C100DBA Server Administration Practice Question
A database is experiencing high latency. You run 'mongotop 5'. What specific insight does this provide compared to 'mongostat' for server administration?
⚠ Common exam trap
Examinees often confuse mongotop with mongostat, mistakenly believing mongotop provides system-wide resource utilization metrics like CPU and memory instead of collection-level timing.
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
✓
Time spent by each collection on read and write operations.
While mongostat gives a high-level view of server-wide operations and memory, mongotop provides a granular look at where the storage engine is spending its time. It breaks down read and write time by collection, allowing the DBA to identify which specific table is causing the most load on the system.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Time spent by each collection on read and write operations.
Why this is correct
The 'mongotop' utility provides a real-time view of the amount of time the mongod instance spends reading from and writing to each collection. This is invaluable for identifying 'hot' collections that may need better indexing, sharding, or schema redesign to alleviate performance bottlenecks on the server.
- ✗
A list of the longest-running queries currently in the system.
Why it's wrong here
Identifying specific long-running queries is the job of the 'db.currentOp()' command or the database profiler. Mongotop aggregates time by collection rather than showing individual queries, so while it points you to the right collection, it won't show the exact query string or the user who ran it.
- ✗
The amount of disk space consumed by each database on the server.
Why it's wrong here
Disk space usage is monitored via the 'db.stats()' or 'db.collection.stats()' commands. Mongotop is a performance monitoring tool that measures time and activity, not storage volume. It does not provide information about the size of data files or the growth rate of the database over time.
- ✗
The memory distribution between the data and index caches.
Why it's wrong here
Detailed information about cache usage and memory distribution is found in the 'serverStatus' command output under the 'wiredTiger' section. Mongotop does not have visibility into the internal memory structures of the storage engine; it only tracks the duration of high-level read and write operations per collection.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every C100DBA question from scratch — 222 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official MongoDB exam blueprint
This C100DBA practice question is part of Courseiva's free MongoDB 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 C100DBA exam.