Retired exam
Alibaba Cloud Academy retired ACA Database Associate on 2025-03-31 (exam page: 'ACA Database Certification retired on March 31, 2025'; on the announcement's retiring list). No successor is named.
No direct replacement is named in the reviewed official sources.
The ACA Database Associate (ACA-DB) certification from Alibaba Cloud covered database fundamentals, ApsaraDB RDS, NoSQL, data migration, and high availability configurations. This exam is officially retired as of 2025-03-31. Alibaba Cloud has not named a successor for this credential. Candidates seeking current certification paths should consult the official Alibaba Cloud education portal for the latest available programs and professional guidance regarding their cloud database learning journey and technical development.
This retired exam was intended for database administrators and cloud engineers managing database workloads. It required knowledge of relational and NoSQL database services, migration strategies, and high availability configurations within the Alibaba Cloud environment to ensure operational success for various enterprise applications.
Because the ACA-DB exam is retired with no successor, do not prepare for this specific test. Focus instead on current cloud database documentation provided by Alibaba Cloud. Review the core concepts of ApsaraDB RDS, including scaling, backup, and disaster recovery, as these remain relevant to managing cloud databases. Consult the official Alibaba Cloud certification website to identify active programs that align with your professional development goals and technical career path in the cloud industry.
This domain covers the core concepts of database systems and their operation within a cloud environment, focusing on the knowledge required to understand how various database architectures function and interact with cloud service models effectively.
This domain focuses on the management and operation of ApsaraDB RDS instances, covering the tasks required to provision, maintain, and secure relational database services within the Alibaba Cloud ecosystem for optimal performance and reliability.
This domain addresses the use of NoSQL databases, specifically MongoDB and Redis, on Alibaba Cloud, providing insights into how these non-relational database services are implemented to support high-performance caching and flexible data storage requirements for applications.
This domain covers the methods and tools used to move data between databases, emphasizing the strategies and technical procedures necessary to perform efficient data migration while minimizing downtime and ensuring data integrity during the transition process.
This domain focuses on ensuring database availability and reliability through architectural design, covering the implementation of replication and recovery strategies that protect data assets against potential failures within the cloud infrastructure environment for business continuity.
The ACA-DB exam consisted of 60 questions in total, which were designed to test the candidate's knowledge across various database management domains within the Alibaba Cloud platform before the retirement date of the program.
The exam used a pass/fail grading system, and the specific passing threshold was not publicly disclosed by Alibaba Cloud, meaning candidates were evaluated based on their overall performance across the entire test during the session.
The exam had a duration of 120 minutes, providing candidates with sufficient time to complete the assessment and demonstrate their proficiency in managing cloud-based database services and related architectural configurations within the allotted time frame.
The exam price was $200, which was the standard fee required for candidates to register and participate in the certification process before the program was officially retired by the provider on the specified date.
Verified 2026-08-30
This editorial was compiled by reviewing official Alibaba Cloud certification documentation and retirement notices to provide accurate information regarding the status of the ACA-DB exam, ensuring that all details reflect the current program lifecycle and status.