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1Z0-076 in One DGMGRL Session: Build, Check, Switch Over and Fail Over a Data Guard Pair

DBExam Study Notes — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 03:32:04 +0000

Oracle's 1Z0-076 exam checks whether you can run Oracle Data Guard 19c from a fresh standby all the way to a failed-over primary, and much of that work happens in one tool: the Data Guard broker command line, DGMGRL. If you can run the session below on a two-database lab and explain every line of its output, you have worked through 7 of the 19 topic groups on the exam page.

The exam, as listed on Oracle's 1Z0-076 exam page on MyLearn on 16 October 2026, has 74 multiple-choice questions, a 120-minute limit and a passing score of 61%, taken proctored online. The page shows no fee to a signed-out visitor; DBExam's syllabus page lists USD $245, which varies by country.

Every command and sample message below comes from the Oracle Database 19c Data Guard Broker guide. The names are the ones Oracle's own examples use: a configuration called DRSolution, a primary called North_Sales and a physical standby called South_Sales. That way you can read this post next to the documentation, line by line.

What do you need before the first DGMGRL command?

You need a primary and a physical standby that already exist and already exchange redo. Building that standby is its own topic group (the exam names the RMAN command DUPLICATE TARGET DATABASE FOR STANDBY FROM ACTIVE DATABASE), so it sits outside this session.

Three details from Oracle's guide decide whether the first commands work:

The account you connect with needs the SYSDG or SYSDBA privilege on both databases. A CONNECT with no AS clause logs in as SYSDBA.
Each broker member name must match that database's DB_UNIQUE_NAME. Check it in SQL*Plus with SHOW PARAMETER DB_UNIQUE_NAME.
Remote redo destinations (LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_n) on the standby must be cleared first. If they are not, creating the configuration fails with ORA-16698. Destinations on the primary can stay as they are.

Also give both databases standby redo log files now. Several later steps refuse to run without them.

How do you create and enable the broker configuration?

Start DGMGRL on a host where Data Guard is installed, connect to the primary, create the configuration with only the primary in it, and then add the standby:

$ dgmgrl
DGMGRL> CONNECT sysdg@North_Sales.example.com;
DGMGRL> CREATE CONFIGURATION 'DRSolution' AS
> PRIMARY DATABASE IS 'North_Sales'
> CONNECT IDENTIFIER IS North_Sales.example.com;
DGMGRL> ADD DATABASE 'South_Sales' AS
> CONNECT IDENTIFIER IS South_Sales.example.com;
DGMGRL> ENABLE CONFIGURATION;
DGMGRL> SHOW CONFIGURATION;

Until ENABLE CONFIGURATION runs, SHOW CONFIGURATION reports a status of DISABLED, which means the broker is not managing anything yet. Afterwards the same command shows Protection Mode: MaxPerformance, both members, Fast-Start Failover: DISABLED and a status of SUCCESS. Learn to read that one screen quickly, because the monitoring topic group expects it.

Which newer broker commands should you know by name?

Two objective lines ask you to "list the new" broker commands: one for VALIDATE commands and one for commands in general. Oracle's Data Guard Broker release notes for 18c and 19c name them:

Release 18c added VALIDATE DATABASE SPFILE, VALIDATE NETWORK CONFIGURATION and VALIDATE STATIC CONNECT IDENTIFIER.
Release 19c added EXPORT CONFIGURATION and IMPORT CONFIGURATION, the EDIT DATABASE ... SET PARAMETER family for initialization parameters, SET TRACE_LEVEL, SET FAST_START FAILOVER TARGET, and an observe-only mode for fast-start failover.

Run the three VALIDATE checks right after you enable the configuration, while nothing depends on it yet:

DGMGRL> VALIDATE NETWORK CONFIGURATION FOR ALL;
DGMGRL> VALIDATE STATIC CONNECT IDENTIFIER FOR ALL;
DGMGRL> VALIDATE DATABASE South_Sales SPFILE;

The first command tests connectivity between the instances, using each database's DGConnectIdentifier property. The second connects through the static service the broker needs when it restarts a database during a role change. The third compares the SPFILE entries of the primary and the named standby, and prints "No parameter differences found" when they match. It will not run against the primary itself.

One trap sits in Oracle's own examples. The 19c guide still sets the log file name format with EDIT DATABASE 'South_Sales' SET PROPERTY 'LogArchiveFormat'=..., yet the same release deprecates LogArchiveFormat and eight other properties that map to initialization parameters. For those, 19c tells you to use EDIT DATABASE ... SET PARAMETER instead, and that is the form to pick when a question asks what is current.

How do you move from MaxPerformance to MaxAvailability?

A new configuration starts in maximum performance mode with ASYNC redo transport. Maximum availability needs a standby that receives redo in SYNC or FASTSYNC mode and has standby redo logs:

DGMGRL> EDIT DATABASE 'South_Sales' SET PROPERTY 'LogXptMode'='SYNC';
DGMGRL> EDIT DATABASE 'North_Sales' SET PROPERTY 'LogXptMode'='SYNC';
DGMGRL> EDIT CONFIGURATION SET PROTECTION MODE AS MAXAVAILABILITY;
DGMGRL> SHOW CONFIGURATION;

Three rules from the guide turn up in questions. You cannot go straight from maximum performance to maximum protection; you must pass through maximum availability first. Changing the protection mode does not need a restart of the primary. And the broker rejects the SYNC setting on a database that has no standby redo log files.

Setting SYNC on North_Sales as well is not decoration. The property describes how a database receives redo while it is a standby, so the current primary needs the right value for the day the roles swap. The next step shows what happens when it is missing.

What does VALIDATE DATABASE tell you before a switchover?

Run it against the target before every role change, and only then switch:

DGMGRL> VALIDATE DATABASE 'South_Sales';
DGMGRL> SWITCHOVER TO 'South_Sales';
DGMGRL> SHOW CONFIGURATION;

In the DGMGRL scenarios chapter of the broker guide, Oracle shows VALIDATE DATABASE answering "Ready for Switchover: No" for a physical standby in maximum availability mode. The reason is printed right above it: no other standby could support the protection mode, because North_Sales still has LogXptMode set to ASYNC. That is exactly the case the previous step avoids.

When validation passes, SWITCHOVER shuts down and restarts the old primary on its own, which only works if the broker can reach both instances through their static connect identifiers. Add VERBOSE to see every item that was checked, or a STRICT clause such as STRICT ALL to add checks for Flashback Database, force logging, offline data files and cleared log files.

How do you set up fast-start failover and the observer?

Fast-start failover lets an observer process fail over to a target standby without a person typing the command. Oracle's order is: Flashback Database on each database, SYNC transport in maximum availability, a target, an observer, and only then the enable command. Flashback first, in SQL*Plus:

SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE;
STARTUP MOUNT;
ALTER SYSTEM SET DB_FLASHBACK_RETENTION_TARGET=4320 SCOPE=BOTH;
ALTER DATABASE ARCHIVELOG;
ALTER SYSTEM SET db_recovery_file_dest_size=<size>;
ALTER SYSTEM SET db_recovery_file_dest=<directory-specification>;
ALTER DATABASE FLASHBACK ON;
ALTER DATABASE OPEN;

Then the broker side:

DGMGRL> EDIT DATABASE 'North_Sales' SET PROPERTY FastStartFailoverTarget='South_Sales';
DGMGRL> START OBSERVER observer1 IN BACKGROUND
> FILE IS /net/sales/dat/oracle/broker/fsfo.dat
> LOGFILE IS /net/sales/dat/oracle/broker/observer.log
> CONNECT IDENTIFIER IS North_Sales
DGMGRL> ENABLE FAST_START FAILOVER;
DGMGRL> SHOW FAST_START FAILOVER;
DGMGRL> VALIDATE FAST_START FAILOVER;

Points the guide makes about this step:

Enabling fast-start failover does not start a failover. It allows the observer to start one when conditions call for it.
You can run up to three observers. Once fast-start failover is enabled, one is the master and the others are backups, and only the master coordinates a failover.
The failover starts when both the observer and the target standby lose the primary for FastStartFailoverThreshold seconds. The default is 30 and the lowest value is 6, and you can change it while fast-start failover is enabled.
With two or more standbys, set FastStartFailoverTarget on the primary. The broker sets the matching value on the target for you.
VALIDATE FAST_START FAILOVER reports problems such as an observer that is not started or Flashback Database that is off.

What happens to the old primary after a failover?

A manual failover runs while DGMGRL is connected to the standby that will take over:

DGMGRL> CONNECT sysdg@South_Sales.example.com;
DGMGRL> FAILOVER TO 'South_Sales';
DGMGRL> SHOW CONFIGURATION;

Afterwards the old primary is disabled with ORA-16661 ("the standby database needs to be reinstated"), and the new primary carries the warning ORA-16629 until a standby protects it again. Oracle recommends this default, complete failover; an immediate failover is for the cases where a complete one fails, and it usually loses some data.

Reinstatement is the reason Flashback Database mattered. Start the old primary to the mounted state, connect DGMGRL to the new primary, and run:

DGMGRL> REINSTATE DATABASE 'North_Sales';
DGMGRL> SHOW CONFIGURATION;

The old primary returns as the same type of standby as the database you failed over to, so a failover to a physical standby gives you back a physical standby. If it cannot be reinstated, it has to be re-created as a standby of the new primary. The switchover and failover chapter lists which bystander standbys get disabled in each case.

How do you get a writable test copy without losing the standby?

Convert the standby to a snapshot standby, test against it, and convert it back:

DGMGRL> CONVERT DATABASE 'South_Sales' TO SNAPSHOT STANDBY;
DGMGRL> CONVERT DATABASE 'South_Sales' TO PHYSICAL STANDBY;

While it is a snapshot standby, the database keeps receiving redo but does not apply it. The conversion creates a guaranteed restore point, so a fast recovery area is required. Converting back throws away every change made during the test and then applies the redo that piled up.

Finish the session by saving the broker metadata, one of the 19c additions:

DGMGRL> EXPORT CONFIGURATION TO 'myconfig.txt';

IMPORT CONFIGURATION FROM reads that file back if you ever need to rebuild the configuration.

Which exam topics does this session cover, and which does it leave out?

Step	Main commands	Topic group on Oracle's page
Create and enable	CREATE CONFIGURATION, ADD DATABASE, ENABLE CONFIGURATION	Creating a Data Guard Broker Configuration
Check the setup	VALIDATE NETWORK CONFIGURATION, VALIDATE STATIC CONNECT IDENTIFIER, VALIDATE DATABASE SPFILE	Monitoring a Data Guard Broker Configuration
Raise protection	EDIT DATABASE SET PROPERTY LogXptMode, EDIT CONFIGURATION SET PROTECTION MODE	Configuring Data Protection Modes
Switch over	VALIDATE DATABASE, SWITCHOVER	Performing Role Transitions
Prepare reinstatement	ALTER DATABASE FLASHBACK ON	Using Flashback Database in a Data Guard Configuration
Automate failover	START OBSERVER, ENABLE FAST_START FAILOVER, REINSTATE DATABASE	Enabling Fast-Start Failover
Test on a copy	CONVERT DATABASE	Creating and Managing a Snapshot Standby Database

Those seven groups hold 23 of the 63 objective lines on the exam page. The other 12 groups need a different kind of practice: creating the standby with RMAN or DBCA, real-time query on Active Data Guard, logical standby and SQL Apply, Oracle Net setup, RMAN backups taken from a standby, patching and rolling upgrades, tuning, far sync and real-time cascading, and client failover with Application Continuity. Oracle's Data Guard Concepts and Administration guide for 19c covers most of them.

How can you check yourself once the lab runs cleanly?

Try to answer questions about the session without the terminal in front of you. DBExam keeps a page of free 1Z0-076 sample questions with answers that you can work through first.

When you want a timed run, the 1Z0-076 online practice exam keeps the real exam's question format, time limit and passing score.

The DBExam YouTube channel has no Data Guard video yet. The closest is a two-minute set of preparation tips for an Oracle database certification; its examples come from the Autonomous Database exam 1Z0-931-23, not from 1Z0-076.

FAQs

1. How many questions are on the 1Z0-076 exam, and what score do you need?

Oracle's exam page lists 74 multiple-choice questions, a 120-minute limit and a passing score of 61%. The exam is taken proctored online, and the result appears on screen when you finish.

2. Does passing 1Z0-076 alone give you the Data Guard Administrator credential?

No. Oracle lists two steps for Oracle Certified Professional, Oracle Database 19c: Data Guard Administrator. First you hold Oracle Database Administration 2019 Certified Professional, or one of three retired credentials (Oracle Database 12c Administrator Certified Professional, Oracle Certified Expert, Oracle Database 12c: Data Guard Administrator, or Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Professional). Then you pass 1Z0-076.

3. Which DGMGRL VALIDATE commands count as new?

Oracle's broker guide lists VALIDATE DATABASE SPFILE, VALIDATE NETWORK CONFIGURATION and VALIDATE STATIC CONNECT IDENTIFIER as new commands in release 18c. The 19c guide also documents VALIDATE DATABASE with a STRICT clause, VALIDATE DATABASE DATAFILE for lost writes, and VALIDATE FAST_START FAILOVER.

4. Can you change a configuration straight from maximum performance to maximum protection?

No. The broker guide says you must change to maximum availability first and then to maximum protection. The primary database does not need a restart for a protection mode change.

5. Does ENABLE FAST_START FAILOVER fail the database over right away?

No. Enabling it only allows the observer to start a failover when conditions call for one, such as the observer and the target standby both losing the primary for longer than FastStartFailoverThreshold, which defaults to 30 seconds.

Written by the team behind DBExam.

1Z0-078 Lists RAC First, but Your Cluster Is Built from the Bottom Up

DBExam Study Notes — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 05:09:55 +0000

If you run Oracle databases on more than one server, you already know the order things happen in on a real cluster. Someone prepares the operating system, the shared disks and the networks. Then Grid Infrastructure goes on, which brings Oracle Clusterware and Oracle Automatic Storage Management with it. Only after that does anyone install the database software, and only after that does a RAC database exist to tune, patch and connect to.

Oracle's exam page for 1Z0-078 lists the same material in the opposite order. It starts with RAC databases and architecture, moves on to Grid Infrastructure in the middle, and ends with ASM disk groups, files and the ASM Cluster File System. That is a fine way to describe a job. It is a poor way to learn one, because almost every RAC objective assumes you understand the layers underneath it.

This article follows the build order instead. It is written for the DBA or systems administrator who already looks after clustered databases and wants to know whether 1Z0-078 matches the work on their desk. Every number in it comes from Oracle's own exam page and Oracle's 19c documentation, both checked on 15 October 2026.

What Is the Oracle 1Z0-078 RAC, ASM, and Grid Infrastructure Exam?

1Z0-078 is the exam behind the Oracle Certified Professional, Oracle Database 19c: RAC, ASM, and Grid Infrastructure Administrator credential. Its full title on Oracle MyLearn is "Exam 1Z0-078: Oracle Database 19c: RAC, ASM, and Grid Infrastructure Administration", and the official 1Z0-078 exam page on Oracle MyLearn is where the topic list, the format and the session rules live.

Oracle describes the audience plainly. The certification is for database production systems administrators and database administrators with 12 to 18 months of experience using RAC, ASM and Grid Infrastructure. The exam measures installation, configuration, backup and recovery, monitoring and tuning of those components. Read that as a description of who does well, not as an entry rule: the page states an experience profile, and it is worth being honest with yourself about whether you match it.

The three names in the title are three layers of one stack, and it helps to be precise about how they relate, because the exam is.

Grid Infrastructure: the base layer

Oracle's Introduction to Oracle Clusterware in the 19c Clusterware Administration and Deployment Guide explains that Clusterware lets separate servers communicate so they appear to applications and users as one system. Since Oracle Clusterware 12c, the Clusterware and ASM binaries are installed as a single binary called Oracle Grid Infrastructure. The same guide notes that Clusterware 19c supports only ASM 19c, because ASM sits in the Grid Infrastructure home that also holds Clusterware.

Clusterware keeps two stored components besides its binaries. Voting files record node membership. The Oracle Cluster Registry, or OCR, records cluster configuration: databases, listeners, virtual IP addresses, services and any applications Clusterware manages. Both must sit on shared storage that every cluster node can reach.

ASM: the storage layer

ASM is Oracle's volume manager and file system for database files. Oracle's overview chapter of the 19c ASM Administrator's Guide describes disk groups made of disks, files and allocation units, with normal redundancy giving two-way mirroring, high redundancy three-way mirroring, and external redundancy leaving the mirroring to a RAID subsystem.

RAC: the database layer

Oracle RAC lets several instances open one database. The RAC guide says that having multiple instances access a single database prevents the server from being a single point of failure, and that applications deployed on RAC databases can operate without code changes. RAC depends on Clusterware; the guide calls Clusterware a required component that provides the infrastructure RAC runs on.

So the order on the exam page is top-down, while the order on a real system is bottom-up. Hold on to that idea. It shapes the study plan later in this article.

1Z0-078 Exam Overview and Details

The format is short to state. Everything below is from Oracle's exam page unless marked otherwise.

Exam code: 1Z0-078
Exam name: Oracle Database 19c: RAC, ASM, and Grid Infrastructure Administration
Credential: Oracle Certified Professional, Oracle Database 19c: RAC, ASM, and Grid Infrastructure Administrator
Delivery: Proctored Online
Format: Multiple Choice
Duration: 120 minutes
Number of questions: 77
Passing score: 65%
Price: Oracle's page shows no price to a signed-out visitor. The DBExam syllabus page lists USD $245 and notes that pricing may vary by country or local currency; confirm the figure in your Oracle account at checkout.

What 77 questions in 120 minutes means at the desk

120 minutes across 77 questions is about 93 seconds a question. That is generous for a question that asks you to recognise a view name and tight for one that describes a failed node, a set of services and a client configuration, then asks what the client sees. Plan to move quickly through recall questions so the scenario questions get the time they need.

A 65% passing score on 77 questions works out to just over 50 correct answers, if every question counts the same. Oracle does not publish how it weights individual questions, so treat 51 as a planning number rather than a rule, and aim well above it.

Session rules worth knowing in advance

A government-issued identification is required to take the exam.
Check-in time is 30 minutes before the exam time.
Your computer must meet Oracle's minimum system requirements for online proctoring.
Results are shown on screen at the close of the exam, and the detailed score report is in Oracle CertView.
To reschedule, you must do it at least 24 hours before your appointment time.

None of these is unusual, but the 30-minute check-in catches people who block exactly two hours in their calendar. Block three.

Key Topics and Syllabus for 1Z0-078

Oracle's exam page lists 30 topics and 115 objective lines under three groupings. The first grouping has no heading of its own on the page; it is the RAC material. Then come the headings "Grid Infrastructure Administration" and "Automatic Storage Management (ASM) Administration". Counted line by line:

RAC administration: 12 topics, 49 objective lines
Grid Infrastructure administration: 11 topics, 41 objective lines
ASM administration: 7 topics, 25 objective lines

One caution before you use those counts: Oracle publishes no percentage weights for 1Z0-078. A line count shows where the page spends its words, not how many questions each area gets. The 1Z0-078 syllabus on DBExam sets the same topics out on one page with the exam facts beside them, which is handy as a checklist.

Here is the syllabus in the order you would build the system, bottom layer first.

Layer 1: Grid Infrastructure and Clusterware (11 topics)

The Grid Infrastructure grouping covers the life of the cluster itself:

Introduction to Clusterware and Oracle Clusterware architecture, including startup details and how Grid Plug and Play affects Clusterware
Flex Clusters and the effect of node failure in one
Installation planning and pre-tasks: system and network requirements, groups, users and directories
Grid Infrastructure installation, verifying it, configuring ASM disk groups, and the optional Grid Infrastructure Management Repository
Managing cluster nodes: extending a cluster, deleting a node, and adding nodes with DBCA
Traditional Clusterware management: day-to-day tasks, OCR backup and recovery, network settings, what-if command evaluation and secure cluster communication
Policy-based cluster management: server categorization, policy sets and activating a policy
Upgrading and patching Grid Infrastructure, including rolling patches and zero-downtime Grid Infrastructure patching
Troubleshooting Clusterware: log files, diagcollection.pl, resource and component debugging, and OCR problems
Making applications highly available with Clusterware: policy-managed and administrator-managed databases, application VIPs and application resources

Two documented facts from this layer tend to matter. First, Oracle recommends no more than five voting files, although Clusterware supports up to 15. Second, you can have up to five OCR locations, and you can replace a failed OCR location online as long as it is not the only one. Small numbers like these make good exam distractors, so learn them exactly.

Flex Clusters have their own rules in the Clusterware Administration and Deployment Guide: a Flex Cluster can have as many as 64 Hub Nodes, Hub Nodes have direct access to shared storage and host read-write instances, other nodes request data through Hub Nodes and host read-only instances, Flex Clusters require Grid Naming Service, and you can convert a standard cluster to a Flex Cluster but not the reverse.

Layer 2: ASM, ACFS and ADVM (7 topics)

The ASM grouping is the shortest, but it sits under everything else:

ASM architecture and components
ASM instances: initialization parameters, processes, and monitoring with the V$ASM dynamic performance views
Flex ASM: architecture, installation, configuration and management
Disk groups: creating, dropping, setting attributes, maintenance, and performance and scalability considerations
Files, directories and templates, including the format of a fully qualified ASM file name
Oracle CloudFS: the ASM Dynamic Volume Manager, ASM volumes, ACFS and ACFS snapshots
CloudFS advanced topics: ACFS auditing, encryption, replication and tagging, and High Availability NFS

The file name objective is a good example of how literal the exam can be. Oracle's chapter on ASM files, directories and templates gives the form as +diskgroup/dbname/filetype/filetypetag.file.incarnation in a non-multitenant database, and +diskgroup/cdb/pdb_guid/filetype/filetypetag.file.incarnation with multitenant. Alias names are told apart because they do not end in a dotted pair of numbers. If you can read +DATA/ORCL/DATAFILE/system.257.967544915 and name every field, that objective is done.

Flex ASM gets three objective lines. The key documented behaviour is in Oracle's Managing Oracle Flex ASM chapter: a small set of ASM instances serves the whole cluster, the number is set with a cardinality setting, and the default is three instances. The ASM overview adds why it matters: in a standard ASM cluster, if the ASM instance on a node fails, the database instances on that node fail too, while with Flex ASM a database instance can reach another ASM instance on another node.

Layer 3: The RAC database (12 topics)

RAC gets the most objective lines, and it is where most candidates already feel at home:

RAC architecture: the benefits of RAC, why global resources are needed, and global cache coordination
Installing and configuring RAC, creating a cluster database, and converting a single-instance database to RAC
Administering RAC: redo log files, undo tablespaces, starting and stopping, and initialization parameters
Backup and recovery: ARCHIVELOG mode, the fast recovery area, and RMAN in a RAC environment
Global resources: the Global Resource Directory, global enqueue and instance locks, global buffer cache management, and affinity
Monitoring and tuning: RAC wait events, AWR and ADDM in RAC, the Cluster Database Performance pages, and SGA runtime management
High availability of services, and high availability for connections and applications: load balancing, the Load Balancing Advisory, FAN, TAF, Transparent Application Continuity and Dynamic Services Fallback
Upgrading and patching RAC with OUI and opatch
RAC One Node conversions in both directions
Quality of Service Management
Multitenant in RAC: CDBs, PDBs, PDB services and server pools, and automated PDB patching and relocation

The connections topic is the largest single topic on the page, with eight objective lines. That fits what happens on the job: users rarely notice a cluster until a node goes away and their session either survives or does not.

1Z0-078 Preparation Guide

The practitioner's advantage on this exam is that you can study it the way you would build it. A bottom-up plan means every new topic rests on one you have already worked through, and it keeps you from memorising RAC behaviour that you cannot explain.

Step 1: Build or borrow a lab you can break

Reading alone will not carry you through 77 questions on clustered systems. You need a two-node lab, or access to one, where you can stop Clusterware, pull a node, fill a disk group and watch what happens. Keep a log of each test. When a question later describes a symptom, you will have seen it.

Step 2: Start with Grid Infrastructure

Begin with the installation planning topics, because the exam asks about them directly and because they force you to understand the networks a cluster needs. Then install Grid Infrastructure and walk the startup sequence until you can explain what starts before what.

Spend real time on the OCR and voting files. Oracle's 19c documentation has a detail worth noticing here. The Clusterware guide says Clusterware files must be stored on ASM, yet the 19c changes page of the RAC Administration and Deployment Guide records that, starting with Grid Infrastructure 19c, the desupport of direct placement of OCR and voting files on shared file systems is rescinded for Oracle Standalone Clusters. Know both statements and which cluster type each applies to; that is exactly the kind of distinction a question can turn on.

Finish the layer with OCR backup and recovery, node addition and deletion, and policy-based management. Server pools come back later in the RAC topics, so understanding them here saves time.

Step 3: Move to ASM

Create disk groups at each redundancy level and look at the result. Oracle's ASM overview gives you rules you can test in a lab:

Normal redundancy disk groups require at least two failure groups, and high redundancy disk groups at least three.
If you omit the failure group specification, ASM places each disk in its own failure group (Exadata cells excepted).
You cannot alter the redundancy level of a disk group after it is created.
Allocation unit sizes can be 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 MB, depending on the disk group compatibility level.
ASM starts a rebalance automatically after you add, drop or resize disks, the power setting controls its speed, and databases can stay operational while it runs.

Then set up Flex ASM, change its cardinality, and work through ACFS: a volume, a file system on it, a snapshot, and at least one of the advanced features. The CloudFS topics hold nine objective lines between them, which is more than many candidates expect from the storage side.

Step 4: Finish with RAC

Now the RAC topics read as consequences of what sits underneath. Oracle's Introduction to Oracle RAC in the 19c RAC guide covers the ideas the exam builds on:

Cache Fusion uses the private interconnect for communication between instances, which is why the guide tells you not to use the interconnect for user traffic.
The Global Cache Service and the Global Enqueue Service coordinate buffer cache blocks and enqueues in the Global Resource Directory.
SCAN is a single network name, in DNS or Grid Naming Service, that round-robins to three IP addresses, and Oracle recommends that all client connections use it.
DBCA creates one default database service, which Oracle says should be reserved for maintenance; you create dynamic services for application connections.
RAC One Node runs a single instance of a RAC-enabled database on one node under normal operations, can relocate online with no downtime for users, and needs at least one dynamic database service.

Work the connection topics in the lab with a real client. Configure services, kill an instance, and watch what FAN, TAF and Application Continuity do. Then cover backup and recovery, tuning with AWR and ADDM, patching, and the multitenant topics.

Step 5: Read the objectives back as questions

In the last week, go through all 115 objective lines and turn each into a question you could answer out loud. "Explain the scope and capabilities of what-if command evaluation" becomes "what does SRVCTL evaluate mode report, and when would I run it?" Any line you cannot answer goes back to the lab.

Benefits and Career Scope of the 1Z0-078 Certification

The honest benefit of 1Z0-078 is that it names, in an employer's language, work that is otherwise hard to show on paper. A résumé line that says "supported RAC" can mean anything from running one SRVCTL command to rebuilding a cluster after a failed patch. An Oracle Certified Professional credential for RAC, ASM and Grid Infrastructure tells a reader that you were tested on the whole stack, including the storage and cluster layers that many database administrators never touch directly.

It also changes the work you get asked to do. Teams that run clustered Oracle databases need people who can plan an installation, patch Grid Infrastructure with minimal downtime, recover the OCR, and explain to an application team why their sessions dropped during a node failure. Those tasks map directly onto the exam topics, so preparing for the exam and becoming the person who handles those tickets are the same project.

There are limits worth stating. The credential is tied to Oracle Database 19c, and this article quotes no salary figures, because none comes from an official source. Oracle's exam page carried no retirement notice on 15 October 2026; check it again before you book, because Oracle updates its catalog.

The study itself has value even if you never sit the exam. Working through every objective line usually turns up at least one area, often ACFS, QoS Management or policy-based cluster management, that your current environment does not use and that you would otherwise meet for the first time during an incident.

Practice Test and Preparation Resources for 1Z0-078

Oracle's exam page links its recommended training. Three Oracle University courses on MyLearn line up with the three groupings of the syllabus, and their course pages show the module count and running time:

Oracle Database 19c: Clusterware Administration Workshop: 13 modules, 12 h 18 min, covering Clusterware architecture, cluster configuration options, preinstallation and installation, node management, policy-based management, patching, troubleshooting and application high availability.
Oracle Database 19c: ASM Administration Workshop: 13 modules, 8 h 7 min, covering ASM instances, Flex ASM, disk groups, files and templates, and ACFS with ADVM.
Oracle Database 19c: RAC Administration Workshop: 14 modules, 20 h 11 min, covering installation, administration, patching, backup and recovery, tuning, services, connection high availability, RAC One Node, multitenant and QoS in RAC.

Together that is about 40 hours of video before any lab time. Taken in the order listed, Clusterware first and RAC last, the courses follow the same bottom-up path as this article.

Oracle's documentation

The 19c guides are free and they are the source the exam objectives are written against. Keep three open while you study: the Clusterware Administration and Deployment Guide, the Automatic Storage Management Administrator's Guide, and the Real Application Clusters Administration and Deployment Guide. When a course and a guide seem to disagree, the guide for your exact release wins.

Practice questions

Once each layer is done, test it. The free 1Z0-078 sample questions on DBExam show the multiple-choice style and make a quick check after a study block. A full timed practice exam is the better rehearsal for the 93-second pace, and DBExam offers one for 1Z0-078 alongside the free set. Use the score report to send you back to specific topics rather than retaking until the number looks good.

A short video on working through answer options

The DBExam YouTube channel has no 1Z0-078 video yet. The walk-through below is about a different Oracle exam, 1Z0-149 on PL/SQL programming, but its method carries over: read every option, rule out the ones that contradict a documented fact, and only then choose.

Conclusion

1Z0-078 lists its 30 topics with RAC first, Grid Infrastructure second and ASM last. A working cluster is built the other way round, and the most reliable way to prepare is to follow the build: Clusterware and the OCR and voting files, then ASM disk groups, Flex ASM and ACFS, then the RAC database, its services and its clients.

The format is fixed and published: 77 multiple-choice questions, 120 minutes, a 65% passing score, delivered online with a proctor. The topic list is long but concrete, and almost every line can be practised in a two-node lab. If the work it describes is the work on your desk, the exam mostly asks you to prove you understand why that work is done the way it is.

FAQs

How many questions are on the 1Z0-078 exam, and how long do I get?

Oracle's exam page lists 77 multiple-choice questions, 120 minutes and a 65% passing score. That is about 93 seconds a question. The exam is delivered as Proctored Online.

Does Oracle publish topic weights for 1Z0-078?

No. The exam page lists 30 topics with 115 objective lines: 49 for RAC, 41 for Grid Infrastructure and 25 for ASM. Those are line counts, not percentages, so use them to judge coverage, not to predict how many questions each area will get.

Where can the OCR and voting files live in Grid Infrastructure 19c?

Oracle's Clusterware guide says both must sit on shared storage reachable by every node, and that Clusterware files must be stored on ASM. The 19c changes page of the RAC guide adds that, from Grid Infrastructure 19c, the desupport of placing OCR and voting files directly on shared file systems is rescinded for Oracle Standalone Clusters. Learn both statements and the cluster type each one covers.

What is the default number of ASM instances in Flex ASM?

Three. Oracle's Managing Oracle Flex ASM chapter says the number of ASM instances is set with a cardinality setting and that the default is three instances. You can change it with SRVCTL.

Do I have to take Oracle's training before I book 1Z0-078?

The exam page offers recommended training: the Clusterware, ASM and RAC administration workshops on MyLearn, about 40 hours combined. The page does not state a course requirement. Check Oracle's Certification Program Guidelines for the credential before you book.

What should I bring to the online 1Z0-078 session?

A government-issued identification, a computer that meets Oracle's minimum system requirements, and a testing space that meets Oracle's rules. Check in 30 minutes before the exam time. Your result appears on screen at the end, and the detailed score report is in Oracle CertView. If you need to reschedule, do it at least 24 hours before your appointment.

1Z0-1065-26: Read Oracle's Procurement Exam Through the Four People Who Touch a Purchase

DBExam Study Notes — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 03:39:54 +0000

1Z0-1065-26 is Oracle's 2026 Implementation Professional exam for Fusion Cloud Procurement. It has 36 multiple-choice questions, a 90-minute limit, a 68% passing score and a USD $245 fee. It checks whether you can configure procure-to-pay so that four different people (a requester, a buyer, a supplier and a category manager) can each do their part of a purchase.

That last point is the useful one. The syllabus lists thirteen areas, and at first glance it reads like a menu of unrelated setup screens. Sort those areas by the person they serve, though, and the exam turns into four short stories plus one shared foundation. That is how this guide is organised. The exam facts were checked on 6 October 2026.

What is the 1Z0-1065-26 exam?

It is the certification exam for consultants who implement Oracle Fusion Cloud Procurement. The "26" suffix marks the 2026 version. Passing it earns the Oracle Fusion Cloud Procurement 2026 Certified Implementation Professional credential.

These are the core facts from the 1Z0-1065-26 exam details and topic list:

Exam code: 1Z0-1065-26
Format: multiple choice
Questions: 36
Duration: 90 minutes
Passing score: 68%
Price: USD $245 (varies by country and local currency)

Thirteen areas across 36 questions means most areas get two or three questions. No single topic can carry you, and no single topic can sink you. Breadth wins this exam.

Which thirteen areas does the syllabus list?

The published topic list has thirteen areas. No percentage weights are given, so plan as if they matter equally.

Understanding the Procurement Application
Implementing Functional Setup Manager
Provisioning Common Application Functions
Setting up Common Procurement Functions
Setting up Purchasing
Setting up Self Service Procurement
Setting up Supplier Portal
Setting up Sourcing
Setting up Supplier Qualification Management (SQM)
Configuring Procurement Contracts
Configuring Project-Driven Supply Chain (PDSC)
Leveraging AI/ML/Mobile and Automation Features
Enabling Redwood Capabilities

Now give each area an owner. Areas 1 to 4 are the foundation that every role stands on. Area 6 belongs to the requester, area 5 to the buyer, areas 7 and 9 to the supplier side, and areas 8 and 10 to the category manager. Areas 11 to 13 cut across all four.

What does the foundation layer cover?

The foundation is the setup that has to exist before anyone can buy anything: the Procurement offering in Functional Setup Manager, the enterprise structure, business units and security.

Functional Setup Manager (FSM) is where an implementation starts. The syllabus asks you to explain its life cycle, configure it, manage setup data for bulk entry, and configure projects and tasks with it. Oracle's implementation guide also notes that you need a job role based on Application Implementation Consultant, and that you must opt into the Procurement offering before its setup tasks appear.

Business units are the backbone. A business unit is given business functions, and Oracle's list includes Requisitioning, Procurement, Payables invoicing, Receiving and Procurement contract management. One business unit can perform several functions, or a central procurement business unit can serve several requisitioning business units. That service relationship decides who can buy on behalf of whom, so expect scenario questions built on it.

Security closes out the foundation. The syllabus names the Procurement security model and the security reference. In practice the key setup is the procurement agent. Oracle's guide to managing procurement agents says a user must first be registered as an employee, then assigned to one or more procurement business units with specific actions. Those actions include Manage Requisitions, Manage Purchase Orders, Manage Purchase Agreements, Manage Negotiations, Manage Catalog Content, Manage Suppliers and Manage Supplier Qualifications. When a scenario says "the buyer can't see the negotiation", the answer is usually an agent action or an access level, not a role.

What does the requester need from Self Service Procurement?

The requester needs a fast, controlled way to ask for things. Self Service Procurement gives them catalogs, smart forms and shopping lists, and the setup decides which of those each requester can see.

Learn these four objects and how they relate:

Local catalogs hold items the buying organisation maintains itself.
Punchout catalogs send the requester to the supplier's own site. Oracle's punchout catalog setup guide explains that the supplier hosts and maintains the content, so pricing stays current, and the selected items return to the requisition. It recommends punchout for configurable products and items with highly variable pricing.
Smart forms cover requests that don't fit a catalog line. They are created in a procurement business unit and shared with the requisitioning business units it serves.
Content zones control who sees what. A content zone defines the subset of local catalogs, punchout catalogs, public shopping lists and smart forms that is available to a group of workers.

One smart form detail is a classic exam trap. Oracle's description of smart forms and their defaults states that when a smart form is associated with a contract purchase agreement, approved requisition lines created from it become purchase orders automatically, without a buyer touching them. If a question asks how to remove the buyer from a routine service request, that association is the answer.

The 2026 syllabus also adds three newer requisition topics: requisitions with dual unit-of-measure controlled items, distributing project cost on requisitions, and configuring lead times to work out delivery dates.

What does the buyer configure in Purchasing?

The buyer turns approved requisitions into purchase orders and agreements. The Purchasing area asks you to configure and customise Purchasing and its tasks.

In practice that means document styles, line types, approval rules and the automation that decides when a requisition line needs a buyer at all. Approval setup is large in Oracle's guide: approval groups, rule sets, routing by any segment of the charge account, and rules that use project information. You don't need every option memorised. You do need to know which approval task governs requisitions and which governs purchase orders, because the exam likes to swap them.

Keep the procurement agent setup in mind here too. A buyer who has the right business unit but lacks the Manage Purchase Agreements action can create orders and still not touch a blanket agreement.

What does the supplier see in Supplier Portal and SQM?

The supplier side covers two areas: Supplier Portal, where suppliers register and work with you, and Supplier Qualification Management, where you decide whether they meet your standards.

For Supplier Portal, Oracle's rapid implementation path uses three required tasks: Manage Supplier User Privileges, Manage Supplier User Role Usages and Configure Supplier Registration. The syllabus also asks you to describe the user roles in the portal, set up new suppliers, and configure the Supplier Portal Advisor AI agent, which is new to this exam version.

SQM is where many candidates are weakest, because few projects implement it. The core chain is short:

Qualification areas hold the questions.
A qualification model is a container for qualification areas.
An assessment initiative uses one qualification model and sends its questions to suppliers and internal responders as a questionnaire.
Reviewers accept or return responses, then assign an outcome to each qualification.

Oracle's explanation of how qualification models drive assessments adds one detail worth remembering: if a qualification area changes, the model keeps using the earlier version until you choose to take up the latest revision.

What does the category manager control in Sourcing and Contracts?

The category manager runs negotiations and holds the contracts that come out of them. Sourcing and Procurement Contracts are the two areas that serve this role.

In Sourcing, the syllabus covers the sourcing life cycle, supplier responses and managing negotiations. The setup question Oracle loves is the difference between a negotiation style and a negotiation template. Oracle's note on negotiation styles versus templates puts it plainly. A style controls which creation features appear, so a simple RFQ style can hide line attributes completely. A template is a skeleton that pre-fills values such as addresses or invited suppliers. Style shapes the screen. Template fills it in.

In Procurement Contracts, focus on the Contract Terms Library (clauses, templates and how they work together) and on setting up the business unit for supplier contracts. The Specify Supplier Contract Management Business Function Properties task sets those options per business unit, and the choices there change how the Contract Terms Library behaves while a contract is being authored. That ties this area straight back to the foundation.

Which areas cut across every role?

Three areas don't belong to any one person: Project-Driven Supply Chain, AI and automation, and Redwood.

Project-Driven Supply Chain links procurement to project management. Project-specific purchase orders charge their cost to the project, and the material is received into project inventory, with project attributes carried through procure-to-pay. Expect questions on what has to be set up on both the procurement and project sides.

AI, ML, mobile and automation is broad by design. Oracle's own announcement of AI agents for supply chain workflows describes a Procurement Policy Advisor that helps procurement staff create, process and fulfil purchase requisitions faster and more accurately, and a Supply Chain Collaboration Advisor that gives suppliers quicker access to company-specific policies. Know what each agent is for and who uses it. Detailed configuration steps are less likely to be tested.

Redwood is the newer Oracle user experience. The syllabus asks you to enable Redwood capabilities and understand what that means for existing configurations, so expect "what changes when you switch this on" questions rather than screen navigation.

How should you study for 1Z0-1065-26?

Study by role, and close every role with practice questions before moving to the next.

Week 1, foundation. FSM, business unit functions, the procurement and requisitioning BU relationship, and procurement agent actions.
Week 2, requester and buyer. Catalogs, content zones, smart forms, punchout, requisition setups, then Purchasing and approvals.
Week 3, supplier and category manager. Supplier Portal tasks, the SQM chain, negotiation styles and templates, and the Contract Terms Library.
Week 4, cross-cutting areas and review. PDSC, AI agents and Redwood, then timed practice.

A free set of 1Z0-1065-26 sample questions is a sensible check at the end of week 1, while mistakes are still cheap.

Keep a short error log as you go. Write down the setup you confused, not just the question you missed, because the same confusion tends to come back in a different scenario.

In week 4, a timed online practice exam for 1Z0-1065-26 tells you whether you can hold the pace of 36 questions in 90 minutes.

If you work across supply chain modules, procurement setup overlaps heavily with Inventory: receiving, item masters and organisations. The Inventory Cloud 2026 exam (1Z0-1073-26) is a natural second certification after this one.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How many questions are on the 1Z0-1065-26 exam?

The exam has 36 multiple-choice questions. You have 90 minutes and need 68% to pass, which is roughly 25 correct answers.

2. Is 1Z0-1065-26 hard?

It is wide rather than deep. Thirteen syllabus areas share 36 questions, so a gap in Sourcing or Supplier Qualification Management costs as much as a gap in Purchasing. Candidates who have only worked on requisitions and orders usually find SQM and Contracts the hardest parts.

3. What is the difference between a catalog and a content zone in Oracle Procurement?

A catalog is a list of items or services that people can request. A content zone controls which catalogs, smart forms and public shopping lists a group of requesters is allowed to see.

4. Who should take the 1Z0-1065-26 exam?

It suits implementation consultants, procurement systems analysts and project team members who configure Oracle Fusion Cloud Procurement. Hands-on experience with a real procure-to-pay setup helps far more than reading alone.

5. How much does the 1Z0-1065-26 exam cost?

The listed fee is USD $245. Oracle adjusts the price by country and local currency, so check the amount shown when you book.

The short version

1Z0-1065-26 looks like thirteen separate setups. It is really four people, a requester, a buyer, a supplier and a category manager, standing on one shared foundation. Learn what each of them needs and which setup gives it to them, and the scenario questions start to answer themselves.