be enclosed in the parenthesis.

A sub-query must be put in the right hand of the comparison operator, and

A sub-query cannot contain an ORDER-BY clause.

A query can contain more than one sub-query.

Types of Sub-Query

Single-row sub-query, where the sub-query returns only one row.

Multiple-row sub-query, where the sub-query returns multiple rows,. and

Multiple column sub-query, where the sub-query returns multiple columns

Question.11 What is SQL Profiler?

Answer: SQL Profiler is a graphical tool that allows system administrators to monitor events
in an instance of Microsoft SQL Server. You can capture and save data about each event to a
file or SQL Server table to analyze later. For example, you can monitor a production
environment to see which stored procedures are hampering performances by executing too
slowly.
Use SQL Profiler to monitor only the events in which you are interested. If traces are
becoming too large, you can filter them based on the information you want, so that only a
subset of the event data is collected. Monitoring too many events adds overhead to the server
and the monitoring process and can cause the trace file or trace table to grow very large,
especially when the monitoring process takes place over a long period of time.

Question.12 What are the authentication modes in SQL Server? How can it be
changed?
Answer: Windows mode and Mixed Mode – SQL and Windows. To change authentication
mode in SQL Server click Start, Programs, Microsoft SQL Server and click SQL Enterprise
Manager to run SQL Enterprise Manager from the Microsoft SQL Server program group.
Select the server then from the Tools menu select SQL Server Configuration Properties, and
choose the Security page.
Question.13 Which command using Query Analyzer will give you the version of SQL
server and operating system?
Answer: SELECT SERVERPROPERTY (‘productversion’), SERVERPROPERTY
(‘productlevel’), SERVERPROPERTY (‘edition’).
Question.14 What is SQL Server Agent?
Answer: SQL Server agent plays an important role in the day-to-day tasks of a database
administrator (DBA). It is often overlooked as one of the main tools for SQL Server
management. Its purpose is to ease the implementation of tasks for the DBA, with its full-
function scheduling engine, which allows you to schedule your own jobs and scripts.
Question.15 Can a stored procedure call itself or recursive stored procedure? How
much level SP nesting is possible?
Answer: Yes. Because Transact-SQL supports recursion, you can write stored procedures
that call themselves. Recursion can be defined as a method of problem solving wherein the
solution is arrived at by repetitively applying it to subsets of the problem. A common
application of recursive logic is to perform numeric computations that lend themselves to
repetitive evaluation by the same processing steps. Stored procedures are nested when one
stored procedure calls another or executes managed code by referencing a CLR routine, type,
or aggregate. You can nest stored procedures and managed code references up to 32 levels.
Question.16 What is Log Shipping?
Answer: Log shipping is the process of automating the backup of database and transaction
log files on a production SQL server, and then restoring them onto a standby server.
Enterprise Editions only supports log shipping. In log shipping the transactional log file from
one server is automatically updated into the backup database on the other server. If one server
fails, the other server will have the same db and can be used this as the Disaster Recovery
plan. The key feature of log shipping is that it will automatically backup transaction logs
throughout the day and automatically restore them on the standby server at defined interval.
Question.17 Name 3 ways to get an accurate count of the number of records in a table?
Answer:
SELECT * FROM table1

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM table1

SELECT rows FROM sysindexes WHERE id = OBJECT_ID(table1) AND indid < 2

Question.18 What does it mean to have QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON? What are the
implications of having it OFF?
Answer: When SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER is ON, identifiers can be delimited by double
quotation marks, and literals must be delimited by single quotation marks. When SET
QUOTED_IDENTIFIER is OFF, identifiers cannot be quoted and must follow all Transact-
SQL rules for identifiers.
Question.19 What is the difference between a Local and a Global temporary table?
Answer: A local temporary table exists only for the duration of a connection or, if defined
inside a compound statement, for the duration of the compound statement.
A global temporary table remains in the database permanently, but the rows exist only within
a given connection. When connection is closed, the data in the global temporary table
disappears. However, the table definition remains with the database for access when database
is opened next time.[/sociallocker]
Level 1: The Minion
Databases at their very core are methods of storing information for later use in a safe and secure
place, using a strange language that at first it seems that everybody but you can understand. As
a result, at this stage you most likely have a particular project that you need to maintain or
implement — one that requires vast amounts of information to be cared for and kept tidy.
Learning how to navigate a database isn’t necessarily as difficult as traversing an underground
lair, but you can still get lost between the tables. Bananas are optional, but tasty.

What is a Database?
A Database Administrator needs to know what a database is before they can administer it, right?
At its most basic, a database is a collection of tables, structured in such a way that it can be
navigated like you would any sort of table. If you remember in math class, you may have had a
number of tables that allowed you to quickly find a value if you multiplied an x and y value
together — or in this case, what it would be if you were looking for a particular row and column
value.

Why should I go to all the trouble of creating a database when I have a perfectly good Excel
Spreadsheet?
Scale. If you were to take a (singular) spreadsheet and a (singular) table and place them side by
side, there would be effectively no difference in the data you are seeing or what you could do
with it. As you go bigger and bigger with more and more tables and spreadsheets, if you have a
black belt in spreadsheet-fu you can accomplish many of the same tasks that a database could
do as well. The problem is, as you go larger and larger and larger, that it becomes much more
difficult to be human-friendly and still be efficient when it comes to processing data. So should
you replace every single spreadsheet with a database? Not necessarily, but if the data on that
spreadsheet needs to be accessed quickly by multiple users simultaneously and is growing
rapidly, it may be time to consider going to the dark side (they have cookies).

What is a query?
A query in normal terms is a question, simple enough. It is the statement that is talking to the
database in order to Create, Read, Update or Delete (CRUD) data. While many times a query is
an actual question asking for an answer, it can also be the statement to modify, insert, or remove
data in the database as well.

What is SQL?
Structured Query Language is the basic way of asking a database server to talk to you. Whether
that is in the context of asking it a question, giving it answers to questions it is asking you, or
updating answers that have already been stored in the database. The art of asking the right
question is critical to getting back the right data you need, which is incredibly valuable when
dealing with databases, as it is very easy to receive far more data than you know what to do with,
or nothing at all.

What does ‘SELECT’ do?

SELECT in the terms of an SQL query triggers a question to the database. It looks across the
specified table(s), finds the data you are looking for and then presents it to the user for
consideration. Depending on the query, this can be an awful lot of data, so again, asking the right
question is critical.

What is a primary key?

A primary key is usually used as the index for a particular table — a value that the table can
depend upon to be a reliable unique value in every row. When trying to pull data for a particular
row, the primary key will normally be used to pull that information, usually a numeric value. For
example, if you are trying to pull up data on a specific person, and that database is using their
unencrypted ssn as the primary key (naughty), then that could be used in the query to identify
that particular row since there could be other people present in the database with that specific
name or other identifying characteristics.
What is a Database Management System?
A Database Management System, or DBMS, is essentially the application that handles the heavy
lifting between you (the user), and the raw data. The database itself is just that — the database;
it cannot alter its own data any more than the average person can re-arrange their genetic code.
The DBMS is what you are talking to when you are asking the questions. It is what looks at your
question, thinks about it for a while, goes to the database, picks up the data, hands it back to
you, and asks you to come again.

What is the difference between a Navigational database and a Relational database?

The best way to describe a Navigational DBMS is through that of a tree. Each value was
associated with another through the use of a parent, most of the time with no other direct way to
access the data. Relational Databases on the other hand use values common to multiple tables
to establish a unique key — making sure that they are talking on the same page so that there are
many, many ways to get to the same place. To put it another way, if you were trying to get from
point A to point B, a navigational database would have one specific path to get there — via a
freeway. A relational database on the other hand would have options for taking the freeway, a
back road, a boat, a plane, a bus and sometimes a rocket — provided that each of those
methods were set up correctly to talk to each other. Most modern databases use the relational
database model.

Why do most database types not talk to each other?

In a word: money. In three words: a lotttta money. Different database vendors spend a huge
amount of research time trying to find ways to give them a leg up on the competition; whether
that may be by performance, storage capacity, longevity, reliability, scalability, the list goes on
and on. As a result, trying to be compatible and backwards engineer every single feature of a
particular database type is difficult in the extreme before you even get to the patent violations.
Most databases can be simplified down to filetypes like .csv files, which can be used to transport
basic data from vendor to vendor. That being said however, there would be a lot lost in
translation without help from higher up.

What is a Frontend?
For those that don’t want to see row upon row upon row of data in front of them until they go
cross-eyed, a frontend is essential. In essence a management program, a frontend allows
admins to be able to view and modify high level database functions without the need to use the
command line for every single thing. This can be extremely useful not only for efficiency, but also
for safety, as it can prevent accidental data modification. It can also allow users that are more
used to a GUI application most of the utility that the CLI permits.

Level 2: The Researcher

You now can navigate a database backend at will, and depending on the rest of your skill sets,
can access things that may or may not have you locked up in a federal penitentiary. However,
when someone comes asking you for a question, you are the person they rely on for answers
fast and accurately. You may end up with some odd overtime, but hey at least the medical’s
good right?

What is a ‘join’?
Well when two tables love each other very much…not that much happens actually. However
when you need to search across multiple tables simultaneously, a join can help make that
happen. For example, if you were searching for information on a particular product and one table
has the description while the other has pricing information, you can use a join to search across
both tables simultaneously using a single query.

What is a foreign key?

When using a join or other type of query that goes across multiple tables, it can sometimes be
difficult to make sure they are talking on the same page. A primary key can help with this, but
sometimes this is impractical, and thus you need a secondary value that is consistent across
multiple tables. For example, say that in a series of tables for product listings you have your
primary key assigned to an auto-increment ID based on when the product was entered (a typical
setup), and then none of these rows are able to line up with their counterparts in other tables. So
if you have one table for product listings, another for price information, another for reviews, etc.
— this could be a fairly major problem. However, if you know for a certainty that your part
numbers for these products are going to be unique values, you can use that as a foreign key and
suddenly everything lines up all nice and neat. This is possible since it exists in more than one
table, and since is being referenced from outside its own table; it is designated ‘foreign’. This
does not mean it still could not be the primary key for that particular table as well, it just means it
has a reference that can be looked to from another point of view.

What is SQL Injection?

Also known as asking a question and getting the answer you want, rather than the answer they
want to give you (anybody that has tried to navigate certain nameless support phones knows that
this isn’t necessarily a bad thing); however in the context of a database application, this can be “a
very bad thing”™. For instance, say that you are on an online banking website. You’re at the
login screen, and it is waiting for you to enter your login and password so it can display your
particular financial information. But what if you want to see the listing of everybody else that
banks at this particular location? Depending on how the bank’s site is hardened against such an
attack, you could get their personal information, current balances, PIN numbers, or even worse,
enter your own data directly into the database — able to create new accounts, set up transaction
history, active balances, the list goes on and on.

What is input sterilization?

One of the main answers to SQL Injection, input sterilization allows the database to selectively
ignore data coming in from an input field and strip out non-required data. For example, if a field is
expecting only a numeric value, there is no need for letters or symbols to be present in the user
input. Therefore, these values can be safely ignored but still keep the functionality of the form
intact. While not an end-all beat-all, it goes a long way to helping mitigate attacks on this vector.

SQL Vs NoSQL
NoSQL (Also called Not Only SQL), is a different form of database than the standard relational
type. While it can use a lot of the same kinds of query language, it doesn’t necessarily use the
same type of table structure that standard relational databases use, and thus in some cases can
be more efficient. That efficiency depends greatly on its application however, and many times
you will see NoSQL used in Big Data crunching and analysis applications that require real-time
feedback.

What is ‘Big Data’?

DATA. If you’ve ever shopped on Amazon or at a Walmart, searched on Google or

been on Facebook for more than 10 minutes, then you’ve seen Big Data in action. Big Data is
essentially looking at the forest for the forest instead of the trees. An individual person is a
unique entity with a specific set of actions and reasons for why they do what they do. Tracking an
individual person’s actions can sometimes be useful, however it’s also a shot in the dark. But
multiply that by many, many millions and suddenly the individual actions don’t matter as much —
yet patterns start to emerge. A good example of this was published in the New York Times:
Walmart discovered that just prior to a major storm, there was a run on the usual items such as
bottled water, batteries and flashlights — but also strawberry pop tarts. This pattern was
consistent across the board, so they were able to bundle these items together in certain parts of
the store and increase profits. Amazon Suggestions, Google Analytics and other entities that run
off of Big Data are huge moneymakers for their respective entities for being able to consistently
give (relatively) accurate recommendations to users based on their past interests or purchases.
What is a ‘Flat File’?
A flatfile is a catch-all term used for concepts like Comma Separated Values (.csv). While there
are a lot of different ways to create such a file, they all share ideas that they can be created and
manipulated easily and without necessarily requiring a standard database application. These can
also be used to transfer data from system to system due to their lightweight status. In some
cases, these have been replaced by XML files, however XML can when compared to certain
kinds of flatfiles, be very large.

I have a database that was built in MySQL, and I need the data to be moved over to Microsoft SQL
Server. How would I do this?
The easy answer would be to contact Microsoft Tech Support and bring your checkbook. A more
difficult answer would be to bring it down to a .csv file and then import it into SQL Server, but
without a specialty conversion utility you may lose some program-specific specific tricks, thus
requiring some rebuilding once the conversion is complete. This is not saying that this would
work in all cases, but it is at least an option.

What is the difference between ‘=’ and ‘LIKE’?

When crafting a query, or using programming to display data in certain ways depending on the
values being returned, you may want to think that these can be used interchangeably. There is
one big difference, however: equal means equal. The value being returned must match the value
it is being compared to 100%. LIKE, however, can be used with a number of different wildcard
mechanics, allowing you to be a bit more flexible in your rules.

What is a Null Value?

A Null Value is an absence of data. This one is a bit misleading sometimes, because depending
on who you ask, it can be considered many possible things. “Null equals 0”- Not in this context,
because 0 is a value. “Null equals Empty” — closer, but again sometimes an empty value can
still be considered a value depending on how the field is structured. If a column allows for null
values, and no value is submitted, then it allows it to be Null.

Level 3: The Riddler

“Riddle me this, riddle me that.” The ability to ask the right question can unlock as much
information as you can handle, and in some cases more than you ever want to know. However,
just asking questions isn’t enough, since in order to have questions answered, there must be
data present in the first place. Being able to generate data and then know that it is safe for future
use is vital, since you never know when some scrap of information might be useful in your
next caper project.
What does ‘INSERT’ do?
INSERT submits data into a database as a new row, usually through the use of a form. While
forms can take many…forms…, the most common uses are through either a dedicated
application or through the use of an HTML form. Clicking on the ‘submit’ button will trigger the
built in form reaction to scan the form for particular fields, making sure the required ones are
entered correctly, make sure the user isn’t being naughty in what they are trying to enter, then
submit the data to the database.

What does ‘DROP’ do?

DROP removes a table from a database or a database from a server. A very dangerous
command indeed, it is only to be used in situations that absolutely require it, as unless you have
a backup of it handy, there is no coming back from this.

What is the difference between T-SQL and PL/SQL?

T-SQL or Transact-SQL is Microsoft’s version of SQL. The main additions Microsoft made to the
main branch of SQL involve the addition of procedures or routines — scripts essentially — that
can be run under certain criteria. PL/SQL, on the other hand, is Oracle’s version of SQL, and
conceptually the two are very similar. However, because of the nature in how they were
developed, trying to move data from one to the other involves quite a bit of work. The main
differences deal with how they multi-task and how they lock elements when they are in use.

What does ‘UPDATE’ do?

UPDATE allows values to be modified where they meet specific criteria. For example, say that
you were on Amazon and were about to move. As a result, you would want to adjust your mailing
address so that you actually got your stuff. You would therefore go into your settings and it would
show you your current address. Modifying this address and then submitting the form would
update your address based on your particular user profile. If it updated anybody else’s address to
match that would be a serious problem — at least for the person doing the paying.

Why do database servers benefit from a lot of memory, and why do 64-bit operating systems help in
this regard?
Database servers like to cache as much data as possible when they are reading it a lot. Storing
this information in active memory is a lot faster than trying to find it again from the hard disk or
other media. Therefore more memory = faster response time = better performance. The problem
is that for most operating systems the maximum amount of memory that can be used by a 32-bit
OS is 4 gigabytes. While in years past this would have been an inconceivable number, today it is
a drop in the bucket. 64-bit operating systems resolve this issue by being able to handle memory
to 192 gigabytes currently for Windows, while Linux can theoretically go much higher at present,
and these numbers will only climb higher and higher.

Why is it a bad idea to run a test on a live database?

On a test database, it’s relatively easy to keep the performance variables to a minimum. On a
live database however, it needs to be functioning for all users all the time. Running untested
code on a production database can not only reduce performance, but also create unforeseen
instability in the server itself — potentially causing crashes and data corruption.

Why is it difficult to use standard file by file backup methods on an active database server?
This problem is twofold. First, many database servers place locks on database files that are
currently in use. Most backup programs that try to do a file-by-file backup will therefore be unable
to create a copy of this file, as they cannot get exclusive permissions to it. Second, while some
database servers have only a single file to backup a database, others have multiple files that can
be stored in different locations across possibly multiple physical hard disks. The problem can be
resolved in one of two potential ways. First, using the backup method within the database server
itself. Some programs such as Microsoft SQL Server allow you to create a scheduled backup
directly within the server application to a location of your choosing. Others require you to use a
scheduled task or another on-demand type of backup solution. The second would be to use a
backup application that can talk directly to the database server, allowing the database to be
backed up using a different technique.

When would you use an offline backup method versus an online backup?
If the above methods are unavailable when trying to create a backup solution, another potential
method is temporarily taking down the database or database server in order to create a file-by-
file backup. The problem with this method is that if the server goes down incorrectly, the backups
could be flagged as bad and thus unusable. Periodically testing your backups to make sure they
are working properly is strongly recommended, regardless of what method you use to create them.
What is Replication?
Database replication allows for real-time automated backups between multiple database servers.
This allows for the creation of either a fall-over server, or warm backup for use in case the main
server goes down.

Is data in databases encrypted by default?

While most database servers support some form of encryption out of the box, it is not enabled by
default due to performance hits and security concerns.
Level 4: The Librarian
Data Organization is critical to being able to navigate through large numbers of tables and much
larger quantities of data. Being able to look ahead to potential applications and create and
optimize tables in a way that allows them to grow without having to rebuild them entirely can help
save many hours of hassle. Bananas are still optional and still tasty.

What is the difference between a ‘TINYINT’, an ‘INT’ and a ‘BIGINT’?

Contrary to popular belief, this is not the lifecycle of a talking tree. Rather, it is the creation of a
column that allows for specific levels of integers (numeric whole numbers) up to a specified cap.
There are many ways to limit the growth of fields, but in the case of Microsoft SQL Server, these
each represent a value in bytes, which creates a maximum value that the field can hold.
Data type Range Storage

-2^63 (-9,223,372,036,854,775,808) to 2^63-1

bigint 8 Bytes
(9,223,372,036,854,775,807)

int -2^31 (-2,147,483,648) to 2^31-1 (2,147,483,647) 4 Bytes

tinyint 0 to 255 1 Byte

How would you store files within a database?
Two common ways to store files for use by a database are either within the operating system’s
file system, or within a field of the table itself. Uploading and storing the files outside of the
database makes for faster creation of the application, and can be more efficient if the file sizes
are larger, but can potentially cause security issues if the files are not secured correctly. On the
other hand, the files can also be stored directly within the database using a BLOB-type field. A
BLOB is a Binary Large Object, essentially an empty area where a file can be uploaded to but
not exceed a specified limit. Like int in the example above, blob has a number of different
potential sizes, depending on the type used. Bear in mind there are other methods for storing
and accessing files in a database server, these two are merely the most common.

When would you use ‘char’ versus ‘varchar’?

This is a bit of a difficult question, mostly because it depends so much on what your application
is. For example, if you have a form field that can be nearly any length and changes every single
time, then varchar is a much more practical choice, since it gives you much more flexibility. If
however you have a field where every value is going to be exactly the same length, then you can
get more efficient performance out of a char. Again, it depends on exactly what your application
is, and how you plan to cook it — seasoning as you see fit.

What is XML?
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a fast way to display data that not only conforms to a
structure that can be read by machines, but is also easily understandable by humans. Because
they can be dynamically and manually generated in many different ways, they are easy to
produce and map to; and because they retain the same structure despite the data being updated,
they can be relied upon for automatic functions such as RSS aggregation.

What shows that a database server is running?

<Insert joke about needing to catch it here/> Database servers run as services or daemons, most
times in the background without the necessity to see that they are running in order to interact
with them. When things go sideways however, being able to verify that the service is in fact up
and running can be an excellent place to start troubleshooting. Checking under the services area
of your particular operating system, whether that be by GUI or by CLI, can show you that the
service is started or not, thus allowing you either to start or restart it as need be.
What is WYSIWYG?
What You See Is What You Get. A mouthful of an acronym, it allows for the creation of an
application that is consistent regardless of how it is viewed — whether on the design screen,
being viewed in a browser or being printed. Creating an interface to a database that is not only
functional but also looks nice is a trick in itself, and can take a lot of work to get it just right.

Why is it frowned upon to use ‘SELECT * ..’ in a large database?

Picture it like a group of people in line for a bathroom, and every single person that was going in
there was going to use the toilet, change their clothes, take a shower, iron their jacket, take
another shower, etc. There is only so much area that can be used efficiently before you start to
get a queue, slowing down the whole operation that can eventually cause the entire thing to
collapse under lack of toilet paper. You can quickly get back more than you can use or
understand, so optimization is key when creating queries and asking only what you need to get
the question answered.

How would you get the quantity of results from a query?

COUNT() is the main supported way to be able to get the number of returned results from a
query. While there are many other options such as mysql_num_rows, these are considered
obsolete and are being removed.

What is a Database Schema?

If you’ve ever seen one of those Visio diagrams with 40 different tables with lines connecting
particular columns on one with those on another, that’s a database schema. Essentially a two-
dimensional representation of how each table talks to other ones, it is the way to view the design
of a database as a single entity and not as a jumble of different tables.

What are Nested Queries?

A query within a query, this particular method can be tremendously difficult to troubleshoot and
even harder to manage without a lot of overhead. In most cases, a nested query can be replaced
with a JOIN, allowing for much more efficient use of resources.

Level 5: The Caretaker

You understand the system inside and out and protect it as such. If anything happens, you’re the
first one to pick up on how bad it can get and the last one to go home after its been fixed.
Sometimes pictured as a miracle worker, it’s your job to make sure the project keeps going,
building a team that can find new ways to improve upon the designs, and keep the wheels
spinning.

What is ODBC?
Open Database Connectivity is a way to make different kinds of frontends talk to different data
sources (DSNs) such as Databases. The specifics available depend on the type of application
being used, the driver being used and the backend to which it is being applied.

For Oracle systems, what is OFA?

Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) is the recommended layout for installing and configuring an
Oracle database.

For Oracle systems, what is error “ORA-01034”?

The full error is “ORA-01034: ORACLE not available”. While there are many potential causes, the
most common is that the service is just not running. The resolution is to start the service, then
see if the error comes back.

What is Normalization?
When most people first start working with databases, the first instinct is to create massive tables
for storing data — one place, one query — keeps things simple. However, as they grow to
unmanageable levels, it is a good idea to look into Database Normalization. This idea allows for
data to be split off into smaller more efficient tables that (hopefully) reduce the amount of
duplicate data. In this way, smaller queries can be run on individual tables instead of having
everybody always talking to one big one — thus improving performance.

For Microsoft SQL Server, what is a DMV?

Dynamic Management Views are functions built into Microsoft SQL Server that allow for
troubleshooting, diagnostics and server health monitoring.

What are the default ports for MySQL, SQL Server and Oracle, and can/should this be changed?

The default port for MySQL is 3306, and can be changed in Windows as noted in this article or in
*nix as noted in this article. The default port for Microsoft SQL Server is 1433, and can be
changed as noted in this article. The default port for Oracle is 1521, and can be changed as noted
in this article. Depending on your security stance, changing the port that your database server
uses can be a good way to lower your profile and reduce the amount of unauthorized access
attempts against the server.
For Microsoft SQL Server, What is Log Shipping?
A form of backup on Microsoft SQL Server, Log Shipping is similar to replication and allows for
rapid failover if the main server goes down. One thing to bear in mind, however, is that a log
shipping based failover must be activated manually; it will not switch over automatically.

For Microsoft SQL Server, what is DBCC?

Database Console Commands (DBCC) are a series of utilities for SQL Server designed for
maintenance and reporting. A full list of the commands can be found here.
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud Computing is usually a catch all term for data being stored “over there”. Placing high-
requirement applications onto dedicated hosting services can be beneficial depending on the
application, however it can also cause catastrophic security problems and availability issues. It is
therefore highly recommended to keep important data in-house, and only outsource in situations
that it cannot be avoided. Cloud Computing, Big Data and Data Mining are many times talked
about in the same sentence since processing power required for one usually means the others
become viable either as a requirement or a side effect.

What is Hadoop?
Hadoop is a Data Mining application designed to handle very, very large amounts of data across
a wide variety of environments — from one to thousands of systems. Used in situations that don’t
necessarily fit into standard database structures, its main strength is being able to take one giant
project and split it off to each of its member servers, have them each process their own job, then
have their findings recombined into one viewable result.