Database Certification Spotlight: MCDBA

Microsoft Certified Database Administrator

The Microsoft Certified Database Administrator credential provides database professionals with an opportunity to showcase their SQL Server skills. If you'd like to prove your prowess to a prospective employer, take a step up the career ladder in your current job, or simply earn a nice certificate to hang on the wall, the MCDBA credential may be a great step for you.

In order to achieve MCDBA status, you must pass three core exams and one elective. As with most Microsoft certification programs, MCDBA candidates may take examinations on the current or immediately previous version of SQL Server. However, I'd strongly encourage you to take the most current examinations available in order to postpone recertification testing as long as possible.

Core Exam I: SQL Server Administration. Microsoft currently only offers exam 70-228 for SQL Server 2000 to meet this requirement. This exam database administration and troubleshooting skills. When you think you're ready for the exam, try our 70-228 Practice Exam. If you need extra help preparing for the exam, I recommend the Transcender practice tests. I used these simulators to prepare for my MCDBA exams and found them extremely realistic with questions similar to those found on the actual exam.

Core Exam II: SQL Server Design. Candidates may fulfill this requirement by passing exam 70-229 which tests your ability to successfully design and implement SQL Server database solutions.

Core Exam III: Networking Systems. You may use any one of three exams to fulfill this requirement. The first is exam 70-215, Installing, Configuring and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. If you're in a Windows 2003 environment, you may use either exam 70-290, Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment or exam 70-291, Implementing, Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows 2003 Server Network Infrastructure.

Elective Exam. Candidates may choose from a number of elective exams to round out their MCDBA transcript. These exams cover a variety of application development techniques, data warehousing skills and network design fundamentals. The current electives include:

• Exam 70-216: Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure
• Exam 70-293: Planning and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure
• Exam 70-528: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 — Web–Based Client Development
• Exam 70-526: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 — Windows–Based Client Development
• Exam 70-529: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 — Distributed Application Development
• Exam 70-305: Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
• Exam 70-306: Developing and Implementing Windows-based Applications With Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
• Exam 70-310: Developing XML Web Services and Server Components with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and Microsoft .NET Framework
• Exam 70-315: Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
• Exam 70-316: Developing and Implementing Windows-based Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
• Exam 70-320: Developing XML Web Services and Server Components with Microsoft Visual C# and the Microsoft .NET Framework

It's extremely important to note that the MCDBA examinations offer significant overlap with some of the other Microsoft certification programs, including the Microsoft Certified System Administrator (MCSA), Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) programs. If you're considering earning one of these titles in the future, choose your MCDBA exams carefully. You're permitted to "double count" exams for more than one credential and can save yourself a good deal of time and money by selecting dual-purpose exams.