So 2020 was a year of many uncertainties and trying to keep sane and assist my clients with running optimally whilst working remotely kept me busy and I did not get a chance to attempt any certification that I can remember.

So this year, I needed to to play catch up on my existing certifications as we as exploring new training and certifications.

Source: VMware

I started to upgrade my existing VMware Certifications. I started with the VCP-DCV 2021 and then the VCAP-DCV Design 2021. I’ve used VMware Learning Zone as well as Plural-sight from training and to get up to speed.

Resources Used

Training Videos

Pluralsight – vSphere Training

VMware Learning Zone

Exam Guides

Professional VMware vSphere 7.x

Advanced Design VMware vSphere 7.x

Study Guides

Study Guide provide by Nakivo

This VMware VCP-DCV vSphere 7 Study Guide Covers:

  • Identifies the prerequisites for and components of a vSphere implementation, storage access protocols for vSphere (NFS, iSCSI, SAN, etc.), basic VMware vSAN 7 requirements, etc.
  • Describes vCenter Server Topologies, Storage Policies, instant clone architecture, ESXi Cluster Concepts, etc.
  • Lays out the difference between vSphere Network I/O Control (NIOC) and vSphere Storage I/O Control (SIOC)
  • Demonstrates how to manage Networking on Multiple Hosts and Network I/O Control (NIOC) with vSphere Distributed Switch, Storage (datastores, storage policies, etc.), host profiles, etc.
  • Explains how to set up vCenter identity sources, Content Libraries, etc.
  • Describes how to configure single sign-on (SSO) domain, VSS advanced virtual networking options, Identity Federation, Active Directory integration, etc.
  • And many other vSphere-related topics!

VMware Hands On Labs

VMware Hands On Labs was a great place to get the experience with the new interface of vSphere 7 of you don’t have a home lab or an environment at the office to work on.

I still believe in training and getting certified.

As my previous job function was a VMware Certified Instructor, I found joy of interacting with delegates and feed off each other’s experiences when discussing VMware designs.

For the vSphere Design exam prep I used the exam guide and went over the white papers and documentation library. There is lots of resources so don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to get through everything as you will get drained and most probably and new edition of vSphere will be released.

VMware Documentation Library

I will do dedicated posts for the other vendor certifications that I will be getting done during the year as I get closer to them.

So all the best…Good Luck!

Let’s get certified!