Oracle Architecture & Tools Flashcards

What happens to the Program Global Area (PGA) when a user session terminates?

Answer: It is deallocated and the memory is returned to the OS

PGA memory is private to each server process; when that process ends (session terminates), its PGA is freed back to the operating system.

Which Oracle background process performs instance recovery automatically when the database is restarted after a crash?

Answer: SMON

SMON (System Monitor) performs instance recovery at startup by applying redo logs to roll forward and then rolling back uncommitted transactions.

What is the role of the Control File in an Oracle database?

Answer: Contains the binary record of the database structure including data file locations and log file history

The control file is a small binary file that records the database name, data file and redo log locations, checkpoint information, and RMAN backup history.

In Oracle, what is Automatic Memory Management (AMM)?

Answer: A mode where Oracle automatically distributes memory between SGA and PGA based on workload

AMM allows Oracle to automatically tune the total memory (SGA + PGA) allocation between components based on current workload demand.

Which file type stores the actual table rows and index data in an Oracle database?

Answer: Data files

Data files (.dbf) store the actual user data including table rows, index entries, and other database object data.

What is the purpose of the SPFILE (Server Parameter File) in Oracle?

Answer: Stores database initialization parameters persistently in binary format on the server

The SPFILE is a binary server-side file that persistently stores initialization parameters; changes made with ALTER SYSTEM persist across restarts.

Oracle Data Pump (expdp/impdp) is used for which primary purpose?

Answer: High-speed export and import of database objects and data

Oracle Data Pump provides fast, parallel export (expdp) and import (impdp) of database schemas, tables, and data using a proprietary binary format.