Hi all,
I want to first say thanks for Gilson and his whole team in GoldenGateBR for the very pleasant time on last Thursday’s conversation!
We spoke a bit of everything, but mostly over career, my historic on the community, and of course the grepOra blog.
Also many thanks for the ones who could connect and stay connected up to the end of the video. Here is the recording, if you will (it’s in Portuguese!).
Hi all,
Not long ago the was a program by Oracle which gave access to PCI training and certification for free. As several people still wanted to take their chance on the exams, there were an extension on with more openings. I blogged about it here
During the last days studying for the OCI free certifications. Well, let´s say that I procrastinated a bit and along with moving countries with my family, COVID the lockdown and all that comes with it, I managed to pass on 5 out of the 6 OCI certifications that are available, I did not enroll on the Dev one once I knew that Kubernetes and OCI Functions were the type of beast that I was not planning to tackle.
Here are they in order:
And yes I did the Architect Professional prior the Architect Associate, let´s call a miss on schedule from my part – to say the least.
I did all video trainings and some more than one time and read a lot of the documentation. Also asked to collegues and peers how the exams were as soon as I saw they passed in the exams that I was aamin to.
While not working with cloud nor with OCI every day I knew that I needed to put a few extra hours but it not that big of a deal. so if you dont work with cloud and want to get in the game, you sure can do it. Oracle has the free trial and the always free tier that you can levarage from. Mine expired in the middle of the studing so I needed to get creative with the demos that are avaliable and on the last day prior my last exam I was able to get access to my corp´s tenancy (thanks a lot guys) to resolve some cases which I still needed.
The demos from the trainings are not 100% specialy on the Database service side. I was expecting more, there are great demos from Rohit Rahi and Flávio Pereira and others. So I strong recommand that you follow along. My tip goes to increasing the video speed to 1.5x That really helped my to get focus and to move a bit faster to get all done prior each exam.
My scores ranged from 74% upt to 92% and in my opnion the Architect Associate was the most dificult due its questions type not the content it self. As most of the questions were specific to OCI features and services and not related to desing, some trick questions- To me these make the exams less enjoyable. I had no OCI CLI questions which I though It would be also covered.
I would like to thank my family to put up with me for the last week of testing and to Oracle and Oracle Cloud teams which providded the trainings and the exams vouchers.
Cheers
Elisson Almeida
Breaking news all!
New slots for the OCI free exam certifications are open, the earliest that I saw a opening was on July 6th, even the less we now have more time to study and no charge at all!
Click on the link to book your exam for free.
In the last week all slots for the exams were full and I tried to schedule one for me but could not find any stop until May 15th which this program would end but now they are open but dont know until when so rush and schedule yours while they are available.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about. Last March 30th , it was announced that OCI training and certification exams were free for 6 OCI related programs.
This lo’s of people are taking advantage of it as you have quality training (not enough for the certification alone but I will get to it), and most important the with no exam fee.
The trainings are good, video recordings similar to the ones I mentioned here in this post. Why I say it is not enough, because you have access only to the videos, not to any E-Kit related material which is complementary to the training so if you want to practice and get a bit deeper, which you will need if you want to pass, you will have to do some digging on your own.
I managed to take 2 certifications Autonomous Database Specialist and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Foundations Associate. I scheduled 2 more as they are for July I will have time to prepare for them.
Also please read the OCI related FAQ for this program which will clear several points, like you have one free change per exam and If you schedule an exam directly through the Pearson VUE website, you won’t receive this discount.
Hope it helps and good luck
Elisson Almeida
Olá pessoal,
Teremos evento dos GUORS no primeiro semestre, como de costume!
Porém desta vez será online!
Será no dia 21/5 (quinta-feira) as 20:00.
Onde? No conforto de sua casa!
Contaremos com a presença ilustre do Oracle ACE Marcus Vinicius falando sobre OCI for Oracle DBA’s: Introduction and Key Concepts.
Nessa sessão o nosso convidado falará sobre o OCI (Oracle Cloud Infrastructure), conceitos-chave e os desafios de um DBA Oracle na conversão de sua carreira para arquiteto Cloud a partir da perspectiva de quem vive esta experiência cotidianamente.
O Marcus Vinicius é DBA Oracle Sênior, Oracle ACE e possui diversas certificações em Bancos de Dados Oracle. Possui mais de 15 anos de experiência na área. Foi professor de pós-graduação no curso “MBA em Administração de Banco de Dados Oracle” no Veris IBTA, unidades de São Paulo e Campinas. Foi também DBA Oracle e Gerente de Operações na Discover Technology e Consultor Oracle Sênior na Oracle (ACS). Atualmente é Consultor Oracle Sênior na Accenture Enkitec Group. Também é conselheiro técnico do GUOB. Mantém um blog sobre Oracle há mais de 10 anos – https://www.viniciusdba.com.br/blog (não deixa de conhecer o Blog do Vini também!).
Não vai perder essa né?
Faça a sua inscrição AQUI!
Hey all!
This wee we had the opportunity speak to some young minds about IT Platform and a little bit about our daily working routine as DBAs and Application at the LaSalle Innovation and Technology week.
We (Dieison Santos, Marcelo Lermen and myself) gladly had some very interested audience and for that we’d like to thank you very much for the organization for the invitation. Find the complete schedule for the week here.
Also, find our slides here.
Thank you all!
Hey all!
Just passing by to confirm we got invited to speak at the LaSalle Innovation and Technology week. Check out this link and confirm you presence right away!
This is an event open to public (free!) and we’ll be speaking over IT Platform careers.
I said we, because I’l be talking with my friends Dieison Santos (author of this Blog) and Marcelo Lermen.
Find the complete schedule for the week here.
Meet you there!
Cheers!
Another video post!
Almost 2 years ago I spent some time thinking about “Whats is the main characteristics/skills to be a DBA?”..
I wrote 2 posts about:
Whats is the main characteristics/skills of a DBA? [part 1]
Whats is the main characteristics/skills of a DBA? [part 2]
I found a great video with Kerry Osborne talking about what he searches in a guy (or girl) to be a great professional with Oracle… Very interesting:
I’d like to paraphrase Kerry to make my own ‘best moments summary’:
“A little bit of lazyness, a good cue and a lot of calm underpresure and keeping optmimistic.”
Have a nice week!
This is a second round about this post.
In the first part, I listed the top 8 “Personal Characteristics” of a DBA, to me and 7 other authors. Now, let’s do the same about the “Technical Characteristics”, or just “Skills”…
As I said in the first part of, it’s not an usual subject, so, identify and select these skills was not an easy task. Also as in the first part, I made my own list before the search. And I believe in something like that…
# Top 8 DBA Skills:
(By Matheus)
1) Database Architecture
Components, pools, events, basic flow and structure, reports, logs, traces, views, SQL concepts… In a nutshell, how to use a Database.
2) Logic and some Programming Skills
Basic programming skills/logic is needed. Programming best practices, techniques and logics base in, at least, 2 different paradigms.
3) Infrastructure Knowledge
Components that surround or are basic services to DB : Networks, Computer Architecture / processors , Storage , Application Server operation , etc.
4) Data Structs and Database Design/Modeling
After all, it’s what database means: understand about structure of objects, partitioning, indexes, statistics, transactions, data modeling, manipulation tools and data migration.
5) Solid SQL and PL/SQL
As a base of data, you must know where data is, how to get it, how to manipulate it efficiently and aligned with good development practices. Isn’t it?
6) Database and SQL Performance Tuning
Wide and the hardest to archive in my opinion. For archive excellence on it, you’ll need all items above. Database operating knowledge, their pools, optimizers, available resources, development/programming and SQL to find gaps in the code, and infrastructure knowledge to understand possible external interference in the functioning of the DB.
7) Security and Oracle Support Interacting
Knowing good patching management practices, how to apply them, techniques and strategies for patch, upgrade and migration, openness and interaction on SRs, navigation Metalink, seraching and understanding of bugs, backup/recovery (DRs) management, access and possible security gaps in infrastructure, systems, or credentials.
8) Knows the Environment / Applications
To know the main applications of the company where you are, it implementation language, some business rules, the environmental behavior, most normal events, peak hours, the operation of legacy applications, people, company practices and their major gaps is essential.
What do you think about my list?
Here is the lists of 5 important references I found, just to have in mind:
# Burleson
– System analisys and design skills
– Database design skills
– Physical disk storage skills
– Databa Secutiry Skills
– Backup and Recovery Skills
– Change Control Management Skills
(http://www.dba-oracle.com/oracle_tips_dba_job_skills.htm)
# Craig Mullins
– Data modeling and database design
– Metadata managements and respository usage
– Database schema creationg and management
– Backup and recovery
– Ensuring data integrity
– Performance management and tunning
– Ensuring availability
– SQL code reviews and walk-thru
– Procedural skills
– Data security
– Capacity planning
– General database management
– General system managements and networking skills
– ERP and business knowledge
– Extensible datatype administration
– Web-specific technology expertise
– Storage management technics
(http://www.craigsmullins.com/dbta_085.htm)
# Mark Spenik and Orryn Sledge
– Knowledge of Structured Query Language (SQL)
– Sound database design
– General understanding of network architectures (for example, Client/Server, Internet/Intranet, Enterprise)
– Knowledge about the database itself
(http://www.developer.com/db/article.php/718491/What-Is-a-Database-Administrator.htm)
# Oracle
– Installing and upgrading the Oracle server and application tools
– Allocating system storage and planning future storage requirements for the database system
– Creating primary database storage structures (tablespaces) after application developers have designed an application
– Creating primary objects (tables, views, indexes) once application developers have designed an application
– Modifying the database structure, as necessary, from information given by application developers
– Enrolling users and maintaining system security
– Ensuring compliance with your Oracle license agreement
– Controlling and monitoring user access to the database
– Monitoring and optimizing the performance of the database
– Planning for backup and recovery of database information
– Maintaining archived data on tape
– Backing up and restoring the database
– Contacting Oracle Corporation for technical support
(http://www.developer.com/db/article.php/718491/What-Is-a-Database-Administrator.htm)
# Wikipedia
– Communication
– Database theory
– Database design
– Technology knowledgements
– SQL & PL/SQL
– Computing architectures
– Operating Systems
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_administrator)
What do YOU think about it?
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Leave a comment and feel free to share it!
More than a half decade acting as DBA, I still frequently asking myself about what means being a DBA? What is needed for? Or, more precisely: How to achieve the excellence in my job?
Well, I spent the last nights thinking and searching for this subject in the web. You might suppose I found a few answers, right? Yes, of course I found. So, let’s understand and analyze it.
In the first place, let me share with you some pre-steps/conditions: Looking for don’t be 100% reactive and use, at least a little bit of, my gray matter, I decided the structure my own “list” before the search. Then, just in the moment to write, I realized that it’s not so easy to merge Personal Characteristics and Technical Skills. This way, I decided to slipt this analysis in these two topics. As a consequence, in two posts. 🙂
By the way, after this “research” and the results below, but before this post, I quickly read the ebook “How to Become an Exceptional DBA” (2nd edition), by Brad McGehee. I really recommend it. I liked and I suppose you will too.
Another thing to say is that the lists could be infinite. So, I decided to keep my lists just in the “Top 8”. Here it goes what a listed before the search:
DBA’s most important characteristics:
(by Matheus)
1) Passionate
The DBA must to love his job. Have “light in their eyes”, something like excitement about the future. This is the best way to keep motivated, enthusiastic himself.
2) Committed
To have confidence in DBA promises and deadlines is a key factor. The DBA must understand the importance of his job for the health of the IT systems and the business, assume his responsibilities be reliable about everything and everyone. Trustworthy question.
3) Willfull
Something like “be always available to get up at 3:00 AM to help someone with a problem that is not directly your business”. Also counts keep available to help anyone with “just a little SQL doubt”, “just a little query”, “just a little grant” or “just a little project”… You know, embrace any kind of problem and goes right to the solution without any credits/glory behind it. Anyway, it’s just your job. Attitude and proactivity are a keywords too.
4) Innovator
Embraces the change and the challenges. The main difference between the creativity and innovation is that the second really make it happen. The DBA has to read, study, create but, the most important, implement new ideas, processes, tools. If it doesn’t work, it just try again and again. This is the evolution path. And the DBA has to pavement it.
5) Bookish / Like to Study
The DBA will be always a reference in the team. So, is his job to keep “fresh”, reading and having assertiveness answers for the developers, the business stakeholders, the or just the curiousness of anyone. It’s part of the “get confidence” process.
6) Ethics
Is not needed to say that DBA is always working with high critical data and buniness sensitive information. So, is not needed to spend more words to explain how is important this “characteristic”.
7) Communicative
DBA usually spend more time explaining, planning and justifying his actions that more properly doing the actions. Is a huge difference between a DBA and a Developer, in my point of view: The DBA spends hours thinking about a problem and understanding what is really happen, for correct with one or two lines of commands, on the other hand the Developer usually spends seconds or minutes to understand the problems and hours coding and testing the solution. Is not rare that the “most senior” DBA keeps in touch with “high hierarchies” to pass status report of crisis and “upswinged” problems. Make reports is another usual task. So, express verbally and write well is a potential difference between excellent and just “OK” DBAs, in my point of view.
8) Talented
No way out, the DBA must be talented to play well. Be a natural problem solver, detail oriented, realistic, patient, organized, assertive or good decision maker, keep calm under pressure, business minded, etc. Usually DBA is a experienced professional, so to have good mentoring skills and usually be ‘natural leaders’ are some decisive factors to. In summary, the DBA was ‘born to be wild’. Don’t you think like that?
OOOOOOOOK,
Let’s finally see what a found. Below all the authors, you will have the link where I read the topics.
I choose 5 international recognized personas and 2 brazilian bloggers, because I believe the key of success is to join experienced and recognized but have to look intern and valorize our goods. Also because I believe that, being Brazilian, they probably talk something specific or cultureless useful to me and other Brazilian readers… 🙂
# Bourleson
– Excellent comunication skills
– Formal education
– Real-world experience
– Knowledge of database theory
(http://www.dba-oracle.com/oracle_tips_dba_job_skills.htm)
# Brad McGehee
– Enjoys Technology
– Enjoys Challenges
– Good with Details
– Embraces Change
– Enjoys Learning
– Accepts Responsibility
– Maintains Professionalism
– Trustworthy
– Dependable
– Can Work as Part of a Team
– Can Communicate Effectively
– Listens Well
– Realistic
– Patient
– Enthusiastic
(http://bradmcgehee.com/2009/06/23/how-to-identify-important-characteristics-for-a-dba-job-candidate/)
# Greg Larsen
– Problem Solving Skills
– Mentoring Skills
– Automating Everything
– Looking for Process Improvement Efforts
– Following a Standard Methodology
– Attitude
– Community Oriented
– Ethical
– Prioritizing Work Correctly
– Leadership skills
– Communication Skills
– Customer Service
(http://www.databasejournal.com/features/mssql/traits-of-a-dba-part-two-the-personal-side-of-a-dba.html)
# John Sansom
– Excellent Attention to Detail
– A Natural Problem Solver
– Assertive
– Tactful
– Manage Relationships
– A Good Decision Maker
– Humble
– Calm Under Pressure
– Business Minded
– Approachable
(http://www.johnsansom.com/10-character-traits-of-outstanding-dbas/)
# Alan Hughes
– Organization Skills
– Technical Skills
– Interpersonal Skills
– Reading/Writing Skills
(http://work.chron.com/skills-needed-database-administrator-10356.html)
# Fernando Gazioli (BR)
– Confiança (Confidence)
– Pró-atividade (Proactivity)
– Bom Relacionamento (Good Relationship)
– Organização (Organizing skills)
– Curiosidade (Curiousity)
(http://www.tiespecialistas.com.br/2013/04/as-5-caracteristicas-de-comportamento-de-um-bom-dba/)
# Tiago Gouvêa (BR)
– Raciocínio Lógico (Logic)
– Autodidata (self-taught)
– Solucionador de Problemas (Problem Solver)
– Inglês (English)
– Gosta de Aprender (Enjoys Learning)
(http://www.profissionaisti.com.br/2014/01/os-5-principais-requisitos-para-ser-um-bom-programador/)
The final rating (top 8), grouping by similarity is something like:
Confident/Ethics/Professional/Responsible: 5 votes
Communicative/Good Relationship: 5 votes
Logic/Natural Leader/Mentoring/Assertiveness/Decision Maker/ Calm (in summary: Talented): 5 votes
“Problem Solver”: 4 votes
Curious/ Enjoys Learning/Self-taught: 4 votes
Embraces changes/challenges/process improvements: 4 votes
Enthusiastic/Proactive/Attitude: 4 votes
Detail-oriented: 3 votes
Do you liked this post?
I suppose you can like the Eduardo Morelli speech (05/21/2015!) too: http://webinar.infnet.edu.br/8-competencias-dba-oracle/
Take a look.
