Tuesday 6 November 2018

HOL-based simulator for VCAP-DCV Deploy exam

I came across an interesting article today - using public vSphere and vSAN HOLs to help prepare for the VCAP-DCV Deploy exam.

The scenarios have been created by Jorluis Parales - an Enterprise Technical Support Senior Analyst at Dell EMC.

There are 13 different questions, with answers - each of which you can attempt yourself in the HOL environment.

Head over to this page to access the scenarios and instructions, or read more about how Jorluis' successful preparation for the exam on this page.

Great work Jorluis!

Monday 17 September 2018

3 new certifications, 3 retirements

VMware have launched 3 new certifications - all using the new naming convention:

VMware Certified Professional – Desktop and Mobility 2018 (VCP-DTM 2018)
The exam focuses on Horizon 7.5, Identity Manager, User Environment Manager, App Volumes, and vRealize Operations for Horizon.

VMware Certified Advanced Professional – Data Center Virtualization Deploy 2018 (VCAP – DCV Deploy 018)
The live lab exam is based on vSphere 6.5 - you'll be tested on all aspects of deploying, optimizing, and troubleshooting a virtualized infrastructure.

VMware Certified Advanced Professional – Cloud Management and Automation Deploy 2018 (VCAP-CMA Deploy 2018)
The live lab exam comprises of 24 tasks, focused mostly on vRealize Automation 7.3.

This month also sees the retirement of 3 VCAP6 design exams - all of which have a more current equivalent:

VCAP6-DCV Design
Look at VCAP6.5-DCV Design

VCAP6-CMA Design
Work towards VCAP7-CMA Design

VCAP6-DTM Design
The current equivalent is VCAP7-DTM Design

All 3 of the VCAP6 exams remain available til September 30th.

Thursday 23 August 2018

Major Update to VMware Certification Naming and Schedule

VMware have announced a major shift in the naming and versioning for all certifications - alignment to the year in which a certification is earned, and a new annual release/update schedule for all VCP, VCAP, and VCDX certifications!

Naming Convention
Using the Data Center Virtualization (DCV) track, here's an example of the the next generation of certification names:

  • VCP-DCV 2019
  • VCAP-DCV Design 2019
  • VCAP-DCV Deploy 2019
  • VCDX-DCV 2019

Certifications launched from this month will use this new convention, starting with the release of:

  • VMware Certified Professional – Desktop and Mobility 2018 (VCP-DTM 2018)
  • VMware Certified Advanced Professional – Data Center Virtualization Deploy 2018 (VCAP-DCV Deploy 2018)
  • VMware Certified Advanced Professional – Cloud Management and Automation Deploy 2018 (VCAP- CMA Deploy 2018)

Release Schedule
As you might expect from such a naming convention, there's also a switch to an annual release schedule:

  • January 1st: Release and update all VCP certifications
  • March 1st: Release and update all VCAP Design certifications
  • May 1st: Release and update all VCAP Deploy certifications
  • VCDX certification updates will follow VCAP releases

Benefits
These changes give you:

  • Better predictability in certification releases
  • Stronger relevancy in the market - you can easily communicate your current status
  • Clarity of paths and requirements for upgrading and recertification

For further information and an FAQ document please see this blog announcement

Wednesday 4 July 2018

Retiring VCAP certifications/exams

VMware will be retiring 3 older VCAP exams on September 30th 2018:

VMware Certified Advanced Professional 6 — Data Center Virtualization Design (VCAP6-DCV Design)
VMware Certified Advanced Professional 6 — Cloud Management and Automation Design (VCAP6-CMA Design)
VMware Certified Advanced Professional 6 — Desktop and Mobility Design (VCAP6-DTM Design)

If you wish to achieve any of these certifications, you must pass their respective exams by the date above.

Each of the retiring certifications has a current equivalent, which you should consider working towards:

VCAP6.5-DCV Design
VCAP7-CMA Design
VCAP7-DTM Design

Wednesday 18 April 2018

VMware Certification Updates - Spring 2018

Wow, it's been an embarrassingly long time since I've posted here! My role at VMware is internal-only, and relentless - meaning that it's difficult to make the time to post updates...

So, here's an attempt at consolidating the most pertinent certification updates - in no particular order!

New Certification: VMware Certified Professional - Digital Workspace 2018 (VCP-DW 2018)
As the boundaries blur between the traditional "desktop" workspace, and the proliferation of mobile devices and apps, VMware have just released a VCP certification centred around Workspace ONE - which I use all day every day as an employee!

Find out more via this blog post, or head directly to the VCP-DW 2018 page here.

New Certification: VMware Certified Associate - Digital Business Transformation (VCA-DBT)
Rather than have a separate VCA certification in each of the 4 main solution areas as was previously the case, there is now just a single VCA on Digital Business Transformation.

As the focus is on digital transformation, there's a broad set of technologies/products/solutions covered - learn more by reading this blog post, and the VCA-DBT page.

Specialist Certifications: vSAN and vRealize Operations
Rather than having full-blown certification tracks for vSAN and vRealize Operations, VMware launched "specialist" certifications for each of these technologies.

vSAN 2017 Specialist
vRealize Operations 2017 Specialist

vSAN is also part of the DCV solution track for VCP/VCAP/VCDX, while vRealize Operations comes under CMA for VCP/VCAP/VCDX.

Bridging Paths for Current VCP Holders
VMware now offer a single exam path to achieving the latest VCPs for the various solution tracks, for those who have a current VCP that is 2 versions behind the latest VCP.

Example: VCP5-DCV holders can go straight to VCP6.5-DCV without having to achieve VCP6-DCV first.

Before these new paths became available, older version VCP holders would need to pass 2 exams, or take a course and pass the same exams as a newbie.

Check this blog post for details, and more examples of how the new paths might apply to you.

Other
A few other topics have been covered by "Certification Insights" blog posts:

Finding Exam Prep Materials
Purchasing Branded Items
Helping to Develop Exams

I will try not to leave it so long til I post again!!

Infographics on VCPs, VCAPs, and now VCDXs

VMware have previously released (and updated) infographics on the global distribution of the VCP and VCAP programs, and now they've done the same for VCDX!


































You can read their blog post here, or check out the most recent VCP and VCAP stats.