I'm running a vSphere webinar on October 23rd, which is being publicised across the whole of the Global Knowledge EMEA region - it starts at 10:00 UK time, 11:00 CET. Last time I ran this sesssion for Global Knowledge UK, and the response was huge, so we've decided to run it again, and across EMEA this time.
The session will cover all the most important aspects of vSphere, some new and some old, as well as the latest certification information. The presentation portion will last roughly 50 minutes, followed by an open Q&A session - the session will remain open for as long as the questions keep coming in!
For further information, and to register, follow this link.
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Thursday, 8 October 2009
Free re-take for VCP4 exam
Between now and the end of 2009 VMware are offering you a free re-take of the VCP4 exam if you don't pass first time! This was announced on the VMware Certification portal and on this Pearson Vue page yesterday.
I think this is great for current VCP3 holders who have been wondering whether to take the VCP4 exam now or later, for those who don't know whether they are 100% ready for the exam, and for those that don't necessarily think the VCP is for them.
1. Go to the VMware Certification portal and follow the link to enrol in the 2nd Shot/Upgrade Program
2. By the end of the week that you do that you will receive an email that contains a voucher number
3. Go to this Pearson Vue page, book the exam, and apply the voucher number
4. Take the exam as per your exam booking
If you don't pass the exam, go back to the Pearson Vue site, book the exam again, and apply a promotion code to the registration to get the re-take at no cost.
You have to book and take your VCP4 exam, and if you need it, the re-take before 31st December 2009.
Follow the above links above for all the terms, and official confirmation of the processes outlined here.
Update 1 - 11th October: There is a problem on the VMware site with registering for the voucher - I have alerted VMware. See update 3 below.
Update 2 - 12th October: When you have successfully registered for the promotion, you will get an email from VMware that includes your voucher (which is specific to each individual) with confirmation of how to use it when booking your first and (if necessary) second attempt at the exam.
Update 3 - 12th October: The link to use now appears to be (link removed, see update 4 below), but only until 16th October - maybe VMware will be launching a new link weekly.....
Update 4 - 12th October: VMware have rectified the problem reported in update 1 above, and recommend to start the registration process via the Certification portal, as per the main article above.
I think this is great for current VCP3 holders who have been wondering whether to take the VCP4 exam now or later, for those who don't know whether they are 100% ready for the exam, and for those that don't necessarily think the VCP is for them.
1. Go to the VMware Certification portal and follow the link to enrol in the 2nd Shot/Upgrade Program
2. By the end of the week that you do that you will receive an email that contains a voucher number
3. Go to this Pearson Vue page, book the exam, and apply the voucher number
4. Take the exam as per your exam booking
If you don't pass the exam, go back to the Pearson Vue site, book the exam again, and apply a promotion code to the registration to get the re-take at no cost.
You have to book and take your VCP4 exam, and if you need it, the re-take before 31st December 2009.
Follow the above links above for all the terms, and official confirmation of the processes outlined here.
Update 1 - 11th October: There is a problem on the VMware site with registering for the voucher - I have alerted VMware. See update 3 below.
Update 2 - 12th October: When you have successfully registered for the promotion, you will get an email from VMware that includes your voucher (which is specific to each individual) with confirmation of how to use it when booking your first and (if necessary) second attempt at the exam.
Update 3 - 12th October: The link to use now appears to be (link removed, see update 4 below), but only until 16th October - maybe VMware will be launching a new link weekly.....
Update 4 - 12th October: VMware have rectified the problem reported in update 1 above, and recommend to start the registration process via the Certification portal, as per the main article above.
Monday, 5 October 2009
My new web site - Think Virtually
Since I launched this blog back in March 2009, I've been amazed by the feedback I've received from those of you that read it - and stunned to see the number of visitors grow to the level it has reached! I always planned that once I got into the habit of posting regularly, and that I'd seen interest in my content grow, that I'd create my own web site - so I have and wanted to take this chance to direct you there....
http://www.thinkvirtually.co.uk will take you there...
You might recognise some of the content under the VCP4 menu, I must stress though that some parts of the site are not yet complete. I'm also still debating the menu items and structure - what you see today is at least the fourth version!!
I'm open to ideas, and also to any feedback - you can contact me using any of the methods on the blog here, or there is a Contact form under the About menu on the site.
For the forseeable future, I will be updating this blog and the web site side-by-side.
I hope you find the site useful!
Scott.
http://www.thinkvirtually.co.uk will take you there...
You might recognise some of the content under the VCP4 menu, I must stress though that some parts of the site are not yet complete. I'm also still debating the menu items and structure - what you see today is at least the fourth version!!
I'm open to ideas, and also to any feedback - you can contact me using any of the methods on the blog here, or there is a Contact form under the About menu on the site.
For the forseeable future, I will be updating this blog and the web site side-by-side.
I hope you find the site useful!
Scott.
Friday, 2 October 2009
VCP4 beta exam - results are out!
Finally, after weeks of waiting, the results for the VCP4 beta exam are out! It appears as though the PearsonVUE accounts of those who took the beta exam have been updated - previously your exam history listed VCP411 as having been "taken", that record has been changed to VCP410 and hopefully your status says "pass"!!
So, if you did the beta exam, go and have a look at your account over at pearsonvue.com.... I've got my fingers crossed for you!
Scott.
So, if you did the beta exam, go and have a look at your account over at pearsonvue.com.... I've got my fingers crossed for you!
Scott.
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Review of VCP4 exam
I know I've posted other things about the VCP4 exam over the last couple of months, but now I've had the chance to take it for myself - so here's my thoughts on it:
The format is familiar to anyone who's done a VCP exam before, in terms of the exam interface and the question/answer style, see my VCP3 posts for the detail on that. As with previous VCP exams, it's a "rapid fire" type of exam: read the question > think of the answer(s) > select the answer(s) on the screen > next question please!
What I would say is that there are a large number of questions that require multiple answers - you are always told how many answers are needed, and you can normally tell why some of the "wrong" answers have been included relative to the correct answers, but some of those questions are still quite challenging.
The single biggest tip, as I've been saying for a long time about VCP exams, is study the things in the Blueprint document!
I can confirm:
As others have said on their blogs and the VMware community forum, VCP4 is a tougher exam than VCP3 - it does require a broader, but also deeper level of knowledge than before. VCP4 is a lot less about memorizing facts and figures (like those in the Configuration Maximums document) and a lot more about actually knowing how a particular feature works, or what it's designed to do. I like it, I think it's a good exam that will really show that you know your stuff about virtualization, and of course about vSphere.
For the record, I passed, but then as I've been a VCI for over 3 years and I work with the technology every day I fully expected to, my students rely on me being able to do what I do, and know what I know! Whilst the regular passing score is 300, I needed to achieve the instructor passing score of 350 - and I was delighted to do that with ease - I'm a fully-paid up member of the 400+ club!
My other VCP4 posts on here will REALLY help you to get yourself ready for the exam. There is one other new page that has just been published on the Global Knowledge site, the content of which was created by me: VCP4 Certification
Don't forget that I also run VCP exam preparation workshops for Global Knowledge too - packed full of exam tips and tricks!
Best of luck to all those doing their VCP4!
The format is familiar to anyone who's done a VCP exam before, in terms of the exam interface and the question/answer style, see my VCP3 posts for the detail on that. As with previous VCP exams, it's a "rapid fire" type of exam: read the question > think of the answer(s) > select the answer(s) on the screen > next question please!
What I would say is that there are a large number of questions that require multiple answers - you are always told how many answers are needed, and you can normally tell why some of the "wrong" answers have been included relative to the correct answers, but some of those questions are still quite challenging.
The single biggest tip, as I've been saying for a long time about VCP exams, is study the things in the Blueprint document!
I can confirm:
- You WILL get tested on the topics in the blueprint document, all of them
- You WILL need to know some very detailed and specific pieces of information
- You DO need to understand the products in the vSphere suite
As others have said on their blogs and the VMware community forum, VCP4 is a tougher exam than VCP3 - it does require a broader, but also deeper level of knowledge than before. VCP4 is a lot less about memorizing facts and figures (like those in the Configuration Maximums document) and a lot more about actually knowing how a particular feature works, or what it's designed to do. I like it, I think it's a good exam that will really show that you know your stuff about virtualization, and of course about vSphere.
For the record, I passed, but then as I've been a VCI for over 3 years and I work with the technology every day I fully expected to, my students rely on me being able to do what I do, and know what I know! Whilst the regular passing score is 300, I needed to achieve the instructor passing score of 350 - and I was delighted to do that with ease - I'm a fully-paid up member of the 400+ club!
My other VCP4 posts on here will REALLY help you to get yourself ready for the exam. There is one other new page that has just been published on the Global Knowledge site, the content of which was created by me: VCP4 Certification
Don't forget that I also run VCP exam preparation workshops for Global Knowledge too - packed full of exam tips and tricks!
Best of luck to all those doing their VCP4!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)