New VCPs for VMware vSphere Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation

Following the simplification of product offerings and SKUs, VMware have now launched 2 new VMware Certified Professional certifications for VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) and VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)

VMware vSphere Foundation - Administrator

Let's start first with VVF, here's what VMware say about the target profile for this certification:

Learn more about this VCP on the VCP-VVF Administrator page and on this blog article.

VMware Cloud Foundation - Administrator

Moving to VCF, the target profile is the same but for someone working with the full VCF stack:

As above, there is a dedicated VCP-VCF Administrator page and blog article where you can get full details.

A couple of questions came to my mind:

Do these new certifications spell the end of the DataCenter Virtualization (DCV) certifications? Well, not yet, but I expect so come the start of 2025.

Will there be upgrade paths for those with existing VCPs? That concept doesn't really apply any more since there is only an exam requirement for a VCP now, no hard training requirements - to get these new VCPs you pass the exams for them.

VMware Certifications by Broadcom - All Change!

Unless you've been living under a rock or on the moon for the last year or two, you'll be aware that VMware is now part of Broadcom.

There have been a LOT of organisational changes since the close of the acquisition, a LOT of change in terms of product offerings and licensing, and now it's time for a LOT of changes to the VMware training and certification programs!

Here's a high-level summary:

Digital Learning

• Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD) is the new home for all digital learning
• Free Digital Learning Entitlement for all Strategic customers. VCF customers, partners, and employees
• Content includes courses on VCF, vSphere, NSX, Aria, HCX, SRM, Advanced Load Balancer, SD-WAN, Telco, Cloud Director, and Tanzu solutions
• Previous digital learning subscribers (eg. Success 360 and Premium Learning Subscription) are upgraded in CSOD to the Digital Learning Entitlement until their contract expires, the upgrade adds lecture content from On Demand courses
• Enterprise Learning Subscription (ELS) will continue to be available to purchase, this is the highest-level tier and also includes access to live labs from On Demand courses and VCP vouchers

Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT)

• Strategic customers, VCF customers, and Pinnacle Partners will be entitled to free VILT through CSOD (subject to availability and resources)
• Paid-for Instructor-Led private training will be available for Strategic customers and VCF customers, all other customers will be served by VMware Authorised Learning Partners

Certifications

• No mandatory course prerequisites for any VCP or VCAP within the VCF division product set - vSphere, vSAN, NSX, Aria, and VCF
• All VCTA, VCP, and VCAP exams will have a flat fee of $250 (or local currency price)

I also know that training, exam, and certification history for all has been migrated to Broadcom systems as part of the retirement of myLearn.

Wow! That's a lot to get our heads around...

As someone who first became a VCP in 2006 (!!) the removal of the authorised training requirement is a VERY big deal.

VMware has previously stuck solid to this requirement, the only previous concession being for the NSX-based VCP allowing a bypass for those with Cisco certifications.

Here's a couple of how to documents related to the above changes:

• Accessing VMware VCF Digital Content
• How To Access Broadcom Support

Here's the VMware Learning blog post about some of the changes above.

Autumn 2023 - new certifications and exams on VCF and VMC on AWS

VMware Learning continue to develop and release exams on the latest technology offerings, here's the detail on exams for two certifications released this month.

VMware Cloud on AWS: Master Specialist 2024

This new exam tests a candidate's ability to deploy, configure, manage and operate a solution based on VMware Cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

It is the required exam of the VMware Certified Master Specialist - VMware Cloud on AWS 2023 certification. As this is a higher-level certification, the bar is set high in terms of other requirements.

The exam itself follows a format which should be familiar to many - full details including the Exam Guide can be found here: EXAM 5V0-33.23 VMware Cloud on AWS: Master Specialist 2024.

VMware Cloud Foundation Deployment Specialist

VMware Cloud Foundation is THE platform for EVERY type of workload - from traditional monolithic apps, modern apps based on Kubernetes, and now LLMs for AI.

This exam tests a candidate's understanding of the capabilities of VMware Cloud Foundation and how to successfully plan, deploy, manage, and operate a VMware Cloud Foundation deployment.

No surprises with the exam format, there's no hands-on lab environment that you have to work in - read the Exam Guide and access other information here: EXAM 5V0-31.23 VMware Cloud Foundation Deployment Specialist.

The exam is a required element of the VMware Certified Specialist - VMware Cloud Foundation Deployment 2024 certification.

New exams for VCAP-DCV Design and VCP-DW

Two more new exams have been released this month, completely unrelated to one another as they are for very different certifications!

Both exams are available to book now - see below for more details, and best of luck if you're considering attempting either of them!

vSphere 8.x Advanced Design

First up is the VMware vSphere 8.x Advanced Design (3V0-21.23) exam which is for the VMware Certified Advanced Professional - Data Center Virtualization Design 2023 (VCAP-DCV Design 2023) certification.

This new exam is based on vSphere 8.x, and until the end of January 2024 it will sit alongside the previous Advanced Design VMware vSphere 7.x (3V0-21.21) exam - giving you the option of passing either the vSphere 7.x exam or vSphere 8.x exam to achieve the same certification, whichever works best for you.

Comparing the exam guide PDFs for the two exams, the new guide has mentions of VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware Validated Solutions, plus a focus on topics such as capacity planning, scalability, lifecycle management, availability, performance, security, and recoverability.

Workspace ONE 22.x Professional

The other new release is the VMware Workspace ONE 22.X Professional (2V0-62.23) exam for the VMware Certified Professional - Digital Workspace 2023 certification.

It's been 2 years since the Professional VMware Workspace ONE 21.X (2V0-62.21) exam was released and it will be retired at the end of September 2023, so unless you're already close to being ready to attempt it I would definitely suggest preparing for the new exam rather than the old one.

The exam guide PDF for the new exam has a different structure to the guide for the previous exam, I don't expect a good candidate would find many surprises when looking through the new guide.

New exam for NSX 4.x

VMware recently released a new exam based on NSX 4.x for the VCP-NV 2023 certification.

The full title is VMware NSX 4.x Professional and the exam code for booking is 2V0-41.23

Until the end of July it sits alongside the previous 3.0 exam, from August 1st only the new 4.x exam will be available to achieve the VCP-NV 2023.

The new exam follows a format which should be familiar to anyone that has taken a Professional exam for a VCP certification:

• 135 minutes
• 70 questions
• 300 scaled passing score
• US$250 (varies in other currencies)
• Proctored - either online or at a testing centre

Learn more about the exam objectives and recommended training and resources on the VMware NSX 4.x Professional page.

Learning platforms for Kubernetes and Tanzu

Want to learn about Kubernetes and/or Tanzu?

VMware has your needs covered, thanks to KubeAcademy and the new Tanzu Academy.

KubeAcademy is a free, product-agnostic Kubernetes and cloud native technology education program built by a team of expert instructors.

Tanzu Academy has both free and paid tiers for you to learn how to build the right platform for your desired outcomes using the various Tanzu offerings.

Use the links above to learn more about each resource, sign-up, and start your learning journey...

New certifications for VMware Tanzu

With VMware focussing more than ever on being THE platform for applications, and more specifically THE place to host Kubernetes, the Application Modernization family of certifications has two new additions:

VMware Certified Professional - Tanzu for Kubernetes Operations 2023

The latest VCP is on Tanzu for Kubernetes Operations. This certification proves the knowledge of specialists to manage, operate and secure their Kubernetes operations in multi-cloud environments.

As with other VCPs, there are two hard requirements for those who are not already a recent VCP:

• Completion of training
• Passing an exam

The training requirement can be met by completing an authorised course on vSphere with Tanzu, Tanzu Kubernetes Grid, or Tanzu Mission Control, or a broader Kubernetes Fundamentals and Cluster Operations course.

The exam seems typical for a VCP exam - a mix of single and multiple choice questions, it is proctored, and has a scaled passing score of 300.

Learn more about the certification and all requirements here: VCP - Tanzu for Kubernetes Operations 2023

If you obtained a VCP in 2020 or more recently, the training requirement reverts to being "recommended" therefore optional - how you learn the knowledge and skills needed to pass the exam are up to you.

VMware Tanzu Mission Control Specialist

The other new certification is a "specialist" badge, for those who operate and manage Kubernetes clusters using VMware Tanzu Mission Control.

The hard requirements are:

• Hold a VCP in either Application Modernization (2022 or 2023) or Tanzu for Kubernetes Operations (2023)
• Passing an exam

So this badge sits at a level above VCP, while the exam is VCP-like in structure.

Learn more about this badge here: Specialist - Tanzu Mission Control Specialist