Hot on the heels of our release of the Cluster certification comes our brand-new CMA: Certified MySQL Associate certification.

The development of the MySQL certification program has so far mainly been focused on creating very technical and specialized certifications for those with a lot of experience is using MySQL. The recent release of the Cluster certification is an example of just that: Not only is the certification very specialized, you are also expected to hold the CMDBA certification before you even start taking on the Cluster certification.

In the meantime, we have received many requests from customers, candidates and also internally to develop a more basic certification, a certification to validate that the candidate has a good foundation in basic MySQL skills …

OK, Roland already spilled the beans a few weeks ago, but here’s the first semi-official announcement: Starting Monday next week (that’s the 19th), the MySQL certification team will offer a brand-new certification title: Certified MySQL Cluster DBA (or CMCDBA for short).

The MySQL 5.1 Cluster DBA Certification (CMCDBA) is a specialization exam for those that design, deploy and administer MySQL Cluster setups. Cluster certification is part of the DBA track, As such, CMCDBA can be attained only by Certified MySQL DBAs.

The Cluster certification exam consists of a single exam, You can find more information on the contents of the exam in our Candidate Guide.

As always, best preparation for any MySQL certification exam …

It seems to be a good time for people with experience in managing MySQL servers or developing applications based on MySQL: our MySQL Jobs Forum has plenty of openings. So if you are a seasoned MySQL DBA or developer, make sure to check for opportunities there, if you are considering a career change.

In addition to a proven track record on your MySQL experience, being MySQL certified should give you an extra advantage when you apply. The good thing about this certification? You can study for the exam by taking training courses, or all by yourself. Once you feel ready for the exam, you can head to any of the more than 3,000 …

With due apologies for the late warning to those not signed up on the Danish User Group mailing list: At the end of the week last week, some of us got together and planned a first, informal meet-up in Copenhagen. The date is tomorrow, Tuesday July 11, the time is 19:00, and the place is Café Castro on Nørrebrogade 209, Copenhagen.

See you there!

… thanks to Bogomil (”Bogo”) Shopov, who was the one to push us into making this happen

We are now starting work on a new, specialized MySQL Certification: The Blackhole Certification. This certification will be an add-on to the MySQL DBA Certification, which is due to be released in it’s GA version in a few weeks (if you’re quick, you can still catch the much less expensive MySQL 5.0 Beta certifications).

The Blackhole certification will cover all administrative aspects of the Blackhole Storage Engine. To prepare candidates for the new certification, the MySQL training deparment will also be offering a 5-day training bootcamp. Please see the …

The discounted (50%!) 5.0 beta certification exams that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago are still running. At the current rate it looks as though we will be closing down the beta try-out period on or around April 15.

So don’t walk, run to your nearest VUE testing center to register for your chance to be on the first 5.0 certification train.

• More information on MySQL 5.0 certification
• More information on MySQL certification betas

If you’re looking for a highly effective, last-minute review before going to a MySQL certification exam, then the UC tutorials may be just what you’re looking for: On the first day of the User’s Conference, there will be “certification primer” tutorials for the DBA-I and DBA-II exams.

These tutorials will not bring you from scratch and to the point where you can pass the certification exam .. after all, there’s only so much you can say in 3.5 hours. But if you show up well prepared (for example, by reading the relevant parts of the certification study guide [us; …

Bob tried to create a million tables in a MySQL database.

There’s not much inside MySQL to prevent you from doing this, but your file system is going to be quite a limitation. Very few file systems are happy when you attempt to cross a barrier of a few tens of thousands of directory entries, and even with InnoDB, every table in the data directory for that database will have an associated .frm file.

Not good.

Are you MySQL certified?

Are you going to the User’s Conference?

Do you want to tell those who are still considering certification, but still in doubt, how things look from the candidate perspective of things?

If so, then please get in touch with me — (carsten at mysql dot com). I’m looking for a couple of brave souls to join me during one of two certification BoFs, to answer questions from those that want to hear from others with real-world experience.

We’re busy expanding the MySQL certification program to include more MySQL products, managing translations, updating our exams to match the evolving features of the existing products, and much more. There is much work to do, but too few heads and hands to put to the task of doing all this!

So that’s why we’re looking for a technical writer to help us develop and update our exams. What we’re looking for is a person who has the right combination of excellent written English-language skills, careful attention to details, and of course good working knowledge of MySQL. If you have experience working with training materials or testing, all the better!

And the best part of it all: You get to work from home! No need to throw yourself at the mercy of the morning and evening rush-hours, no irritating radio in the next cubicle.

The downside is, of course, that you’ll need to refill the coffee maker yourself.

For …