Its been about a month since I last posted here, I’ve been busy studying for the VCAP5-DCD and been on holiday.
About four months ago I decided to give it another go. Having tried the 5.1 DCD exam previously and failed, i had a clear idea of the amount of work involved. I didn’t really want to wait for the VCIX exams to be released as I wanted the option of going for the VCDX5 in early 2016.
The first thing I did was go to Google and read all the reviews of the exam I could find. A common theme amongst all the posts was make the blueprint your bible, and it’s true. In there you will find exactly what you need to know. Read it from cover to cover, then read it again.
Its a tough exam. Really tough. I’m not going to rehash what other (more capable) bloggers have covered about the exam suffice to say that I finished with about 20 minutes to spare, took a couple of deep breaths and went through the questions again. This was a huge help as I tweaked one of my designs and saw a glaring error in one of the drag-and-drop questions.
Resources I used:
- VCAP-DCD Study Group
- The VCAP5-DCD Official Cert Guide
- The exam simulator at http://www.virtualtiers.net/ created by Jason Grierson
- Also the Study pack that Jason Grierson created, with contributions from Chris Williams and Shahed Hasib.
- Mastering VMware vSphere 5.5 book
- The VMware Cloud Infrastructure Architecture Case Study buy Duncan Epping. This was actually very useful as I had a design from another person to look at and work with.
- VCAP5-DCD bluerpint
Tips for the Exam:
- Read the questions twice. Everything you need to complete the required task will be in the question.
- Eat and drink before the exam. I get cranky when I’m hungry. Be aware that if you need to go to the toilet the exam timer doesn’t stop.
- If something is taking a long time, flag it for review and move on.
- Make sure you understand the below (it is a design exam after all).
- Requirements (both functional and non-functional)
- Risks
- Constraints
- Assumptions
- Make sure you know the differences between conceptual, logical, and physical designs.
- Get to the test centre a few minutes early and try to relax, difficult I know but try.
Passing is a great feeling. Don’t worry if you don’t get it on your first try, its annoying and expensive, but treat it as a learning experience.
Oh and remember, organise your time, both for study and during the exam.