> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://atomoh.gitbook.io/kubernetes/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://atomoh.gitbook.io/kubernetes/en/quiz-collection/observability/metrics/03-mimir-quiz.md).
# Grafana Mimir Quiz
A quiz to test your understanding of Grafana Mimir.
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1. What is Grafana Mimir's primary storage backend?
* A) Local SSD only
* B) Object storage (S3, GCS, Azure Blob)
* C) NFS shared storage
* D) Block storage only
Show Answer
**Answer: B) Object storage (S3, GCS, Azure Blob)**
**Explanation:** Grafana Mimir requires object storage. It supports S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob Storage, etc., providing unlimited scalability and cost-effective long-term storage. Local storage is only used for Ingester's WAL and temporary data.
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2. What is the role of Distributor in Mimir architecture?
* A) Long-term data storage
* B) First entry point for write requests, tenant validation and sample distribution
* C) Query result caching
* D) Block compaction
Show Answer
**Answer: B) First entry point for write requests, tenant validation and sample distribution**
**Explanation:** Distributor is the first entry point for write requests, responsible for tenant ID validation, time series validation, hash ring-based Ingester distribution, and replication based on replication factor. It's a stateless component that scales horizontally easily.
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3. How is multi-tenancy implemented in Mimir?
* A) Operate separate clusters per tenant
* B) Identify tenants via X-Scope-OrgID header
* C) IP address-based tenant separation
* D) Namespace-based tenant separation
Show Answer
**Answer: B) Identify tenants via X-Scope-OrgID header**
**Explanation:** Mimir identifies tenants via the HTTP header `X-Scope-OrgID`. Adding this header to Prometheus's remote\_write configuration isolates each tenant's data. Per-tenant limits can be configured, and data is separated by tenant paths in object storage.
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4. Why does Mimir's Ingester upload blocks to object storage?
* A) Improve real-time query performance
* B) Persist data from memory to disk
* C) Store alerting rules
* D) Back up dashboard settings
Show Answer
**Answer: B) Persist data from memory to disk**
**Explanation:** Ingester first stores received time series data in memory, then periodically (default 2 hours) creates TSDB blocks and uploads them to object storage. This ensures data is permanently stored and minimizes data loss even if an Ingester fails.
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5. What is the correct role of Mimir's Compactor?
* A) Real-time query processing
* B) Merge small blocks into large blocks and deduplicate
* C) Metrics collection
* D) Alert transmission
Show Answer
**Answer: B) Merge small blocks into large blocks and deduplicate**
**Explanation:** Compactor merges (compacts) small blocks in object storage into larger blocks, removes duplicate data, and deletes old data according to retention policies. This improves query performance and reduces storage costs.
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6. Which is NOT a function provided by Mimir's Query-frontend?
* A) Large query splitting
* B) Result caching
* C) Data storage
* D) Query retries
Show Answer
**Answer: C) Data storage**
**Explanation:** Query-frontend is a stateless component responsible for query optimization and caching. It splits large queries into smaller queries, caches results, and retries failed queries. Data storage is handled by Ingester (short-term) and object storage (long-term).
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7. When comparing Mimir with VictoriaMetrics, which is a correct characteristic of Mimir?
* A) Only local disk available
* B) Lower operational complexity
* C) Object storage required, enterprise-grade multi-tenancy
* D) Uses MetricsQL query language
Show Answer
**Answer: C) Object storage required, enterprise-grade multi-tenancy**
**Explanation:** Mimir requires object storage and provides native multi-tenancy, making it suitable for enterprise environments. VictoriaMetrics also supports local disk and is simpler to operate, but Mimir has excellent integration with the Grafana ecosystem.
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8. What is the role of Store-gateway in Mimir?
* A) Metrics collection
* B) Cache object storage blocks and process historical data queries
* C) Alert rule evaluation
* D) Tenant authentication
Show Answer
**Answer: B) Cache object storage blocks and process historical data queries**
**Explanation:** Store-gateway caches indexes and chunks of blocks stored in object storage and processes queries for historical data. Querier retrieves recent data from Ingester and historical data from Store-gateway, then merges them.
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9. What is the role of the `compactor_blocks_retention_period` setting in Mimir?
* A) Memory cache retention period
* B) Set block data retention period
* C) Log retention period
* D) Alert history retention period
Show Answer
**Answer: B) Set block data retention period**
**Explanation:** `compactor_blocks_retention_period` sets the period that Compactor retains blocks. For example, setting it to `365d` deletes blocks older than 1 year. This setting helps manage storage costs and meet compliance requirements.
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10. Which is NOT a recommendation for Mimir high availability configuration?
* A) Minimum 3 Ingester replicas, zone-aware replication
* B) Minimum 2 Store-gateway replicas
* C) Deploy all components in a single availability zone
* D) Enable caching with memcached
Show Answer
**Answer: C) Deploy all components in a single availability zone**
**Explanation:** For high availability, components should be distributed across multiple availability zones (AZ). Mimir supports zone-aware replication to distribute Ingesters across multiple AZs. Deploying in a single AZ causes complete service disruption if that AZ fails.