Oracle 12c Performance Certification Released to Beta

The first of the new expert exams that I wrote about back in May has just entered beta.  1Z1-064: Oracle Database 12c: Performance Management and Tuning is the 12c update to the legacy exam 1Z0-054: Oracle Database 11g: Performance Tuning. The beta is currently scheduled to run until late February. Betas are often extended if not enough candidates take the exam by the original deadline to provide a good statistical sample. However, I expect this exam will be popular enough that the exam may close on its original deadline.

I compared the topics of 1Z0-064 with 1Z0-054. Not surprisingly, the two lists are closely related, with the 12c exam being largely a refinement of the 11g incarnation.  Some of the difference between the two exams include:

Added topics:

• Implement Real-Time Database Operation Monitoring
• Understand and configure the Database Resource Manager

Removed Topics:

• Identify performance issues & set tuning priorities
• Interpret tuning diagnostics  
• Tune for life cycle phase 
• Using Statspack
• Use Enterprise Manager Monitoring  
• Identify the key tuning components of the alert logs 

I find it interesting that Statspack was removed. Obviously AWR is Oracle's preferred performance tuning solution. However, unless that stops being a separately licensed option, a significant number of Oracle DBAs will continue to use Statspack for diagnosing performance problems.  Ignoring this popular tuning option comes across as petty to me.

The 12c exam has considerably fewer topics than the 11g version (32 vs 54). Much of this comes in the form of topic consolidation. In several instances there are subjects that were split into several separate topics in 1Z0-054 that have been rolled into a single topic in 1Z0-064. Some examples include:

• Configure and manage services 
• Use services with client applications, Database Resource Manager and Scheduler 
• Configure services aggregation, tracing, and set performance-metric thresholds

Rolled into:

• Configure and use services to monitor database performance

Also...

• Describe the buffer cache architecture
• Explain the symptoms that indicate a buffer cache problem   
• Tune the buffer cache for performance issues 

Rolled into:

• Diagnose and resolve performance issues related to the buffer cache

 

I consider it unlikely that the information being tested on these consolidations has changed significantly. Most likely the questions have all simply been consolidated into a large bucket.

Performance is always a major factor for enterprise databases. No organization ever objects to their applications running faster or data being available more rapidly. This certification provides one more way for Oracle Database administrators to expand on their skill set.