HDFS interview questions

60 real HDFS questions from the Big Data bank, as asked in Indian campus drives and tech interviews. Every question has a verified answer and an AI-tutor explanation on placd — free to start.

1. What is HDFS default block size?

Junior
  1. A.the architecture using multiple independent NameNodes, each managing a namespace volume, to scale metadata beyond a single NameNode's capacity
  2. B.128 MB
  3. C.a client-side mount table that presents multiple federated HDFS namespaces as a single unified file system view
  4. D.too many files exhausting NameNode memory (~150 bytes each)
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3. Which statement is correct?

Junior
  1. A.HDFS default block size — 128 MB
  2. B.HDFS default block size — the HDFS process where a standby or secondary NameNode merges the edit log into the fsimage to bound recovery time
  3. C.HDFS default block size — an HDFS daemon that stores the shared edit log so the standby NameNode stays in sync with the active one
  4. D.HDFS default block size — an HDFS setup with active and standby NameNodes sharing edits via a JournalNode quorum to remove the single point of failure
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4. What is HDFS default replication factor?

Junior
  1. A.the HDFS setup running active and standby NameNodes sharing edits through a JournalNode quorum to remove the single point of failure
  2. B.the HDFS process where a standby or secondary NameNode merges the edit log into the fsimage to bound recovery time
  3. C.3
  4. D.the HDFS storage policy that protects data with parity blocks instead of full replicas, cutting storage overhead from 200 percent to about 50 percent
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6. Which statement is correct?

Junior
  1. A.HDFS default replication factor — an HDFS daemon that stores the shared edit log so the standby NameNode stays in sync with the active one
  2. B.HDFS default replication factor — the fixed-size unit, 128 MB by default, into which HDFS splits files for distributed storage and replication
  3. C.HDFS default replication factor — the HDFS setup running active and standby NameNodes sharing edits through a JournalNode quorum to remove the single point of failure
  4. D.HDFS default replication factor — 3
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7. What is NameNode?

Junior
  1. A.an HDFS daemon that stores the shared edit log so the standby NameNode stays in sync with the active one
  2. B.the fixed-size unit, 128 MB by default, into which HDFS splits files for distributed storage and replication
  3. C.the HDFS service storing filesystem metadata in memory
  4. D.3
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9. Which statement is correct?

Junior
  1. A.NameNode — the HDFS storage policy that protects data with parity blocks instead of full replicas, cutting storage overhead from 200 percent to about 50 percent
  2. B.NameNode — the HDFS policy that places block replicas across racks to balance fault tolerance against cross-rack bandwidth
  3. C.NameNode — a feature reducing the 3x replication storage overhead
  4. D.NameNode — the HDFS service storing filesystem metadata in memory
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10. What is DataNode?

Junior
  1. A.the HDFS service storing the actual data blocks
  2. B.an HDFS daemon that stores the shared edit log so the standby NameNode stays in sync with the active one
  3. C.the architecture using multiple independent NameNodes, each managing a namespace volume, to scale metadata beyond a single NameNode's capacity
  4. D.the HDFS policy that places block replicas across racks to balance fault tolerance against cross-rack bandwidth
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12. Which statement is correct?

Junior
  1. A.DataNode — the HDFS subsystem that requires a majority of JournalNodes to acknowledge each edit before the active NameNode commits it
  2. B.DataNode — the HDFS service storing the actual data blocks
  3. C.DataNode — a client-side mount table that presents multiple federated HDFS namespaces as a single unified file system view
  4. D.DataNode — 3
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13. What is small-files problem?

Mid
  1. A.the HDFS policy that places block replicas across racks to balance fault tolerance against cross-rack bandwidth
  2. B.too many files exhausting NameNode memory (~150 bytes each)
  3. C.a client-side mount table that presents multiple federated HDFS namespaces as a single unified file system view
  4. D.the fixed-size unit, 128 MB by default, into which HDFS splits files for distributed storage and replication
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15. Which statement is correct?

Mid
  1. A.small-files problem — too many files exhausting NameNode memory (~150 bytes each)
  2. B.small-files problem — the architecture using multiple independent NameNodes, each managing a namespace volume, to scale metadata beyond a single NameNode's capacity
  3. C.small-files problem — the HDFS optimization letting a client on the same node read block files directly from local disk, bypassing the DataNode process
  4. D.small-files problem — an architecture using multiple independent NameNodes, each managing a namespace volume, to scale metadata beyond one NameNode
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16. What is Hadoop 3 erasure coding?

Mid
  1. A.the HDFS policy that places block replicas across racks to balance fault tolerance against cross-rack bandwidth
  2. B.a feature reducing the 3x replication storage overhead
  3. C.the HDFS storage policy that protects data with parity blocks instead of full replicas, cutting storage overhead from 200 percent to about 50 percent
  4. D.128 MB
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18. Which statement is correct?

Mid
  1. A.Hadoop 3 erasure coding — a feature reducing the 3x replication storage overhead
  2. B.Hadoop 3 erasure coding — a client-side mount table that presents multiple federated HDFS namespaces as a single unified file system view
  3. C.Hadoop 3 erasure coding — the HDFS tool that redistributes blocks across DataNodes to even out disk utilization after nodes are added or fill unevenly
  4. D.Hadoop 3 erasure coding — an HDFS daemon that stores the shared edit log so the standby NameNode stays in sync with the active one
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19. What is Block?

Junior
  1. A.an architecture using multiple independent NameNodes, each managing a namespace volume, to scale metadata beyond one NameNode
  2. B.the fixed-size unit, 128 MB by default, into which HDFS splits files for distributed storage and replication
  3. C.3
  4. D.a feature reducing the 3x replication storage overhead
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21. Which statement is correct?

Junior
  1. A.Block — 3
  2. B.Block — the fixed-size unit, 128 MB by default, into which HDFS splits files for distributed storage and replication
  3. C.Block — the HDFS storage policy that protects data with parity blocks instead of full replicas, cutting storage overhead from 200 percent to about 50 percent
  4. D.Block — an HDFS daemon that stores the shared edit log so the standby NameNode stays in sync with the active one
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22. What is Rack awareness?

Junior
  1. A.a client-side mount table that presents multiple federated HDFS namespaces as a single unified file system view
  2. B.the HDFS subsystem that requires a majority of JournalNodes to acknowledge each edit before the active NameNode commits it
  3. C.the HDFS policy that places block replicas across racks to balance fault tolerance against cross-rack bandwidth
  4. D.an HDFS daemon that stores the shared edit log so the standby NameNode stays in sync with the active one
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24. Which statement is correct?

Junior
  1. A.Rack awareness — the fixed-size unit, 128 MB by default, into which HDFS splits files for distributed storage and replication
  2. B.Rack awareness — the HDFS policy that places block replicas across racks to balance fault tolerance against cross-rack bandwidth
  3. C.Rack awareness — an HDFS setup with active and standby NameNodes sharing edits via a JournalNode quorum to remove the single point of failure
  4. D.Rack awareness — an architecture using multiple independent NameNodes, each managing a namespace volume, to scale metadata beyond one NameNode
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25. What is NameNode high availability?

Mid
  1. A.3
  2. B.an HDFS setup with active and standby NameNodes sharing edits via a JournalNode quorum to remove the single point of failure
  3. C.the HDFS setup running active and standby NameNodes sharing edits through a JournalNode quorum to remove the single point of failure
  4. D.an architecture using multiple independent NameNodes, each managing a namespace volume, to scale metadata beyond one NameNode
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26. Which term means: "an HDFS setup with active and standby NameNodes sharing edits via a JournalNode quorum to remove the single point of failure"?

Mid
  1. A.NameNode high availability
  2. B.Quorum Journal Manager
  3. C.balancer
  4. D.NameNode
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27. Which statement is correct?

Mid
  1. A.NameNode high availability — 3
  2. B.NameNode high availability — the HDFS service storing filesystem metadata in memory
  3. C.NameNode high availability — an HDFS daemon that stores the shared edit log so the standby NameNode stays in sync with the active one
  4. D.NameNode high availability — an HDFS setup with active and standby NameNodes sharing edits via a JournalNode quorum to remove the single point of failure
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28. What is JournalNode?

Mid
  1. A.the HDFS setup running active and standby NameNodes sharing edits through a JournalNode quorum to remove the single point of failure
  2. B.128 MB
  3. C.an HDFS daemon that stores the shared edit log so the standby NameNode stays in sync with the active one
  4. D.an HDFS setup with active and standby NameNodes sharing edits via a JournalNode quorum to remove the single point of failure
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29. Which term means: "an HDFS daemon that stores the shared edit log so the standby NameNode stays in sync with the active one"?

Mid
  1. A.HDFS default block size
  2. B.HDFS default replication factor
  3. C.JournalNode
  4. D.short-circuit read
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30. Which statement is correct?

Mid
  1. A.JournalNode — an HDFS daemon that stores the shared edit log so the standby NameNode stays in sync with the active one
  2. B.JournalNode — an HDFS storage strategy that uses parity blocks instead of full replication to cut storage overhead while tolerating failures
  3. C.JournalNode — a client-side mount table that presents multiple federated HDFS namespaces as a single unified file system view
  4. D.JournalNode — 128 MB
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