MCQs on Maintenance and Troubleshooting in Redshift | AWS Redshift Debugging Questions

AWS Redshift is a powerful data warehousing service, but proper maintenance and troubleshooting are key to ensuring optimal performance. In this collection of 30 MCQs, we dive deep into topics like automating cluster maintenance, backup and restore techniques, troubleshooting common errors, and using system views for debugging. These AWS Redshift MCQ questions and answers will test your understanding of these critical areas and enhance your knowledge. Whether you’re preparing for an exam or improving your AWS Redshift expertise, this set will be helpful.

Automating Cluster Maintenance

1. Which of the following is responsible for automating the maintenance tasks in AWS Redshift? a) Amazon RDS
   b) AWS Lambda
   c) AWS Systems Manager
   d) AWS CloudFormation
2. What is the primary benefit of automating cluster maintenance in AWS Redshift? a) Improved data security
   b) Reduced manual intervention
   c) Reduced storage costs
   d) Increased network speed
3. How can users ensure that AWS Redshift automatically applies patches to clusters? a) Use AWS Lambda
   b) Enable Auto-Scaling
   c) Enable automatic snapshotting
   d) Use the maintenance window
4. Which service can help with automating backup and restore tasks in AWS Redshift? a) AWS CloudTrail
   b) AWS Backup
   c) AWS Lambda
   d) AWS Systems Manager
5. What is a best practice for configuring maintenance windows in Redshift? a) Set the window during peak usage
   b) Choose a time that fits your business’s usage pattern
   c) Set it randomly
   d) Avoid configuring a maintenance window

Backup and Restore Techniques

6. Which AWS Redshift feature allows automated backups of clusters? a) Amazon S3
   b) Redshift Snapshot
   c) AWS CloudWatch
   d) Redshift Event Subscriptions
7. How frequently are automatic snapshots taken in AWS Redshift by default? a) Every 6 hours
   b) Every 12 hours
   c) Every 24 hours
   d) Every 1 hour
8. What is the primary purpose of a Redshift snapshot? a) To optimize query performance
   b) To enable replication of data
   c) To restore the data in case of failure
   d) To monitor cluster health
9. When performing a manual backup in AWS Redshift, which command is used? a) COPY
   b) UNLOAD
   c) CREATE SNAPSHOT
   d) BACKUP TABLE
10. Which type of backup provides continuous data protection in Redshift? a) Full Backup
    b) Incremental Backup
    c) Manual Backup
    d) Automated Backup

Troubleshooting Common Errors

11. In AWS Redshift, what happens when there’s an “insufficient disk space” error? a) Queries are queued
    b) The cluster shuts down
    c) Data is automatically backed up
    d) It triggers an automatic upgrade
12. If your Redshift cluster performance is slow, which of the following should be checked first? a) Network latency
    b) Disk space
    c) Query performance
    d) Cluster status
13. Which Redshift error indicates that the query is taking too long to execute? a) Timeout error
    b) Disk space error
    c) Network latency error
    d) Syntax error
14. What is a common reason for a “no space left on device” error in Redshift? a) Excessive disk I/O
    b) Lack of network bandwidth
    c) Insufficient memory
    d) Insufficient disk space for write operations
15. If a Redshift query is getting stuck in “Queued” state, what is the most probable cause? a) No available memory
    b) Insufficient CPU power
    c) Insufficient disk space
    d) Other queries blocking it

Using System Views for Debugging

16. Which system view in AWS Redshift provides information about currently running queries? a) pg_stat_activity
    b) svl_qlog
    c) svv_table_info
    d) pg_user
17. Which of the following views helps monitor query performance in Redshift? a) pg_catalog
    b) pg_table
    c) svl_qlog
    d) svv_table_info
18. To troubleshoot long-running queries, which system view should you consult? a) pg_locks
    b) svl_qlog
    c) pg_stat_activity
    d) svv_query_summary
19. Which system view in Redshift shows information about disk space utilization? a) svv_table_info
    b) svv_disk_usage
    c) pg_tablespace
    d) svl_db_info
20. How can you identify the most resource-consuming queries in Redshift? a) svl_query_metrics
    b) svv_query_summary
    c) pg_stat_activity
    d) svv_table_info

Additional Questions

21. What is the recommended method to monitor AWS Redshift cluster health in real-time? a) Amazon CloudWatch
    b) Redshift Event Subscriptions
    c) AWS Lambda
    d) AWS CloudFormation
22. In case of a Redshift cluster failure, which of the following should you restore from? a) CloudTrail logs
    b) Redshift snapshots
    c) CloudWatch metrics
    d) RDS logs
23. What does AWS Redshift’s “concurrency scaling” feature help address? a) High query execution times during peak hours
    b) Increased storage costs
    c) Backup restoration time
    d) Disk space errors
24. What feature in Redshift allows users to automatically retry failed queries? a) Query Queues
    b) Query Redo
    c) Query Retry
    d) Query Timeout
25. What does the Redshift “Vacuum” operation do? a) Optimizes query performance
    b) Clears old snapshots
    c) Reclaims disk space
    d) Resizes clusters
26. How can you optimize the performance of Redshift by reducing the need for frequent maintenance? a) Use larger EC2 instances
    b) Implement distribution keys and sort keys
    c) Increase cluster size
    d) Use more complex queries
27. In AWS Redshift, which service can automate scaling of your cluster based on usage patterns? a) AWS Auto Scaling
    b) Redshift Spectrum
    c) Redshift Auto-Scale
    d) AWS Elastic Beanstalk
28. What system view is helpful to monitor the distribution of data across Redshift nodes? a) svv_table_info
    b) svv_node_info
    c) svl_scan
    d) pg_table
29. How can users prevent Redshift from running out of disk space when performing frequent backups? a) Disable snapshots
    b) Optimize vacuum settings
    c) Use larger instance types
    d) Increase the cluster’s disk space
30. When troubleshooting Redshift issues, what should you use to determine the most common failure causes? a) pg_error_logs
    b) svv_event_logs
    c) svl_error_logs
    d) pg_catalog

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