REP702 - How To Prepare for and Pass Your Replication Server Certification Exam

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REP702 - How To Prepare for and Pass Your
Replication Server Certification Exam
Sam Lakkundi Principal Instructorlakkundi_at_sybase.
com / 978-287-1692August 6th. 2003
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Agenda - What we will cover

• Introduction to the exams (General)
• Rep Server 12.5 Admin What do I study ?
• Rep Server 12.5 Admin Sample questions
• Secrets on the Questions

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Introduction To The Exams
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Class Abstract - Target Audience

• This session is a short discussion on preparing
  for the Replication Server Administrator 12.5
  exams.
• The student should have at least 12 months of
  experience with Rep Server Administration for
  this associate exam.
• Techniques and suggestions for studying for the
  exam will be covered.

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Where To Take The Exams?
Where do I take the exams? Call 1-800-8-SYBASE
choose Education menu or At any Prometric
(800-407-3926) testing center or visit
http//www.2test.com
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Have I Passed?
When do I know if I passed? Immediately. After
taking the test, your score is immediately
printed out and sent to Sybase for record
keeping. Passing Percentage Needed 61
Number of Correct Answers Needed To Pass 37
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What If I Fail?
What if I fail? The student is allowed to fail
any of the two tests two times. If the
student fails any of the two tests for the second
time, the exam may not be taken again for a
period of thirty days.
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Benefits

• What are my benefits?
• Industry Recognition
• Use of Logo on business cards
• Official Certificate
• Differentiator for employers and promoters

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Offerings

• What Does Sybase Certification Offer You?
• Increases your job advancement opportunities
• Provides a standard, tangible way of measuring
  your technical skills
• Provides you with a goal for self-improvement
  and self-development
• To design and implement real-world solutions,
  which will make you valuable to your clients and
  your team

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Preparation

• How does one prepare for an exam?
• Customer Education Schedules available at
  www.sybase.com/education
• Experience with products
• Make sure to go through the study guide in great
  detail
• Practice Exams Available through e-Shop
• http//e-shop.sybase.com or calling
  1-800-8-SYBASE
• Certification preparation class

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Exam Detail
Replication Server 12.5 Administrator Completion
of one multiple choice exam. Exam contains
sixty multiple choice questions. This exam
covers administrator Rep Server questions. 90
minutes to complete exam
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Additional Sources SDN Presents CodeXchange
A New Benefit for Sybase Replication Server
Administrators

• Forum for exchanging samples, tools, scripts,
  etc.
• New features enable community collaboration
• Download samples created by Sybase or external
  users
• Leverage contributions of others to extend Sybase
  tools
• Contribute code or start your own collaborative /
  open source project with input from other product
  experts
• Any SDN member can participate
• Log in using your MySybase account via SDN
• Join the collaboration already underway
• http//www.codexchange.sybase.com or via SDN at
  www.sybase.com/developer
• Visit SDN in the Technology Boardwalk or the
  Sybase Booth Theater

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Rep Server 12.5 Admin What do I study ?
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Course Maps
Course Map Replication Server 12.5
Administrator We recommend courses EDB370 -
Fast Track to Replication Server 12.5 EDB575 -
Advanced Replication Server Administrator 12.5
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Introduction to the Rep Server 12.5 Admin Exam
This exam tests Rep Server 12.5 skills at the
Administrator level. Administrators taking this
test should have approximately 12 months to one
year of Replication Server administrator
experience, and demonstrate mastery of concepts
taught in Fast track to Rep Server
12.5 Candidates must also master the concepts
and objectives taught in the following Advanced
Replication Server Admin course. As a supplement
to the Instructor led courses, candidates may use
the Replication Server 12.5 Admin practice exam
to prepare.
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Study Topics
1. Overview 2. New Features 3. Config Upgrade
Install 4. Resource Allocation 5. Routes 6.
Replication Definitions 7. Subscriptions 8.
Publications Articles 9. Stored Proc
Replication
10. Function Strings 11. Warm Standby 12.
Replication Config 13. Troubleshooting
Note we will cover sections 1 9 in this
discussion
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1 - Overview

• 7 Questions 12
• Understand the overall replication architecture
• Understand how data flows through a replication
  system
• Know the components of a replication system and
  what each is for

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Sample Question - Overview
Which of the following are true of a stable
device? (Choose 2) A. Each block is 1 MB. B.
Each segment is 1 MB. C. Partitions can only be
added when Replication Server is
down. D. Partitions contain segments which
contain blocks. E. Segments contain partitions
which contain blocks.
Correct Answers B D
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2 - New Features

• 3 Questions 5
• Understand generally what the new features are
  and how they are used
• Do not worry about in-depth features of LDAP,
  SSL and other new options
• Know at a high level what each feature is used
  for

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Sample Question - New Features
In Replication Server 12.5, which of the
following have new configuration parameters?
(Choose 3) A. connection. B. route. C. RepAgent.
D. publication. E. replication definition.
Correct Answers A, B C
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3 - Configuration, Upgrade Installation

• 5 Questions 8
• Understand how to manage Replication Server
  configuration parameters
• Understand how to install and upgrade
  Replication Server
• Understand the environment variables used by
  Replication Server
• Know how to use rs_init to do things such as
  creating database connections

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Sample Question - Configuration, Upgrade
Installation
Which option is used to start Replication Server
in standalone mode? A. -S B. -K C. -M D.
-C E. -i
Correct Answers C
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4 - Resource Allocation
4 Questions 7 Know how to create and
manage stable devices Understand what the
various stable queues are and how they
are used Understand partition affinity
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Sample Question - Resource Allocation
What is the largest size partition that can be
created as part of a stable device A. 1020 MB
B. 2040 MB C. 32 GB D. 128 GB E. unlimited
Correct Answers B
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5 - Routes

• 4 Questions 7
• Understand what routes are and how they are
  used
• Understand the difference between direct and
  indirect routes
• Know how to manage routes

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Sample Question - Routes
For an indirect route to exist, what is the
minimum number of direct routes that must be
created? A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 E. 5
Correct Answers C
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6 - Replication Definitions

• 6 Questions 10
• Understand what replication definitions are
• and how they are used
• Know how to manage replication definitions
• Know the various components and capabilities of
  a replication definition

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Sample Question - Replication Definitions
In addition to "create replication definition
repdef_name", which clauses are required for all
replication definitions? (Choose 2) A. with
primary at dataserver.database B. with all tables
named 'table name' C. primary key (column) D.
searchable columns (column) E. replicate minimal
columns
Correct Answers A C
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7 - Subscriptions

• 6 Questions 10
• Understand what subscriptions are and how they
  are used
• Know how to manage subscriptions
• Know the various components and capabilities of
  a subscription
• Know the various materialization methods

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Sample Question - Subscriptions
In a single Replication Server environment a
subscription must be created on A. The Primary
Data Server B. The Replication Server C. The
Replicate Data Server D. The Replication Server
but only if there is a route E. Subscriptions
are never required
Correct Answers B
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8 - Publications Articles

• 5 Questions 8
• Understand what publications and articles are
  and how they are used
• Know how to manage publications and articles
• Know the various components and capabilities of
  a publication and article

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Sample Question - Publications Articles
An article can contain (Choose 3) A. a
function replication definition. B. a table
replication definition. C. a subscription. D. a
where clause. E. an error class.
Correct Answers A, B D
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9 - Stored Procedure Replication

• 3 Questions 5
• Understand how stored procedure replication
  works
• Know how to manage stored procedure replication
• Know the various components and capabilities of
  stored procedure replication

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Sample Question - Stored Procedure Replication
An advantage of replicating stored procedures is
they (Choose 2) A. reduce network traffic. B.
reduce replication overhead for single-row
updates. C. allow primary key updates.
Correct Answers A C
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10 - Function Strings

• 3 Questions 5
• Understand what function strings are and how
  they work
• Know how to manage function strings
• Know the various components and capabilities of
  function strings
• Be familiar with the default function string
  classes

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Sample Question - Function Strings
Which of the following are used to display
function string information? (Choose
3) A. admin health B. admin show_function_classes
C. rs_helpfunc D. rs_helpfstring E. rs_funcstring
s
Correct Answers B, C D
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11 - Warm Standby

• 4 Questions 7
• Understand how to configure a Warm Standby
  system
• Understand the difference between a logical and
  a physical connection
• Understand how data flows through a Warm Standby
  system
• Know what commands are and are not replicated in
  a Warm Standby system
• Know how to use the dump marker

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Sample Question - Warm Standby
Which of the following are TRUE for semiautomatic
Warm Standby replication? (Choose 2) A. Only
replicates data changes. B. Set up by marking
every table in the database for replication
individually. C. Schema versioning cannot be
disabled in semiautomatic Warm Standby
systems. D. The grant command will be replicated
in semiautomatic Warm Standby systems.
Correct Answers A B
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12 - Replication Configuration

• 5 Questions 8
• Understand the various Replication Server
  configuration parameters and how they can affect
  performance
• Understand the various RepAgent configuration
  parameters and how they can affect performance
• Know how to configure a Replication Server for
  parallel DSI

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Sample Question - Replication Configuration
Which of the following can be tuned to optimize
the RepAgent? A. scan batch size B. data
integrity C. packet size D. partition
affinity E. priority
Correct Answers A, C E
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13 - Troubleshooting

• 5 Questions 8
• Understand how to obtain information about a
  replication system
• Know what the exceptions log is and how to use
  it
• Know how to suspend and resume various
  components of Replication Server
• Be familiar with the Replication Server 'admin'
  and 'sysadmin' commands and ASE commands ('dbcc'
  and others) that are relevant to replication

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Sample Question - Troubleshooting

• If the output for admin who,sqm shows
• first.seq567.45
• last.seq1567.45
• next.read1568.0.0
• which of the following are true? (Choose 2)
• The queue is using approximately 1000MB of
• space.
• B. The queue is lagging by 1000MB.
• C. The queue is not experiencing any latency.
• D. Dumping the queue will reclaim the space.

Correct Answers A C
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Secrets on the Questions
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Questions on the exam

• Can have multiple answers.
• Will NOT ask a question that identifies a
  weakness of Replication Server
• No intentionally trick questions.
• No true/false - everything is multiple choice.
• Will NOT have answers that have made up stored
  procedures or commands.
• Cover the material of the listed courses plus
  your own experiences.

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Exam Taking Strategy

• Time your answers. If you find yourself spending
  too much time on a question mark it and move on.
  Sometimes another question will help you remember
  the answer to it.
• If you are not sure of the correct answer, mark
  the question and move on. At the end of the exam
  count the number of marked questions to get an
  indication of your score.
• Read each question and answer carefully. Make
  sure you read each answer, even if you think the
  first one is the obvious choice.
• Dont waste your study time on memorizing stored
  procedures and commands.
• Take the exam in the morning, while your mind is
  most alert.

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Study Techniques

• Find a study partner that knows more about
  Replication Server than you do.
• Practice exams are an invaluable tool for
  assessing how you will perform on the exam.
• Exam the questions you got wrong, find the answer
  and study it.
• Work on a sample Replication Server from start to
  finish. Many experienced administrators have
  spent years administering without working through
  on all aspects of the server.
• The answers on the test are never wrong. If you
  think you know the answer better than the exam -
  count that as a wrong answer towards your score.
• Remember you dont have to print your grade on
  your business card.

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Exam Secrets

• There are no trick questions, however.
• The questions have to leave very little
  ambiguity. Some questions became wordy to
  achieve this. DONT see this technique as a
  question that is trying to fool you, when the
  opposite is the case. The exam was not created to
  test your memorization skills. The creators of
  the exam tried to make it about your working
  knowledge of Replication Server.
• Frequently practice exams are created from
  questions that were rejected from the main test,
  mainly because they covered topics that were in
  existing questions.

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Relax!

• Taking an exam is a stressful process, so try to
  limit your distractions during your study and
  test taking time.
• The more stressed you are the worse you will do.

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Summary

• Start studying for the exam!
• Schedule to take the exam in the morning on a day
  that nothing else is due - Friday
• Remember, no one has to know your score as long
  as you pass.
• Mark all difficult questions.
• Check your marks to get an idea of how many
  questions you got wrong.

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Closing Thought
The Rep Server 12.5 test is one of the better
certifications to obtain for a Rep Server
administrator. It is the responsibility and the
duty for all who take it to keep the exact
questions confidential. The CSP certification
should be EARNED by all. Never reveal the
contents to anyone. Should the questions leak
out, and inexperienced programmers start
obtaining this certification, it diminishes the
value of the certification for all who have
obtained it legitimately, through hard work and
studying. Keep the faith and Good Luck!!!
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Information and Contacting Us

• On the Internet
• http//www.sybase.com/education/profcert
• Sam Lakkundi (Certification Technical Manager)
• email cert_admin_at_sybase.com