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B.11 Certified MySQL 4 Professional

The MySQL Professional Certification is the second tier of the MySQL Certification program. When you've achieved the MySQL Core Certification and have gained enough experience, the time has come to prove your abilities in basic installation, setup, and management of a MySQL server.

With the title of Certified MySQL Professional (MySQL-Prof) on your resume, you have proof that you master more complex issues, such as installing a server from scratch, keeping the server running smoothly at all times, using the new table types, using more advanced SQL, and analyzing the trouble spots of other users' queries.

The typical job role of a MySQL-Prof is in setting up and managing one or more MySQL servers in an organization, often managing a team of one or more users and programmers of MySQL products.

B.11.1 When Should I Certify?

Professional Certification is for users who have passed the MySQL Core Certification exam and have managed to move beyond the skills required for that exam by doing the following:

  • Installing a MySQL server without assistance

  • Troubleshooting queries that take too long to run

  • Granting other users access to some of the databases on the server in a secure manner

  • Having gained knowledge of the internals of the MyISAM and InnoDB table types and advanced server features

B.11.2 What Knowledge Is Tested?

MySQL Professional Certification is achieved by passing a single exam. The sections covered by the exam are listed below, along with the relative weight of each section in the final scoring. The weight also indicates how many questions you should expect to be asked for each section.

The test consists of approximately 70 questions, and you have 1 1/2 hours in which to answer them.

B.11.3 Exam Contents—Certified MySQL Professional

  • MySQL Architecture (15%)

    • Client-server overview

    • Choosing the right client

    • Connecting the client to the server

    • Hard disk footprint

    • Memory footprint

    • Log and status files

    • Table types in MySQL

  • MySQL Installation and Configuration (20%)

    • Installing MySQL on Windows

    • Startup and shutdown on Windows

    • Installing MySQL on Unix

    • Startup and shutdown on Unix

    • Configuring MySQL

    • Compiling MySQL

    • Upgrading MySQL

    • Optimizing the operating system for MySQL use

    • Configuring disks for MySQL use

    • Choosing hardware for MySQL use

  • Security Issues (15%)

    • Securing MySQL

    • User account management

    • Client access control

  • Optimizing for Query Speed (15%)

    • Index optimization and index usage

    • Using EXPLAIN to analyze queries

    • General query enhancement

    • Optimizing the logical database structure

  • MyISAM Tables (10%)

    • MyISAM-specific optimizations

    • Locking strategies

    • Backup and recovery

    • Checking and repairing tables

    • Table maintenance

  • InnoDB Tables (10%)

    • Special InnoDB features (ACID compliance, transaction model, versioning, concurrency, and isolation levels)

    • InnoDB-specific optimizations

    • Locking strategies

    • Backup and recovery

    • Checking and repairing tables

    • Table maintenance

  • Advanced Server Features (15%)

    • Interpreting mysqld server information

    • Measuring server load

    • Tuning memory parameters

    • Using the query cache

    • Using multiple servers

    • Replication

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