I've seen some requests on here about interviewing and what kind of questions will be asked and what kind of answers to give. I am trying to come up with what kinds of questions to ask potential employers before you accept an offer. Obviously some of these questions, items would not be answered during the first interview but I was wondering if anyone can suggest other questions they feel are important to ask.



Unix Hardware and O/S Issues

1. How many servers do you have that are hosting Oracle databases?

2. For each server that is hosting a database, what is the hardware type and what OS version is it running?

3. For each server, how many CPU’s, Memory, and Disk Capacity does the server have?

4. Are there vendor support contracts in place for each of the servers? What kind of support do we have 24/7, 8/5 etc.

5. Do we have disaster recovery documentation in place? When was it last reviewed? When was it last tested?

Oracle Issues

1. How many instances are you running?

2. For each instance, what is the version of Oracle that you are running and which server is it running on? What patches have been applied?

3. For each instance, what type of database is it (OLTP, DSS, Mixed)?

4. For each instance, how large is it?

5. Approximately how many users does each server support? How many of these are concurrent?

6. Do we have disaster recovery documentation in place? When was it last reviewed? When was it last tested?

7. Do we have Oracle support contracts for each of the systems? What level of support do we have?

Unix Performance Issues

1. What performance monitoring tools are used?

2. Are regular statistics kept for each server for trending and analysis?

3. What type of disks/disk arrays are being used?
Oracle Performance Issues

1. What performance monitoring tools are being used?

2. Are regular statistics kept for each server for trending and analysis?

3. Are there any “trouble systems” or current issues with the databases? If so, which/what are they?

4. Get a copy of the following for each instance:
a. A copy of the initialization file
b. A copy of the alert log
c. A copy of control file to trace
d. A listing of select * from v$sysstat
e. For instances using the CBO when were the
statistics last ran (dba_tables, dba_indexes)

( There will be a bunch more here but I am too tired right now to figure out everything I would like to have from the databases to know what I'm getting into.

Unix Personnel

1. How many senior-level administrators? For each, how long have they worked with Unix and how long have they been with the company? How long have they been in their current position?

2. How many junior-level administrators? For each, how long have they worked with Unix and how long have they been with the company? How long have they been in their current position?

Database Personnel (Oracle)

1. How many junior-level DBA’s? For each, how long have they worked with Oracle and how long have they been with the company? How long have they been in their current position?

2. Do any of the junior-level DBA’s continue to do development?

3. What is the average level of compensation for the junior DBA’s? (Basically, how long are they going to be around)