In database storage design, is the general guideline that larger block (page) sizes suit OLTP workloads while smaller blocks suit decision support systems (DSS) and data warehousing?

Introduction / Context:
This item tests your understanding of how database page or block size interacts with different workload patterns: Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) versus Decision Support Systems (DSS) or data warehousing. Choosing an appropriate page size affects I/O efficiency, buffer utilization, and contention.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Page (block) size determines how much data is read with each physical I/O.
• OLTP workloads perform many short, highly selective reads and writes of small rows.
• DSS/warehousing workloads scan large ranges and aggregate many rows.

Concept / Approach:
Smaller blocks reduce overfetch for point lookups and narrow range scans frequent in OLTP. Larger blocks increase sequential throughput for large scans common in DSS. Thus, the statement in the prompt has the directions reversed.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Identify OLTP access: selective lookups and frequent updates.Smaller blocks limit unnecessary data movement and reduce latch/lock contention.Identify DSS access: table scans, star-join aggregations, and long-running queries.Larger blocks improve sequential I/O and prefetch efficiency for wide scans.

Verification / Alternative check:
Vendor guidelines generally recommend smaller blocks for OLTP and larger for analytics, subject to row size and storage engine specifics.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Valid in general reverses the real guideline. Only for in-memory is irrelevant because block size matters primarily for disk I/O. Depends only on indexing ignores workload and I/O path. RAID 10 only is a storage detail, not the determining factor.

Common Pitfalls:
Assuming one universal page size fits all; ignoring row width and access patterns; forgetting that very large pages may increase buffer churn for point queries.

Final Answer:
Invalid in general — OLTP benefits from smaller blocks, DSS from larger blocks