As for the first part on being able to do a tran backup in simple mode, this is a pretty entry level question, in fact it was one of the first basics covered when I taught the MCDBA classes. As for the follow up, it’s intended to separate out levels of expertise. When I’m deciding on a candidate, I need to be able to distinguish whether they are entry/mid/SR level. Answering this is one of ten questions that qualify as SR level. Obviously I don’t expect everyone to get them all right, but if they can land over 50% there in the SR category. At Zillow we’re very strong on understanding internals of the applications you work with. My theory is if you’re paying your mortgage with SQL you should know how it works under the hood, and specifically look for people with the same attitude. 🙂

Ken Kaufman

Lead DBA, Zillow.com