What is the primary advantage of using an incremental load over a full load?

  • Consistency of data
  • Greater data accuracy
  • Reduced processing time and resource usage
  • Simplicity and ease of implementation
The primary advantage of using an incremental load over a full load is the reduced processing time and resource usage. Incremental loads only handle the data changes, making them more efficient and allowing for quicker updates to the data warehouse without the need to process all data.

What is the primary purpose of indexing in a data warehouse?

  • Accelerating data loading
  • Enhancing data security
  • Improving query performance
  • Reducing storage costs
Indexing in a data warehouse primarily serves to enhance query performance. By creating indexes on key columns, the database system can quickly locate and retrieve relevant data, making query execution more efficient.

Which of the following refers to the ability of a system to handle increasing amounts of work by adding resources to the system?

  • Backward Compatibility
  • Latency
  • Scalability
  • Security
Scalability refers to a system's ability to handle increasing workloads by adding resources, such as servers or storage, without compromising performance. This is a crucial concept in data warehousing, as the system should be able to adapt to growing data volumes.

Which type of data load involves processing only the new or changed records since the last load?

  • Bulk Load
  • Full Load
  • Incremental Load
  • Reload
An incremental load in data warehousing involves processing only the new or changed records since the last load. This method is more efficient and reduces the processing time compared to a full load because it targets specific data changes rather than reprocessing all data.

Which of the following is a benefit of scalability in system design?

  • Decreased Redundancy
  • Increased Performance
  • Limited Adaptability
  • Reduced Initial Cost
Scalability in system design allows a system to handle increased workloads without compromising performance. It enables the system to grow or shrink as needed, which is particularly important in dynamic IT environments and for accommodating changes in user demand.

A financial institution is setting up an in-memory data warehouse for real-time fraud detection. They are concerned about the potential loss of data in case of a system crash. What should be their primary consideration when setting up this system?

  • Data Compression
  • Data Encryption
  • Data Persistence
  • Data Redundancy
In a real-time data warehouse for tasks like fraud detection, ensuring data persistence is crucial. Data persistence mechanisms ensure that data is not lost in case of system crashes, making it essential for maintaining data integrity in critical financial applications.

Which of the following best describes a Data Warehouse Appliance?

  • A cloud-based storage solution for data analytics
  • A software tool for data visualization
  • A specialized, pre-configured hardware and software system for data warehousing
  • A type of kitchen appliance used in data analysis
A Data Warehouse Appliance is a specialized, pre-configured hardware and software system designed for data warehousing. It is optimized for high-performance data processing and storage, making it an efficient solution for managing and analyzing large datasets.

In data profiling, which metric would give insights into the spread of data values around the mean?

  • Mean Absolute Deviation
  • Mean Squared Error
  • Range
  • Variance
Variance is a metric in data profiling that provides insights into the spread of data values around the mean. A high variance indicates that the data points are more spread out from the mean, while a low variance suggests that the data points are closer to the mean. It's a crucial measure for understanding data distribution.

What does the 'E' in ETL stand for?

  • Embrace
  • Enhance
  • Execute
  • Extract
In ETL (Extract, Transform, Load), the 'E' stands for "Extract." The extraction phase involves collecting data from various sources, such as databases, flat files, and external systems, to prepare it for further processing and analysis.

The process of organizing data into tables in such a way that the results of using the database are always consistent and unambiguous is known as _______.

  • Data Duplication
  • Data Integrity
  • Data Modeling
  • Data Warehousing
Data modeling is the process of organizing data into tables and relationships in a way that ensures data consistency and clarity. It involves defining data structures, relationships, and constraints, which are critical for designing effective databases and data warehouses.

An e-commerce business wants to analyze their sales data. They have facts like "total sales" and "number of items sold" and dimensions like "time," "product," and "customer." In a star schema, how should these tables be related?

  • All dimension tables directly connected to the fact table
  • Dimension tables connected in a hierarchy
  • Each dimension table connected to all other dimension tables
  • No relationships between tables
In a star schema, all dimension tables are directly connected to the fact table, which represents the center of the schema. This design simplifies queries and ensures quick access to data for analytical purposes.

In a distributed data warehousing environment, which strategy involves storing copies of data or aggregations of data in multiple locations?

  • Data Deduplication
  • Data Fragmentation
  • Data Normalization
  • Data Replication
In a distributed data warehousing environment, data replication is a strategy that involves storing copies of data or aggregations in multiple locations. This strategy enhances data availability and fault tolerance across the distributed system.