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Database Administration Question Paper
Database Administration
Course:Bachelor Of Business Information Technology
Institution: Strathmore University question papers
Exam Year:2010
Strathmore University
Faculty of Information Technology
Bachelor of Business Information Technology
2010/2011 Academic Year
BBT4101 – Database Administration
End of Semester Exam (Evening Course)
Date: Duration: 2 hours
Instructions: Answer Question ONE (compulsory) and any two other questions of your
choice.
Question ONE
a) Database design is one of the most important stages in the development and deployment of
any system. Describe the database design process, making sure you explain and elaborate
each stage. 5 Marks
b) Normalization is a technique that is used to reduce redundancy and anomalies in database
relations whilst Entity Relational Modeling is a technique that is used in database design as a
means of establishing the linkages/associations between several participating possible
relations.
It can be stated that “Normalization supports Entity Relational Modeling and vice versa”
Required: argue for or against this statement. Be sure to state all your assumptions. 5 Marks
c) The following table is derived from a clients operations and it is being used as part the
database design reference points.
ClientProductOrders
CltNo CltName OrderNo OrderDate ProdNo ProdName
1 Best Stores 11 20-Jan-2011 101 Salt
1 Best Stores 11 20-Jan-2011 108 Ghee
2 Utumishi Stalls 17 27-Jan-2011 109 Joma
3 Maisha Bora 29 30-Jan-2011 101 Salt
3 Maisha Bora 29 30-Jan-2011 112 Geisha
Required: Normalize the above relation to the highest possible normal form. 10 Marks
Total: 20 Marks
Question TWO
a)
In designing a database, the designer either makes it easy or difficult for the would-be Database
Administrator (DBA) to manage and support the operations of that database. This would mean
that among many other operations, it is of utmost importance that the DBA understands the
structure and design of the database in order for him to manage and administer it properly.
Required: argue for or against this assertion. Be sure to explain your reasoning as clearly as
possible. 6 Marks
b)
Once a database has been designed and implemented, there are some objects that any DBA
should know and be conversant with what information each holds, and its relevance in his day-today
operations. Some of the objects include the following:
i). Tabs and tab
ii). User_objects
iii). User_source
iv). User_constraints
Required: discuss what each of the above objects stores and why it is important to know how to
interact with each. 10 Marks
c) It is purported to be a bad practice for the DBA to keep using the SYS and SYSTEM
accounts to manage the day-to-day database operations. Why is this so? Justify your answer
by citing relevant facts. 4 Marks
Total: 20 Marks
Question THREE
a). Describe what you understand by the following:
i). A schema 2 Marks
ii). An instance 3 Marks
iii). A control file 3 Marks
b).
In the day-to-day management of an Oracle database, there are sometimes that the systems
malfunctions and the DBA maybe forced to shut it down then restart it again before he can try to
trouble shoot it. When the database is restarted, there are a series of steps it will follow before
the database is ready to serve users or user applications.
Required: Describe these steps, making sure you detail each systematically. 8 Marks
c). When should a DBA resort to the “restricted session” mode of an Oracle Database? 4 Marks
Total: 20 Marks
Question FOUR
a)
Oracle provides several interfaces to be used in accessing and interacting with its database server.
Each of these interfaces have an advantage over the others depending n circumstances. These
options include:
i). SQL*Plus
ii). iSQL*Plus
Required: describe circumstances in which each would apply, and justify why each would be
better than the other in each case. 6 Marks
b)
A user executes a script to create a table and the following error is raised:
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-00955: name is already used by an existing object
Why would Oracle raise such an error – more specifically, why would Oracle refuse to have
objects sharing names in one schema? 3 Marks
c)
In the process of administering an Oracle database, there are many wizards and utilities that enable one to interact with and manage the database. It has been argued in some circle that one is better of using the command line environments like SQL*Plus rather than using a utility running a wizard that makes everything as easy as clicking away.
This school of thought argues that “the more wizards one uses, the less of a wizard one becomes” Required: using your experience with interacting with SQL*Plus and the Oracle Enterprise Manager, argue for or against this notion. Be sure to state all your assumptions. 5 Marks
d)
To administer any database, it is all about the knowledge and experience and not just the
technical know-how. One may have all the technical know-how but still fail in the management of
a database. But if one has the experience and knowledge, it could be easy to figure out ones way around problems.
How far can this argument hold? Argue fir or against this statement. 6 Marks
Total: 20 Marks
Question FIVE
a)
Oracle defines roles and privileges as the basis for assigning users/applications rights to perform
certain operations on the database.
What is the difference between a role and privilege? 1 Mark
b)
It is a common practice that DBA sometimes partition database tables.
i). What is table partitioning? 1 Mark
ii). Why is it necessary to partition tables? 3 Marks
In the operation of an Oracle database, sometimes the DBA is forced to use tables as the basis of
the creation of database reports, whilst in other circumstances, it is better to use views as the
basis of the creation of some of the database reports, depending on which users have access to
these reports.
c) What is the advantage of using a view over the use of a table as the basis of certain database
reports or queries? 3 Marks
d) Views can be categorized as “theoretically updateable”, “partially updateable” or
“theoretically not updateable”. What does each of these three categories mean? 6 Marks
e)
In executing Oracle SQL scripts whether directly or using application programs, some
transactions allow the concerned data to be committed immediately without the users/application
programs intervention. This feature is called an “implicit commit”. In other cases, a user has to
state whether to commit the changes made to the database or not. This is called an “explicit
commit”.
i). Why is it necessary to have implicit commits? 2 Marks
ii). What commands will initiate an implicit commit, and which ones will not? Use an
example to illustrate your case. 4 Marks
Total: 20 Marks
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