Database-type questions look like definition recall, but their distractors mix three classifications: data model, workload and deployment. DBA questions add another trap because they test an administrator's role, not a database structure. The 12 questions below run from the classical data models and the meaning of DBA, through centralized-database risk, to the OLTP versus OLAP boundary. Every one of them is a previous-year question from a real paper: UGC NET, BPSC, DSSSB, TPSC, UPPSC, Bihar STET and UP Police. Choose an option before each explanation, then check the controlling clue. KnowledgeGate's practice set for this subtopic runs to more than 20 questions, so treat these 12 as the first pass. Use the GATE CS Exam Preparation page to place this focused practice in a wider plan.
1. Database types and DBA functions to separate before solving
Sort the clue before naming the type. One system can carry all three labels.
Classification axis | What it describes | Common labels |
|---|---|---|
Data model | How data and relationships are represented | Hierarchical, network, relational, object-oriented |
Workload | What the system is doing | OLTP, OLAP |
Deployment | Where control or storage is concentrated | Centralized, distributed |
Consider a college admissions system with Applicant, Application and Payment as related tables. Its primary processes 12,000 short insert and update transactions per day, so it is relational plus OLTP. A reporting copy scans and aggregates historical rows for read-heavy trend queries, an OLAP-like workload.
Its DBA sets a 15-minute RPO and 60-minute RTO, takes a full backup at 02:00 every Sunday, then an incremental every 15 minutes. The application service gets SELECT, INSERT and UPDATE, but not DROP. An alert fires when p95 query time exceeds 400 ms for five minutes. If the primary fails at 14:20 after the 14:15 incremental, exposure is 14:20 minus 14:15, or five minutes, within the RPO. Recovery is due by 14:20 plus 60 minutes, or 15:20. Those four duties are the DBA's core remit: access control, backup and recovery, availability, and performance monitoring. A data administrator handles broader data policy and governance.
2. Types & DBA Functions MCQs 1-3: the DBA role and classical models
Question 1 (Bihar STET 2025)
To which of the following the term "DBA" referred?
A. Data Bank Administrator
B. Database Administrator
C. Data Administrator
D. None of these
Correct answer: B. Database Administrator.
DBA expands to Database Administrator. A DBA protects systems through access control, backups, recovery, availability and performance monitoring. A data administrator handles governance, making C a near-match.
Question 2 (Bihar STET 2025)
What are the three main types of DBMSs, according to the traditional (classical) data-model classification?
A. Relational DBMSs, hierarchical DBMSs, and network DBMSs
B. Relational DBMSs, object-oriented DBMSs, and NoSQL DBMSs
C. Hierarchical DBMSs, network DBMSs, and object-oriented DBMSs
D. NoSQL DBMSs, object-oriented DBMSs, and relational DBMSs
Correct answer: A. Relational DBMSs, hierarchical DBMSs, and network DBMSs.
The qualifier "traditional (classical)" controls the answer. Relational uses tables, hierarchical uses a tree with one parent per child, and network permits richer record links. Object-oriented and NoSQL are later categories, so options containing either cannot be the classical trio.
Question 3 (UP Police 2018)
In RDBMS data is stored in:
A. Trees
B. Lists
C. Tables
D. Networks
Correct answer: C. Tables.
Relations are implemented as tables with rows and columns. Trees identify the hierarchical model, while record networks identify the network model. A list is not the defining RDBMS structure.
3. Types & DBA Functions MCQs 4-6: hierarchy, networks and centralized risk
Question 4 (DSSSB TGT 2021)
Which of the following is oldest database model?
A. Deductive
B. Relational
C. Object-Oriented
D. Hierarchical
Correct answer: D. Hierarchical.
Compare the models by historical sequence, not current popularity. The tree-shaped hierarchical model predates the relational, deductive and object-oriented alternatives in the list.
Question 5 (TPSC 2024)
In which database model does each record have a unique identifier and can have multiple parent and child records ?
A. Relational model
B. Hierarchical model
C. Network model
D. Object-oriented model
Correct answer: C. Network model.
The decisive phrase is "multiple parent and child records". A hierarchical child has one parent, while the network model supports richer owner-member links and multiple parents. The unique identifier does not override that structural clue.
Question 6 (TPSC 2025)
Which of the following is a disadvantage of a centralized database ?
A. It can be more secure due to limited access
B. It provides real-time data consistency
C. It may lead to a single point of failure
D. It can be easily scaled
Correct answer: C. It may lead to a single point of failure.
One central dependency simplifies control and consistency, but its outage can affect every user. Backups limit loss and recovery time in the 14:20 example, while redundancy and failover address availability. Easy scaling is not the defining disadvantage.
4. Types & DBA Functions MCQs 7-9: parent-child clues and logical structures
Question 7 (UGC NET 2022)
Which of the following database model, we have a parent-child relationship
A. hierarchical databases
B. network databases
C. relational databases
Choose the correct answer from the options below:
A. A, B
B. A, C
C. B, C
D. A, B, C
Correct answer: A. A, B.
Hierarchical databases encode one-parent tree links, while network databases support multiple parents. Relational databases use tables, keys and joins, not an inherent parent-child record structure. Therefore A and B, but not C, belong in the set.
Question 8 (UPPSC Polytechnic Lecturer 2022)
Which of the following is not a logical database structure?
A. Tree
B. Relation
C. Network
D. Chain
Correct answer: D. Chain.
Map tree to hierarchical, relation to relational, and network to network databases. A chain can describe a linked sequence, but it is not a standard logical database-model structure.
Question 9 (BPSC TGT 2023)
The traditional storage of data organized by customer in separate folders inside filing cabinets best resembles which database model?
A. Relational database management system
B. Network database management system
C. Hierarchical database management system
D. More than one of the above
E. None of the above
Correct answer: C. Hierarchical database management system.
Picture cabinet -> customer folder -> documents. Each child sits below one parent, forming a hierarchical tree. Tables suggest relational storage, while multiple cross-links suggest a network. Neither appears here.
5. Types & DBA Functions MCQs 10-12: OLTP, OLAP and invalid categories
Question 10 (UGC NET 2026)
Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R.
Assertion A: OLAP systems are optimized for complex queries and analysis.
Reason R: OLTP systems are designed for transactions processing with large read-only queries.
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
1. Both A and R are correct and R is the correct explanation of A
2. Both A and R are correct but R is NOT the correct explanation of A
3. A is correct but R is not correct
4. A is not correct but R is correct
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
Correct answer: C. 3, meaning A is correct but R is not correct.
OLAP supports complex, read-heavy analysis, so A is true. OLTP handles many short current-state transactions, such as the 12,000 daily admissions writes, not large read-only analytical queries. R is false. Decode the option number only after evaluating both statements.
Question 11 (DSSSB TGT 2021)
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct regarding On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP)?
I. Responses to the user inquiry are immediate.
II. The associated cost is economical with efficient utilization of resources.
III. The database is always up-to-date.
A. Only II
B. I and III
C. Only III
D. I and II
Correct answer: B. I and III.
OLTP supports prompt responses and current operational data, so I and III hold. Cost depends on architecture, scale, redundancy and service targets. It is implementation-dependent, not an inherent OLTP property, so II does not hold.
Question 12 (BPSC PGT 2024)
Which of the following is NOT a type of DBMS?
A. Relational DBMS
B. Object-Oriented DBMS
C. Sequential DBMS
D. More than one of the above
E. None of the above
Correct answer: C. Sequential DBMS.
Relational and object-oriented are recognised DBMS models. Sequential describes an access or file-organisation method, not a standard model. Exactly one named item is invalid, so the combined and none options fail.
6. The classification traps these 12 DBMS questions expose
Trap to identify | Questions that expose it |
|---|---|
DBA versus data administrator | Q1 |
Classical model names | Q2, Q3, Q4, Q12 |
One parent versus multiple parents | Q5, Q7, Q9 |
Deployment risk versus data model | Q6 |
OLTP versus OLAP | Q10, Q11 |
Use four steps: underline the classification axis; translate the clue into a structure or workload; eliminate terms from another axis; decode combination options last. In Q10, decide A is true and R is false before looking at 1, 2, 3 and 4, so the numbering cannot distract you.
Continue with the broader DBMS MCQs collection for mixed practice. Use DBMS Interview Questions for Freshers to revisit role and model explanations. Then move to Transactions & Concurrency Control in DBMS, where availability and recovery ideas become operational.
7. Types & DBA Functions: the next practice step
Retest Q2, Q5, Q6, Q10 and Q11 without notes. Together they cover model taxonomy, multiple parents, centralized failure and the OLTP versus OLAP boundary. Before naming an option, state the axis in three words, such as "data model classification" or "transaction workload type". For a sequenced DBMS route inside broader preparation, follow GATE Guidance by Sanchit Sir and use these questions as a checkpoint after the basics. The short version is simple: first decide whether the question concerns a model, workload, deployment or administrator responsibility. Once that axis is fixed, the distractors stop looking interchangeable.
