Recertification policy for VCP level certifications

Well here's a change in policy from VMware - those that hold VCP-level certifications will now have to recertify in order to retain their certification and all the related benefits.

Here's the official announcement on the new policy:

http://mylearn.vmware.com/mgrReg/plan.cfm?plan=46667&ui=www_cert

There are 2 milestones to watch out for:

- If you earned all your VCP level certifications prior to March 10th 2013 you have til March 10th 2015 to recertify
- If you earned your most recent VCP level certification since March 10th 2013 you have 2 years from the date you earned that certification to recertify

You can recertify in any of these ways:

- Pass the current exam for the VCP level certification in the same discipline
- Pass the current VCP level exam in another discipline
- Pass a current VCAP level exam in the same or another discipline

Note: there is no training requirement for recertification - this is a shift in policy as previously individuals would have to take a What's New class (in the case of DCV) or even a full class as part of updating their VCP certification to a new version once a grace period had passed

Today there are 3 disciplines that have VCP certifications - Data Center Virtualisation, Cloud, and Desktop - expect to see VCP for additional disciplines such as Networking Virtualisation added in the future.

If you do not recertify by the relevant milestone your certification will be revoked and you will no longer be entitled to use the certification logo or represent yourself as VMware certified. To regain certified status, you will need to meet all the prerequisites for the specific certification.

At this time there are no recertification policies for VCA, VCAP, or VCDX certifications - but I suspect that will change in the future so watch out for other announcements.

July 28th updates to exam blueprints

A number of VMware certification exam blueprints have been updated to new versions.

vSphere
VCP4 v1.9.2: http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-10074
VCP5 beta v1.4: http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-16726

View
VCA4-DT v1.2: http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-16714
VCP4-DT v1.1: http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-16715

It looks like the changes in all the blueprints are minor, but as always it is advisable to use the latest blueprint available to help prepare you for the certification exams.

VCP4-DT Exam Blueprint Published

VMware have now published the all-important exam blueprint for the new VMware Certified Professional 4 - Desktop certification, you'll find the blueprint document here on the VMware community forum: http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-15949

Here are the section headings in the blueprint:
Install View components
Configure the View environment
Create and configure pools
Implementation Troubleshooting
Component features and functions

This certification has two pre-requisite certifications:
VCP4
VCA4-DT

It is recommended to attend either the View: Install Configure Manage or View: Desktop Fast Track training courses in preparation for the exam, but neither course is mandatory.

VCP4-DT beta exam invitations

VMware have sent out invitiations for the VCP4-DT beta exam, check your Inbox to see if you have one!

The VCP4-DT certification will only be awarded to those who also hold VCP4 certification, and of course you must either pass this new beta exam or the final exam as and when it is released.

The foundation-level VCA4-DT exam went through it's beta process in February and will get it's final release via PearsonVUE soon. Later this year VMware will also release the exam for VCAP4-DT.

My earlier blog post on these new desktop certifications for vSphere and View is here:
http://vmwaretraining.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-desktop-certification.html

And before anybody asks, I can't get you an invitation to the beta exam - your best option would be to email certification@vmware.com