Achievement Unlocked: VMware VCAP 6.5 DCV 3v0-624 Exam – Summary and Tips

I wanted to start off my Monday morning with a bang, so decided to schedule my VCAP 3v0-624 exam for the first in the morning. Well, I passed!

Before walking into this exam, I wasn’t sure if I prepared enough, but I felt kind of comfortable once the exam started. I’d like to share what I did to prepare for this exam, although this is my first ever VCAP-Design.

Summary of Study Material

1. VMware Education Courses
   1. I took the vSphere: Design Workshop 6.5 course online a few months ago. This was good at providing a fundamental understanding of VMware’s approach to a virtualized design.
   2. However, I’ve taken other design courses (vCloud Director) so I felt that the approach is very similar. While I reflect positively on this class, I think if you’ve taken other design workshop classes and have a firm understanding of the design methodology, you probably can skip (or take another 6.5 class for my next point).
   3. One valuable thing was the instructor was careful to point on what has changed in vSphere 6.5 (or what’s new). This is very important in my opinion for the Design Exam. So again, positive and a good use of time.
2. Books I read
   1. VMware vSphere 6.x Datacenter Design Cookbook
      1. I thought Hersey Cartwright’s book was solid on giving me a practical understanding of what to expect for a design and items to be thoughtful on.
      2. While Hersey did write this in the vSphere 6.0x days, it’s still very pertinent and covers many of the important business aspects which seem to be overlooked.
   2. IT Architect: Foundation in the Art of Infrastructure Design
   3. While I enjoyed reading this book, I thought there was more VCDX-preparation level material than specific material for this VCAP-Design test. Perhaps it provided me with a well-rounded approach and drove the thought process. Either way, this is one to keep around for any future planning.
3. Material I used
   1. Print out BOTH the 6.5 Exam Guide AND 6.0 Exam Guide and review both. For my own study method, I ensure I go through EVERY topic and write them out on my whiteboard. I ensure I cover each one to the best of my abilities.
   2. vBrownBag VCAP6-DCV Video Series
      1. This was AWESOME! I spent quite a bit of time going through each video and taking notes.
      2. I felt this material was very pertinent to the 6.5 Design Exam. Although the Visio drawings are not on the test anymore, the design methodologies remain constant and everyone did a great job of walking through each subsection.
   3. VMware Material
      1. Review the VMware Validated Design Material
      2. I downloaded ALL vSphere 6.5 new documents, along with the following:
         1. vSphere 6.5 DRS Performance Whitepaper
         2. Deploying Extremely Latency Sensitive Applications in vSphere Whitepaper
         3. vSphere 6.5 Virtual Machine Encryption Performance Paper
         4. vSphere 6.5 What’s New? Whitepaper vmw-white-paper-vsphr-whats-new-6-5
         5. vSphere 6 Fault Tolerance: Architecture and Performance Whitepaper
         6. Platform Services Controller 6.0 Topology Decision Tree
         7. vSphere Availability – VMware vSphere 6.5 Document 
         8. vSphere Storage – VMware vSphere 6.5 Document
            1. I was pretty comfortable here, so did not review all of this since it’s the standard documentation.
   4. Other Material
      1.   CADs- Constraints, Assumptions (Risk, Requirements) & Dependencies- see attached.
      2. Conceptual_Logical_Physical_It_is_Simple – see attached
      3. Design Example – pretty sure I found this on the VMware Community Forum. design examples – conceptual,logical,physical
   5. vCommunity Material – honestly, this was a huge component as many others have created some great material out there. This is not in any order, all is good and pertinent.
      1. Graham Barker’s VCAP6-DCV Exam Preparation Guide – very detailed for Sections 1 and 2. I loved how he created sample tests to gauge your knowledge of each section.
      2. Matt Callaway’s VCAP6-DCV Design Study Guide – links to many of the videos but other applicable notes he created.
      3. Hersey’s write-up on exam experience and study notes – again, very good and the callout for the books too.
      4. David Stamen’s summary and important notes – I would stress the importance of David’s tips. They are SPOT ON!
      5. Rene van den Bedem’s Availability Explained post – very good and thorough.
      6. VirtualTiers Sample Quiz by Jason Grierson – really cool site that provides a sample design. Again, many of the questions are the Visio-type stitching but drives the thought-process around the design.
      7. vMusketeers VCAP6-DCV Design Quiz – a lot of work was put into this. Again, driving and testing your knowledge

Exam Tips

1. I think many of the vCommunity members covered a lot of the specific things, but I will point out things that come top of mind.
2. Know your Requirements, Assumptions, Constraints, and Risks. Practice, practice practice! I had a hard time understanding functional versus non-functional and then it finally clicked for me.
3. Understand your AMPRS – Availability, Manageability, Performance, Recoverability, and Security. Again, practice these and understand what are the specific metrics and how non-functional requirements can be categorized in each respective role.
4. Don’t be afraid of reviewing the 5.x and 6.0 VCAP-Design material. Again, all very pertinent.
5. Be well prepared for anything that has changed in vSphere 6.5. There are many things that may have changed or enhanced so you’ll need to have knowledge of these aspects.
6. Last of all, make sure you have working knowledge of design scenarios. I think this has to come with experience and dealing with actual customer situations. This does come with time and exposure.

Post-Exam Thoughts

1. I thought the exam was very challenging, yet fair. Like I said before, this is my first VCAP-Design, so I cannot comment about the Visio-drawings that were required (albeit I heard these were difficult).
2. Expect a lot of thought process on each question. TAKE YOUR TIME, you will have plenty of time. I had an hour left even after reviewing every question twice.
3. Expect the multiple choice, select “x”, and drag and drop.
4. Go with your instinct and ensure you read the questions clearly.

I hope this helps others – cheers!

-Daniel