Data
Engineering 101
Databricks Q&A
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How does Databricks optimize
Apache Spark jobs using
Adaptive Query Execution
(AQE)?
Databricks uses Adaptive Query Execution (AQE) to
optimize Spark jobs dynamically at runtime.
AQE adjusts query plans based on runtime statistics,
optimizing joins, aggregations, and handling skewed
data.
For example, AQE can dynamically switch join
strategies or change the number of shuffle
partitions.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
Explain the architecture of
Databricks Delta Lake and how
it handles ACID transactions.
Delta Lake is built on top of Apache Parquet and
adds ACID transactions, scalable metadata handling,
and unified streaming and batch processing.
It uses a transaction log to record all changes,
enabling features like versioning, time travel, and
schema enforcement.
The log is stored as JSON files in the underlying
storage system.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How would you implement a
slowly changing dimension
(SCD) Type 2 in Databricks using
Delta Lake?
Implementing SCD Type 2 in Databricks with Delta
Lake involves using the MERGE command.
You would use MERGE INTO to match records based
on business keys and insert new records or update
existing ones with historical tracking, typically adding
columns like valid_from and valid_to for tracking
validity.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
What is the role of Z-Ordering in
Delta Lake, and how does it
improve query performance?
Z-Ordering is a technique used in Delta Lake to co-
locate related data in the same set of files.
By clustering data based on a specific column, Z-
Ordering reduces the amount of data read during
query execution, especially for large datasets,
thereby improving query performance.
This is particularly useful in queries that filter by
specific columns.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How does Databricks implement
data partitioning in Spark, and
what are the best practices?
In Databricks, data partitioning in Spark is
implemented by dividing data across different files
or directories based on column values.
Best practices include partitioning on columns with
high cardinality and avoiding too many small
partitions.
For example, partitioning a table by date can
significantly improve query performance when
filtering by date ranges.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
Describe how you would
optimize a Spark job that suffers
from data skew in Databricks.
To optimize a Spark job with data skew, you can use
techniques such as salting (adding a random key to
the join keys), broadcasting small datasets to avoid
shuffles, or using the AQE's skew join optimization
feature.
Additionally, repartitioning the data or using map-
side join strategies can help balance the data
distribution.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How do you manage large-scale
data ingestion in Databricks
using Auto Loader?
Auto Loader is used for large-scale data ingestion in
Databricks by continuously processing files as they
arrive in a directory.
It leverages the Databricks Incremental Load feature,
which automatically detects new files and processes
them.
Auto Loader also scales automatically, ensuring
efficient data ingestion without manual intervention.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
What is the significance of using
Delta Live Tables in Databricks,
and how do they work?
Delta Live Tables (DLT) in Databricks automate the
creation, maintenance, and management of data
pipelines.
DLTs allow you to define data processing pipelines
using simple declarative language.
They handle schema changes, optimize queries, and
ensure data quality through built-in monitoring and
error handling.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
Explain how you would set up
and use Databricks Jobs API for
automated data workflows.
The Databricks Jobs API allows programmatic
scheduling and management of jobs.
You would use the API to create, list, and trigger
jobs, monitor their execution, and retrieve logs.
It supports running notebooks, JARs, or Python
scripts, making it suitable for automating ETL
processes or machine learning workflows.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How does Databricks handle
schema evolution in Delta Lake?
Delta Lake supports schema evolution by allowing
the addition of new columns or changes to existing
schemas in a backward-compatible way.
You can enable schema evolution in Delta Lake by
setting mergeSchema to true during operations like
MERGE INTO, UPDATE, or WRITE.
Delta Lake ensures that all files in the table conform
to the new schema.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
What are the different storage
formats supported by
Databricks, and when would
you use each?
Databricks supports several storage formats,
including Parquet, ORC, JSON, CSV, and Delta.
Parquet and ORC are columnar formats, ideal for
analytics due to their efficient storage and query
performance.
JSON and CSV are often used for interoperability
and ease of use, while Delta is preferred for use
cases requiring ACID transactions and versioning.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How does Databricks ensure
data security when connecting
to external data sources?
Databricks ensures data security through encrypted
connections, secure authentication methods like
OAuth or token-based access, and role-based access
control (RBAC).
When connecting to external data sources,
Databricks uses SSL/TLS for secure communication
and integrates with key management services for
secure credential storage.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
Explain how you would handle
real-time data processing using
Structured Streaming in
Databricks.
Structured Streaming in Databricks allows real-time
data processing by treating streaming data as an
unbounded table.
You define transformations like select, filter, and
groupBy, and Spark automatically handles
incremental processing as new data arrives. You can
output the processed data to sinks like Delta Lake,
Kafka, or databases.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
What are the benefits of using
Databricks Repos for version
control, and how do you set it
up?
Databricks Repos provide version control for
notebooks, files, and code using Git.
The benefits include collaboration, tracking changes,
and reverting to previous versions.
To set up a Repo, you would connect Databricks to a
Git repository (e.g., GitHub or GitLab), clone the
repository into Databricks, and manage the code
within the workspace.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How do you optimize a machine
learning pipeline in Databricks
using MLflow?
MLflow in Databricks is used to track experiments,
manage models, and deploy them.
To optimize a pipeline, you can use MLflow to log
parameters, metrics, and artifacts, compare
different model versions, and automate
hyperparameter tuning.
Integration with Databricks' scalable infrastructure
allows for efficient model training and deployment.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
Describe the use and benefits of
Photon in Databricks.
Photon is a native vectorized query engine in
Databricks, designed to speed up SQL workloads.
It leverages advanced data processing techniques
like vectorized execution, cache-aware algorithms,
and runtime code generation.
Photon can provide significant performance
improvements, especially for complex queries on
large datasets.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How do you ensure high
availability and fault tolerance
in Databricks?
High availability and fault tolerance in Databricks are
achieved through the use of auto-scaling clusters,
cross-region data replication, and Delta Lake’s ACID
compliance.
Databricks also supports automated job retries,
checkpointing in streaming applications, and
leveraging cloud provider features like multi-zone
deployments.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
Explain the process of
performing a large-scale join in
Databricks and how to optimize
it.
Performing a large-scale join in Databricks involves
using Spark’s distributed computing capabilities.
To optimize the join, you can use broadcast joins for
small datasets, optimize partitioning, adjust the
number of shuffle partitions, and leverage Delta
Lake’s Z-Ordering to minimize data movement and
reduce execution time.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
What is Unity Catalog in
Databricks, and how does it
support data governance?
Unity Catalog is a unified governance solution for
data and AI assets in Databricks.
It provides centralized fine-grained access controls,
auditing, and lineage tracking across Databricks
workspaces.
Unity Catalog helps enforce data governance
policies, ensuring compliance and enhancing
security by managing access at the table, column,
and row levels.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How would you handle data
skew in joins in Spark on
Databricks?
To handle data skew in Spark joins, you can use
techniques such as broadcasting the smaller dataset
to avoid shuffles, adding a salt key to distribute
skewed data more evenly, or enabling Spark's
Adaptive Query Execution (AQE) to automatically
optimize the join strategy.
Additionally, repartitioning the skewed data can help
balance the load across the cluster.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
What is the role of a Checkpoint
in Structured Streaming, and
how do you implement it in
Databricks?
Checkpointing is used in Structured Streaming to
maintain stateful information across micro-batches.
It allows recovery from failures by storing the
progress of the streaming query in a checkpoint
directory.
In Databricks, you implement it by specifying a
checkpointLocation option in the streaming query:
df.writeStream.format("delta") \
.option("checkpointLocation",
"/path/to/checkpoint").start("/output/path").
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How do you handle late-arriving
data in Databricks using
Structured Streaming?
Late-arriving data in Structured Streaming is
managed using watermarking.
A watermark specifies how much time to wait for
late data before considering the data processing as
complete.
In Databricks, you can set a watermark using
withWatermark("eventTime", "1 hour"), which tells
the engine to wait for up to 1 hour for late data
based on the eventTime column.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
Describe how Delta Lake
handles schema enforcement
and schema evolution.
Delta Lake enforces schema by rejecting write
operations that don't match the existing table
schema, preventing accidental data corruption.
Schema evolution allows for adding new columns or
changing existing ones.
When writing to a Delta table, you can enable
schema evolution by setting the mergeSchema
option to true, allowing the table schema to adapt to
the new data schema.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How do you implement and
manage incremental data
processing in Databricks?
Incremental data processing in Databricks can be
implemented using Delta Lake's MERGE INTO
operation, which allows you to upsert new and
updated records into a target table.
Additionally, Auto Loader can be used to process
new files as they arrive in a directory, enabling real-
time data processing without reprocessing the entire
dataset.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
What is the difference between
an interactive cluster and a job
cluster in Databricks?
An interactive cluster in Databricks is used for
development, exploration, and running notebooks
interactively.
It remains active and can be manually managed by
users.
A job cluster, on the other hand, is ephemeral,
created for the duration of a job and automatically
terminated when the job completes, optimizing
resource usage for scheduled tasks.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How does Databricks handle
fault tolerance in Spark jobs?
Databricks ensures fault tolerance in Spark jobs
through mechanisms like lineage information,
recomputing lost partitions, and using replication for
shuffle data.
In streaming applications, Databricks uses
checkpoints and WAL (write-ahead logs) to recover
from failures.
Additionally, Databricks clusters can be configured
with autoscaling and multi-zone deployments for
added fault tolerance.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
Explain how you would use
Databricks to implement a
machine learning model
lifecycle.
Databricks integrates with MLflow to manage the
machine learning lifecycle, including tracking
experiments, versioning models, and deploying
them.
You start by experimenting with models using
notebooks, track parameters and metrics with
MLflow, package the model with MLflow, and deploy
it using Databricks' native model serving capabilities
or other deployment platforms like Azure ML.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How does Databricks support
streaming ETL, and what are the
best practices?
Databricks supports streaming ETL through
Structured Streaming, allowing you to build ETL
pipelines that process data in real time.
Best practices include using Delta Lake for reliable
data storage, applying watermarks and triggers for
efficient processing, and monitoring performance
using Spark's metrics and the Databricks UI.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
What are the considerations for
running Databricks workloads
on different cloud providers?
Running Databricks on different cloud providers
(AWS, Azure, GCP) involves considerations such as
region availability, cloud-specific integrations (e.g.,
S3 for AWS, ADLS for Azure), pricing models, and
compliance with data governance policies.
It's essential to understand the underlying cloud
infrastructure, networking, and security features
unique to each provider.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How would you optimize the
cost of running Databricks
clusters?
Cost optimization in Databricks can be achieved by
using autoscaling clusters to adjust resources based
on workload demand, choosing the right instance
types, using spot instances for non-critical
workloads, and terminating idle clusters
automatically.
Monitoring resource usage and optimizing code to
reduce unnecessary compute operations also helps
in cost management.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
Describe the process of handling
large-scale data migration to
Databricks.
Large-scale data migration to Databricks can be
handled by leveraging tools like Azure Data Factory,
AWS Data Migration Service, or Databricks' native
connectors to move data from on-premises or cloud
sources.
It's crucial to plan the migration process by
considering data partitioning, transformation needs,
Delta Lake's benefits, and ensuring minimal
downtime for production systems.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How do you ensure data quality
in Databricks pipelines?
Data quality in Databricks pipelines is ensured by
implementing Delta Lake's built-in features like
schema enforcement, using CHECK constraints, and
leveraging tools like Great Expectations for data
validation.
Monitoring and logging data transformations, using
proper exception handling, and implementing data
quality checks at each stage of the pipeline are also
critical.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
What strategies can you use to
manage and reduce shuffle
operations in Spark on
Databricks?
To manage and reduce shuffle operations, you can
use broadcast joins for smaller datasets, optimize
partitioning strategies, use coalesce or repartition to
control the number of partitions, avoid unnecessary
wide transformations, and leverage Spark's AQE to
dynamically adjust the shuffle partitions based on
runtime statistics.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How does Databricks handle
different data formats, and how
can you optimize performance
for each?
Databricks handles various data formats like
Parquet, ORC, JSON, Avro, and CSV.
Performance optimization involves choosing
columnar formats like Parquet or ORC for analytics,
using compression techniques, applying proper
partitioning, and leveraging Delta Lake's Z-Ordering
for optimized queries.
Efficient schema design and avoiding unnecessary
data transformations also contribute to
performance.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
Explain how you would secure a
Databricks workspace and
control user access.
Securing a Databricks workspace involves
implementing RBAC, using secure access methods
like SSO or OAuth, encrypting data at rest and in
transit, and setting up network security
configurations like VPCs and firewall rules.
Access control can be managed through workspace
permissions, cluster access controls, and restricting
access to specific resources like data tables or
notebooks.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
Describe how you would use
Databricks and Delta Lake for a
data warehousing solution.
Databricks combined with Delta Lake can be used to
build a modern data warehouse.
Delta Lake serves as the storage layer, providing
ACID transactions, time travel, and schema
enforcement.
ETL processes can be implemented using Spark and
Delta Lake, with Databricks SQL Analytics for
querying and reporting. Data pipelines can be
automated using Databricks Jobs and Workflows,
ensuring data quality and reliability.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
Data Engineering 101: Databricks Q&A
How does Databricks handle
complex event processing in
real-time streaming
applications?
Databricks handles complex event processing using
Structured Streaming combined with stateful
operations like aggregations, joins, and window
functions.
You can implement patterns such as event-time
processing, handling late data, and using
watermarking to manage out-of-order events.
Databricks also integrates with external message
brokers like Kafka for real-time data ingestion.
Shwetank Singh
GritSetGrow - GSGLearn.com
