Data Engineering Associate with Databricks Practice Exam

Which metastore is used by Databricks by default?

1. PostgreSQL

2. Hive

3. MySQL

4. Oracle

The correct answer is: Hive

Databricks uses the Hive metastore by default for several reasons that align with its architecture and data handling capabilities. The Hive metastore is well-established within the big data ecosystem, providing a robust and efficient way to manage metadata for large datasets and tables. It allows users to define the schema for their data in an accessible format and facilitates critical functions like data partitioning and table management. Using Hive as the default metastore streamlines integration with other components of the Apache Spark ecosystem, as Spark can easily query, update, and manage data stored in a Hive metastore. This compatibility is crucial for data engineering workflows where efficiency and interoperability across various tools are essential. While other databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Oracle have their respective advantages and might be used in specific scenarios, they are not the default choice for Databricks. This choice is influenced by Hive's capabilities and its historical significance in the realm of big data applications, making it the optimal choice for managing the metadata in Databricks environments.