DS0-001 Exam Dumps - CompTIA DataSys+ Questions and Answers

 The action that the administrator should take is to review the server logs for entries. Server logs are files that record the events and activities that occur on a server, such as database backups, errors, warnings, or failures. By reviewing the server logs, the administrator can verify that the database backups are occurring on a daily basis and at scheduled times, and also identify any issues or anomalies that may affect the backup process or the backup quality. The other options are either not relevant or not sufficient for this task. For example, querying the database to observe entries may not show the backup status or frequency, checking the database schema may not reflect the backup schedule or policy, and reviewing the backup media may not indicate the backup time or duration. References: CompTIA DataSys+ Course Outline, Domain 5.0 Business Continuity, Objective 5.2 Given a scenario, implement backup and restoration of database management systems.

The correct answer is C. 3NF (Third Normal Form). According to CompTIA DataSys+, Third Normal Form is widely regarded as the most preferable and practical level of normalization for relational database design in real-world environments. It strikes an optimal balance between reducing data redundancy, maintaining data integrity, and preserving query performance.

To understand why 3NF is preferred, it is important to consider the progression of normalization. First Normal Form (1NF) ensures that tables contain atomic values and no repeating groups. Second Normal Form (2NF) builds on this by eliminating partial dependencies, ensuring that non-key attributes depend on the entire primary key. While these forms improve structure, they do not fully address all redundancy issues.

Third Normal Form (3NF) goes further by removing transitive dependencies, meaning that non-key attributes depend only on the primary key and not on other non-key attributes. This significantly reduces duplication of data and prevents common anomalies during INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations. CompTIA DataSys+ emphasizes that eliminating transitive dependencies is critical for maintaining long-term data consistency and integrity.

Although Fourth Normal Form (4NF) and higher normal forms exist, DataSys+ notes that they are typically applied only in specialized cases involving complex multi-valued dependencies. Over-normalization beyond 3NF can increase schema complexity, require excessive joins, and negatively impact performance without providing proportional benefits in most transactional systems.

As a result, 3NF is considered the industry-standard target for relational database design. It provides a clean, maintainable schema that supports scalability, reduces redundancy, and aligns well with performance expectations. CompTIA DataSys+ highlights 3NF as the most commonly implemented and recommended normalization level for operational databases.

Therefore, the most preferable normal form for relational database design is 3NF, making option C the correct and fully verified answer.

The correct answers are A. CPU usage and B. Memory usage. According to CompTIA DataSys+ objectives, monitoring server health is a foundational responsibility of a database administrator (DBA), and it primarily focuses on core system resources that directly impact database performance, stability, and availability. CPU and memory are the two most critical indicators of overall server health in database environments.

CPU usage reflects how much processing power is being consumed by database queries, background jobs, indexing operations, and concurrent user activity. High or sustained CPU utilization can indicate inefficient queries, missing indexes, blocking processes, or workload spikes. DataSys+ emphasizes CPU monitoring as essential for identifying performance bottlenecks and ensuring the database server can handle current and future workloads.

Memory usage is equally important because databases rely heavily on memory for caching data, query execution plans, and buffering disk I/O. Insufficient available memory can cause excessive disk reads, slower query performance, and system thrashing. DataSys+ materials highlight memory monitoring as a key metric for tuning database configurations and maintaining consistent performance.

Option C, transaction logs, are important for recovery, auditing, and troubleshooting but do not directly indicate overall server health; they reflect database activity rather than system resource status. Option D, network sniffers, are security and diagnostics tools used by network administrators, not standard DBA health metrics. Option E, domain controllers, relate to authentication infrastructure and fall outside the scope of database server health monitoring. Option F, firewall traffic, is relevant to network security monitoring, not internal server performance.

CompTIA DataSys+ clearly differentiates system health metrics (CPU, memory, disk I/O) from security and infrastructure components. For gauging server health effectively, CPU and memory usage provide the most direct, actionable insight. Therefore, A and B are the verified and correct answers.

The best tool for the database administrator to document and explain the relationships between data in an organization’s database is a UML editor. A UML editor is a software application that allows users to create, edit, and visualize diagrams using the Unified Modeling Language (UML). UML is a standard language for modeling software systems and their components, such as classes, objects, relationships, behaviors, etc. UML can also be used to document and explain the relationships between data in an organization’s database by creating entity relationship diagrams (ERDs), which are graphical representations of the entities (tables), attributes (columns), and relationships (constraints) in a database. A UML editor can help the administrator to document and explain the relationships between data by providing features such as drag-and-drop, templates, symbols, validation, etc. The other options are either not suitable or not optimal for this task. For example, a text editor is a software application that allows users to create and edit plain text files; a word processor is a software application that allows users to create and edit text documents; an SQL query is a statement that performs an operation on a database using Structured Query Language (SQL). References: CompTIA DataSys+ Course Outline, Domain 2.0 Database Deployment, Objective 2.2 Given a scenario, create database objects using scripting and programming languages.

The deployment phase in which a DBA ensures the most recent patches are applied to the new database is upgrading. Upgrading is a process that updates an existing database system or software to a newer version or release that may include new features, enhancements, bug fixes, security patches, etc. Upgrading helps improve the performance, functionality, compatibility, and security of the database system or software. Upgrading can be done manually or automatically using tools or scripts provided by the vendor or developer. Upgrading can also involve testing, backup, migration, or rollback procedures to ensure the quality and reliability of the new version or release. The other options are either different deployment phases or not related to deployment at all. For example, importing is a process that transfers data from one source to another using files or formats; provisioning is a process that allocates resources such as servers, storage, network, etc., for a system or software; modifying is a process that changes existing data or objects in a database using commands or scripts. References: CompTIA DataSys+ Course Outline, Domain 2.0 Database Deployment, Objective 2.3 Given a scenario, update database systems.

The advantage of creating indexes is to provide quick and efficient access to data. An index is a data structure that stores the values of one or more columns of a table in a sorted order, along with pointers to the corresponding rows in the table. An index helps to speed up queries that search, filter, sort, or join data based on the indexed columns, as it reduces the number of disk accesses or scans required to locate the desired data. An index also helps to enforce uniqueness or referential integrity constraints on the indexed columns. The other options are either not true or not relevant for this purpose. For example, an index does not help with space allocation, as it consumes additional space in the database; an index does not reduce memory, as it may use memory for caching or buffering purposes; an index does not update the query plan, as it is an input or a factor for the query optimizer to generate the query plan. References: CompTIA DataSys+ Course Outline, Domain 1.0 Database Fundamentals, Objective 1.2 Given a scenario, execute database tasks using scripting and programming languages.

The factor that must be considered to ensure data integrity during transmission is encryption. Encryption is a process that transforms data into an unreadable or scrambled form using an algorithm and a key. Encryption helps protect data integrity during transmission by preventing unauthorized access or modification of data by third parties, such as hackers, eavesdroppers, or interceptors. Encryption also helps verify the identity and authenticity of the source and destination of the data using digital signatures or certificates. The other options are either not related or not sufficient for this purpose. For example, bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transmitted over a network in a given time; redundancy is the duplication of data or components to provide backup or alternative sources in case of failure; masking is a technique that replaces sensitive data with fictitious but realistic data to protect its confidentiality or compliance. References: CompTIA DataSys+ Course Outline, Domain 4.0 Data and Database Security, Objective 4.2 Given a scenario, implement security controls for databases.

The command that the database administrator should use for this task is CREATE USER. The CREATE USER command is a SQL statement that creates a new user account in a database and assigns it a username and a password. The CREATE USER command also allows the database administrator to specify other options or attributes for the user account, such as default tablespace, quota, profile, role, etc. The CREATE USER command is the first step to enable a user to authenticate to a database. The other options are either invalid or not suitable for this task. For example, INSERT USER is not a valid SQL command; ALLOW USER is not a SQL command, but a keyword used in some database systems to grant permissions to users; ALTER USER is a SQL command that modifies an existing user account, but does not create a new one. References: CompTIA DataSys+ Course Outline, Domain 4.0 Data and Database Security, Objective 4.2 Given a scenario, implement security controls for databases.

The factor that the administrator should measure to analyze a database server’s disk throughput is IOPS. IOPS, or Input/Output Operations Per Second, is a metric that measures the number of read and write operations that a disk can perform in one second. IOPS indicates the performance or speed of a disk and how well it can handle multiple requests or transactions. Higher IOPS means higher disk throughput and lower latency. IOPS can be affected by various factors, such as disk type, size, speed, cache, RAID level, etc. The other options are either not related or not sufficient for this purpose. For example, RPfvl is not a valid acronym or metric; latency is the time delay between a request and a response; reads are the number of read operations performed by a disk. References: CompTIA DataSys+ Course Outline, Domain 3.0 Database Management and Maintenance, Objective 3.2 Given a scenario, monitor database performance.

The property that addresses this concern is durability. Durability is one of the four properties (ACID) that ensure reliable transactions in a database system. Durability means that once a transaction has been committed, its effects are permanent and will not be lost in case of system failure, power outage, crash, etc. Durability can be achieved by using techniques such as write-ahead logging, checkpoints, backup and recovery, etc. The other options are either not related or not specific to this concern. For example, isolation means that concurrent transactions do not interfere with each other and produce consistent results; atomicity means that a transaction is either executed as a whole or not at all; consistency means that a transaction preserves the validity and integrity of the data. References: CompTIA DataSys+ Course Outline, Domain 1.0 Database Fundamentals, Objective 1.3 Given a scenario, identify common database issues.