Skill Set Inventory

PowerCenter Data Integration 9.x:

Administrator, Specialist Certification
About the Informatica Certified Professional (ICP) Program
Informatica certification is a two-stage structure that correlates professional certification with the
what, why and how of Informatica implementations:
Specialist To achieve Specialist recognition, a candidate must pass a written exam, proctored in
person or via webcam. The Specialist exam validates that the individual understands the product and
can apply the skills and capabilities required to contribute to a project as a full team member.
Expert To reach the Expert level an Informatica Certified Specialist must pass Informatica Velocity
Best Practices and Implementation Methodologies Certification. This certification validates that you are
able to lead a project implementation team following our best practices.
Our new exams have been developed to define product competency by job role, where demonstrated
performance and outcomes validate Informatica implementation skills.

About the ICS Data Integration PowerCenter Administrator Exam and the
Skill Set Inventory
This exam measures your competency across installation and configuration, architecture, server
maintenance, security, deployment, PowerCenter Repository management, web services, command line
utilities and Informatica Velocity Best Practices and Implementation Methodology as a full member of a
project implementation team.
The skill set inventory is used to guide your preparation before taking the exam. It is an outline of the
technical topics and subject areas that are covered in each exam. The skill set inventory includes test
domain weighting, test objectives and topical content. The topics and concepts are included to clarify
the test objectives.

Informatica University, Copyright Informatica Corporation, February 12, 2013

Test takers will be tested on:

Architecture
Server Maintenance
Security
Deployment
License Keys
Repository Management
Web Services
Command Line Utilities
Metadata Reporting
Administrator Tool

Training Prerequisites
The skills and knowledge areas measured by this exam are focused on product core functionality inside
the realm of a standard project implementation. Training materials, supporting documentation and
practical experience may become sources of question development.
The suggested training prerequisites for this certification level are the completion of the following
Informatica course(s):
Informatica 9.x PowerCenter Administration.

Exam Test Domains

The test domains and the extent to which they are represented as an estimated percentage of the exam
follows:
Title
Architecture
Server Maintenance
Security
Deployment
License Keys
Repository Management
Web Services
Command Line Utilities
Metadata Reporting
Administrator Tool

% of Test
15%
15%
20%
15%
5%
10%
2%
10%
3%
5%

Informatica University, Copyright Informatica Corporation, February 12, 2013

Question Format
You may select from one or more response offerings to answer a question.
You will score the question correctly if your response accurately completes the statement or answers
the question. Incorrect distractors are given as possible correct answers so that those without the
required skills and experience may wrongly select that choice.
A passing grade of 70% is needed to achieve recognition as an Informatica Certified Specialist (ICS) DI
PowerCenter Developer v9.x
You are given 90 minutes to complete the exam.
Test formats used in this exam are:
Multiple Choice: Select one option that best answers the question or completes the statement
Multiple Response: Select all that apply to best answer the question or complete the statement
True/False: After reading the statement or questions select the best answer

Exam Policy

You are eligible for one attempt per exam registration.

If you do not pass on your first attempt
You must wait 2 weeks after the exam to take the exam again
You may take the exam up to three times in one year from the date of your first exam attempt
You must pay the full exam fee each time you take the exam.

Test Topics
The exam will contain 70 questions comprised of topics that span across the sections listed below. In
order to ensure that you are prepared for the test, review the subtopics associated with each section.

Informatica University, Copyright Informatica Corporation, February 12, 2013

1. Informatica Architecture
How the different pieces of the architecture fit together
How the different services relate to one another
The function of each service
The different types of nodes & how they function
Be familiar with the client applications & how they interact with the domain
Be familiar with the Administrator tool
Domain alerts & how theyre configured
Domain migration
The license service
2. Service Maintenance
Know the function of each service
Know which services support which client applications
Know how to configure each service
Generate a diagnostics file
3. Security
Be able to define the terms user, group, privilege, role, & permission
Know how to configure users, groups, privileges, roles, & permissions
Know how users, groups, privileges, roles, & permissions relate to one another
Know the Security page in the Administrator Tool
Know how to assign users to groups
Know how to assign privileges & roles to groups or users
Know how to set up permissions in the various applications
Know how to set up permissions in the domain
Know how Informatica authentication works
Default administrator accounts
Know the difference between native & LDAP security
Know how to configure native & LDAP security
Know the difference between assigned & inherited privileges
Know the difference between assigned & inherited permissions
Know the difference between a system & a custom role
Privilege groups
Direct, inherited, & effective domain permissions
Know how to configure operating system profiles
Subject area implementation
4. Deployment
Know the different methods of PowerCenter metadata deployment
Advantages & disadvantages of each deployment method
Best practices around deployment
Informatica University, Copyright Informatica Corporation, February 12, 2013

5. License Keys
Know the role of the license key file
Know how to assign services to a license
Know how to view options for a license
6. Repository Management
Know the functionality of each of the client tools
Know how to set folder permissions in PowerCenter
PowerCenter shortcuts
Know how to configure PowerCenter connections
Types of objects reside in a PowerCenter repository
7. Web Services
Informatica web service architecture
Know the messaging standard Informatica uses
Know the role of a WSDL file as it relates to an Informatica web service
Know how to configure an Informatica real-time web service
8. Command Line Interface
Function of each CLI
Know which CLIs have an interactive mode
Know the successful CLI return code
Know how to capture the CLI return code
9. Metadata Reporting
Role of the MX views
Know the function of Save MX Data
Metadata extensions
Know how to create & manage non-reusable metadata extensions
Know how to create & manage reusable metadata extensions
10. Administrator Tool
Know configurations
Understand connections and actions

Sample Test Questions

Which of the following is true about database connections?
Option Text
A.

Connections may only be created in the Workflow Manager for PowerCenter Repositories and only
in the Developer for the MRS

B.

PowerCenter connections may be created in either the Administrator or the Workflow Manager

C.

MRS connections may be created in either the Workflow Manager or the Administrator

D.

Connections may be created in the Administrator for the MRS and in the Workflow Manager for

Informatica University, Copyright Informatica Corporation, February 12, 2013

PowerCenter Repositories

You are in the Administrator. The Node Properties tab contains which of the following items?
Option Text
A.

Node port, Backup Directory, Maximum Processes

B.

Node Name, Node CPU Utilization, Minimum Port Number

C.

Node Port, Node Disk Utilization, Maximum Memory %

D.

Node Port, Node CPU Utilization, Maximum Processes

Which objects may be imported from an LDAP security domain?

Option Text
A.

Users, Groups, and Privileges

B.

Users, Groups, and Permissions

C.

Users and Groups

D.

Users only

Which types of users may grant the System-defined Administrator role?

Option Text
A.

Only the default administrator

B.

Any user with the Grant Privileges and Roles domain privilege

C.

Only the default administrator and domain administrator

D.

Only the default administrator, all domain administrators

Metadata Exchange (MX) Target view provides which of the following?

Option Text
A.

A list of the latest version of all target definitions defined by owner for both relational and nonrelational sources

B.

A list of the latest version of all target definitions defined by owner for relational sources

C.

A list of the latest version of all target definitions defined by folder for relational sources

D.

A list of the latest version of all target definitions defined by folder for both relational and nonrelational sources

Informatica University, Copyright Informatica Corporation, February 12, 2013