01. The automatic statistics task has twice gathered statistics on a critical table that then produced worse execution plans. The DBA wants newly gathered statistics tested against the real workload before the optimizer is allowed to use them.
Which approach supports that?
a) Disable the automatic statistics task, so that no statistics are refreshed unattended
b) Gather the statistics with a larger sample, so that the resulting estimates are closer
c) Restore the previous statistics after each gather, so that the earlier ones are reinstated
d) Set the table's publish preference to false, so that new statistics are held as pending
02. A replay is meant to establish whether a consolidated system can absorb the production workload during a peak period, so the DBA wants the requests issued at the rate at which they were originally submitted.
Which aspect of the replay configuration governs this?
a) The capture filters defined, which determine which sessions are present in the workload
b) The think time and connection time settings, which govern the pace of the replayed requests
c) The preprocessing options chosen, which determine how the captured calls are read and transformed
d) The comparison metric selected, which determines how the replay's outcome is evaluated
03. A DBA is choosing between Statspack and the automatic workload repository for collecting performance statistics on a database.
Which consideration distinguishes the two?
a) Statspack samples the state of active sessions, whereas the repository stores whole snapshots
b) Statspack analyzes the data that it collects, whereas the repository has to be queried directly
c) Statspack carries no diagnostics pack requirement, whereas the repository is licensed separately
d) Statspack collects data for a single session, whereas the repository collects for the instance
04. Under automatic shared memory management, a DBA observes memory being transferred between the buffer cache and the shared pool repeatedly and in both directions throughout the working day, with whichever component gives memory up then coming under pressure.
What does that pattern most likely indicate?
a) The workload alternates between two phases, so the automatic sizing is behaving correctly
b) The individual component parameters are set too low, so the components are unable to grow
c) The statistics used to size the components are stale, so the advisories are misinforming it
d) The total SGA is too small for the workload, so the components compete for the same memory
05. Queries against a large table consistently filter on a transaction date and currently read the entire table. The DBA wants those queries to touch only the rows in the requested date span, without adding an index.
Which design change achieves that?
a) Partition the table on the transaction date, so that the optimizer eliminates unneeded partitions
b) Compress the table on the transaction date, so that each date range occupies fewer blocks
c) Order the loaded rows by transaction date, so that a scan encounters them sequentially
d) Cluster the table on the transaction date, so that rows sharing a date are stored together
06. A single third-party statement performs badly, and testing confirms that one optimizer hint corrects it. The statement text is generated by the application and cannot be edited, and the DBA needs the hint applied to that statement alone.
Which mechanism fits the requirement?
a) A SQL profile, which supplies corrective statistical information for the statement
b) A SQL patch, which attaches the hint to the statement without altering the statement text
c) A parameter change, which alters the way the optimizer costs the operation concerned
d) A histogram, which describes the distribution of values in the column being filtered
07. A captured workload is being prepared for replay on a test system, and the DBA must decide how many replay clients to start.
What determines that number?
a) The concurrency the captured workload contains, which the calibration step reports
b) The number of data files the test database has, which bounds the achievable I/O
c) The size of the capture directory on disk, which bounds how fast it can be read
d) The number of snapshots taken during capture, which bounds the comparison detail
08. An application submits large numbers of similar statements with literal values embedded, and the resulting hard parsing is causing shared pool contention. The application cannot be modified in the short term, so a DBA proposes setting CURSOR_SHARING to force.
What is the most accurate assessment of that proposal?
a) It is unnecessary in this case, since the shared pool ages duplicated statements out itself
b) It is the recommended permanent fix, because generated binds behave as application binds
c) It is ineffective here, since the setting applies only to statements using binds
d) It is a defensible stopgap, although a shared plan may suit skewed predicates poorly
09. A fact table is loaded nightly by direct path and then queried heavily, while a small number of its rows are updated by conventional DML during the day. The DBA is weighing up basic table compression for it.
What is the main consideration for this workload?
a) Basic compression applies to the direct-path load, leaving later conventional DML uncompressed
b) Basic compression will reject the conventional updates until the table is uncompressed
c) Basic compression recompresses each block automatically whenever its free space falls
d) Basic compression requires the table to be partitioned before any load can complete
10. Two staging tables are emptied and reloaded each night, both by direct-path insert. The first is emptied with a truncate, the second with a delete. Both hold the same number of rows every morning, yet full scans of the second table cost steadily more as the weeks pass.
What explains the difference?
a) The delete left the table's blocks pinned in the buffer cache from the previous night
b) The delete left the table's optimizer statistics describing the volume before it ran
c) The delete left the table's high water mark in place, and each load appends above it
d) The delete left the table's indexes holding entries that point at the removed rows