Re: Are these too harsh ?

No problem there - normally after about 10 we're pretty confident that we have not got the right person :-)

Thanks for the feedback

C.

--
==============================
Connor McDonald

http://www.oracledba.co.uk

"Some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue..."
"Niall Litchfield" <n-litchfield_at_audit-commission.gov.uk> wrote in message
news:3b3866fa$0$15028$ed9e5944_at_reading.news.pipex.net...


> I'd also be tempted to ask no more than say ten of these face to face.

>

>

> --

> Niall Litchfield

> Oracle DBA

> Audit Commission UK

> "Connor McDonald" <connor_mcdonald_at_yahoo.com> wrote in message

> news:9h7vqi$t8h$1_at_news.chatlink.com...

> > I'm currently assisting in the interviewing for a DBA - the company is

 not


> > looking for an "Einstein", but also not a junior, just someone who can

 do


> > the job adequately.  I was asked to come up with a list of DBA

 questions,
 so


> > I produced a set that was created for exactly the same purpose at a

 previous


> > site.  But so far, no one has explained more than about 60% to an

 acceptable


> > degree.

> >

> > So I'm looking for impartial opinions - are the following questions too

 hard


> > ?

> >

> > Ta

> > Connor

> >

> > - What are the various shutdown modes for the database?

> > - Describe the basic mechanics of how hot backup works?

> > - Besides the overhead of copying the files to disk/tape, what other

> > performance issues are relevant during a hot backup, namely, why do many

> > sites try to keep the time spent in backup mode to a minimum?

> > - If I need to export a single 40G table, but only have 5 separate file

> > system, each of only 10G, for the export file - what measures could you

> > take?

> > - What is the standby database feature and how does it work?

> > - List the steps that Oracle goes through at database startup

> > - What is the difference between a latch and a lock? Give an example of

 use


> > of each

> > - What is "spinning" as it pertains to a latch?

> > - What are the positives and negatives of a large database block size on

> > indexes?

> > - What is the Oracle log buffer? Describe how Oracle uses latches as

> > information is written into the log buffer

> > - What is a function-based index and where could it be used?

> > - What is the 8i feature "Native Dynamic SQL"?

> > - What is a locally managed tablespace and list some benefits

> > - How do I allow end-user queries against a standby database without

> > damaging its ability to act as a standby?

> > - What are the significant features of "analytic functions" available

 from


> > 8.1.6 onwards ?

> > - What does the "explain plan" command do

> > - On a Unix machine, you see an oracle process using all of the CPU.

> > Assuming it is due to a poorly written SQL, describe how to determine

 the


> > SQL that is causing the problem, starting with the Unix process ID.

> > - How would you determine the amount of I/O occurring on each datafile

 in


> > the database ?  If a great deal of this is occurring on the TEMP

 tablespace


> > what is the likely cause ?

> > - Describe the three buffer pools (available in 8.0 and 8i) and their

 uses
 ?


> > - List the pros and cons of using bind variables

> > - You issue 'select count(*) from my_table;' and it takes a tremendously

> > long time, but then return no rows.  What could be causing this ?

> > - Describe the common RAID levels used for Oracle databases and how they

> > typically pertain to performance

> > - Describe how you would determine whether an index requires rebuilding

 ?


> > - What are the advantages of creating code using packages over

 standalone


> > PL/SQL procedures

> > - Describe how and why a PL/SQL module could be defined as an autonomous

> > transaction

> > - Your database contains a view, which joins two tables.  It is possible

 to


> > insert, update, and delete rows from this view.  - Describe two ways of

> > implementing this.

> > - What is an inline view?

> >

> > --

> > ==============================

> > Connor McDonald

> >

> > http://www.oracledba.co.uk

> >

> > "Some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue..."

> >

> >

>

>