Database Administration and Security Flashcards

What does ACID stand for in the context of database transactions?

Answer: Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability

ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) are the four properties that guarantee reliable database transactions even in the event of errors or system failures.

What is the purpose of database indexing?

Answer: To speed up data retrieval by creating a separate data structure that allows faster lookups

Database indexes create a separate, sorted data structure (like a book's index) that allows the database engine to find rows quickly without scanning the entire table.

What is 'role-based access control' (RBAC) in database security?

Answer: Assigning permissions to roles and then assigning users to appropriate roles to manage access efficiently

RBAC assigns permissions to roles (e.g., read-only analyst, data editor) and then assigns users to those roles, simplifying access management at scale.

What is 'data masking' used for in database environments?

Answer: Replacing sensitive data with realistic but fictitious values to protect privacy in non-production environments

Data masking replaces sensitive production data (like SSNs or credit card numbers) with realistic but fake values for use in development, testing, and analytics environments.

What is the purpose of a database transaction log?

Answer: To record all changes made to the database, enabling recovery and replication

The transaction log records every modification to the database, enabling point-in-time recovery, undo/redo operations, and replication to secondary servers.

What does 'database replication' achieve?

Answer: Synchronizes data from a primary database to one or more secondary databases for availability and read scaling

Database replication copies and maintains data from a primary server to one or more replicas, providing high availability, disaster recovery, and read scalability.