Passed VCAP5-DCA
tbgree00
Member Posts: 553 ■■■■□□□□□□
Thanks to everyone on here that posted resources and suggestions on the DCA. I passed it with a 373 on Thursday.
The blueprint is 100% on point for this test. Download it, download a checklist too and check off each point as you are reading and labbing them. I used the pluralsight Optimize and Scale course taught by Jason Nash, I had Staples print and bind the PDF study guide found at https://paulgrevink.wordpress.com, and I used the official documentation to fill in the gaps. I have a home lab (nested ESXi hosts on a Dell T110 server) and used that extensively.
I actually had a hard time finding up to date "trip reports" so I figured I could post some thoughts to help anyone else out. I had heard a lot of people complain about lag and slowdown but I guess VMware has figured it out. I didn't have any delay in clicks, everything ran smoothly, etc. It performed about as well as my home lab performs.
The first thing I did before even doing the pre-test survey thing was write the numbers 1 - 23 on my dry erase board. I left some space for notes, topics, etc. This was crucial for me. I checked off the number if I thought I was done and wrote my last step if I wanted to move on. Once my clock started I opened up the web and thick client and authenticated. While that loaded I read all 23 questions and wrote down the topic. It calmed me down to know there were some topics I knew and had practiced for.
Time management is key. If you don't know, write down the topic and move on. You can always come back. Since you get partial points do the 5 minutes of work you know you can do, note where you left, and move on.
You get access to a ton of documentation and kb.vmware.com. It doesn't index itself as well as google indexes it but you can still search and find some help.
I had worked on all 23 questions 90 minutes in. I spent the remaining 90 minutes finishing up most of them. This is the first time the clock stopped on me. I left some partially finished and one I couldn't start on for either a technical reason or an IT-10T error.
Advice to anyone else working on it: Lab, get a month of pluralsight and watch Jason Nash's Optimize and Scale series. Also invest time in learning all three command lines. I'm taking very basic Linux administration (vi, renaming files, changing directories), PowerCLI and ESXCLI. Know what you can't configure in the GUI. Know what you can only do in the web client.
If you can't afford or don't have access to hardware at work consider doing a virtualized lab in vCloud Air. You can get $300 free credit and there are some blogs out there to help you get started.
I have 9 years experience working with VMware, mostly in SMBs. I changed jobs about a year ago and am in an enterprise level environment with a lot of different features in production. Much of the blueprint points lined up to stuff I needed to do, was in the process of doing, or topics I needed to train to our new employees. I put in about a month of 35+ hour weeks studying to prepare but the year in the enterprise made a huge difference.
The blueprint is 100% on point for this test. Download it, download a checklist too and check off each point as you are reading and labbing them. I used the pluralsight Optimize and Scale course taught by Jason Nash, I had Staples print and bind the PDF study guide found at https://paulgrevink.wordpress.com, and I used the official documentation to fill in the gaps. I have a home lab (nested ESXi hosts on a Dell T110 server) and used that extensively.
I actually had a hard time finding up to date "trip reports" so I figured I could post some thoughts to help anyone else out. I had heard a lot of people complain about lag and slowdown but I guess VMware has figured it out. I didn't have any delay in clicks, everything ran smoothly, etc. It performed about as well as my home lab performs.
The first thing I did before even doing the pre-test survey thing was write the numbers 1 - 23 on my dry erase board. I left some space for notes, topics, etc. This was crucial for me. I checked off the number if I thought I was done and wrote my last step if I wanted to move on. Once my clock started I opened up the web and thick client and authenticated. While that loaded I read all 23 questions and wrote down the topic. It calmed me down to know there were some topics I knew and had practiced for.
Time management is key. If you don't know, write down the topic and move on. You can always come back. Since you get partial points do the 5 minutes of work you know you can do, note where you left, and move on.
You get access to a ton of documentation and kb.vmware.com. It doesn't index itself as well as google indexes it but you can still search and find some help.
I had worked on all 23 questions 90 minutes in. I spent the remaining 90 minutes finishing up most of them. This is the first time the clock stopped on me. I left some partially finished and one I couldn't start on for either a technical reason or an IT-10T error.
Advice to anyone else working on it: Lab, get a month of pluralsight and watch Jason Nash's Optimize and Scale series. Also invest time in learning all three command lines. I'm taking very basic Linux administration (vi, renaming files, changing directories), PowerCLI and ESXCLI. Know what you can't configure in the GUI. Know what you can only do in the web client.
If you can't afford or don't have access to hardware at work consider doing a virtualized lab in vCloud Air. You can get $300 free credit and there are some blogs out there to help you get started.
I have 9 years experience working with VMware, mostly in SMBs. I changed jobs about a year ago and am in an enterprise level environment with a lot of different features in production. Much of the blueprint points lined up to stuff I needed to do, was in the process of doing, or topics I needed to train to our new employees. I put in about a month of 35+ hour weeks studying to prepare but the year in the enterprise made a huge difference.
I finally started that blog - www.thomgreene.com
Comments
You have posted some clear, well-stated advise; I agree with everything you said. I was one of the unfortunate ones who had a very laggy environments for my test. I'm glad they fixed that.
Recent: 11/2019 - RHCSA (RHEL 7); 2/2019 - Updated VCP to 6.5 (just a few days before VMware discontinued the re-cert policy...)
Working on: RHCE/Ansible
Future: Probably continued Red Hat Immersion, Possibly VCAP Design, or maybe a completely different path. Depends on job demands...
Very inspiring insight, will check out those videos myself.
Thank you. I have been dreaming of taking this test for awhile and it doesn't quite feel real. I'm glad I didn't have to contend with much lag because that would have been the difference I think. The test was actually really fun since it was just "go do this". I wanted to give some advice back to others, it wasn't easy for me to find clear, up to date detail so I'm glad to provide my own.
Thanks a lot! Those videos are fantastic even if you aren't going to sit the DCA. They really dig deep under the hood. They're written for 5.0 but the delta on the blueprint is basically just Replication and vFlash.
Recent: 11/2019 - RHCSA (RHEL 7); 2/2019 - Updated VCP to 6.5 (just a few days before VMware discontinued the re-cert policy...)
Working on: RHCE/Ansible
Future: Probably continued Red Hat Immersion, Possibly VCAP Design, or maybe a completely different path. Depends on job demands...
VMware themselves have an on demand, online course specifically for the VCP6 delta but it's fairly pricey.
"Simplify, then add lightness" -Colin Chapman
Check out the VCP6 vBrownBag videos over on professionalvmware.com . I've done 2 of them myself (shameless plug). There's lots of great stuff for the VCAPs too.
Blog >> http://virtual10.com
I've been looking at the vBrownBags for the DCD. At first I was going to rush and attempt that one but cooler heads have prevailed and I'm going to take my time. I'm targeting May for my attempt. I was able to devote a solid month to the DCA and now all those delayed obligations are popping up.
DCD isn't that hard.
"Simplify, then add lightness" -Colin Chapman
I'm glad to hear the DCD isn't that hard, I just want to go through the design book and Scott Lowe's videos on pluralsight. Like I said I have a lot of family and vacational obligations coming up that I need to take care of before I could sit the exam. I have also changed from a job where I did designs to a VMware administration only job so I'm rusty on my design principles.
There was a very wide amount of knowledge covered in this one. Working in a big enterprise helped a lot.