As Published In March/April 2004

Oracle Certified Master
By Jim DiIanni

Become an Oracle9i DBA Certified Master.

The highest level of certification that an Oracle Certified Professional can achieve is the Oracle9i Database Administrator Certified Master. Commonly referred to as the Oracle Certified Master (OCM) practicum, this certification significantly raises the bar with respect to rigorous hands-on testing. The OCM is Oracle University's response to the industry's need to effectively test candidates on their ability to perform in a real-world, live application environment and is a test of both knowledge and experience. The OCM truly tests an individual's competency in working in an Oracle9i Database environment.

The Oracle9i Database Administrator Certified Master certification consists of a two-day on-site practicum that is conducted in an Oracle University classroom. There are currently six locations worldwide that offer the practicum: Chicago; Düsseldorf, Germany; Reading, U.K.; Seoul, Korea; Hong Kong, China; and Tokyo, Japan.

Each OCM candidate is provided with her/his own dedicated server that has both the Oracle9i Database and United Linux installed. A complete Oracle9i documentation set is available on the server. Over the course of two days, candidates are given scenarios in which they are asked to perform technical tasks that require setup, diagnostics, troubleshooting, and problem resolution. Scenarios must be completed within a specific time, which requires candidates to use an organized approach, tap into their expertise, and deploy best practices in order to effectively complete the stated tasks. There are no multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank questions on the practicum.

Consequently, you will not see a series of questions in this column. I'll focus more on what to expect, how best to prepare for the practicum, and general guidelines to use when taking the practicum.

Prior to sitting for the practicum, OCM candidates must have achieved the Oracle9i Database Administrator Certified Professional credential, and they must have attended two advanced technology courses from Oracle University. Additionally, it is highly recommended that candidates have a minimum of three to four years of practical experience with managing complex Oracle database applications. As the final step before taking the practicum, candidates should review the practicum objectives, set up a representative test environment, and work through scenarios that are associated with each of the stated practicum requirements.

OCM Practicum Content

The OCM practicum content focuses on eight primary topic areas:

• Database configuration
• Oracle network configuration
• Oracle enterprise manager setup and configuration
• Database availability
• Data management
• Database management
• Performance management
• Standby database and Data Guard

An OCM candidate must satisfy specific performance objectives associated with each content area. For example, in the standby database and Data Guard content area a candidate must create and set up a standby database. Once that task is complete, then the candidate must perform tasks that take advantage of the features and functionality of the standby database, such as communicating between the primary and the standby databases, transferring data from the primary to the standby database, and possibly performing a failover to the standby database. Think of why a standby database would be employed and the situations that would warrant its use.

Preparing for the OCM Practicum

How does someone prepare for the OCM? Unlike other certification tests that are composed of multiple-choice questions, the OCM practicum requires candidates to practice in a real-world environment. A successful OCM candidate will be the person who practices in an Oracle9i Database and Linux environment and then practices tasks associated with the performance objectives for each OCM content area. There are three primary steps in preparing for the practicum.

The first step is to gain familiarity with the operating system environment. I want to emphasize that the intent of the practicum is to test an individual's knowledge of Oracle9i Database and does not focus on detailed operating system functionality or configuration. Therefore, only a basic understanding of operating system commands is necessary. A candidate should know how to copy, move, and delete a file, navigate between directories, and be able to execute programs from the command-line prompt.

Attendance in the required Oracle University advanced courses exposes an OCM candidate to basic UNIX commands that carry over into the Linux environment. Red Hat Linux can be downloaded and installed for purposes of preparing for the practicum; the Red Hat Linux environments are comparable to those in United Linux. Remember that only fundamental Linux commands are used during the OCM practicum.

The Konqueror GUI provides a Windows-like environment and is included with the system installation for the practicum. Many of the basic operating system commands required on the practicum can be performed using GUI functionality.

The second step in preparing for the practicum is to use an Oracle9i Database environment. Oracle9i Release 9.0.2 is used for the practicum, and that is the version I recommend you use. You can download it from Oracle Technology Network (OTN) at otn.oracle.com/software. Once Oracle9i Database software is installed, create a custom database using the various types of tablespaces and data segments. Using the resources available, you can completely simulate an OCM practicum environment on a laptop or desktop machine.

The third step in preparing for the practicum is to physically perform tasks associated with each of the objectives for the practicum. Limiting your preparation to only reading the manuals will not adequately prepare you for two days of rigorous hands-on testing. In addition to performing tasks for each of the objectives, a successful OCM candidate will practice by creating database failures and then performing restore and recovery operations.

A fully prepared OCM candidate will be a person who has spent time executing Oracle programs and utilities in a Linux environment. This list includes the RMAN utility, Oracle Net Manager, Oracle Net Configuration Assistant, Oracle Enterprise Manager, Listener Utility, Oracle Management Server, Oracle Password Utility, and the Database Creation Assistant. You'll also benefit by being familiar with where the operating system level executables are located.

OCM candidates should ask themselves whether they can recover from the loss of an online redo log file, the loss of control files, and the loss of a data file. Better yet, can the OCM candidate prevent database failures by properly configuring the database environment, and do they have the appropriate backups for restore or recovery operations? Remember that OCM candidates are responsible for managing their machines during the practicum, and employing proper management practices factors into successful completion of the test scenarios. Successful Oracle9i Database administrators proactively manage their database environments by ensuring that sufficient memory is allocated for the System Global Area, that redo log files are appropriately sized, and that backups are taken on a regular basis. The situation is no different for OCM candidates; they are expected to manage their servers as though they were operating in a real-world environment.

General Guidelines While Taking the Practicum

If an OCM candidate adequately prepares for the practicum, the most important thing to do is relax. If an OCM candidate has not prepared for the practicum, then hopefully she/he has a refundable airline ticket, because I would recommend getting the refund and not attending the practicum. Each day of the practicum is long, with short breaks in between scenarios and a short lunch break.

The most important tip I can give for taking the practicum is to spend time reading through a scenario and then planning accordingly before starting the scenario. This is no different than taking a test in college and reading through the entire question before answering. Understand the point from which the scenario starts as well as the final objectives that are to be accomplished. This approach will enable OCM candidates to use their time wisely and significantly increase their chances of successfully completing the scenario. An OCM candidate must understand that successful completion of a scenario does not necessarily mean completing all of the stated tasks. Two of the most important things OCM candidates can do are:

1. Back up their data, and ensure they can restore and recover if necessary.
2. Finish the scenario with the end state as specified in the scenario itself.

On each candidate's server is a documentation set that is searchable via keywords, but many keywords appear in many different books. So another tip is to know in advance where to look in the documentation for information on how to accomplish a task.

Next Steps GET certified Visit oracle.com/education/certification for more information about the Oracle Certification Program. BECOME a master Read detailed information about the Oracle9i Database Administrator Certified Master practicum.

For the most part during the practicum, OCM candidates have access to the full suite of Oracle tools that are necessary to effectively manage an Oracle9i database. Candidates can bring no additional tools with them, but from the Oracle tools provided, OCM candidates can choose the tools they consider to be the most appropriate for accomplishing a task. An example is that OCM candidates can create their own scripts during the practicum, or they can use Recovery Manager to back up data and to perform a restore and recovery if necessary. The successful OCM candidate will be the one who can perform the recovery in a manner that minimizes downtime and results in no data loss.

Conclusion

This column concludes the discussion about preparation and strategy associated with the Oracle9i DBA Certified Master practicum. The Oracle9i DBA Certified Master home page lists the minimum participant skills, discusses the practicum environment, and lists the advanced courses that qualify as prerequisites.

My next column will provide examples that are representative of the types of content an OCM candidate may encounter during the practicum.