MySQL 5.1 Cluster Certification Guide online Preview!

Wow!

I just read Martin "MC" Brown's blog announcing that a number of chapters are now available online for preview.

Personally, I think this is a good move. I think the online chapters provide a nice insight what the book is like. I can ensure you that there is lots and lots more to see in the other chapters. I can honestly and without reservation recommend this book to everybody that wants to read a recent reference book on MySQL Cluster, and those that want to obtain the 5.1 Cluster DBA certification exam in particular.

Now it must be noted that I am a co-author for this book, and author of the MySQL 5.1 Cluster DBA exam so my recommendations are hardly objective. However, I don't receive any royalties for the book (or for the exams) - my contributions were just part of my time working with MySQL AB. So, when I say that MC Brown is right when he says that:

...there is only one guide that you need, the MySQL 5.1 Cluster DBA Certification Study Guide

then I mean that sincerely - this is the book you'll want. Pick up your copy here.

Errata page for the MySQL 5.1 Cluster Certification Study Guide

I am very pleased to announce that we - that is, our excellent documentation team - set up the errata page for the MySQL 5.1 Cluster Certification Study Guide!. For those that don't know, this guide is the official and authoritative guide to prepare for the Certified MySQL 5.1 Cluster DBA exam. Apart from being a study guide, it is probably the most up-to-date text on MySQL Cluster.

As more people are buying a copy, we are receiving more and more feedback. It's mostly positive, but one of the things that is becoming more and more clear is that a number of the illustrations aren't as clear in print as they should be. So we decided to put most of these on the errata page, along with corrections to any textual errors.

So, if you bought a copy, take a look. Or if you are just curious what the pictures look like and want to get a feel for what this book is about, feel free to take a look too. Of course, if you have the book and want to notify us of some error or irregularity, feel free to contact me or the team. You can email us at certification at mysql dot com.

MySQL Cluster Study Guide getting good comments

One of the major projects I worked on last year was the MySQL 5.1 Cluster DBA certification. I did the background research to come up with a sensible scope and outline of the exam, wrote most of the questions and actively looked for feedback from our cluster engineering and development team as well as consultants that are deploying MySQL Cluster in real-world situation.

For example, I got great feedback on the exam from MySQL Cluster Senior Software Engineer Stewart Smith

...Response from the exam is overwhelmingly positive and as it’s new, afterwards I discussed a few questions with Roland (in fact, all the ones I got wrong). The (good!?) news is that I legitimately brain-farted on some.

... this isn’t some trivial know-a-tiny-bit-and-score-really-high certification...this is a serious one).

I may have heard at some point one of our people saying they thought it was the best certification exam we have...

I guess that could've turned out worse, heh? ;-)


I was also involved in the preparation and coordination of the creation of the accompanying study guide, did a fair share of reviewing the content and eventually I authored almost 3 chapters.

All in all it was a big project, and I learned a great deal in the process. Unfortunately, due to a number of reasons it took a while before we could actually publish the book, but now that we did, we are getting a number of pretty good comments. Take for example, Alan Snelson ordered the book at lulu.com en judging from his blog he enjoyed it a lot:

I booked the exam a couple of weeks ago thinking I might need some incentive to fully digest MySQL Cluster details. I need not have worried, the book provides a great introduction to MySQL Cluster in easy-to-read chapters bringing you up to speed in no time, much more entertaining than the reference manual!

Thanks Alan for your kind words! I'm glad you passed the exam.

Are you curious about the MySQL Cluster Certification? You can read more about it in the candidate guide, and if you feel lucky, you can even take a free evaluation test before you sign up for the real thing.

Enjoy, and good luck with your Exams ;-)