- Exam Details / Trouble Spots
- Preparation Hints / Recommended Study Resources
- Exam Objectives / Where to Go from Here
Exam Objectives
Prior to taking this exam, candidates should understand each of the following objectives, as outlined on the IaaS blueprint. Each objective is listed below; along with related tools the candidate should have experience with, and related documentation that contains information relevant to the objective. All objectives may also be referenced in other product documentation not specifically highlighted below. The candidate should be familiar with all relevant product documentation or have an equivalent skillset.
Section 1Install and Configure vCloud Director
Objective 1.1Install vCloud components
- Identify required vCloud components and pre-requisites for installation
- Describe installation order of vCloud components
- Explain the purpose and use case of each vCloud component
- Create a SysPrep package
- Install vCloud Director
- Install vShield Manager
- Install vCenter Chargeback
- Install vCloud Connector
- Configure vCloud Director network connections
- Configure vCloud Director database settings
- Troubleshoot basic installation issues
Objective 1.2Configure and Administer vCloud Connector
- Identify components of vCloud Connector
- Describe cross-cloud vApp flow
- Identify VM state (shutdown/power down)
- Differentiate between functionality of components of vCloud Connector
- Explain the relationship between the components of vCloud Connector
- Determine and implement required network and security settings
- Determine storage requirements and add storage for use by a vCC node
- Register vCloud Connector with vCenter Server
- Troubleshoot common vCloud Connector installation and operation issues
Objective 1.3Configure vCloud Director and vShield Manager System Settings
- Identify vCloud Director pre-requisites
- Cite the steps to deploy a vShield Manager appliance
- Identify relationship between vCenter Server and vShield Manager
- Generate self-signed certificates
- Import self-signed or CA issued certificates
- Add additional vCenter Servers to a vCloud Director implementation
- Configure licensing for vCloud Director and vShield Manager
Section 2Administer Users, Roles and Privileges in a vCloud
Objective 2.1Create Roles and Apply Privileges to Roles in a vCloud
- Identify vCloud Director predefined roles and their specific privilege levels
- List the steps to create a custom role in vCD
- Identify operations that can be performed on predefined roles
- Identify the types of users that can be granted access to a vCloud
- Explain the purpose of a custom role in vCD
- Determine when to create a custom role.
- Given an end-user's job description, determine which role would be granted
- Validate the functionality allowed by a newly created role
- Select specific access rights in a security role.
- Troubleshoot common customized role access issues.
Objective 2.2Configure AD/LDAP Integration in a vCloud
- Identify AD/LDAP infrastructure components
- Configure Open LDAP with vCD
- Configure Active Directory with vCD
- Test connectivity to external LDAP
- Import users and groups from external LDAP
- Troubleshoot common LDAP external connectivity issues
Objective 2.3Configure and Administer vShield Edge
- Identify where to set firewall rules within vCloud Director
- Explain vShield firewall concepts as they relate to a vCloud environment
- Determine which firewall rules need to be applied or modified
- Identify ordering for firewall rules
- Enable/Disable firewall
- Add/Modify/Delete firewall rules
- Determine which vShield devices impact a given service
- Verify firewall rule operation
- Troubleshoot common firewall service issues
Section 3Configure and Administer vCenter Chargeback
Objective 3.1Configure and Administer vCenter Chargeback Roles and Privileges
- Identify vCenter Chargeback permissions
- Identify Resource types
- Identify Resources that cannot be manually assigned permissions
- Identify default vCenter Chargeback roles
- Create/Modify/Delete a role
- Determine when a new role should be created
- Associate a role to a user
- Troubleshoot common permission issues
Objective 3.2Configure and Generate vCenter Chargeback Reports
- Identify vCenter Chargeback report types
- Identify components of the reporting dashboard
- Given a reporting requirement, determine what report type should be run
- Schedule reports
- Manage archived reports
- Generate custom reports
Objective 3.3Configure and Manage vCenter Chargeback Cost Elements
- Identify vCenter Chargeback cost elements
- List cost element attributes
- Describe default billing policies and cost models
- Create/Edit billing policies
- Manage cost models
- Edit cost configuration of an entity
- Manage physical infrastructure costing
- Manage pricing matrix for virtual machine
Objective 3.4Troubleshoot Common vCenter Chargeback Issues
- Collect logs
- Run troubleshooting utility
- Explain impact of vSphere statistics levels on report generation
- Explain impact of local firewall settings on vCenter Chargeback services
- Given a service failure, determine root cause
Section 4Configure and Administer vCloud Networking
Objective 4.1Create and Administer vCloud External and Organization Networks
- Identify and differentiate the types of vCloud Organization networks
- Create/Modify/Delete an external network
- Create/Modify/Delete an external direct organization network
- Create/Modify/Delete an external NAT-routed organization network
- Create/Modify/Delete an internal organization network
- Explain the relationship between external networks and vSphere port groups
- Explain the purpose and use cases for external networks
- Explain the relationship between organization networks and vShield Edge
- Explain best practices related to organization networks
- Given organization requirements, determine the appropriate organization network type.
Objective 4.2Configure and Administer vCloud Network Pools
- Describe the concept of a Network Pool
- Create/Delete a Network Pool
- Expand a Network Pool
- Determine appropriate backing for a given Network Pool
- Configure Network Pool properties
Objective 4.3Configure and Administer vApp Networks
- Identify vApp Network types
- Explain the purpose and use cases for vApp networks
- Explain the relationship between vApp networks and vShield Edge devices
- Create/Modify/Delete a direct vApp network
- Create/Modify/Delete a NAT-routed vApp network
- Create/Modify/Delete an internal vApp network
- Troubleshoot vApp networks using the visual mapping tool
Objective 4.4Administer vCloud Network Services
- Identify available vShield Edge network services
- Configure DHCP/NAT/VPN services
- Add a SNAT/DNAT rule
- Add a DHCP IP pool
- Add DHCP static binding
- Configure the VPN service
- Configure Syslog
- Use logs to troubleshoot common network service issues
Section 5Configure and Administer vCloud Organizations
Objective 5.1Create vCloud Organizations
- Identify the URL name of a newly created Organization
- Create/Modify/Delete vCloud Organizations
- Configure VM lease times
- Configure Storage lease times
- Configure SMTP server information
- Configure notification settings
- Apply policies to a vCloud Organization
Objective 5.2Administer vCloud Organizations
- List operations that can be performed on an Organization
- List the vCloud constructs that make up an Organization
- Given a tier of server determine the appropriate Organization vDC
- Edit leases/quotas/limits applied to an Organization
- Revise Catalog(s) attached to an Organization
- Add/Remove users and groups
- Configure/Edit Organization settings
- Allocate resources to an Organization
- Explain the purpose and use case for storage options
- Configure storage provision options
Section 6Allocate and Manage vCloud Resources
Objective 6.1Create and Administer Provider VDCs
- Identify where in the hierarchy a provider VDC resides
- Identify where an Provider VDC gets its resources
- Differentiate Provider and Organization VDCs
- Explain the concept of a Provider VDC
- Explain when and how to Enable/Disable a Provider VDC
- Create/Delete a Provider VDC
- Select Resource Pools and Datastores for a Provider VDC
- Explain when and how to Enable/Disable a Provider VDC Host
- Prepare/Unprepare a Provider VDC Host
- Upgrade/Repair a Provider VDC Host agent
- Explain when and how to Enable/Disable a Provider Datastore
- Configure Low Disk Space Warnings
Objective 6.2Create and Administer Organization VDCs
- List Allocation Models
- Explain the concept of an Organization VDC
- Create/Modify/Delete an Organization VDC
- Enable/Disable an Organization VDC
- Select Organization VDC components
- Select/Edit Organization VDC resources
- Configure Allocation Model settings
- Determine the appropriate network pool for a given Organization vDC network
Section 7Create and Administer vCloud Catalogs
Objective 7.1Create vApp Templates, Media and Catalogs
- Describe the function of vApp templates, media, and catalogs
- Identify the location of vApp templates, media and catalogs
- Identify the format in which vApp templates, media, and catalogs can be stored
- Differentiate between vApp templates, media and catalogs
- Create/Update a vApp template
- Create/Delete a Catalog
- Publish a catalog to different Organizations
Objective 7.2Administer vCloud Catalogs
- Identify frequently used Catalog properties
- Explain how guest customization works in a vCloud implementation
- Deploy a vApp from a Catalog
- Configure a Catalog to be shared by users in an Organization
- Copy vApp templates and media to/from a Catalog
- Configure Catalog properties
- Given requirements, apply the appropriate properties to a Catalog
Section 8Monitor a vCloud Implementation
Objective 8.1Troubleshoot and Audit Resources and Events in a vCloud
- Identify vCloud Director interface components used for monitoring
- Identify the location of logs in vCloud Director
- Monitor CPU, Disk and Memory usage for a Provider vDC
- Monitor CPU, Disk and Memory usage for an Organization
- Monitor External Network, Organization Networks, and Network Pools
- Monitor IP allocation utilization
- Review and interpret tasks and events in a vCloud
- Troubleshoot common resource/event issues in a vCloud
Objective 8.2Map vCloud Resources to vSphere Resources
- Differentiate components of vCloud Director and vSphere client interfaces
- Describe the relationship between vCloud storage resources and VMFS/NFS datastores
- Describe the relationship between vCloud network resources and vSphere virtual switches
- Describe the relationship between vCloud compute resources and DRS/HA Clusters/Resource Pools
- Determine total/current resources available to a Provider/Organization vDC relative to assigned vSphere resources
- Determine the explicit vSphere resource consumed by a Provider/Organization vDC
- Determine which vSwitch resource is being use by a given vCloud network
- Determine on which datastore a vCloud hosted virtual machine resides
- Determine on which ESXi host a vCloud hosted virtual machine resides
Where to Go from Here
The VCP-Cloud certification, regardless of the path taken to obtain it, is an entry-level certification for the VMware vCloud suite of products. The certification will validate your ability to install and administer a vCloud infrastructure and position you to move deeper in the cloud infrastructure certification track. The VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP) exams should be your next goal if you intend to continue within the track. The VCAP Cloud Infrastructure Administration (VCAP-CIA) exam takes a much deeper dive in to installing and administering a vCloud infrastructure, while the VCAP Cloud Infrastructure Design (VCAP-CID) exam is focused more on architecting and designing a vCloud infrastructure. Both exams will be necessary to pursue the coveted VCDX certification in the cloud track.
Whether your vCloud certification ends with VCP-Cloud or you intend to journey all the way to the top and obtain VCDX-Cloud...good luck!