Teradata Interview Questions1

Interview Questions

Question:  1 For which two reasons would Partitioned Primary Index (PPI) be considered on a table? (Choose two.) 

A. To eliminate ranges of data values from a query and thereby reduce scan time

B. To reduce response time by placing all data in the same partition on the same AMP

C. To reduce the amount of I/O needed to process queries

D. To reduce the number of columns in a table to those needed by most queries 

Answer: A, C 

Question:  2 How is system availability guaranteed, if a node fails in a MPP environment with multi-node cliques? 

A. The AMPs on the failed node migrate to the other nodes in the clique.

B. The remaining nodes migrate to an alternate clique.

C. The RAID groups owned by the AMPs on the failing nodes are shut down.

 D. The RAID groups owned by the AMPs on the failing nodes migrate to AMPs already running on the remaining nodes in the clique. 

Answer: A 

Question:  3 On the subject of FastLoad, which two statements are correct? (Choose two.) 

A. No journaling

 B. Can maintain NUSIs but not USIs

C. No secondary indexes on the target table

 D. Loads duplicate rows into a multiset table 

Answer: A, C 

Question:  4 Which of the following applies to Non-Partitioned Primary Index (NPPI) tables when determining  the size of a row in Teradata? (Choose two.) 

A. Two bytes for variable length accom modation                                  B. Eight bytes per row for the rowid C. Two bytes per row for row length                                                D. One byte per column for com pression E. Four bytes for the primary index 

Answer: B, C 

Question:  5 Which two statements referring to a dimensional data model are correct? (Choose two.) 

A. It often implements fewer tables.                                          B. It is extremely flexible.                                                     C. It requires significantly less ETL activity.                             D. It reduces the need for summary tables. E. It can be adapted to optimize performance. 

Answer: A, E  

Question:  6 What type of query population is helped by a sparse index? 

A. Queries that often redistribute a large table

B. Queries that repeatedly use the same subset of the table

C. Queries that often return a large percent of the rows of a large table based on the primary key

 D. Queries that often eliminate a large percent of the rows of a large table using a superset of the table

E. Queries that rarely redistribute a large table in com plex join processing 

Answer: B 

Question:  7 When is a fully covering join index advantageous to a query? 

A. When the base table is small enough to fit in cache

B. When there is an unpredictable selection of columns from the base table

C. When relatively few columns are in the result and join or selection criteria includes values other than the base tables' primary index(es)

D. When the result set is produced through either join or selection criteria on the base tables' primary index(es) 

Answer: C 

Question:  8 The allocation of system CPU resources in a mixed workload environment can be improved by  executing which three of the following tasks? (Choose three.) 

A. Use the MODIFY USER statement to change the ACCOUNT for a user

B. Modify the Default Resource Partition to a lower weight than other Resource Partitions

C. Use the MODIFY USER statement to give a user more spool space

 D. Maintain development and test users in separate Allocation Groups

E. Define Allocation Groups for different times of the day 

Answer: A, D, E 

Question:  9 Which of the following are two true statements regarding "soft" Referential Integrity (RI)? (Choose  two.) 

A. The RI is presumed to be enforced outside of the database.        

B. The RI is enforced by the database.

 C. The PK columns can appear anywhere in the WHERE clause.

 D. Redundant joins between soft RI defined tables are eliminated. 

Answer: A, D 

Question:  10 A join index would be added to a set of tables for what reason? 

A. To enforce Referential Integrity across tables

B. To ensure same distribution of both tables

 C. To enforce data uniqueness

 D. To decrease response time on well known queries

Answer: D 

Question:  11 Which are two features of the Multi Load utility? (Choose two.) 

A. Up to ten tables can be specified in a single execution.

 B. The upsert function is supported.

 C. Insert, update, and delete are all supported.

D. It uses macros to improve performance.

 E. The processing rate can be controlled. 

Answer: B, C 

Question:  12 Which two of the following statements are correct in relation to data marts? (Choose two.) 

A. Dependent data marts are isolated entities entirely separate from the enterprise data warehouse.

 B. A data mart is generally a relatively small application-specific subset of the data warehouse.

C. A logical data mart is a form of dependent data mart that is constructed virtually from the physical data warehouse.

D. Independent data marts are derived from the enterprise data warehouse. 

Answer: B, C 

Question:  13 A Partitioned Primary Index (PPI), NUSIs, and a USI is defined on Table X. which two of the  following can you employ for daily maintenance? (Choose two.) 

A. Multi Load

B. TPump

C. FastLoad into an empty Table Y, then INSERT/SELECT into Table X

D. Teradata Warehouse Builder Load Operator 

Answer: B, C 

Question:  14 Which three of the following should be included in an analysis that defines TDQM restrictions?  (Choose three.) 

A. A list of users whose access must be above restriction

 B. A listing of the requirements for critical applications and the times of day that are most critical

C. The client resources available during the peak periods

 D. An understanding of the timing requirements for maintenance of specific tables or databases

 E. A projection of the growth pattern for major tables in the database 

Answer: A, B, D 

Question:  15 What are you calculating when you analyze volatility as a factor for selecting indexes? 

A. How unique the column values are

 B. How frequently the column value changes

C. The difference between the maximum and minimum values

D. How frequently the column is used for access 

Answer: B 

Question:  16 An empty target table is required by which two utilities when loading data? (Choose two.) 

A. FastExport                                                                                              B. FastLoad                                 C. MultiLoad D. Teradata Warehouse Builder Load operator 

Answer: B, D 

Question:  17 A RAID configuration for system availability has what advantage? 

A. If a node fails, the AMPs running on that node migrate to the other nodes in a different clique.

B. If a single drive fails, work can proceed because the disk controller can reconstruct the data.

 C. If multiple drives fail in the same drive group, work can proceed using the redundant copies.

D. A disk array cabinet failure does not interrupt operation since RAID forces redundancy across RAID cabinets. 

Answer: B 

Question:  18 If you are defining Roles in Teradata, what are two questions that you should ask yourself?  (Choose two.) 

A. Will this user need more than just SELECT access to the data?

B. From which network path will this user access Teradata?

C. What characteristics are important for this user's password controls?

 D. Will this user be assigned to perform more than one job function? 

Answer: A, D 

Question:  19 For which two reasons would you choose a NUPI? (Choose two.) 

A. It allows clustering of data rows                                      B. It facilitates AMP-local joins of matching sets. C. It is a closer match for the primary key.                  D. It allows the user to generate a much larger table. E. It allows duplicate rows in a set table. 

Answer: A, B 

Question:  20 Fast Export is best described by which three of the following? (Choose three.) 

A. Exports from multiple tables                                                                     B. Uses Support Environment                                 C. Uses multiple sessions                             D. Exports data to multiple files without use of OUTMOD 

Answer: A, B, C 

Question:  21 The difference between the COPY and RESTORE operations of the ARC utility is best described  by which two of the following statements? (Choose two.) 

A. A RESTORE operation moves the data from an archived file back to any Teradata system and creates a new table if one does not already exist on the target database.

 B. A COPY operation moves the data from an archived file back to the same Teradata system from which it was archived or moves data to a different Teradata system as long as the database DBC is already restored.

C. A COPY operation moves the data from an archived file back to any Teradata system and   creates a new table if one does not already exist on the target database.

D. A RESTORE operation moves the data from an archived file back to the same Teradata system from which it was archived or moves data to a different Teradata system as long as the database DBC is already restored. 

Answer: C, D 

Question:  22 Which are three factual statements concerning the creation and use of indexes? (Choose three.) 

A. All secondary, hash, and join indexes are stored in sub tables, so they require additional storage space.

 B. Index sub tables are updated each time an indexed column value in the base table is updated or deleted.

C. Hash indexes are created in order to allow the Optimizer to choose hash joins.

 D. A Unique Secondary Index entry might not reside on the same AMP as the base table row. 

Answer: A, B, D 

Question:  23 For what two reasons are allowing columns to follow consistent data types administered at the  domain level important? (Choose two.) 

A. Reduces data redistribution                                                             B. Reduces data storage requirements C. Avoids data conversions                                                                    D. Eliminates data com pression             E. Eliminates need for constraints 

Answer: A, C 

Question:  24 Com pany.com 's data warehouse environment has critical data that needs to be available 24  hours a day, 7 days a week. How can continual availability be ensured? 

A. Archive data and keep a copy of the archived data offsite

B. Develop and implement a strategy for simultaneously or near simultaneous loading of critical data to an offsite dual system

 C. Send archived data to the offsite system to be loaded on a regular basis

 D. Keep a dual system offsite and restore the data as needed 

Answer: B 

Question:  25 Sufficient data protection can be provided by a backup of your entire database using the ARC  utility, in which three of the following circumstances? (Choose three.) 

A. When there are accidentally dropped tables, views, or macros

 B. When there is a loss of the data on multiple AMPs within the same cluster

C. When there is a loss of data on an AMP for non-Fallback tables

 D. When global temporary tables are in use at the time of the archive operation 

Answer: A, B, C 

Question:  26 A table that has a join index can be updated using which two methods? (Choose two.) 

A. MultiLoad                                                                                                        B. TPump                                             C. FastLoad into an empty table and INSERT/SELECT into the target table                                                D. Teradata Warehouse Builder Apply Operator 

Answer: B, C 

Question:  27 When you run a query against a table without Fallback if an AMP is down, how will it be affected? 

A. The query will execute only if it does not require data from the down AMP.                                              B. The query will always execute and return data from only the AMPs that are available.                                 C. The query will not execute under these conditions.                                                                                                        D. The query will execute and return data from all AMPs. 

Answer: A 

Question:  28 Which of the following is an accurate statement when creating an identity column as  GENERATED ALWAYS? 

A. The column may be updated by an SQL statement.

B. The column may be used to define the primary index.

C. The column is used to facilitate copying data from one table into another.

 D. The column may be used in a join index. 

Answer: B 

Question:  29 For columns with which two characteristics should you consider the com pression allowed in  Teradata, when designing tables? (Choose two.) 

A. Numeric columns with a large number of leading zeros

B. Columns with a large number of null occurrences

C. Variable length character columns with nulls

D. Columns with a large number of default occurrences 

Answer: B, D