Some question about Oracle database:

1. What is an Oracle Instance?

2. What information is stored in Control File?
3. When you start an Oracle DB which file is accessed first?
4. What is RDBMS?

Some Questions about Memory:

1. What is the job of SMON, PMON processes?
2. What is a Check point?
3. Which Process reads data from Datafiles?
4. Which Process writes data in Datafiles?
5. What is a Shared Pool?
6. What is PGA_AGGRECRATE_TARGET parameter?
7. Large Pool is used for what?
8. What is DB Buffer Cache Advisor?
9. Can you change SHARED_POOL_SIZE online?
10. When creating a new database, how would you handle the memory
allocation?
11. Name some memory areas Oracle uses, and state their purpose?
12. What is difference between Multithreaded/Shared Server and
Dedicated Server?
13. How does 32-bit Oracle compare with 64-bit in terms of memory
restrictions?
14. What are the effects of using bind variables?
15. How would you ensure that a tables blocks stayed in the SGA?
16. Why would a DBA pin packages into memory?
17. Explain what the parameter session_cached_cursors is used for?
18. What is kept in the Database Buffer Cache?

Questions about Transactions:
1. Explain how Oracle achieves read consistency?
2. Explain an ORA01555 / Snapshot too old error and how you might
prevent them?
3. What happens when a commit is issued?

Some Backup and Recovery Questions:
1. What is written in Redo Log Files?
2. How many maximum Redo Log files one can have in a Database?
3. Explain the differences between an export, a hot backup and a cold
backup and the benefits associated with each?
4. What is COMPRESS and CONSISTENT setting in EXPORT utility?
5. What is the difference between Direct Path and Convention Path
loading?
6. What files are required to be included in a complete hot/online backup?
7. Explain the differences between ARCHIVELOG mode and
NOARCHIVELOG mode and the benefits and disadvantages of each?
8. Can you take partial backups if the Database is running in
NOARCHIVELOG mode?
9. Can you take Online Backups if the database is running in
NOARCHIVELOG mode?
10. How do you bring the database in ARCHNELOG mode from
NOARCHIVELOG mode?
11. You cannot shutdown the database for even some minutes, then in
which mode you should run the database?
12. How can you backup a control file?
13. What are redo logs? Explain their importance?
14. What happens during a instance recover?
15. Explain what effect "NOLOGGING" commands have on the database?
How would this affect standby databases and point in time recovery?
16. A large amount of data has been deleted by a user of an application.
The data can't be reentered via the application because it's not all
available. What options would you investigate them?
17. A datafile has been deleted while the database was open and being
used. What would you do?
18. Scenario: An RMAN backup is multiplexing all of the datafiles to one
tape drive. (Filesperset>1 channels >1). What are the implications?
How would you improve the situation?
19. Can you import objects from Oracle ver. 7.3 to 9i?
20. Scenario: A busy database only has a full backup to tape each day
using RMAN. 250 GB of archive logs are generated per day. What are the
implications? How would you improve the situation?
21. Where should you place Archive Iogfiles, in the same disk where DB is
or another disk?
22. Can you take online backup of a Control file if yes, how?
23. What is a Logical Backup?
24. Should you take the backup of Log files if the database is running in
ARCHIVELOG mode?
25. Why do you take table spaces in Backup mode?
26. What is the advantage of RMAN utility?
27. How RMAN improves backup time?
28. Can you take Offline backups using RMAN?
29. How do you see information about backups in RMAN?
30. What is a Recovery Catalog?
31. Should you place Recovery Catalog in the Same DB?
32. Can you use RMAN without Recovery catalog?
33. Can you take image Backups using RMAN?
34. Can you use Backup sets created by RMAN with any other utility?
35. Where RMAN keeps information of backups if you are using RMAN
without Catalog?
36. You have taken a manual backup of a datafile using o/s. How RMAN
will know about it?
37. You want to retain only last 3 backups of datafiles. How do you go for it
in RMAN?
38. Which is more efficient incremental Backups using RMAN or
Incremental Export?
39. Can you start and shutdown DB using RMAN?
40. How do you recover from the loss of datafile if the DB is running in
NOARCHIVELOG mode?
41. You loss one datafile and it does not contain important objects. The
important objects are there in other datafiles which are intact. How do
you proceed in this situation?
42. You lost some datafiles and you dont have any full backup and the
database was running in NOARCHIVELOG mode. What you can do now?
43. How do you recover from the loss of datafile if the DB is running in
ARCHIVELOG mode?
44. You loss one datafile and DB is running in ARCHIVELOG mode. You
have full database backup of 1 week old and partial backup of this datafile
which is just 1 day old. From which backup should you restore this file?
45. You loss control file how do you recover from this?
46. The current log file gets damaged. What you can do now?
47. What is a Complete Recovery?
48. What is Cancel Based, Time based and Change Based Recovery?
49. Some user has accidentally dropped one table and you realize this after
two days. Can you recover this table if the DB is running in
ARCHlVELOG mode?
50. Do you have to restore Datafiles manually from backups if you are
doing recovery using RMAN?
51. A database is running in ARCHIVELOG mode since last one month. A
datafile is added to the database last week. Many objects are created in
this datafile. After one week this datafile gets damaged before you can take
any backup. Now can you recover this datafile when you dont
have any backups?
52. How do you recover from the loss of a control file if you have backup of
control file?
53. Only some blocks are damaged in a datafile. Can you just recover
these blocks if you are using RMAN?
54. Some datafiles were there on a secondary disk and that disk has
become damaged and it will take some days to get a new disk. How will
you recover from this situation?
55. Have you faced any emergency situation? Tell us how you resolved it?
56. At one time you lost parameter file accidentally and you dont have any
backup. How you will recreate a new parameter file with the
parameters set to previous values.

Some Lock and Latches Questions:

1. What are latches used for?
2. What happens when a session has to wait for a latch?
3. Explain what deadlocks are and how to avoid them?
4. When do indexes help to reduce lock contention?

Some Storage Questions:
1. What is Automatic Management of Segment Space setting?
2. How do you control number of Datafiles one can have in an Oracle
database?
3. How many Maximum Data files can there be in an Oracle Database?
4. Can you make a Datafile auto extendible? lf yes, how?
5. What is a Locally Managed Tablespace?
6. Can you redefine a table Online?
7. Explain the relationship between a data block, an extent and a
segment?
8. What is the difference between Range Partitioning and Hash
Partitioning?
9. What is the difference between a TEMPORARY tablespace and a
PERMANENT tablespace?
10. How do you move tables from one tablespace to another tablespace?
11. How do you add a datafile to a tablespace?
12. How do you resize a datafile?
13. What view would you use to look at the size of a data file?
14. What view would you use to determine free space in a (nonetempfile)
table space?
15. What is PCT increase setting?
16. Describe what the PCT_FREE setting does.
17. What are chained rows and migrated rows? What could you do to limit
their effect on performance?

Some Performance Questions
1. When should you rebuild indexes?
2. Can you built indexes online?
3. Can you see Execution Plan of a statement?
4. How would you determine what session`s are connected and what
resources they are waiting for?
5. How can you gather statistics on a table?
6. How often you should collect statistics for a table?
7. How do you collect statistics for a table, schema and Database?
8. Can you make collection of Statistics for tables automatic?
9. How can you enable a trace for a session?
10. How would you go about generating an EXPLAIN plan?
11. How would you go about increasing the buffer cache hit ratio?
12. Name some Oracle performance tools or sources of statistics?
13. How would you begin investigate performance problem, beginning from
a user's complaint?
14. What is Cost Based Optimization?
15. What is STATSPACK tool?
16. Can you assign Priority to users?

Some Data Warehouse Questions:
1. What characterises a data warehouse as opposed to an OLTP
database?
2. Which Oracle features are commonly useful to data warehouse
databases?
3. Briefly describe how each of the features from the previous question
work?
4. What tools might be used for ETL?

Some Development Support Questions:
1. List and describe typical environments used in the development life of an
application? (E.g. Production, development, QA, etc)
2. How would you manage the promotion of changes through the
environments to ensure success when released into production?
3. How can a DBA help developers to design an application?
4. Explain the differences between a FUNCTION, PROCEDURE,
PACKAGES and anonymous PL/SQL blocks?
5. After an import of a schema has finished, what should you check before
notifying the users that the database can be used?
6. Give two types of referential integrity constraints?
7. How would you create a copy of a database with new name on a
different server?
8. You have just compiled a PL/SQL package but got some errors. How
would you view the errors?
9. On which columns you should create Indexes?
10. What types of Indexes are available in Oracle?
11. What is BTree Index?
12. A table is having few rows, should you create indexes on this table?
13. A Column is having many repeated values which type of index you
should create?
14. What is an Index Organized Table?
15. What are a Global Index and Local Index?

Some Questions about RAC:
1. Briefly describe what RAC is, and what the intended benefits are?
2. What are two essential RAC hardware components?
3. What are two methods of RAC load balancing?
4. What does cache fusion mean?
5. What is the voting disk for?
6. What is the hang check timer for in Linux?
7. What performance issues should be considered when migrating an
application to RAC?

Some Replication Questions
1. Describe some types of Oracle Replication?
2. What is the difference between a complete refresh and a fast refresh?

Some Unix/Linux Questions:
1. how do you see how many instances are running?
2. How do you automate starting and shutting down of databases in UNIX?
3. How do you list the files in an UNIX directory while also showing hidden
files?
4. You have written a script to take backups. How do you make it run
automatically every week?
5. How do you execute a UNIX command in the background?
6. What is OERR utility?
7. How do you see Virtual Memory Statistics in Linux?
8. How do you see how much hard disk space is free in Linux?
9. What is SAR?
10. What is SHMMAX?
11. Swap partition must be how much the size of RAM?'
12. What is DISM in Solaris?
13. How do you see how many memory segments are acquired by Oracle
Instances?
14. How do you see which segment belongs to which database instances?
15. What is VMSTAT, IOSTAT and NETSTAT?
16. How would you change all occurrences of a value using VI?
17. How do you set Kernel Parameters in Red Hat Linux, AIX and Solaris?
18. Give two kernel parameters that affect an Oracle install?
19. How do you remove Memory segments?
20. What is the difference between Soft Link and Hard Link?
21. What is stored in oratab file?
22. What UNIX command will control the default file permissions when files
are created?
23. Give the command to display space usage on the UNIX file system?
24. Explain the read, write, and execute permissions on an UNIX directory?
25. How do you see how many processes are running in UNIX?
26. How do you kill a process in UNIX?
27. Can you change priority of a Process in UNIX?
28. Briefly, how do you install Oracle software on UNIX?

Miscellaneous Questions:

1. How do you delete duplicate rows in a table?
2. Which default Database roles are created when you create a Database?
3. Name three files that can be used to configure SQL*Net for server and
client?
4 What problems are associated with the use of generic user ids?
5. Where would you look for errors from the database engine?
6. An application is generating an ORA00600 error in the database. What
would you do about it?
7. Give two examples of how you might determine the structure of the table
"DEPT"?
8. What is the difference between a pfiie and spfile?
9. Compare TRUNCATE and DELETE for a table?
10. Give the stages of instance start up to a usable state where normal
users may access it?
11. When creating a user, what are the minimum permissions that must be
granted to allow them to connect to the database?
12. How would you find out what a particular pfile does?
13. What methods can you use to compact an index?
14. A table has been identified as needing reorganization. How would you
plan for it? How would you implement it?
15. A user cant Logging to a remote Oracle database via an application
using SQL*Net from their PC. What would you do to determine the cause?
16. A database is not shutting down 15 minutes after the shutdown
immediate command was issued what would you do?
17. An error appears about a table that cant extend due to insufficient
space in the table space. What would you do?
18. You have been asked to write the requirements for an automatic
"health check" system for a database. What things would you include?
19. You have been presented with a UNIX database server, and have been
logged in as the root user. How would you find the databases and
obtain access to them?
20. Can you audit SELECT statements?
21. What does DBMS_FGA package do?
22. You want users to change their passwords every 2 months. How do
you enforce this?
23. Can you disable and enable Primary key?
DBA Questions:-
1. Explain the difference between a hot backup and a cold backup
2. How many memory layers are in the oracle shared pool? Explain
them
3. What is the cache hit ratio, what impact does it have on performance
of an Oracle database and what is involved in tuning it?
4. Explain the concept of the DUAL table
5. What are the ways tablespaces can be managed and how do they
differ?
6. Explain what are Oracle Catalog and Oracle Archive log?
7. What are PCT Free and PCT Used? What is PCT increase
parameter in segment?
8. What is dump destination? What are bdump, cdump and udump?
9. How do you increase the performance of %LIKE operator
10. Why use materialized view instead of a table?
11. Why and how the deadlock situation arises?
12. What are standby databases? Difference between Physical
and logical standby databases
13. What is Cache Fusion Technology?
14. What is the difference between Cloning and Standby
databases?
15. What is dump destination? What are bdump, cdump and
udump?
16. What are PCT Free and PCT Used? What is PCT increase
parameter in segment?
17. Explain what are Oracle Catalog and Oracle Archive log?