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 ;-)

MySQL Cluster Certification and Study Guide

About a week ago, I wrote about the upcoming Certification for MySQL Cluster and that you can take the exam at the MySQL Conference and Expo. I promised then to write some more about why we are offering this certification and also about the cluster certification study guide.

Cluster Certification, Why?

MySQL just released the MySQL Carrier Grade Edition, which is a special edition of MySQL Cluster that is especially targeted at the telecom market. A large number of people attended an online webinar about this edition, clearly showing that MySQL Cluster fills a gap in the marketplace. (Download webinars here)

In MySQL version 5.1, a number or important additions and improvements have been made to the cluster technology. MySQL Cluster is becoming increasingly popular, and new features such as disk-based storage and cluster master/slave replication are likely to increase its popularity even more.

Thanks to Jon Stephens, the MySQL Cluster documentation in the reference manual has radically improved and expanded, and even the cluster API as been documented.

All in all, the time is right for MySQL AB to introduce a MySQL Cluster certification product, in addition to developing a new training course for MySQL Cluster 5.1.

Who should be interested?

By offering a Cluster certification, we are providing an instrument for employers to recognize those professionals that are sufficiently equipped to install, design, configure, tune and monitor a MySQL 5.1 Cluster. Any MySQL DBA that has set up a MySQL cluster once, can testify that it takes more than just traditional MySQL DBA skills to manage a production MySQL Cluster.

Based on the judgments of our own MySQL Cluster developers, our experienced trainers as well as MySQL Cluster DBAs from the community, we feel that passing the cluster certification exam is a pretty solid indication that a DBA will be successful in managing a MySQL cluster. Failing the exam almost certainly means that the necessary knowledge and experience are lacking in certain areas, and that it will take more training, time and efforts to acquire these.

MySQL Cluster certification can be attained by MySQL 5.0 Certified DBAs that want to distinguish themselves from traditional DBAs. We require that candidates are already MySQL 5.0 Certified DBAs, because a lot of the skills required to manage MySQL Cluster necessitate deep knowledge and experience about MySQL database administration. Simply put, we believe that it is impossible to be a good MySQL Cluster database administrator without being a good MySQL database administrator. The exam would become too lengthy if we would have to cover the normal DBA topics such as backup and recovery, security and performance tuning too, and therefore we require proof that these skills have already been acquired.

The MySQL 5.1 Cluster Certification exam

I expect the exam to be generally available in March 2007. As soon as the details are known we will announce cluster certification in a more formal manner, but the price and the procedures for signing up and taking the exam will be pretty much as ususal.

Like all exams, the MySQL 5.1 Cluster Certification exam will cost 200 $US. Candidates will be able to sign up for a certification exam on the Pearson/VUE website, and take it in one of their testing centers. If you are coming to the MySQL Users conference, you can take the exam for 25 $US instead of 200 $US.

The exam itself consists of 70 multiple choice questions, which have to be answered within 90 minutes. An important difference with the prior exams is that the cluster exam is completely homogenous. Each question has exactly 4 answers, and only of those must be selected. So, no more "check all that apply", it's always: "pick-one-out-of-four".

For an outline of the exam contents, take a look at the relevant section of the MySQL Certification Candidate Guide

The MySQL 5.1 Cluster Certification Study Guide

I already mentioned a study guide is being prepared for the cluster certification. It is a great pleasure for me to introduce you to the authors:

• Jon Stephens, technical writer for MySQL AB. Jon is also author of the MySQL Cluster documentation in the reference manual and the NDB API documentation.


• Mike Kruckenberg, Co-Author of Pro MySQL and a professional Database Administrator


• Solomon Chang, founding member of LAMPSIG of Los Angeles and a professional Database Administrator


• Stewart Smith, Software Engineer for MySQL AB and part of the MySQl Cluster development team.

I'm really greatful for this mix of members from the community and employees from MySQL AB. It just could not've turned out any better! Note that both Stewart and Mike will also be speaking at the MySQL Users Conference and Expo: Mike will be talking about the MySQL information schema, and Stewart will be doing quite a number of sessions on MySQL Cluster.

Currently, the study guide is being reviewed by the external reviewers. We can't disclose all details concerning publication, pricing and availability yet, but to give you an idea, here are the contents at a glance:

• Part I: Foreword and Introduction
  
  
  • Preface
  
  


• Part II: Components and Processes
  
  
  • Cluster Concepts
  
  
  • Architecture and Organization
  
  
  • Cluster Processes


• Part III: Usage
  
  
  • Software Configuration
  
  
  • Deployment
  
  
  • Cluster Management
  
  


• Part IV: Internals
  
  
  • The NDB Storage Engine
  
  
  • Performance and Tuning
  
  


• Part V: Data Safety
  
  
  • Cluster Backup and Recovery
  
  
  • Cluster External Replication


• Part VI: Problems
  
  
  • Security Issues
  
  
  • Troubleshooting and Problem Solving


• Part VII: Appendices
  
  
  • Errors
  
  
  • Schemas and Configurations used in Examples and Exercises
  
  
  • MySQL Cluster Glossary

Cluster Certification and the MySQL User's Conference

So far, I've never blogged about the work I've been doing for the MySQL Certification Team. Time to change that: I'd like to tell you a little bit more about the things I've been doing since I joined MySQL AB.

I started in July 2006 and from the on, I've been almost exclusively occupied with activities to develop certification for MySQL 5.1 Cluster.
A summary of the things I have done so far:

• Working with the training department to design an outline for the cluster exam


• Interviewing MySQL Cluster developers to check all kinds of facts and details of the behaviour of MySQL 5.1 Cluster


• Creating, reviewing and editing numerous items for the cluster exam


• Working with the documentation department to align the exam with the development of a MySQL 5.1 Cluster Certification Study Guide


• Reviewing chapters and exercises for the MySQL 5.1 Cluster Certification Study Guide

Cluster Certification and the MySQL User's Conference

I'm also very excited to be speaking about MySQL Cluster Certification at the MySQL User Conference and Expo (April 23 through 26, in Santa Clara, CA).



I'll be giving a MySQL Cluster Certification Primer on the Monday morning. Kai Voigt, who was an enormous help during the development of the cluster exam, will be giving a MySQL 5.0 DBA I Certification Primer, and Sarah Sproehnle will be giving the MySQL 5.0 DBA II Certification Primer.

If you like, you can get certified at the conference. At the UC, Certification exams cost 25 US$. That's just a little more than a tenth of normal price (200 US$)! I will be around to proctor various MySQL Certification Exams, including the MySQL 5.1. Certified Cluster DBA Exam.

I'll be writing some more about the new MySQL Cluster Certification and the corresponding study guide in a few days. In the mean time, check out the Cluster Section in the MySQL Certification Candidate Guide.

See you at the UC!