I was bit offline for few months as i was preparing for my Oracle Cloud Exam. After burning the midnight oil for 5 months, finally i am able to pass the exam. Hence, here i am sharing the tips which will help the aspirants to clear the exam. Also, in the coming days, i will be posting on how to create and use various services in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
Now coming to the certification, the first step will be to visit the official oracle website
https://education.oracle.com/oracle-cloud-infrastructure-2018-architect-associate/pexam_1Z0-932. The exam pattern keeps on changing and thus this website will give all those details. As of now the exam contains 66 questions and the passing score is 65%.
How to achieve this certification:
1. Go through the Oracle learning YouTube videos. This will give you the overview of various OCI modules.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKCk3OyNwIzvn8dpgrIKNdBOHT7AoMZlw
OCI Level 100 – Getting Started
OCI Level 100 – Identity and Access Management
OCI Level 100 – Virtual Cloud Network
OCI Level 100 – Connectivity
OCI Level 100 – Compute
OCI Level 100 – Block Volume
OCI Level 100 – File Storage
OCI Level 100 – Object Storage
OCI Level 100 – Load Balancer
OCI Level 100 – Database
OCI Level 100 – Autonomous Database
OCI Level 100 – DNS
You can also browse through the advanced modules which is part 200.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKCk3OyNwIzuBQ13lwsZpqO4__rLrO1eA
Although i think, part 100 is much better than the part 200.
2. Once you grasp the basic concepts from the videos above, now go through these FAQs to get some in-depth understanding on your concepts of OCI resources:
https://cloud.oracle.com/load-balancing/faq
https://cloud.oracle.com/database/faq
https://cloud.oracle.com/edge/dns/faq
https://cloud.oracle.com/storage/object-storage/faq
https://cloud.oracle.com/storage/block-volume/faq
https://cloud.oracle.com/compute/faq
https://cloud.oracle.com/cloud-security/identity/faq
3. Now it is the time to get your hands dirty and at this moment, you should get the free 30 days trial for OCI and practice whatever you have learnt. Make sure you plan it accordingly as the trial is only for 30 days.
4. Next i would recommend to download the latest OCI study guide and go through the concepts.
https://learn.oracle.com/education/downloads/OracleCloudInfrastructurestudyguide.pdf
5. Now at this stage you are ready for the exam, so attempt this Practice Exam:
http://oukc.oracle.com/static12/opn/login/?t=checkusercookies|r=-1|c=2164389233
6. There are some good practice tests available in Udemy for this exam.I would prefer going though the mock test series from Deepak Brahmbatt.
Also, i am sharing some of my notes, which i had prepared for this exam. Hope it helps someone.
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Boot volumes:
They can be cloned
they can be preserved while terminating the instance
they cannot be detached from the running instance
Boot volume is associated with AD.
Block volumes can be restored from their backups any region but clone can be done only in the same availability domain and their size can also be changed.
default size is 1 tb
You can attach up to 32 volumes per compute instance, resulting in up to 32 TB*32=1 PB
File systems storage
It can be mounted and multiple file systems can be exposed.
it can be created in a single subnet and can be accessed in any AD in a region
No two File systems associated with the same mount target can have overlapping export paths (e.g. FS
paths like /example and /example/path are not allowed)
Subnets can span a region or can exist in single availability domain. Now it is a regional service
Load balancer is also no AD specific.
Object Storage
Multipart uploads can accommodate objects that are too large for a single upload operation.
Oracle recommends that you perform a multipart upload to upload objects larger than 100
MiB. The maximum size for an uploaded object is 10 TiB. Object parts must be no larger than
50 GiB. For very large uploads performed through the API, you have the flexibility of pausing
between the uploads of individual parts, and resuming the upload as your schedule and
resources allow.
Autonomous Database:-
After provisioning, you can scale the number of CPU cores or the storage
capacity of the database at any time without impacting availability or performance.
Autonomous Database handles creating the database, as well as the following maintenance
tasks:
l Backing up the database
l Patching the database
l Upgrading the database
l Tuning the database
DBaaS
While considering the migration of on premise database
Data Pump Conventional Export/Import
This method can be used regardless of the endian format and database character set of
the on-premises database.
For the steps this method entails, see Data Pump Conventional Export/Import.
l Data Pump Transportable Tablespace
This method can be used only if the on-premises platform is little endian, and the
database character sets of your on-premises database and the Oracle Cloud
Infrastructure Database database are compatible.
For the steps this method entails, see Data Pump Transportable Tablespace.
l RMAN Transportable Tablespace with Data Pump
This method can be used only if the on-premises platform is little endian, and the
database character sets of your on-premises database and the Oracle Cloud
Infrastructure Database database are compatible.
For the steps this method entails, see RMAN Transportable Tablespace with Data Pump.
l RMAN CONVERT Transportable Tablespace with Data Pump
This method can be used only if the database character sets of your on-premises
database and the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Database database are compatible.
This method is similar to the Data Pump Transportable Tablespace method, with the
addition of the RMAN CONVERT command to enable transport between platforms with
different endianness. Query V$TRANSPORTABLE_PLATFORM to determine if the onpremises
database platform supports cross-platform tablespace transport and to
determine the endian format of the platform. The Database service platform is littleendian
format.
For the steps this method entails, see RMAN CONVERT Transportable Tablespace with
Data Pump.
Load balancers Faq:-
load balancers cant have a private subnet. It needs public ip address and private ip adress.
Oracle recommends that you distribute your backend servers across all availability domains
within the region.
It is a specific to AD
There are two type of checks tcp level checks and http level checks
health status
ok-no attention
warning(yellow);resoruce needs some attanetion
critical(red)-require immediate attention
unknown(gray)-health status is unavailabe.the resource is not responding
scenario:-if listener is working and requests are not passing through it, then check the security lists.
All entity health status indicators report OK, but traffic does not flow (as with misconfigured listeners). If the listener is not at fault, check the security list configuration.
All entity health statuses report as unhealthy. You have checked your health check configuration and your services run properly on your backend servers.
In this case, your security lists might not include the IP range for the source of the health check requests. You can find the health check source IP on the Details page for each backend server. You can also use the API to find the IP in the sourceIpAddress field of the HealthCheckResult object.
Load Balancer currently only supports IPv4 traffic.
Can I change the shape of my load balancer?
Currently, you cannot change the shape of your load balancer once you created the load balancer. To change the shape of your load balancer (e.g. to increase or decrease the pre-provisioned bandwidth for ingress plus egress traffic), you can use the Console or API to create another load balancer with the new shape and update the DNS A-record associated with you load balancer’s IP address
The Load Balancing service handles requests asynchronously
You can confirm the availability of your backend servers via request or connection attempts based on a time-interval you specify. Currently, we support the following TCP-level or HTTP-level health checks for your backend servers:
TCP-level health checks attempt to make a TCP connection with the backend servers and validate the response based on the connection status.
HTTP-level health checks send requests to the backend servers at a specific URI and validate the response based on the status code or entity data (body) returned
Storage:-
What are the core components of the Oracle Object Storage service?
Objects: All data, regardless of content type, is stored as objects in Oracle Object Storage. For example, log files, video files, and audio files are all stored as objects.
Bucket: A bucket is a logical container that stores objects. Buckets can serve as a grouping mechanism to store related objects together.
Namespace: A namespace is the logical entity that lets you control a personal bucket namespace. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Object Storage bucket names are not global.
Bucket names need to be unique within the context of a namespace, but can be repeated across namespaces. Each tenant is associated with one default namespace (tenant name) that spans all compartments.
Oracle Object Storage is a regional service:-
You can access Oracle Object Storage from anywhere as long as you have access to an internet connection and the required permissions to access the service.
Block Volume:-
If the compute instance terminates, you can attach the volume to another compute instance and regain access to the persistent data in that volume.
Your operating system accesses block volumes using iSCSI protocol
To provide the highest performance, block volumes are optimized to attach to any compute instance within the same Availability Domain.
You can detach a volume from one compute instance, and then attach the block volume to another compute instance without rebooting your compute servers.
resize a block volume
Expand the size of existing boot and block volumes offline up to 32 TB.
Restore from a backup of boot or block volume to a larger size volume up to 32 TB.
Clone an existing block or boot volume to a larger size volume up to 32 TB.
Two types of volume attachment:-
iSCSI or Paravirtualized. Paravirtualized volume attachment is supported for VM instances only.
Block volumes backup copies the existing block volume backups to another region.
Can I clone a volume from one Availability Domain (AD) to another?
No. Block volumes are AD-local. You can clone volumes only within the same AD.
block volumes backup can be cloned from one region to another region
block volumes backup can be restored in any availability domain in same region.
You can only create a clone for a volume within the same region, availability domain and tenant.
You can share custom images across tenancies and regions
Can I delete a boot volume?
Yes, you can delete an unattached boot volume by using the console or API/CLI. Additionally, you can optionally chose to automatically delete the boot volume when 'Terminating' an instance by selecting the checkbox in the delete confirmation dialog.
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure does not allow you to delete the boot volume currently attached to an instance.
You can stop an instance, detach its boot volume, and delete the detached boot volume. The stopped instance cannot be started after its boot volume is deleted. You can only terminate that instance.
What happens to my data when I terminate my instance?
After you terminate your compute instance, you have the option to keep its boot volume for later reuse
What is a volume group backup? How does it work?
A coordinated point-in-time crash consistent backup of the entire set of volumes that are in a volume group. This operation creates a volume group backup. There is no impact to the source volume group and volumes during the backup process.
Volume group backups are replicated across all Availability Domains within the region where the source volume group resides. A volume group backup can then be used to create a new volume group to any Availability Domain within the region the backup resides, by restoring all the volumes data that are in the volume group.
Fast Connect
Connectivity models
it is not encrypted
Oracle Provider:-
Third party provider
Colocation with Oracle in an Oracle Cloud inffrastructure Fastconnect location
How many VPN tunnels can I have from a single CPE device?
You can have a maximum of eight tunnels from a unique CPE IP address per region. If you want more than eight tunnels, either use a different IP address for the additional ones, or use a different CPE device (recommended).
Data transfer utility
TRANSFER JOB
A transfer job is the logical representation of a data migration to Oracle Cloud
Infrastructure. A transfer job consists of one or more transfer packages that each contain
one or more transfer disks.
TRANSFER DISK
A transfer disk is an HDD that is specially prepared to copy and upload data to Oracle
Cloud Infrastructure. You copy your data to one or more of these disks and ship the disks
in a parcel to Oracle to upload your data.
The following transfer disks are supported:
l SATA II/III 2.5" or 3.5" HDDs
l External USB 2.0/3.0 HDDs
DATA TRANSFER UTILITY
The Data Transfer Utility is the command-line software that Oracle provides for you to
prepare transfer disks for your data and for shipment to Oracle. In addition, you can use
this software to manage transfer jobs and packages.
HOST
The computer at your site on which you download the Data Transfer Utility to perform
Data Transfer Service tasks.
TRANSFER PACKAGE
A transfer package is the logical representation of the parcel containing the transfer disks
that you ship to Oracle to upload to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
The dm-crypt software generates a master AES-256 bit encryption key that is used for
all data written to or read from the disk
Create the required IAM Users / Groups / Policies; create the required Object Storage
Bucket; Install the Data Transfer Utility on the host machine that will be used to load
data.
Preparing for and copying your data
1. Create a transfer job.
2. Request a transfer appliance.
3. Monitor your transfer appliance request.
4. Set up your host machine.
CHAPTER 8 Data Transfer
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure User Guide 638
5. Unpack and prepare your transfer appliance.
6. Configure networking on your transfer appliance.
7. Write data to your transfer appliance.
Preparing your appliances for shipment
1. Finalize your transfer appliance.
2. Package and ship the transfer appliance to Oracle.
Post shipment tasks
1. Optionally, cancel a transfer appliance if you don't want Oracle to upload your data.
2. Monitor your transfer appliance return shipment.
3. Review transfer appliance log files.
4. Close the transfer job.
Secure Appliance Data Transfer to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
two types of transfer utility
1. Data transfer appliance
2. Data transfer Disk--disks is being purchased by customer. These are feasible for transferring relatively small amount of data.
DNS Zones:-global in nature
Zone file uploads are limited to 1
megabyte (MB) in size per zone file. If your zone file is larger than 1 MB, you will need to split
the zone file into smaller batches to upload all of the zone information
DNS Resource Record Types
A
An address record used to point a hostname to an IPv4 address. For more information
about A records, see RFC 1035.
AAAA
An address record used point a hostname at an IPv6 address. For more information about
AAAA records, see RFC 3596.
ALIAS
A private pseudo-record that allows CNAME functionality at the apex of a zone. You can
view and read ALIAS records in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure DNS, but you cannot create
them.
CHAPTER 10 Edge Services
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure User Guide 1230
CAA
A Certification Authority Authorization record allows a domain name holder to specify one
or more Certification Authorities authorized to issue certificates for that domain. For more
information about CAA records, see RFC 6844.
CDNSKEY
A Child DNSKEY moves a CDNSSEC key from a child zone to a parent zone. The
information provided in this record must match the CDNSKEY information for your domain
at your other DNS provider. This record is automatically created if you enable DNSSEC on
a primary zone in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure DNS
CDS
A Child Delegation Signer record is a child copy of a DS record, for transfer to a parent
zone. For more information about CDS records, see RFC 7344.
CERT
A Certificate record stores public key certificates and related certificate revocation lists in
the DNS. For more information about CERT records, see RFC 2538 and RFC 4398.
CNAME
A Canonical Name record identifies the canonical name for a domain. For more
information about CNAME records
CSYNC
A Child-to-Parent Synchronization record syncs records from a child zone to a parent
zone. For more information about CNAME records, see RFC 7477.
DHCID
A DHCP identifier record provides a way to store DHCP client identifiers in the DNS to
eliminate potential hostname conflicts within a zone
IPSec connection:-
Overall Process
Here's the overall process for setting up an IPSec VPN:
Complete the tasks listed in Before You Get Started.
Set up the IPSec VPN components (instructions in Example: Setting Up a Proof of Concept IPSec VPN):
Create your VCN.
Create a DRG.
Attach the DRG to your VCN.
Create a route table and route rule for the DRG.
Create a security list and required rules.
Create a subnet in the VCN.
Create a CPE object and provide your CPE device's public IP address.
Create an IPSec connection to the CPE object and provide required routing information.
Fast Connect:-
Oracle Provider
List of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure FastConnect providers
Port speeds in 1-Gbps and 10-Gbps increments
Instructions for integrating: FastConnect: With an Oracle Provider
Third-Party Provider
Port speed of 10 Gbps per cross-connect
Instructions for integrating: FastConnect: With a Third-Party Provider
Colocation with Oracle in an Oracle Cloud Infrastructure FastConnect Location
List of Oracle Cloud InfrastructureFastConnect locations (see the FAQ for specific addresses)
Port speed of 10 Gbps per cross-connect
autonomous database
These services map to the LOW, MEDIUM, and HIGH consumer groups. For example, if you provision an Autonomous Data Warehouse service with the name ADW1, your service names are:
adw1_high
adw1_medium
adw1_low
For example, a user connecting with the adw1_low service uses the consumer group LOW.
The basic characteristics of these consumer groups are:
HIGH: Highest resources, lowest concurrency. Queries run in parallel.
MEDIUM: Less resources, higher concurrency. Queries run in parallel.
LOW: Least resources, highest concurrency. Queries run serially.
Autonomous Data Warehouse has predefined idle time limits for sessions so that idle sessions do not hold system resources for a long time.
A session may be terminated if it stays idle for more than five (5) minutes and the resources it consumes are needed by other users. This allows other active sessions to proceed without waiting for the idle session.
Concurrency
The concurrency level of these consumer groups changes based on the number of OCPUs you subscribe to. The HIGH consumer group’s concurrency is fixed and does not change based on the number of OCPUs. The MEDIUM and LOW consumer groups can run more concurrent SQL statements if you scale up the compute capacity of your service.
Note:
The HIGH consumer group is configured for low concurrency, even a single query in this consumer group can use all resources in your database. If your workload has concurrent queries Oracle recommends using the MEDIUM consumer group. If your concurrency requirements are not met with the MEDIUM consumer group, you can use the LOW consumer group or you can scale up your compute capacity and continue using the MEDIUM consumer group.
For example, for an Autonomous Data Warehouse with 16 OCPUs, the HIGH consumer group will be able to run 3 concurrent SQL statements when the MEDIUM consumer group is not running any statements. The MEDIUM consumer group will be able to run 20 concurrent SQL statements when the HIGH consumer group is not running any statements. The LOW consumer group will be able to run 1600 concurrent SQL statements. The HIGH consumer group can run at least 1 SQL statement when the MEDIUM consumer group is also running statements. When these concurrency levels are reached for a consumer group new SQL statements in that consumer group will be queued until one or more running statements finish.
If you want to start using the Autonomous Data Warehouse service without creating your own tables, the service provides the read-only Sales History and Star Schema Benchmark data sets. These data sets are provided as Oracle Database schemas SH and SSB, respectively
Concurrency is dependent on OCPU only in medium and low consumer groups
Predefined Database Service Names for Autonomous Transaction Processing
The tnsnames.ora file provided with the credentials zip file contains five database service names identifiable as tpurgent, tp, high, medium, and low. The predefined service names provide different levels of performance and concurrency for Autonomous Transaction Processing.
tpurgent: The highest priority application connection service for time critical transaction processing operations. This connection service supports manual parallelism.
tp: A typical application connection service for transaction processing operations. This connection service does not run with parallelism.
high: A high priority application connection service for reporting and batch operations. All operations run in parallel and are subject to queuing.
medium: A typical application connection service for reporting and batch operations. All operations run in parallel and are subject to queuing. Using this service the degree of parallelism is limited to four (4).
low: A lowest priority application connection service for reporting or batch processing operations. This connection service does not run with parallelism
File Storage:-
AD local specific. Load balancer is not. for same subnet IAM plicies control the mounting of target.
Zone:-
A zone is a portion of the DNS namespace. A Start of Authority record (SOA) defines a zone. A zone contains all labels underneath itself in the tree, unless otherwise specified. Child zones are independent subdomains with their own Start of Authority and Name Server (NS) records. The parent zone of a child zone must contain NS records that refer DNS queries to the name servers responsible for the child zone. Each subsequent child zone creates another link in the delegation chain
fast connect
private fast connect extends your on premise private networks to oracle cloud.
public fast connect enables us to access oci resoures without using the internet
public fast connect dosen't use DRG.
Remote vcn peering uses drg
high level steps
1. setup the drg and attach it to the vcn
2. update rules in the existing vcn
3. set up cross connects groups
Oracle provides three components to help you implement highly available connections:
Multiple Oracle FastConnect locations within each region (data center redundancy)
Multiple providers in each Oracle FastConnect location (provider redundancy)
Multiple physical circuits in each Oracle FastConnect location (circuit redundancy)
And once you pass the exam, feel free to transfer $1 to my account.:).Just kidding
All the best.
Thanks...............................
