Top 40 Databricks Interview Questions and Answers 2023

Databricks is a robust data analytic tool that uses machine learning algorithms to simplify large data sets. Analyzing ever-increasing amounts of data has become a critical element for companies, and the demand for data analytics specialists has risen dramatically. We've compiled a collection of the Top 40 Databricks Interview Questions that is appropriate for both novices and working professionals. Studying these Databricks questions will undoubtedly provide you with the necessary information and assist you in making a great first impression during your interview.

Databricks Interview Questions and Answers For Freshers

1. Define the term "Databricks."

Databricks is a cloud-based, market-leading data analyst solution for processing and transforming massive amounts of data. Databricks is the most recent big data solution to be offered by Azure.

2 . What exactly is DBU?

The Databricks Unified framework is a Databricks component that is used to handle resources and to calculate prices.

3. What distinguishes Azure Databricks from Databricks?

Azure Databricks is a collaborative venture between Microsoft and Databricks to advance predictive analytics, deep learning, and statistical modeling.

4. Can Databricks be used in conjunction with Azure Notebooks?

They have a similar execution, but data transmission to the cluster must be coded manually. Databricks connect is now available, which allows this Integration seamlessly. Databricks makes several improvements on behalf of Jupyter that are unique to Databricks.

5. What does caching consist of?

The cache is a term that refers to temporary holding. Caching is the term used to describe the practice of storing information in a temporary state. When you return to a frequently visited website, the browser will get the information from the cache rather than the server, saving you time and reducing the server's load.

6. Would it be ok to clear the cache?

Yes, because cache contains all unnecessary information, such as files that are not necessary for the functioning of any program, removing or emptying the cache is not an issue.

7. What are the various forms of caching?

There are four distinct forms of caching:

Caching of information
Caching of web pages
Distributed caching
Caching of output or applications.

8. Is it possible to induce data caching without using a count()?

Using count() is only an illustration of an activity. Spark is a slacker and will not implement your request unless action is triggered. You may perform whatever action you desire.

9. Is it necessary to store the outcome of an action in a different variable?

No, it depends on the purpose for which you intend to use it. "Write it to disc" is an example of an action that is not a variable.

10. Should you ever clean up and eliminate unused Data Frames?

Cleaning Data Frames is unnecessary unless you utilize cache(), which will consume a significant volume of data on the network. If you're caching a huge dataset that isn't being utilized, you'll likely want to clear it up.

11. What purpose does Kafka serve?

When Azure Databricks choose to gather or stream data, it establishes connections to action hubs and data sources such as Kafka.

12. What purpose does the Databricks file system serve?

The Databricks file system is the process of a decentralized file that provides data durability even when the Azure Databricks node is removed.

Databricks Interview Questions For Experienced

13. What are the various ETL processes that Azure Databricks perform on data?

The following are the various ETL procedures done on data in Azure Databricks:

From Databricks to the data warehouse, the data is converted.
The data is loaded using bold storage.
Bold storage is used to temporarily store data.

14. Is Azure Key Vault a viable alternative to Secret Scopes?

Yes, that is possible. However, there is some setup required. This is the favored method. Create a scoped password that Azure Key Vault will back up if the information in secret needs to be changed, no need to modify the defined secret.

15. How do you handle Databricks code while working in a team using TFS or Git?

To begin, TFS is not supported. Git and distributed Git repository systems are your only options. While it would be great to attach Databricks to your Git directory of notebooks, Databricks functions similarly to another clone of your project. You begin by creating a notebook, committing it to version control, and then updating it.

16. Can Databricks be run on private cloud infrastructure, or must it be run on a public cloud such as AWS or Azure?

That is not the case. At this time, your only alternatives are AWS and Azure. However, Databricks runs open-source Spark. You could create your own cluster and operate it in a private cloud, but you'd be missing out on Databricks' extensive capabilities and administration.

17. Is it possible to administer Databricks using PowerShell?

No, officially. However, Gerhard Brueckl, a fellow Data Platform MVP, has built an excellent PowerShell module.

18. How can you create a Databricks private access token?

Select the "user profile" icon in the top right corner of the Databricks desktop.
Select "User setting."
Go to the "Access Tokens" tab.
Then, a "Generate New Token" button will appear. Simply click it.

19. What is the procedure for revoking a private access token?

Select the "user profile" icon in the top right corner of the Databricks desktop.
Select "User setting."
Go to the "Access Tokens" tab.
Click 'x 'next to the token you wish to cancel.

Finally, on the Revoke Token window, click the button "Revoke Token."

20. What is the Databricks runtime used for?

The Databricks runtime is often used to execute the Databricks platform's collection of modules.

21. What is a data lake in Azure?

Azure data lakes are a sort of public cloud which allows all Azure users, researchers, business executives, and developers to get insight from massive and complex data sets.

22. What is the purpose of Azure data lake?

Azure data lakes are used in conjunction with other IT investments to manage, secure, and analyze specific management and administration. Additionally, it enables us to enhance data applications through the use of data stores and operating repositories.

Azure Databricks MCQ Interview Questions

23. Which Data lake storage generation is used by Azure synapse?

Azure synapse makes advantage of Azure Data lake storage 2nd Gen.

24. Why is it necessary to backup Azure blob cloud storage?

While blob storage allows redundancy, it may not be capable of handling application failures that might cause the entire database to crash. As a result, we must keep secondary Azure blob storage.

25. What is a Vault for Recovery Services?

Azure backups are kept in the Recovery Services Vault (RSV). Using RSV, we can quickly customize the information.

26. Can Spark be used to process streaming data?

Sure, Spark Streaming is a critical component of Spark. Multiple streaming processes are supported. You can read from streaming and publish to a document and stream numerous deltas.

27. Is it possible to reuse code in the Azure notebook?

To reuse the code from the azure notebook, we should import it into our notebook. We have two options for importing it. 1) If the code is located in a different workstation, we must first build a component for it and then integrate it into the module. 2) If the code is located in the same workstation, we may import and utilize it immediately.

28. What is the purpose of the expression '%sql'?

'%sql' converts the Python notebook to a pure SQL notebook.

29. What is a Databricks cluster?

A Databricks cluster is a collection of settings and computes resources that enable us to conduct statistical science, big data, and strong analytic tasks such as production ETL, workflows, deep learning, and stream processing.

30. Is it possible to load information from on-premises sources into ADLS via Databricks?

While ADF is an excellent way to get information into a lake, if the lake is on-premises, you will also require a "self-hosted integration runtime" to allow ADF to access the information.

31. What are the various clustering modes available in Azure Databricks?

There are three distinct clustering modes in Azure Databricks. They are as follows:

Cluster with a single node.
Clusters that are standard.
Cluster with a High Concurrency.

Azure Databricks Technical Interview Questions

32. What purpose does Continuous Integration serve?

Continuous Integration enables many developers to integrate their code changes into a single repository. Each choice initiates an automated build, compiling and running the unit tests.

33. How do you define a CD (Continuous Delivery)?

Continuous delivery (CD) extends continuous Integration (CI) by accelerating code updates to multiple environments such as QA and staging following the completion of the development. Furthermore, it was used to evaluate the stability, efficiency, and privacy of new modifications.

34. What purpose does %run serve?

A Databricks notebook may be parameterized using the %run command. Moreover, %run is utilized to integrate different code.

35. What use do widgets serve in Databricks?

Widgets allow us to customize our panels and notebooks by adding variables. The API widget is composed of methods for creating multiple input widgets, retrieving bound data, and deleting them.

36. What is a Databricks secret?

A secret is a key-value combination that contains secret content; it is composed of a unique key name contained within a secret context. Each scope is limited to 1000 secrets. The secret value cannot exceed 128 KB in size.

37. What are the naming conventions for a hidden scope?

There are three primary guidelines for naming a hidden scope, and they are as follows:

Underscores, commas, combinations of numbers, and letters must all be included in the hidden scope name.
The maximum length of the name is 128 characters.
The workspace's title must be distinctive.

38. What are the functions of clusters at the network level?

Throughout the clustering response, clusters at the network level attempt to link to the control center gateway.

39. What are the steps of a continuous integration pipeline?

A CI pipeline consists of four phases, which are as follows:

Sourcing
Construction
Staging
Production.

40. What are the primary obstacles associated with CI/CD when developing a data pipeline?

The five major difficulties for continuous integration/continuous delivery while developing a data pipeline are as follows:

Transferring the data pipeline into the production system.
Data analysis.
The data pipeline is pushed to the test environment.
They are iteratively developing the unit tests.
Continuous development and Integration.

Databricks Interview Questions and Answers

Top Azure Databricks Interview Questions