Interview Questions

SQL Server Database Administrator Interview Questions

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SQL Server Database Administrators are responsible for the implementation, configuration, maintenance, and performance of critical SQL Server RDBMS systems. Their main goal is to ensure the availability and consistent performance of various corporate applications.

Whether you're a job seeker preparing to be interviewed for the role of SQL Server Database Administrator or an employer preparing to interview candidates for SQL Server Database Administrator position, these SQL Server Database Administrator interview questions will help you prepare yourself for the job interview session.

SQL Server Database Administrator Interview Questions

Below are a list of some skill-based SQL Server Database Administrator interview questions.

1. What types of replication does an SQL server support?
2. How do you troubleshoot a performance issue on your SQL Server?
3. What is the typical role of an SQL Database Administrator?
4. What is blocking and what is the best way to deal with it?
5. As a database administrator, what kind of recovery models can you use in SQL server?
6. What purpose does the model database serve?
7. How do you trace the traffic hitting a SQL Server?
8. What would you do if you noticed suspicious activity in the database logs?
9. Why would you use SQL Agent?
10. What happens at the checkpoint?
11. How can you control the amount of free space in your index pages?
12. Why would you call Update Statistics?
13. What authentication modes does SQL Server support?
14. Explain your SQL Server DBA Experience?
15. What are the different types of Indexes available in SQL Server?
16. What is the difference between Clustered and Non-Clustered Index?
17. If hired, what would be your priorities as a SQL server database administrator for our company?
18. How do you troubleshoot errors in a SQL Server Agent Job?
19. What is the default Port No on which SQL Server listens?
20. What are the recovery models for a database?
21. Explain how will you change the physical file name of a data file?
22. Is it possible that database physical file names also changed after renaming a database?
23. What is Replication?
24. What are the Methods used to backup SQL databases?
25. If you are given access to a SQL Server, how do you find if the SQL Instance is a named instance or a default instance?
26. What are some methods used to Start and Stop services?
27. How do you optimally monitor SQL servers? Would you use third-party tools?
28. What is the action plan to be followed if an SQL server isn’t responding?
29. What do you understand about T-SQL?
30. How would you decide between passive and active nodes in an SQL server database?
31. How do you go about SQL server monitoring?
32. How do you ensure to maintain the security of an SQL server database?
33. How do you allocate memory to components in an SQL server database?
34. What is the process to upgrade SQL server versions?

SQL Server Database Administrator Interview Questions and Answers

Every interview is different and the questions may vary. However, there are lots of general questions that get asked at every interview.

Below are some common questions you'd expect during SQL Server Database Administrator interviews. Click on each question to see how to answer them.

1. Why Do You Want This Job?
2. What is Your Greatest Weakness?
3. Are You a Leader or a Follower?
4. What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
5. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
6. What is Your Salary Expectation?
7. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
8. What is Your Greatest Strength?
9. Tell Me About Yourself
10. Why Should We Hire You?

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