Teradata: From Zero to Advanced Training Course

Introduction to Teradata

Module 1: Teradata Fundamentals and Architecture

• What is Teradata and what is it used for?
• Parallel architecture: AMPs, PEs, BYNET
• Data distribution and hashing
• Key concepts: sessions, spool, locks
• Connecting to the system: Teradata Studio, BTEQ, SQL Assistant

Module 2: Introduction to SQL in Teradata

• Basic SELECT, WHERE, ORDER BY
• Data types and casting
• Mathematical and date functions
• Using aliases and CASE expressions
• Teradata-specific operators (TOP, QUALIFY, SAMPLE)
• Guided practice: querying real tables

Module 3: Joins, Subqueries and Set Operators

• INNER, LEFT, RIGHT, FULL OUTER JOIN
• Joins without an ON clause (Cartesian products)
• Scalar and correlated subqueries
• UNION, INTERSECT, MINUS
• Practical exercises in data integration

Module 4: Analytical Functions and OLAP

• RANK(), ROW_NUMBER(), DENSE_RANK()
• Data partitioning with PARTITION BY
• Windowing with OVER() and ORDER BY
• LAG(), LEAD(), FIRST_VALUE()
• Use cases: KPIs, trends, running totals

Module 5: Data and Table Management

• Table types: permanent, volatile, global temporary
• Creating and using secondary indexes and join indexes
• Inserting, updating and deleting records
• MERGE, UPSERT and duplicate control
• Transactions and lock management

Module 6: Optimisation and Performance Tuning

• The Teradata Optimiser: how execution plans are determined
• Using EXPLAIN and COLLECT STATISTICS
• Data skew and how to avoid it
• Best practices for query design
• Identifying bottlenecks (spool usage, locks, redistribution)
• Practice: comparing optimised versus non-optimised queries

Module 7: Data Partitioning and Compression

• Partitioning types: Range, Case, Multi-Level
• Benefits and practical application in large queries
• Block Level Compression (BLC) and Columnar Compression
• Advantages and limitations

Module 8: Data Loading and Extraction

• TPT (Teradata Parallel Transporter) versus FastLoad and MultiLoad
• Bulk loading versus batch insertion
• Error handling and retry mechanisms
• Exporting results to files or external systems
• Basic automation using scripts and utilities

Module 9: Basic Administration for Technical Users

• Roles and permissions
• Resource control (Query Bands, Priority Scheduler)
• Monitoring with DBQLOGTBL, DBC.Tables, ResUsage
• Best practices for shared environments

Module 10: Final Integration Lab

• End-to-end practical case:
  • Data loading
  • Transformation and aggregation
  • Building indicators using OLAP functions
  • Optimisation and explanation
  • Final export
• Discussion of best practices and common pitfalls