VCAP6-DCV Deploy - study options?

Unfortunately I found out about the VCAP5-DCA/DCD retirements too late (I am in the middle of a few projects at work, have a young family, and the only available exam date is on a day I am on a course!) and so am looking at my options for studying for the VCAP6-DCV Deploy exam.

Obviously the blueprint, the docs and a lab (LAB...LAB...LAB) are the order of the day as this is a "lab exam". I wondered what other things may be helpful? Given the exam isn't available yet, would the Mastering Book (v6) and a lab be of use too?

Also would any of the older VCAP videos be of use (Pluralsight's Optimise and Scale, or the even older VCAP videos for PowerCli and troubleshooting)?

Also are there any minimum specs for a lab machine to prepare for this exam? Would the VMware HOL's be of any use to those without a lab?

Realistically I have a few months to prepare (work commitments), so any suggestions would be welcome.

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Comments

Essendon

I'm using the HOLs for my VCIX:NV. Invaluable for those that don't have a pLab at their disposal.

I used Paul Grevink's study guide to help me through the blueprint. I labbed till my eyes bled and brain hurt like crazy. Over and over..

For my DCA, I used my nested lab, back then I had (I think) a single host with 2 way, 2 core HP DL 380 G5 with 32GB RAM and lots of SAS storage. Wasn't the fasted thing on the block, but more than enough for the DCA. Go the HOL route if you don't have the hardware. In fact I recommend the HOL.

Go through our VMware Quiz (sticky) thread there are a fair few DCA level questions in there.

Hot tip - hit everything in blueprint. Expect anything to be on the test.

DPG

Essendon wrote: »

Hot tip - hit everything in blueprint. Expect anything to be on the test.

This. I glossed over a few topics on the VCAP5 that almost ended up costing me dearly.

DPG

It doesn't look like there were many spots for the Deploy beta. I see plenty of posts about experience with the Design beta but none for the Deploy exam.

Essendon

@DPG - this is because the Deploy is by invitation only and most likely limited to VMW staff who've probably been told not to blog/talk about it.

GBAKER2204

I read that getting NSX for study was difficult and figured that for the VCP-NV and higher level certs the only option for most would be the HOLs for NSX.

GBAKER2204

I didn't see many posts relating to the Deploy exam, I am hoping that more info will come out soon from those that took the Beta unless as Essendon says those that took it were told to keep quiet. I saw quite a few posts for the Design exam though. I presume the advice given by you both will hold true given the type of exam, and the exam strategies will be the same.

I have found a Google study group for this exam:
https://plus.google.com/communities/108002000588564278612

I have downloaded the Beta blueprints for design and deploy and will use these for studying on the move (http://blogs.vmware.com/education/files/2015/12/Exam_Prep_Guide_3V0-623_v1.2.pdf).

I hate the decision to just use a web page for the blueprint as I don't always have internet access (I know it is possible to PDF it, but that's not the point, hopefully VMware will get enough noise to backtrack this decision too). I have used the web page version to list out the objectives and plan to use my blog to work through it making notes as I go.

Would the v5.5 study guides still (mostly) be valid? I have been reading the exam reviews for study and exam day strategies. Was gutted that I could not do the v5.5 VCAP-DCA, to do so now would mean a more than 400 mile round trip.

As far as labs are concerned, mine is too old (A6 AMD quad core with 16Gb of RAM), it was good enough for VCP5 back in late 2012/early 2013 on the 5.0 VSphere version. I'd need to upgrade to something with a bit more longevity (looking at motherboards supporting 128Gb as a minimum, supporting i7 or Xeon (dual) procs). I was considering trying to see how far I could get with the HOLs before I needed to drop back to a more conventional lab, may be good for a challenge? VCloud Air and Ravello are also looking promising, the latter could be used with Autolab (although I quite like the practice of building environments myself, no disrespect meant to those that built and use that awesome tool).