- Exam Details
- Trouble Spots / Prep Hints / Study Resources / Exam Objectives / Where to Go from Here
Trouble Spots
This will be unique for every candidate. Personally, I had to brush up on my troubleshooting skills. I am a design architect and do not have the opportunity to troubleshoot implementation or administration problems on a daily basis. I had some of my peers break things in our lab, and I proceeded to fix them. This prepared me better than anything else for the troubleshooting section.
Preparation Hints
I would highly recommend taking as many of the classes listed in the suggested courses section of the VCDX4 certification page.
For the defense portion of the VCDX, I can offer the following advice:
- If you do not fill out every section in the defense application it will be rejected. Also, make sure that what VMware is asking for in the application is also in the design documentation.
- Know your design. Also, know your design. Seriously, know your design inside and out. You will be grilled on every aspect during the defense.
- Practice defending your design in front of peers. Have them help you with a mock defense.
- Practice thinking out loud and translating your thoughts onto a whiteboard. In the actual defense, it is not enough to arrive at the correct answer. You may not even arrive at a correct solution or answer in the given time. Like your high school math teacher may have told you, it is more important to show your work. The panelists want to see and hear your thought process.
- Get plenty of sleep the night before your defense.
- Use the first 15 minutes to explain your design and decisions. Also, use the first 15 minutes to get your nerves under control.
Recommended Study Resources
Aside from the recommended resources from VMware, the following resources helped me out in preparing for my VCDX.
- Sean Crookston’s Blog: Sean has resources for the VCAP-DCA, the VCAP-DCD, and the VCDX.
- Duncan Epping’s Blog, specifically, his “5 tips for the VCDX defense” post that came out after I received my VCDX will help you on your own VCDX journey.
- My Blog, specifically, my VCDX experience and the posts with the VCDX tag.
Exam Objectives
The objectives for each prerequisite exam and the VCDX defense itself are listed in the exam and defense blueprints on each exam page.
VCP: http://www.vmware.com/go/vcp
VCAP-DCA/DCD: http://www.vmware.com/go/vcap
VCDX: http://www.vmware.com/go/vcdx
Where to Go from Here
Achieving the VCDX is not an easy task. You should celebrate this achievement and perhaps take a well-deserved rest once you achieve it. Having said that, any of the Cisco networking certifications and any storage certifications are a nice complement to the VCDX. Once you receive your VCDX credentials, here are just a few of the job titles that you can expect to hold:
- Enterprise Architect
- Design Consultant
- Presales Architect
- Presales Consultant
Have you gone through the VCDX process? Share your experiences by posting to the <thread name here> thread in our forums.