At the beginning of 2019, VMware released a new VCP-DCV 2019 certification and a new certification exam: Professional vSphere 6.7 Exam 2019 (2V0-21.19).
Steve, Owen, and I began drafting a new appendix for use in conjunction with the VCP6-DCV: Official Cert Guide (VMware Press) when preparing the vSphere 6.7 exam; but, we determined that the changes in exam structure and content made the endeavor futile. We realized that the effort was huge and the product would not be ideal. Instead, we decided on developing a new guide that we would release shortly after next major releases of vSphere and the exam.
But, due to the absence of ideal VCP-DCV vSphere 6.7 exam preparation tools, I am posting this very, rough draft of vSphere 6.7 Appendix here. Feel free to use as-is:
NOTE: The Exam Preparation Guide for the Professional vSphere 6.7 Exam does not provide any details for the exam objectives. Here is my quick attempt to identify some potential subtopics. (This is not official. It is just based on my knowledge of the topic and information that I found in the official VMware documentation.):
Here is the slide deck from the presentation delivered on Sept 20, 2018.
August 24, 2018 – Update
Steve, Owen, and I created this online Appendix E for you to use in conjunction with the VCP6-DCV Official Cert Guide to prepare for the VCP6.5-DCV Exam.
Click here for Appendix E (version 6.5): Appendix E
We also created a set of version 6.5 specific question that you should use in conjunction with the Practice Exams that com with the Cert guide.
Click here for the version 6.5 Practice Exam Questions: Practice-Questions-vLore
The latest VMware Certified Professional (VCP) certification for Data Center Virtualization (DCV) is VCP6.5-DCV. This is the first time that VMware is offering a dot-5 level certification. In the past, they provided dot-5 exams, which you could use to earn a certification, but the certification level itself was not designated as dot-5. For example, you could pass a version 5.5 exam to earn the VCP5-DCV. (No VCP5.5-DCV certification exists). But, now you have the opportunity to pass the version 6.5 exam and earn VCP6.5-DCV.
If you have not yet earned VCP6-DCV, you could seek VCP6.5-DCV or VCP6-DCV. I recommend that you base the decision on your skill set and readiness to take a specific exam. For example, if you are very skilled with vSphere 6.0, but have little experience with vSphere 6.5, you may wish to lean toward VCP6-DCV.
I suspect the VCP6.5-DCV may become a popular certification for those who hold VCP6-DCV (or VCP5-DCV) and need to re-certify during the next year.
How to Prepare
A great way to prepare is to use the VCP6-DCV Official Cert Guide (VMware Press) and to supplement with a small amount of additional material to accommodate additions in the blueprint and changes in vSphere 6.5
I compared the blueprints of the version 6.0 exam (which is addressed in the Cert Guide) and the 6.5 exam. Most of the changes are cosmetic, such as reworded and relocated objectives and sub-objectives. A modest amount of new items appear in the objectives. Some of the new items are already covered in the Cert Guide as part of covering related objectives.
So, I recommend that you:
- Read and apply the VCP6-DCV Official Cert Guide, as written, from cover to cover.
- Use the practice exams
- Then, examine this table that identifies additional v6.5 blueprint items and related vSphere 6.5 technology changes and follow the references in the table to learn more. The sources for the references are:
- What’s New in VMware vSphere 6.5 – Technical White Paper (What’s New)
- Official vSphere 6.5 Documentation Center (Doc Center)
Coming Soon: Watch this vLoreBlog and social media for online content to accompany the table that will provide details for each item in place of the references.
Today, I was pleasantly surprised to learn hands-on that many settings that I made during the installation of VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) could be easily modified after installation.
I have been using SRM for several years and it seemed to me that many configuration changes actually required reinstallation of SRM. Recently, I learned that SRM 6.1 installer could be run in modify mode, which would allow me to change many of my original settings. Last week, in a test environment, I had a need to change the Listener Port from 9068 (which is the default for SRM 6.1) to 9007 (which is the default in SRM 5.5). I assumed that this specific change would require reinstallation, but I was able to make the change by running the change in modify mode..
Specifically, I logged into Windows on the SRM Server, drilled into Control Panel > Programs and Features, right-clicked the SRM program and selected Change. A wizard appeared that looked much like the original installer. The only item I changed in the wizard was the Listener Port, which I set to 9007. I did not have to provide any other data, because the wizard provided all of my original settings as defaults, except for passwords (for the PSC account and embedded database user), which I had to reenter. The Wizard applied the change and restarted the SRM service.
I was further surprised to see that it worked the first time without requiring additional steps. I was immediately able to logon to SRM and test the recovery plans that I previously built. I expected to need to manually modify the Windows Firewall to allow the custom port (9007), but I did not actually have to do so.
For more details, see Modify a Site Recovery Manager Installation the SRM 6.1 documentation.
I gave this presentation on vRealize Operations (vROps) in the Rackspace booth at VMworld USA 2016. I covers improving operations, customizations, what-if scenarios and custom super metrics.
Audience: anyone who is interested in improving their data center operations using vROps.
In this session, learn how you can improve your datacenter operations by using vRealize Operations (vROps) to manage the health, risk and efficiency of your virtual, hardware, storage and network infrastructure.
Our experts will help you understand how to use vROps and management packs to provide alerts and remediation for current and predicted issues, as well as how to use “what-if” scenario projects for capacity planning.
You’ll also learn how to customize every layer of vROps, including the development of “super metrics,” such as a Datastore Cluster Time Remaining metric.
http://go.rackspace.com/dedicated-servers-learningseries-prac-5.html
I gave this presentation on Disaster Recovery (DR) with VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) and vSphere Replication in the Rackspace booth at VMworld USA 2016.
Audience: anyone who is interested in building a DR solution based on VMware technologies, including VMware NSX, which can be used to provide networks for non-disruptive DR testing.
You can use VMware vSphere®, Site Recovery Manager™ (SRM) and vSphere Replication™ to build a reliable disaster recovery (DR) solution for your data center. Join John Davis to learn how to include technologies such as storage array replication and database replication in your DR solution. We’ll discuss how to leverage VMware NSX® and deploy VMware vRealize Automation across protected networks and other components necessary to facilitate non-disruptive, DR testing that includes application functionality.
http://go.rackspace.com/dedicated-servers-learningseries-prac-3.html
I gave this presentation on use cases for vRealize Automation in the Rackspace booth at VMworld USA 2016.
Audience: anyone who is interested on learning what vRealize Automation is and potential use cases.
You can use vRealize™ Automation™ (vRA) to automate IT processes throughout your virtual machine lifecycle, such as those supporting provisioning, management and retirement, and those requiring interaction with multiple systems, including ticketing systems, change management databases (CMDB), and IP management systems. Learn how vRA can be applied to many use cases, from virtual machine (server or desktop) end-to-end lifecycle management to self-service deployment for DevOps, and multi-tier application management. See how you can integrate vRA with VMware NSX® to empower your IT to automate — and thereby accelerate — the implementation of logical networks, firewall protection, and routing and to secure and control your applications.
http://go.rackspace.com/dedicated-servers-learningseries-prac-4.html
Here is my advice for preparing to take the VCAP6-DCV Deployment Exam.
Whether you are already preparing for the VCAP6-DCV Deployment Exam or you are preparing for VCP6-DCV Exam, you may wish to review this free 135 page VCAP6-DCV Deployment Study Guide.
It contains details for each objective in the VCAP6-DCV Deployment Exam, which has similar coverage to the VCP6-DCV Exam, but is hands-on rather than multiple choice. If you are preparing for VCP6-DCV, you should consider using the VCP6-DCV Official Cert Guide (VMware Press) as your main preparation tool, but also review the VCAP6-DCV Deployment Exam Study Guide at least once and practice hands-on any of its items that are related to the VCP6-DCV objectives. If you do this, then upon passing the VCP6-DCV Exam, you could immediately begin preparing for VCAP6-DCV Deployment and likely schedule to take it within weeks.
If you already VCP6-DCV, then you are ready to roll with the VCAP6-DCV Deployment Study Guide.
For those of you who may be ready to address the next step in your your career goals and achieve VCP6-DCV certification, you should give serious consideration to taking advantage of VMworld discounts. If you attend VMworld, you have opportunities for great discounts on live training, self paced training and certification exams, including the VCP6-DCV exam. Details at VMworld Training and Exams.
Whether or not you attend VMworld, you may be interested in resources to help you prepare and pass the VCP6-DCV exam. Naturally, as the lead author of the VCP6-DCV: Official Cert Guide (VMware Press), I certainly recommend that you consider it. It covers each exam objective, in depth, in order, and includes study tools, such as questions and memory tables. The premium edition, includes 4 practice exams. But, many of you may prefer a free tool, so here are a couple that are popular in the community:
Also, here is a popular VCP6-DCV Exam practice test (not a brain dump, but just some sample, potential questions).
If you are looking for some general advice, take a look at this VCP6-DCV Deep Dive Interview where Doug Denny (@dhdenny) from Rackspace speaks with myself and a fellow Racker (Josh Williams @jcw366), who passed the VCP6-DCV exam. In this, we share specific VCP6-DCV exam preparation information and advice as well as advice to apply on the day of the exam.
If you are at VMworld in Vegas and obtain a copy of our book, you can catch Owen Thomas, Steve Baca (@scbaca1) and me at the VMworld store on Wednesday August 31 at 3:30 PM. We would love to sign your book!! Or catch me at the Rackspace booth on Monday at noon for another book signing!
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