Help, need some clarification on VCP5 ?

tigerman

OK , I been look around and now seriously considering get my VCP5, but I am a little confused. so I was hoping someone could clarify something form me. First do I need to take there formal train to get my certification or can I take it complete thought self study.

Second - what the best martial to use / will I need? and what the least costly and quickest way to obtain the certification?

Third - how hard is this certification to attain?

Any key factory I should spend more time on then others?

Thanks in advance to any advice I receive here.

blargoe

The official VMware course is mandatory if you want to be certified as a VCP. There is no way around it.

The course, plus some hands on work setting everything up in a lab environment, and supplemented with the PDF documentation on VMware.com, should be sufficient to pass the exam.

Essendon

Adding to what blargoe said, you'll be tested on most topics that are on the exam blueprint. From what I have observed, storage and networking are the topics you'll get tested more simply because they are the gist of the exam and ESXi in general. But again, do not overlook other topics as every exam is different.

You'll absolutely need a lab, there are numerous threads on these forums - do a search and you'll find plenty of good advice. You absolutely need the Mastering vSphere 5 book by Scott Lowe, that book is awesome. If you labbed up everything in that book and understood the material, you'll breeze through the exam. There are plenty of whitepapers/pdf's/videos on vmware.com that you can use to supplement your reading material.

pumbaa_g

Both the posts above are right on the money. The difficulty level is pretty good and the questions will make you really think, in the end you should know the material in and out.
Just an indication of the difficulty level the book mentioned by Essendon (Scott Lowe's Mastering vSphere 5) is the same book recommended for the next exam VCAP as well

scott28tt

Check the VCP5 tab on my blog for useful info and links around the training and certification: VMware Training and Certification