1. What is Big Data?

• Big Data refers to extremely large datasets that cannot be easily managed,
processed, or analyzed using traditional data processing tools. It encompasses the 5 V’s:
Volume, Velocity, Variety, Veracity, and Value.
2. Explain the 5 V’s of Big Data.
• Volume: The amount of data.
• Velocity: The speed of data generation and processing.
• Variety: The different types of data.
• Veracity: The uncertainty of data.
• Value: The useful information extracted from data.
3. What is Hadoop?
• Hadoop is an open-source framework for storing and processing large
datasets in a distributed computing environment using simple programming models.
4. Explain the architecture of Hadoop.
• Hadoop has a Master-Slave architecture: HDFS for storage (NameNode and
DataNodes) and MapReduce for processing (JobTracker and TaskTrackers).
5. What are the core components of Hadoop?
• HDFS (Hadoop Distributed File System) and MapReduce.
6. What is HDFS?
• HDFS is a distributed file system that provides high-throughput access to
application data.
7. What are the main components of HDFS?
• NameNode (manages metadata) and DataNodes (store actual data).
8. Explain the concept of blocks in HDFS.
• HDFS splits files into blocks (default 128MB) and distributes them across
DataNodes for fault tolerance and parallel processing.
9. What is MapReduce?
• MapReduce is a programming model for processing large datasets with a
distributed algorithm on a Hadoop cluster.
10. Describe the MapReduce processing model.
• MapReduce involves two main functions: Map (process and filter data) and
Reduce (aggregate and summarize data).
11. What is YARN?
• YARN (Yet Another Resource Negotiator) manages resources and schedules
tasks in a Hadoop cluster.
12. Explain the role of the NameNode and DataNode in HDFS.
• NameNode: Manages file system metadata.
• DataNode: Stores actual data blocks.
13. What is the difference between Hadoop 1 and Hadoop 2?
• Hadoop 1 uses MapReduce for both processing and resource management.
Hadoop 2 introduces YARN for better resource management and supports other processing
models besides MapReduce.
14. What is a Hadoop cluster?
• A collection of nodes (computers) that work together to store and process
data using Hadoop.
15. What is a DataNode in Hadoop?
• A DataNode stores data blocks and handles read/write requests from clients.
 16. What is the role of the Secondary NameNode?
• It periodically merges the NameNode’s namespace with the edit logs to
prevent the NameNode from running out of memory.
17. Explain the concept of rack awareness in Hadoop.
• Rack awareness ensures data blocks are distributed across different racks to
improve fault tolerance and reduce network traffic.
18. What is Apache Spark?
• Spark is an open-source, distributed computing system that provides
in-memory processing to increase the speed of big data analytics.
19. Compare Hadoop MapReduce and Apache Spark.
• Spark is faster due to in-memory processing, supports more complex
computations like iterative algorithms, and has high-level APIs. MapReduce uses disk I/O
and is slower.
20. Explain the concept of RDD in Spark.
• RDD (Resilient Distributed Dataset) is Spark’s fundamental data structure,
representing an immutable, distributed collection of objects.
21. What are the advantages of Spark over Hadoop?
• Faster processing, in-memory computation, ease of use, support for multiple
languages, and a rich set of libraries (MLlib, GraphX, Spark Streaming).
22. What is Apache Hive?
• Hive is a data warehousing tool built on top of Hadoop that allows querying
and managing large datasets using SQL-like syntax (HiveQL).
23. How does Hive differ from HBase?
• Hive is used for batch processing and querying structured data, while HBase
is a NoSQL database for real-time read/write access to large datasets.
24. What is Pig in Hadoop?
• Pig is a high-level platform for creating MapReduce programs using a
scripting language called Pig Latin.
25. Explain the role of Apache HBase.
• HBase is a distributed, scalable, NoSQL database built on top of HDFS for
real-time read/write access to big data.
26. What is Zookeeper in the context of Hadoop?
• Zookeeper is a coordination service for distributed applications, providing
configuration management, synchronization, and naming registry.
27. What is the role of Sqoop in the Hadoop ecosystem?
• Sqoop is a tool for efficiently transferring bulk data between Hadoop and
relational databases.
28. What is Flume and how is it used?
• Flume is a distributed service for collecting, aggregating, and moving large
amounts of log data into Hadoop.
29. What is the difference between a traditional RDBMS and a NoSQL database?
• RDBMS uses structured schema and SQL for data management, while
NoSQL handles unstructured data, provides horizontal scaling, and uses various data
models (document, key-value, column-family, graph).
30. What is the CAP theorem in the context of NoSQL databases?
• CAP theorem states that a distributed system can provide only two of the
following three guarantees: Consistency, Availability, and Partition tolerance.
31. Explain the term “Data Lake”.
 • A data lake is a centralized repository that allows storage of all structured and
unstructured data at any scale.
32. What is the Lambda Architecture?
• Lambda Architecture is a data processing architecture designed to handle
massive quantities of data by taking advantage of both batch processing and stream
processing methods.
33. Explain the concept of data sharding.
• Data sharding is a method of distributing a single dataset across multiple
databases to improve performance and scalability.
34. What is a data pipeline?
• A data pipeline is a series of data processing steps where data is ingested,
processed, and then delivered to its destination.
35. What is the difference between batch processing and stream processing?
• Batch processing handles large volumes of data in chunks at scheduled
intervals, while stream processing handles data in real-time as it arrives.
36. What is Apache Kafka and how is it used?
• Kafka is a distributed streaming platform used for building real-time data
pipelines and streaming applications. It is used to publish and subscribe to streams of
records.
37. Explain the role of Avro in Hadoop.
• Avro is a data serialization system that provides a compact, fast, binary data
format and a rich data structure for Hadoop.
38. What is the purpose of Parquet in Hadoop?
• Parquet is a columnar storage file format optimized for use with big data
processing frameworks, improving performance and storage efficiency.
39. What is OLAP and how does it differ from OLTP?
• OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) is designed for querying and reporting,
while OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) is designed for managing transaction-oriented
applications.
40. Explain the use of ELK stack in big data.
• ELK stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) is used for searching, analyzing,
and visualizing log data in real-time.
41. What is the role of Apache Storm?
• Storm is a real-time computation system for processing large streams of data
with low latency.
42. What is a columnar database?
• A columnar database stores data by columns rather than rows, which
improves performance for read-heavy operations and analytics queries.
43. What are the key features of Cassandra?
• Cassandra is a distributed NoSQL database known for its high availability,
horizontal scalability, and ability to handle large amounts of unstructured data across
multiple nodes.
44. What is the role of a Data Engineer in a big data project?
• A Data Engineer designs, builds, and maintains the data architecture,
including data pipelines, ETL processes, and data storage solutions.
45. What is ETL and how is it used in big data?
 • ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) is a process that extracts data from various
sources, transforms it into a suitable format, and loads it into a data warehouse or big data
system.
46. Explain the concept of data partitioning.
• Data partitioning involves dividing a large dataset into smaller, more
manageable pieces to improve query performance and scalability.
47. What is a data mart?
• A data mart is a subset of a data warehouse, focused on a specific business
line or team.
48. How do you ensure data security in a big data environment?
• Data security in big data environments is ensured through encryption, access
controls, auditing, and monitoring.
49. What is machine learning and how is it used in big data?
• Machine learning is a subset of AI that allows systems to learn and improve
from experience without being explicitly programmed. It is used in big data to uncover
patterns, make predictions, and automate decision-making processes.
50. What are the challenges of big data and how do you address them?
• Challenges include data quality, storage, processing speed, data integration,
and security. They can be addressed with appropriate tools, scalable architectures, data
governance, and robust security measures.