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ORACLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS – V
Posted Date: 11 Mar 2008 Resource Type: Articles/Knowledge Sharing Category: Placement Papers
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Posted By: ramya Member Level: Gold
Rating:  Points: 5
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A tablespace has a table with 30 extents in it. Is this bad? Why or why not.
Multiple extents in and of themselves aren?t bad. However if you also have chained rows this can hurt performance.
How do you set up tablespaces during an Oracle installation?
You should always attempt to use the Oracle Flexible Architecture standard or another partitioning scheme to ensure proper separation of SYSTEM, ROLLBACK, REDO LOG, DATA, TEMPORARY and INDEX segments.
You see multiple fragments in the SYSTEM tablespace, what should you check first?
Ensure that users don?t have the SYSTEM tablespace as their TEMPORARY or DEFAULT tablespace assignment by checking the DBA_USERS view.
What are some indications that you need to increase the SHARED_POOL_SIZE parameter?
Poor data dictionary or library cache hit ratios, getting error ORA-04031. Another indication is steadily decreasing performance with all other tuning parameters the same.
What is the general guideline for sizing db_block_size and db_multi_block_read for an application that does many full table scans?
Oracle almost always reads in 64k chunks. The two should have a product equal to 64 or a multiple of 64.
What is the fastest query method for a table
Fetch by rowid
Explain the use of TKPROF? What initialization parameter should be turned on to get full TKPROF output?
The tkprof tool is a tuning tool used to determine cpu and execution times for SQL statements. You use it by first setting timed_statistics to true in the initialization file and then turning on tracing for either the entire database via the sql_trace parameter or for the session using the ALTER SESSION command. Once the trace file is generated you run the tkprof tool against the trace file and then look at the output from the tkprof tool. This can also be used to generate explain plan output.
When looking at v$sysstat you see that sorts (disk) is high. Is this bad or good? If bad -How do you correct it?
If you get excessive disk sorts this is bad. This indicates you need to tune the sort area parameters in the initialization files. The major sort are parameter is the SORT_AREA_SIZe parameter.
When should you increase copy latches? What parameters control copy latches
When you get excessive contention for the copy latches as shown by the "redo copy" latch hit ratio. You can increase copy latches via the initialization parameter LOG_SIMULTANEOUS_COPIES to twice the number of CPUs on your system.
Where can you get a list of all initialization parameters for your instance? How about an indication if they are default settings or have been changed
You can look in the init.ora file for an indication of manually set parameters. For all parameters, their value and whether or not the current value is the default value, look in the v$parameter view.
Describe hit ratio as it pertains to the database buffers. What is the difference between instantaneous and cumulative hit ratio and which should be used for tuning
The hit ratio is a measure of how many times the database was able to read a value from the buffers verses how many times it had to re-read a data value from the disks. A value greater than 80-90% is good, less could indicate problems. If you simply take the ratio of existing parameters this will be a cumulative value since the database started. If you do a comparison between pairs of readings based on some arbitrary time span, this is the instantaneous ratio for that time span. Generally speaking an instantaneous reading gives more valuable data since it will tell you what your instance is doing for the time it was generated over.
Discuss row chaining, how does it happen? How can you reduce it? How do you correct it
Row chaining occurs when a VARCHAR2 value is updated and the length of the new value is longer than the old value and won?t fit in the remaining block space. This results in the row chaining to another block. It can be reduced by setting the storage parameters on the table to appropriate values. It can be corrected by export and import of the effected table.
When looking at the estat events report you see that you are getting busy buffer waits. Is this bad? How can you find what is causing it
Buffer busy waits could indicate contention in redo, rollback or data blocks. You need to check the v$waitstat view to see what areas are causing the problem. The value of the "count" column tells where the problem is, the "class" column tells you with what. UNDO is rollback segments, DATA is data base buffers.
If you see contention for library caches how can you fix it
Increase the size of the shared pool.
If you see statistics that deal with "undo" what are they really talking about
Rollback segments and associated structures.
If a tablespace has a default pctincrease of zero what will this cause (in relationship to the smon process)
The SMON process won?t automatically coalesce its free space fragments.
If a tablespace shows excessive fragmentation what are some methods to defragment the tablespace? (7.1,7.2 and 7.3 only)
In Oracle 7.0 to 7.2 The use of the 'alter session set events 'immediate trace name coalesce level ts#';? command is the easiest way to defragment contiguous free space fragmentation. The ts# parameter corresponds to the ts# value found in the ts$ SYS table. In version 7.3 the ?alter tablespace coalesce;? is best. If the free space isn?t contiguous then export, drop and import of the tablespace contents may be the only way to reclaim non-contiguous free space.
How can you tell if a tablespace has excessive fragmentation
If a select against the dba_free_space table shows that the count of a tablespaces extents is greater than the count of its data files, then it is fragmented.
You see the following on a status report:
redo log space requests 23
redo log space wait time 0
Is this something to worry about? What if redo log space wait time is high? How can you fix this
Since the wait time is zero, no. If the wait time was high it might indicate a need for more or larger redo logs.
What can cause a high value for recursive calls? How can this be fixed
A high value for recursive calls is cause by improper cursor usage, excessive dynamic space management actions, and or excessive statement re-parses. You need to determine the cause and correct it By either relinking applications to hold cursors, use proper space management techniques (proper storage and sizing) or ensure repeat queries are placed in packages for proper reuse.
If you see a pin hit ratio of less than 0.8 in the estat library cache report is this a problem? If so, how do you fix it
This indicate that the shared pool may be too small. Increase the shared pool size.
If you see the value for reloads is high in the estat library cache report is this a matter for concern
Yes, you should strive for zero reloads if possible. If you see excessive reloads then increase the size of the shared pool.
You look at the dba_rollback_segs view and see that there is a large number of shrinks and they are of relatively small size, is this a problem? How can it be fixed if it is a problem
A large number of small shrinks indicates a need to increase the size of the rollback segment extents. Ideally you should have no shrinks or a small number of large shrinks. To fix this just increase the size of the extents and adjust optimal accordingly.
You look at the dba_rollback_segs view and see that you have a large number of wraps is this a problem
A large number of wraps indicates that your extent size for your rollback segments are probably too small. Increase the size of your extents to reduce the number of wraps. You can look at the average transaction size in the same view to get the information on transaction size.
In a system with an average of 40 concurrent users you get the following from a query on rollback extents:
ROLLBACK CUR EXTENTS
--------------------- --------------------------
R01 11
R02 8
R03 12
R04 9
SYSTEM 4
You have room for each to grow by 20 more extents each. Is there a problem? Should you take any action
No there is not a problem. You have 40 extents showing and an average of 40 concurrent users. Since there is plenty of room to grow no action is needed.
You see multiple extents in the temporary tablespace. Is this a problem
As long as they are all the same size this isn?t a problem. In fact, it can even improve performance since Oracle won?t have to create a new extent when a user needs one.
Define OFA.
OFA stands for Optimal Flexible Architecture. It is a method of placing directories and files in an Oracle system so that you get the maximum flexibility for future tuning and file placement.
How do you set up your tablespace on installation
The answer here should show an understanding of separation of redo and rollback, data and indexes and isolation os SYSTEM tables from other tables. An example would be to specify that at least 7 disks should be used for an Oracle installation so that you can place SYSTEM tablespace on one, redo logs on two (mirrored redo logs) the TEMPORARY tablespace on another, ROLLBACK tablespace on another and still have two for DATA and INDEXES. They should indicate how they will handle archive logs and exports as well. As long as they have a logical plan for combining or further separation more or less disks can be specified.
What should be done prior to installing Oracle (for the OS and the disks)
adjust kernel parameters or OS tuning parameters in accordance with installation guide. Be sure enough contiguous disk space is available.
You have installed Oracle and you are now setting up the actual instance. You have been waiting an hour for the initialization script to finish, what should you check first to determine if there is a problem
Check to make sure that the archiver isn?t stuck. If archive logging is turned on during install a large number of logs will be created. This can fill up your archive log destination causing Oracle to stop to wait for more space.
When configuring SQLNET on the server what files must be set up
INITIALIZATION file, TNSNAMES.ORA file, SQLNET.ORA file
When configuring SQLNET on the client what files need to be set up
SQLNET.ORA, TNSNAMES.ORA
What must be installed with ODBC on the client in order for it to work with Oracle
SQLNET and PROTOCOL (for example: TCPIP adapter) layers of the transport programs.
You have just started a new instance with a large SGA on a busy existing server. Performance is terrible, what should you check for
The first thing to check with a large SGA is that it isn?t being swapped out.
What OS user should be used for the first part of an Oracle installation (on UNIX)
You must use root first.
When should the default values for Oracle initialization parameters be used as is
Never
How many control files should you have? Where should they be located
At least 2 on separate disk spindles. Be sure they say on separate disks, not just file systems.
How many redo logs should you have and how should they be configured for maximum recoverability
You should have at least three groups of two redo logs with the two logs each on a separate disk spindle (mirrored by Oracle). The redo logs should not be on raw devices on UNIX if it can be avoided.
You have a simple application with no "hot" tables (i.e. uniform IO and access requirements). How many disks should you have assuming standard layout for SYSTEM, USER, TEMP and ROLLBACK tablespaces
At least 7, see disk configuration answer above.
Describe third normal form
Something like: In third normal form all attributes in an entity are related to the primary key and only to the primary key
Is the following statement true or false:
"All relational databases must be in third normal form"
False. While 3NF is good for logical design most databases, if they have more than just a few tables, will not perform well using full 3NF. Usually some entities will be denormalized in the logical to physical transfer process.
What is an ERD
An ERD is an Entity-Relationship-Diagram. It is used to show the entities and relationships for a database logical model.
Why are recursive relationships bad? How do you resolve them
A recursive relationship (one where a table relates to itself) is bad when it is a hard relationship (i.e. neither side is a "may" both are "must") as this can result in it not being possible to put in a top or perhaps a bottom of the table (for example in the EMPLOYEE table you couldn?t put in the PRESIDENT of the company because he has no boss, or the junior janitor because he has no subordinates). These type of relationships are usually resolved by adding a small intersection entity.
What does a hard one-to-one relationship mean (one where the relationship on both ends is "must")
Expected answer: This means the two entities should probably be made into one entity.
How should a many-to-many relationship be handled
By adding an intersection entity table
What is an artificial (derived) primary key? When should an artificial (or derived) primary key be used
A derived key comes from a sequence. Usually it is used when a concatenated key becomes too cumbersome to use as a foreign key.
When should you consider denormalization
Whenever performance analysis indicates it would be beneficial to do so without compromising data integrity.
How can you determine if an Oracle instance is up from the operating system level
There are several base Oracle processes that will be running on multi-user operating systems, these will be smon, pmon, dbwr and lgwr. Any answer that has them using their operating system process showing feature to check for these is acceptable. For example, on UNIX a ps -ef|grep dbwr will show what instances are up.
Users from the PC clients are getting messages indicating :
ORA-06114: (Cnct err, can't get err txt. See Servr Msgs & Codes Manual)
What could the problem be
The instance name is probably incorrect in their connection string.
Users from the PC clients are getting the following error stack:
ERROR: ORA-01034: ORACLE not available
ORA-07318: smsget: open error when opening sgadef.dbf file.
HP-UX Error: 2: No such file or directory
What is the probable cause
The Oracle instance is shutdown that they are trying to access, restart the instance.
How can you determine if the SQLNET process is running for SQLNET V1? How about V2
For SQLNET V1 check for the existence of the orasrv process. You can use the command "tcpctl status" to get a full status of the V1 TCPIP server, other protocols have similar command formats. For SQLNET V2 check for the presence of the LISTENER process(s) or you can issue the command "lsnrctl status".
What file will give you Oracle instance status information? Where is it located
The alert.ora log. It is located in the directory specified by the background_dump_dest parameter in the v$parameter table.
Users aren?t being allowed on the system. The following message is received:
ORA-00257 archiver is stuck. Connect internal only, until freed
What is the problem
The archive destination is probably full, backup the archive logs and remove them and the archiver will re-start.
Where would you look to find out if a redo log was corrupted assuming you are using Oracle mirrored redo logs
There is no message that comes to the SQLDBA or SRVMGR programs during startup in this situation, you must check the alert.log file for this information.
You attempt to add a datafile and get:
ORA-01118: cannot add anymore datafiles: limit of 40 exceeded
What is the problem and how can you fix it
When the database was created the db_files parameter in the initialization file was set to 40. You can shutdown and reset this to a higher value, up to the value of MAX_DATAFILES as specified at database creation. If the MAX_DATAFILES is set to low, you will have to rebuild the control file to increase it before proceeding.
You look at your fragmentation report and see that smon hasn?t coalesced any of you tablespaces, even though you know several have large chunks of contiguous free extents. What is the problem
Check the dba_tablespaces view for the value of pct_increase for the tablespaces. If pct_increase is zero, smon will not coalesce their free space.
Your users get the following error:
ORA-00055 maximum number of DML locks exceeded
What is the problem and how do you fix it
The number of DML Locks is set by the initialization parameter DML_LOCKS. If this value is set to low (which it is by default) you will get this error. Increase the value of DML_LOCKS. If you are sure that this is just a temporary problem, you can have them wait and then try again later and the error should clear.
You get a call from you backup DBA while you are on vacation. He has corrupted all of the control files while playing with the ALTER DATABASE BACKUP CONTROLFILE command. What do you do
As long as all datafiles are safe and he was successful with the BACKUP controlfile command you can do the following:
CONNECT INTERNAL
STARTUP MOUNT
(Take any read-only tablespaces offline before next step ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE .... OFFLINE;)
RECOVER DATABASE USING BACKUP CONTROLFILE
ALTER DATABASE OPEN RESETLOGS;
(bring read-only tablespaces back online)
Shutdown and backup the system, then restart
If they have a recent output file from the ALTER DATABASE BACKUP CONTROL FILE TO TRACE; command, they can use that to recover as well.
If no backup of the control file is available then the following will be required:
CONNECT INTERNAL
STARTUP NOMOUNT
CREATE CONTROL FILE .....;
However, they will need to know all of the datafiles, logfiles, and settings for MAXLOGFILES, MAXLOGMEMBERS, MAXLOGHISTORY
MAXDATAFILES for the database to use the command.
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