DA0-002 Data Concepts and Environments Practice Question
A hospital's patient records system must process thousands of small transactions per second. Which type of database system is best suited for this workload?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse OLTP with OLAP, mistakenly thinking that 'processing many transactions' implies analytical processing, when in fact OLTP is the correct choice for high-frequency, small, write-heavy workloads.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
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OLTP
OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) systems are designed to handle a high volume of small, concurrent transactions with low latency and high concurrency. This makes them ideal for a hospital patient records system that must process thousands of small transactions per second, such as patient check-ins, prescription updates, and billing entries.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Data mart
Why it's wrong here
A data mart is a subset of a warehouse, structured for analytical querying by a specific department, not high-volume transactional writes. It is tempting because it stores patient data, but it optimises read-heavy reporting. Thousands of small concurrent transactions require an OLTP system with row-level locking and ACID guarantees.
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OLTP
Why this is correct
OLTP systems are optimised for high volumes of small, concurrent read/write transactions with strong consistency and row-level locking, matching the hospital's thousands-per-second small transaction requirement. OLAP instead suits large analytical queries, so it cannot meet this throughput pattern.
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Data warehouse
Why it's wrong here
A data warehouse is columnar and tuned for large analytical scans, not thousands of small concurrent inserts and updates. It is tempting because it holds consolidated hospital data, but its batch-oriented design causes contention under transactional load. The workload demands an OLTP database with row-level ACID transactions.
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OLAP
Why it's wrong here
OLAP systems aggregate historical data for multidimensional analysis, using columnar storage and batch loads rather than rapid single-row writes. It is tempting because OLAP handles large datasets, but thousands of small transactions per second need OLTP row-level ACID processing, which OLAP architectures do not provide.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
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This DA0-002 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DA0-002 exam.