After an unsuccessful attempt two weeks ago to pass my VCAP-DCA, I needed to recoup after the disappointment of the email that delivered the bad news (Result 270… Needed 300) and think what next?!
With the introduction of vSphere 6 last week and the resulting VMware Certification roadmap, I have to think about what I want to do for my advanced level certification, but meanwhile VMware had already sent me an email to say I needed to pass my VCAP, renew my VCP or loose my certification.
I’m looking forward to when VMware put some more flesh on the VMware Certified Implementation Expert (VCIX) certification but meanwhile while I’m thinking what to do next, I booked my VCP550 Delta (VCP550D) exam to update my VCP510. I had issues booking the exam as somehow I had ended up with two Candidate IDs, and had to open a trouble ticket with Pearson Vue and VMware Education to get it resolved….. 6 calls, 2 web chats, 1 Facebook message and a tweet later, I finally got it sorted and booked my exam.
On Friday, I sat down at home to sit the exam. Its was a strange experience sitting down at home to sit an exam, after so many exams and years in test centres. The one constant in IT, is change, so I embraced the new world… Google ready, Notes on standby (Yes! It is open book), Tea made; Jelly sweets ready; Wife out; Kids asleep… Time to sit the exam.
I wish I could have told you that it was normal exam experience… 30 mins into the exam my eldest daughter (6) walks into the front room to say she can’t sleep “Oh… @%$£ I thought, I’m in the middle of an exam… What am I going to do???” but she settled on sleeping on the sofa while I finished the exam… 15mins later… My 18 month old wakes up, screams out like a banshee but falls asleep as quickly as she woke up! Disaster averted… Ok… What was that question about dvswitches again?
Well.. After all that, the final screen came at the end of the exam to say I had passed… [Deep sigh of relief].
The exam itself is in the normal format you would expect from VCA and VCP exams in terms of multiple choice. As with VMware exams if you study the blueprint and remember this is a Delta exam so will be focusing on the changes between V5.0/1 and V5.5 you will not go too far wrong. Last year I did pay for Pluralsight membership and I have to say it is the best money I have spent in a very long time… There is a wealth of virtualisation courses there, but I do need to single out the “VMware vSphere 5.5 New Features” by @davidmdavis as well as VMware’s own free 1-hr online course “VMware vSphere: What’s New Fundamentals of V5.5” is well worth seeing for this exam.
If you have taken any of the VMware Certified Associate (VCA) exams you will be used to taking them online/at home. Even though I have 3 VCAs (Need to the the Networking one to get the full set), I had previously done them in my office at my last place of work which was quite with no distractions. So if you want my advise on taking this exam 1. Study the blueprint 2. Study the videos 3. Find somewhere you can guarantee peace and quiet!
Please remember that the exam will only be offered until 10th March 2015!
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Update: The exam has been extended but only on offer until 31st March 2016
I’m taking VCP550D (tomorrow i think) and this article sounds very useful to me.
i’m watching the david davis video on pluralsight right now. so, you can take the exam using google or other tools (books and so on)? did you find answers googling?
Good luck with your exam. The Pluralsight courses are great! The 5.5 Delta exam is open book so you can have books, Google etc but you don’t have that much time, so best to know the blueprint and the subject matter.