Table of contents
1.
Introduction
2.
Why Should You Get This Certification?
3.
Skills Required
4.
Preparation Strategy
5.
Job Opportunities
6.
Resources for Preparation
6.1.
Introduction
6.2.
ER diagrams and Relational Models
6.3.
Database Design and Normalisation
6.4.
File Organisation
6.5.
Indexing in Databases
7.
Frequently Asked Questions
7.1.
What is a Data Guard?
7.2.
What does the Data Guard Administrator do?
7.3.
How does Oracle Data Guard work?
7.4.
What are the benefits of using Oracle Data Guard?
7.5.
What is the difference between the Oracle RAC and Data Guard?
8.
Conclusion
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024

Oracle Certified Expert, Oracle Database 12c: Data Guard Administrator

Author Abhay Trivedi
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Introduction

Oracle Certified Expert, Oracle Database 12c: Data Guard Administrator is a certification for DBA(Database Administrators) who have experience in developing a physical and a logical standby database, and operating Oracle Net Services in a data guard environment. 

They utilize the Oracle active data guard, setting and monitoring the data guard broker configuration, and configuring data protection modes among others. This exam proves your fluency and a solid understanding of the Oracle Data Guard concepts, configuration, management, optimization and monitoring, data protection, high availability, and disaster recovery. Earning this certification displays your commitment to continuing to advance your skills and knowledge.

Why Should You Get This Certification?

By passing this exam, a certified individual proves a solid understanding of Oracle Data Guard concepts, configuration, management, optimization and monitoring, data protection, high availability, and disaster recovery. 

It shows you can create a High Availability or Disaster Recovery solution for an Oracle Database ecosystem and gain knowledge of Workload offload capabilities available in Data Guard. This is crucial knowledge if you are a DBA responsible for availability and performance. Master the features and capabilities of Clusterware, ASM(Automatic Storage Management), ACFS(ASM Cluster File System), RAC(Reservation Against Cancellation) Databases, and Data Guard beyond the skills you demonstrated to earn the Oracle Certified Master credential. Use these features to provide a robust, highly available, high-performance platform. 

  • This elite certification, Oracle Database 12c Maximum Availability Certified Master, is for Database Systems Administrators responsible for High Availability, Disaster Recovery, or both.
     
  • Ideal candidates have four to five years of Database Administration with two to three years of Grid Infrastructure, including Clusterware, ASM, and ACFS, and two to three years of RAC Databases and Data guards.
     
  • Database Systems Administrators responsible for High Availability, Disaster Recovery, or both can earn this elite certification by earning three challenging Oracle Database certifications.
     
  • Oracle Database 12c Administrator Certified Master Oracle Certified Expert, Oracle Database 12c: Data Guard Administration Oracle Certified Expert, Oracle Database 12c: RAC and Grid Infrastructure Administration Each of these certifications challenges your knowledge and pushes the limits of your database skills.
     
  • Together, they make you a Database powerhouse, earning you the distinct recognition of the Oracle Certified Master, Oracle Database 12c Maximum Availability certification.

Skills Required

To become an Oracle Certified Expert, Oracle Database 12c: Data Guard Administrator, you must be acquainted with the following skills.

  • Active Data Guard: An Active Data Guard is a comprehensive solution to eradicate single points of failure for mission-critical Oracle Databases. It stops data loss and downtime simply and economically by preserving a synchronized physical replica (standby) of a production database (primary).
     
  • Data Guard: Data Guard is a disaster recovery solution provided by Oracle Corporation that has been utilized in the industry extensively at times of Primary site failure, failover, and switchover scenarios.
     
  • Data Guard Broker: An Oracle Data Guard Broker is a centralized framework that automates an Oracle Data Guard configuration's configuration, management, and monitoring. Oracle Data Guard Broker further improves Oracle RAC by delivering apply instance failover for Oracle RAC standby databases.
     
  • Flashback Database: In Oracle databases, Flashback tools let administrators and users view and manipulate past states of an instance's data without recovering to a fixed point in time. Compare the functionality of Oracle LogMiner, which identifies how and when data changed rather than its state at a given time.
     
  • Oracle Net Services: Oracle Net Services allows a network session from a client application to the Oracle database server. Once the network session is established, Oracle Net serves as the data courier for the client application and the database server. It is responsible for establishing and supporting the connection between the client application and the database server and exchanging messages.

Preparation Strategy

Oracle provides some paid resources, which you can check out at Oracle Database Learning Subscription.

Prior Certifications(Optional):

 

Format: Multiple Choice

Duration: 150 Minutes

Exam Price: ₹18,447

Number of Questions: 92

Passing score: 61%

Validation: The exam has been validated for version 12.1.0.2.

Before taking any exam, you must know about exam topics, have a look at the same below!

Oracle Data Guard Basics
Describe the Architecture of Oracle Data Guard. Illustrate Data Guard use with the Oracle Multi-tennant databases.
Explain the applicability between physical & logical standby and snapshot databases. Demonstrate the benefits of implementing Oracle Data Guard.

 

Creating a Physical Standby Database Using Enterprise Manager Cloud Control
Edit database properties related to Data Guard. Verify a Data Guard configuration.
Create a physical standby database. Test a Data Guard configuration.
Create a Data Guard broker configuration.

 

Managing Oracle Net Services in the Data Guard Environment
Configure client connectivity in Data Guard configuration. Using Application Continuity in Data Guard Environment.
Implement failover procedures to redirect clients to a new primary database automatically.

 

Creating a Physical Standby Database Using the SQL and RMAN Commands
Create a physical standby database using the DUPLICATE TARGET DATABASE FOR STANDBY FROM ACTIVE DATABASE RMAN command. Configure the primary database & Oracle Net Services to support the creation of the physical standby database and the role transition.

 

Using Oracle Active Data Guard
Allow RMAN block change tracking for a physical standby database. Using Temporary Undo. Global Sequences and Session Sequences.
Use Real-time Query to access data on the physical standby database. Using Automatic Block Media Recovery.
Configure Real-Time Cascading Use Far Sync to expand zero data loss protection for intercontinental configurations.

 

Creating & Managing a Snapshot Standby Database
Restore a snapshot standby database to a physical standby database. Make a snapshot standby database to meet the requirement for a temporary, updatable snapshot of a physical standby database.

 

Creating a Logical Standby Database
Decide when to create a logical standby database.
Manage SQL Apply filtering. Create a logical standby database.

 

Oracle Data Guard Broker Basics
Explain the benefits of Data Guard broker. Describe the Data Guard broker architecture.
Describe the Data Guard broker components. Describe Data Guard broker configurations.

 

Creating a Data Guard Broker Configuration
Manage the Data Guard broker configuration. Create a Data Guard broker configuration.

 

Monitoring a Data Guard Broker Configuration
Invoke DGMGRL to manage your Data Guard configuration. Use Enterprise Manager to manage your Data Guard configuration.

 

Configuring Data Protection Modes
Describe the data protection modes. Change the data protection mode of your configuration.

 

Performing Role Transitions
Explain the database roles Perform a switchover
Perform a failover

 

Using Flashback Database in a Data Guard Configuration
Explain the advantages of using Flashback Database in a Data Guard configuration. Configure Flashback Database

 

Enabling Fast-Start Failover
Configure fast-start failover Perform role changes in a fast-start failover configuration.
Manually reinstate the primary database. View information about the fast-start failover configuration.
Manage the observer

 

Backup and Recovery Considerations in an Oracle Data Guard Configuration
Use Recovery Manager (RMAN) to back up and restore files in a Data Guard configuration. Offload backups to a physical standby database.
Recovering databases in a Data Guard Environment. Managing Archive Redo Logs in a Data Guard Environment.

 

Patching and Upgrading Databases in a Data Guard Configuration
Patch and upgrade databases using traditional patch methods. Perform rolling upgrades

 

Optimizing a Data Guard Configuration
Monitor configuration performance Optimize redo transport for best performance.
Optimize SQL Apply

 

Job Opportunities

After passing the Oracle Certified Expert, Oracle Database 12c: Data Guard Administrator course, you could become a Database Administrator or Data Guard Administrator. This post is high in demand and generously paid as well. Let's look at some of the figures.

Employees who know Data Guard earn an average of ₹19.3lakhs, mostly ranging from ₹12.0lakhs per year to ₹36.4lakhs per year. The top 10% of employees make more than ₹25.8lakhs per year.

The salary figures mentioned above are subject to change.

Resources for Preparation

Confused where to start? 😕

Here's Coding Ninjas to the rescue. Please go through our well-structured resources below, which will help you prepare for the certification and ace it like a ninja! 🐱‍👤

Introduction

ER diagrams and Relational Models

Database Design and Normalisation

File Organisation

Indexing in Databases

We also have articles containing popular questions from the overall syllabus, apart from these particular topics. We have given the links to those articles below.

Visit our Database Management System library and DBMS - Database Management Systems guided path to find all the resources in a structured form. 

You can also view our articles on Data Structures and AlgorithmsCompetitive ProgrammingInterview Questions, and Basics of Java with Data Structures and Algorithms.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Data Guard?

Data Guard is a disaster recovery solution provided by Oracle Corporation that has been utilized in the industry extensively at times of Primary site failure, failover, and switchover scenarios.

What does the Data Guard Administrator do?

Data Guard Administrator provides a comprehensive set of services that create, maintain, manage, and monitor one or more standby databases to enable the production of Oracle databases to survive disasters and data corruptions. The Data Guard Administrator maintains these standby databases as transactionally consistent copies of the production database.

How does Oracle Data Guard work?

Oracle Data Guard supports these standby databases as copies of the production database. Then, suppose the production database becomes unavailable because of a planned or unplanned outage. In that case, Oracle Data Guard can switch any standby database to the production role, minimizing the downtime associated with the blackout.

What are the benefits of using Oracle Data Guard?

Following are the different advantages of using the Oracle Data Guard feature in your environment.

  • High Availability.
  • Data Protection.
  • Offloading Backup operation to standby database.
  • Automatic Role Transition using Data Guard Broker.
  • Automatic Gap detection & Resolution in standby database.

What is the difference between the Oracle RAC and Data Guard?

RAC has one database and several associated instances, but the Data Guard Administrator has several databases (one primary & others standby databases). RAC is the recommended solution, for example, software and hardware-level failures.

Conclusion

This article gives information about Oracle Certified Expert, Oracle Database 12c: Data Guard Administrator. Being an Oracle Certified Expert, Oracle Database 12c: Data Guard Administrator, you must be well-versed with the concepts you have learned.

Here are some of the blogs you must check out:

Refer to our guided paths on Coding Ninjas Studio to learn more about DSA, Competitive Programming, JavaScript, System Design, etc. Enroll in our courses and refer to the mock test and problems available. Take a look at the interview experiences and interview bundle for placement preparations. Also, Check our CN Library for free online coding resources.

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