Oracle Architecture & Tools Flashcards

Which component of the Oracle SGA stores information about database objects such as table definitions and user privileges?

Answer: Data Dictionary Cache

The Data Dictionary Cache (part of the Shared Pool) stores metadata about database objects, reducing repeated reads of the data dictionary from disk.

What is the function of the ARCH (Archiver) background process?

Answer: Copies filled online redo log files to archive log destinations

The ARCH process copies online redo log files to one or more archive destinations when the database runs in ARCHIVELOG mode.

What does SQL*Plus primarily allow a DBA or developer to do?

Answer: Execute SQL and PL/SQL statements interactively from a command line

SQL*Plus is Oracle's command-line interface for running SQL queries, PL/SQL blocks, and administrative commands against an Oracle database.

When a checkpoint occurs in Oracle, which process is signaled to write dirty buffers to disk?

Answer: DBWR

During a checkpoint, the CKPT process signals DBWR to write all dirty buffers to disk, then updates the control file and data file headers with the checkpoint position.

Which Oracle memory area is used for large operations such as parallel query buffers and RMAN backup/restore I/O?

Answer: Large Pool

The Large Pool is an optional SGA area that provides large memory allocations for parallel execution, RMAN, and shared server session memory.

In Oracle Database architecture, what is a tablespace?

Answer: A logical storage unit composed of one or more data files

A tablespace is a logical storage container that groups related database objects; it maps to one or more physical data files on disk.

Which Oracle tool provides a graphical IDE for writing, debugging, and tuning SQL and PL/SQL code?

Answer: Oracle SQL Developer

Oracle SQL Developer is a free, graphical IDE that supports SQL querying, PL/SQL development, debugging, and performance tuning.