MongoDB Associate DBA - Study Plan¶

6-Week Comprehensive Study Schedule¶

Week 1: Server Administration¶

Day 1-2: mongod Configuration¶

• Study mongod.conf file structure and options
• Learn command-line options vs configuration file
• Understand storage configuration (dbPath, journal, directoryPerDB)
• Hands-on: Deploy mongod with custom configuration
• Lab: Modify runtime settings with db.adminCommand()
• Review Notes: 01-server-administration.md

Day 3-4: WiredTiger Storage Engine¶

• Study WiredTiger architecture (cache, checkpoints, journal)
• Learn cache sizing and monitoring
• Understand compression options (snappy, zlib, zstd)
• Hands-on: Configure WiredTiger cache and compression
• Lab: Monitor cache utilization and checkpoint behavior

Day 5-6: Profiling and Logging¶

• Study database profiler (levels 0, 1, 2)
• Learn log file analysis and slow query identification
• Understand log rotation and management
• Hands-on: Enable profiler and analyze slow operations
• Lab: Configure structured logging and log rotation

Day 7: Week 1 Review¶

• Complete server administration practice questions
• Review key configuration parameters
• Practice server diagnostic commands

Week 2: Replication¶

Day 8-9: Replica Set Setup¶

• Study replica set architecture and member roles
• Learn replica set initialization and member management
• Understand priority, votes, and member configuration
• Hands-on: Deploy 3-node replica set
• Lab: Add/remove members, reconfigure replica set
• Review Notes: 02-replication.md

Day 10-11: Elections and Failover¶

• Study election protocol and triggers
• Learn priority-based election behavior
• Understand network partitions and split-brain prevention
• Hands-on: Simulate primary failure and observe election
• Lab: Test different priority configurations

Day 12-13: Oplog and Read/Write Concerns¶

• Study oplog mechanics (capped collection, sizing)
• Learn read preferences (primary, secondary, nearest)
• Understand write concerns (w:1, w:majority, j:true)
• Hands-on: Monitor oplog size and replication lag
• Lab: Test different read preference and write concern combinations

Day 14: Week 2 Review¶

• Complete replication practice questions
• Review member types and their properties
• Practice replica set management commands

Week 3: Sharding¶

Day 15-16: Sharded Cluster Architecture¶

• Study sharded cluster components (config servers, mongos, shards)
• Learn shard key selection criteria
• Understand ranged vs hashed sharding
• Hands-on: Deploy a sharded cluster
• Lab: Shard a collection with different shard keys
• Review Notes: 03-sharding.md

Day 17-18: Chunks and Balancer¶

• Study chunk splitting and migration mechanics
• Learn balancer configuration and scheduling
• Understand jumbo chunks and troubleshooting
• Hands-on: Monitor chunk distribution
• Lab: Configure balancer window and observe migrations

Day 19-20: Zones and Query Routing¶

• Study zone-based sharding for data locality
• Learn how mongos routes queries to shards
• Understand targeted vs scatter-gather queries
• Hands-on: Configure zone ranges and observe data placement
• Lab: Analyze query routing with explain()

Day 21: Week 3 Review¶

• Complete sharding practice questions
• Review shard key selection decision tree
• Practice sharding management commands

Week 4: Security¶

Day 22-23: Authentication¶

• Study SCRAM-SHA-256 authentication
• Learn x.509 certificate authentication
• Understand LDAP and Kerberos integration
• Hands-on: Enable SCRAM authentication on replica set
• Lab: Create users with different authentication methods
• Review Notes: 04-security.md

Day 24-25: Authorization and Roles¶

• Study built-in roles (read, readWrite, dbAdmin, etc.)
• Learn custom role creation
• Understand role inheritance and privileges
• Hands-on: Create users with appropriate roles
• Lab: Design role hierarchy for multi-team access

Day 26-27: Encryption and Auditing¶

• Study TLS/SSL configuration for mongod
• Learn encryption at rest options
• Understand audit logging (Enterprise)
• Hands-on: Configure TLS for client-server communication
• Lab: Enable audit logging for security events

Day 28: Week 4 Review¶

• Complete security practice questions
• Review authentication method comparison
• Practice security configuration

Week 5: Backup, Recovery, and Monitoring¶

Day 29-30: Backup Methods¶

• Study mongodump and mongorestore options
• Learn oplog-based point-in-time recovery
• Understand filesystem snapshot backups
• Hands-on: Perform backup and restore operations
• Lab: Practice point-in-time recovery
• Review Notes: 05-backup-monitoring.md

Day 31-32: Monitoring Tools¶

• Study mongostat and mongotop output interpretation
• Learn db.serverStatus() key metrics
• Understand database profiler configuration
• Hands-on: Set up monitoring dashboards
• Lab: Identify performance bottlenecks using metrics

Day 33-34: Performance Troubleshooting¶

• Study common performance issues and solutions
• Learn connection pool management
• Understand lock contention and write throughput
• Hands-on: Diagnose and resolve slow operations
• Lab: Optimize a poorly performing deployment

Day 35: Week 5 Review¶

• Complete backup and monitoring practice questions
• Review backup method comparison
• Practice monitoring command output interpretation

Week 6: Exam Preparation¶

Day 36-37: Full Practice Exams¶

• Take first full-length practice exam
• Review all incorrect answers with documentation
• Identify weak domains and knowledge gaps

Day 38-39: Targeted Review¶

• Focus study on weakest domains
• Review all configuration defaults
• Review replica set and sharding architecture
• Practice security setup commands

Day 40-41: Final Review¶

• Take second full-length practice exam
• Review shard key selection criteria
• Review authentication methods comparison
• Review backup method trade-offs

Day 42: Exam Day Preparation¶

• Quick review of fact sheet
• Review common pitfalls
• Rest and prepare mentally

Domain Study Time Allocation¶