IBM offers one Certification track in Db2 for Linux, Unix, and Windows, essentially covering the fundamentals of intermediate level DBA concepts. The diagram that follows shows the database administration track and the prerequisites required to obtain the DBA certification:

C2090-615 is an entry-level exam for Db2 users who are familiar with the fundamental concepts of Db2 10.5 for Linux, Unix, and Windows. This exam covers the following topics:

• Knowledge of Db2 product packing, including the editions and supported features
• Knowledge of database workloads, such as Online Transactional Processing (OLTP), data warehouse, and Hybrid Transactional/Analytical Processing (HTAP) and which Db2 products must be installed to support the desired workload
• Knowledge of Db2 10.5 BLU Acceleration and implementation steps
• Knowledge of Oracle compatibility features and the application enablement process
• Knowledge of data and database security overall including authorities, privileges, Row and Column Access Control (RCAC), and Label-Based Access Control (LBAC)
• Knowledge of trusted context and its uses
• Knowledge of different types of tables available within Db2, such as multi-dimensional clustering (MDC), insert time clustering (ITC), range clustered table (RCT), materialized query table (MQT), and range partitioned and temporal tables
• Knowledge of Structured Query Language (SQL) statements such as SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE
• Knowledge of Data Control Language (DCL) statements such as COMMIT, ROLLBACK, AUTOCOMMIT, and SAVEPOINT
• Knowledge of using SQL stored procedures, user-defined functions (UDF), and triggers
• Knowledge of SQL compatibility enhancements made in Db2 10.5 such as extended rows and excluding NULL keys from indexes
• Knowledge of Extensible Markup Language (XML) data retrieval and manipulation using XQuery and XPath expressions
• Knowledge of isolation levels and locking behaviors

This is an entry-level exam for Db2 users on the fundamental concepts of Db2 11.1 for Linux, Unix, and Windows. This exam covers the following topics:

• Knowledge of Db2 product packing, including the editions and supported features
• Knowledge of database workloads such as OLTP, data warehouse, and HTAP and which Db2 products must be installed to support the desired workload
• Knowledge of Db2 BLU Acceleration and implementation steps
• Knowledge of Db2 pureScale architecture and its benefits
• Knowledge of federation support to link the objects between Db2 databases and other database vendor products
• Knowledge of Oracle and Neteeza compatibility features and the application enablement process
• Knowledge of data and database security overall including authorities, privileges, RCAC, and LBAC
• Knowledge of trusted context and its uses
• Knowledge of different types of tables available within Db2 such as MDC, ITC, RCT, MQT, and range partitioned and temporal tables
• Knowledge of SQL statements such as SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE
• Knowledge of DCL statements such as COMMIT, ROLLBACK , AUTOCOMMIT and SAVEPOINT
• Knowledge of using SQL stored procedures, UDF, and triggers
• Knowledge of SQL compatibility enhancements made in Db2 11.1, such as BINARY and VARBINARY data type support, regular expression support in scalar functions, OLAP extension specifications, including NTH_VALUE, CUME_DIST, PERCENT_RANK, the OFFSET clause in SELECT to skip the number of rows, support for outer joins using the outer join operator (+), new built-in aggregate and scalar functions, new data types, and new synonyms
• Knowledge of OLAP specification functions, such as CUME_DIST(), PERCENT_RANK(), RANK(), DENSE_RANK(), and NTILE(), and the business use cases for each
• Knowledge of XML data retrieval and manipulation using XQuery and XPath expressions
• Knowledge of isolation levels and locking behaviors

This certification is intended for experienced Db2 users who have the knowledge necessary to perform the regular day-to-day administration of Db2 11.1 instances and databases on Linux, UNIX, and Windows. This exam covers the following topics:

• Ability to install, configure, and manage Db2 servers, instances, and databases
• Knowledge about System Managed, Database Managed, and Automatic Storage table spaces
• Ability to create and manage storage groups based on frequency of data access, acceptable access time, volatility of data, and application business requirements
• Knowledge of Db2 autonomic features such as the self-tuning memory manager (STMM), automatic maintenance, and the configuration advisor
• Knowledge of IBM Data Server Manager (DSM) including the editions and its monitoring capabilities
• Ability to design, create, and manage databases using Db2 11.1 BLU Acceleration
• Knowledge of Db2 11.1 pureScale enhancements such as support for HADR sync and near sync data synchronization modes, unified workload balancing, geographically dispersed Db2 pureScale cluster (GDPC) support, ease of pureScale cluster health check commands, and GPFS replication support
• Ability to create, manage, and alter database objects
• Ability to implement table, index compression, and backup compression
• Knowledge of SQL compatibility enhancements made in Db2 11.1
• Knowledge of partitioning capabilities available within Db2 including range partitioning, database partitioning, or Massively Parallel Processing (MPP)
• Ability to create and modify constraints between tables and to enforce constraint checking using the SET INTEGRITY command
• Ability to use the Db2 administrative views and table functions, along with event monitors and db2pd command options to monitor the health of the database
• Knowledge of the dsmtop command and its capabilities
• Ability to capture and analyze Db2 explain information for any specific SQL statement and/or workload
• Ability to use Export, Import, Load, and Ingest data movement utilities
• Ability to use the REORGCHK, REORG, REBIND, RUNSTATS, FLUSH PACKAGE CACHE, ADMIN_CMD(), db2look, and db2move commands
• Ability to back up and recover the database at the database and table space level
• Ability to implement High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HADR) in multiple standby environments and to perform HADR takeover with zero or minimal data loss
• Ability to implement and maintain a Db2 pureScale cluster
• Ability to protect data and the database objects against unauthorized access or modification
• Ability to implement RCAC and LBAC to protect sensitive data
• Knowledge of data encryption at rest and in transit using Db2 native encryption and Secured Socket Layer (SSL) features
• Ability to implement a database audit facility to monitor and record sensitive data access and/or modification

To acquire the IBM Certified Database Administrator–Db2 11.1 for Linux, Unix, and Windows (C2090-600: IBM Db2 11.1 DBA for LUW), candidates must hold either IBM Certified Database Associate–Db2 10.5 Fundamentals for LUW (C2090-615) or the IBM Certified Database Associate–Db2 11.1 Fundamentals for LUW (C2090-616) certification.

This certification study guide prepares you for every exam objective with necessary sample questions to ensure that you have the skills and knowledge necessary to take the exam. The Db2 11.1 DBA certification exam questions are categorized into seven units and the percentage of each unit is as listed in the following table. Understanding the percentage of each unit will help you to focus on important concepts and areas:

Once you are confident and ready to take the certification exam, contact Pearson VUE—an IBM-authorized testing vendor—via www.pearsonvue.com/ibm and register for the exam. You must make arrangements to take a certification exam at least 24 hours in advance and be ready with the following information:

• Your name (name as you want it to appear on the certification).
• An identification number (if you have taken IBM certification exams before, this is the number assigned to you at the time of the exam; if you don't have one, the testing vendor will create a new one for you).
• Primary contact information.
• Email address.
• Contact number.
• Certification exam number such as C2090-600.
• The testing center where you would like to take the certification exam.
• The date when you would like to take the certification exam.

For more information about this exam, visit IBM Professional Certification Program at http://www-03.ibm.com/certify/certs/08002109.shtml.

The objective of this chapter was to acquaint you with the certification examinations path available for Db2 v11.1, the certification examination pattern, and the certification examination registration process.