The best action for the administrator to take is to create a view. A view is a virtual table that shows a subset of data from one or more tables. The administrator can use a view to provide access to data from two different tables to multiple group users without exposing the restricted columns. The view can also simplify the queries and improve the performance of the reporting process. The other options are either not suitable for this scenario or do not address the requirement of hiding some columns from users. For example, creating a stored procedure would require additional coding and execution, creating a csv export would create a static file that may not reflect the latest data changes, and creating a trigger would perform an action in response to an event rather than provide access to data. Reference: CompTIA DataSys+ Course Outline, Domain 2.0 Database Deployment, Objective 2.2 Given a scenario, create database objects using scripting and programming languages.

The factor that the administrator should measure to analyze a database server's disk throughput is IOPS. IOPS, or Input/Output Operations Per Second, is a metric that measures the number of read and write operations that a disk can perform in one second. IOPS indicates the performance or speed of a disk and how well it can handle multiple requests or transactions. Higher IOPS means higher disk throughput and lower latency. IOPS can be affected by various factors, such as disk type, size, speed, cache, RAID level, etc. The other options are either not related or not sufficient for this purpose. For example, RPfvl is not a valid acronym or metric; latency is the time delay between a request and a response; reads are the number of read operations performed by a disk. Reference: CompTIA DataSys+ Course Outline, Domain 3.0 Database Management and Maintenance, Objective 3.2 Given a scenario, monitor database performance.

The option that best describes a collection of data that shares the same properties or attributes is entity set. An entity set is a term used in the entity-relationship (ER) model, which is a conceptual model for designing and representing databases. An entity set is a collection of entities that have the same type or characteristics, such as students, courses, products, etc. An entity is an object or thing that can be identified and distinguished from others, such as a specific student, course, product, etc. An entity set can have one or more attributes that describe the properties or features of the entities, such as name, age, price, etc. An entity set can also have one or more relationships with other entity sets that define how the entities are associated or connected, such as enrolled, taught by, purchased by, etc. The other options are either different terms or not related to the ER model at all. For example, relation set is a term used in the relational model, which is a logical model for implementing and manipulating databases; ER model is a term used to refer to the entity-relationship model itself; tuples are rows or records in a table or relation. References: CompTIA DataSys+ Course Outline, Domain 1.0 Database Fundamentals, Objective 1.1 Given a scenario, identify common database types.

The correct answer is C. 3NF (Third Normal Form). According to CompTIA DataSys+, Third Normal Form is widely regarded as the most preferable and practical level of normalization for relational database design in real-world environments. It strikes an optimal balance between reducing data redundancy, maintaining data integrity, and preserving query performance.
To understand why 3NF is preferred, it is important to consider the progression of normalization. First Normal Form (1NF) ensures that tables contain atomic values and no repeating groups. Second Normal Form (2NF) builds on this by eliminating partial dependencies, ensuring that non-key attributes depend on the entire primary key. While these forms improve structure, they do not fully address all redundancy issues.
Third Normal Form (3NF) goes further by removing transitive dependencies, meaning that non-key attributes depend only on the primary key and not on other non-key attributes. This significantly reduces duplication of data and prevents common anomalies during INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations.
CompTIA DataSys+ emphasizes that eliminating transitive dependencies is critical for maintaining long-term data consistency and integrity.
Although Fourth Normal Form (4NF) and higher normal forms exist, DataSys+ notes that they are typically applied only in specialized cases involving complex multi-valued dependencies. Over-normalization beyond
3NF can increase schema complexity, require excessive joins, and negatively impact performance without providing proportional benefits in most transactional systems.
As a result, 3NF is considered the industry-standard target for relational database design. It provides a clean, maintainable schema that supports scalability, reduces redundancy, and aligns well with performance expectations. CompTIA DataSys+ highlights 3NF as the most commonly implemented and recommended normalization level for operational databases.
Therefore, the most preferable normal form for relational database design is 3NF, making option C the correct and fully verified answer.

NoSQL databases are designed to store and manage diverse data types such as images, video, audio, and records in a flexible, single repository without fixed schemas.