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Passed the VMware Certified Professional exam

Written by: Mark Wilson

VMware Certified ProfessionalThis morning I passed the VMware Certified Professional on VI3 exam.

VMware’s non-disclosure agreement prevents me from saying anything about the exam itself but I can say that it involved a lot of preparation and this was my strategy:

  • Most importantly, get some experience of working with VMware products (I have been working on a project to implement VI3 since July and also use VMware Server every day).
  • Attend the mandatory VMware Infrastructure 3 Install and Configure course (I don’t believe that making a £2200 course mandatory is a good thing – people with suitable experience should be allowed to take the test without having to either shell out that sort of cash themselves or persuade their employer to do it – often locking them into an agreement to stay with the company…).
  • Book the exam (oh yes, the £2200 doesn’t include exam fees – that’s another £100).
  • Use the week before Christmas, when most of my colleagues were on holiday, to lock myself away and cram like crazy, reading the course notes through again as well as the product documentation. I find that writing notes helps me to taking information on board and I’ve published my revision notes here (note that these were written prior to taking the exam and, to avoid breaking the terms of the exam NDA, the content has not been edited to reflect what I experienced in the exam – the only changes from the originals relate to formatting and grammar).

Posted: 14:44 on Friday 22 December 2006 under Certification, VMware.
Comments: 20
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Comments

1

Comment from Mark Wilson
Time: Wednesday 14 March 2007, 12:00

vmzare has started a blog about preparing for the VCP.

2

Comment from Urmil Patel
Time: Tuesday 20 March 2007, 23:07

Mark,

I have my exam booked for the 30th of March, I’m sure your notes will assist in my learning!

Thanks.

3

Pingback from I’m VCP Now « My Tutorials to Prepare for VCP
Time: Sunday 22 April 2007, 10:36

[...]  Below is the guide 1)       Read course preparation guide2)       Basic administration guide3)       Resource administration guide4)       Server configuration guide And then again go through course preparation guide. Also read maxmimum configuration guide. Following links were really helpful for preparing VCP http://www.markwilson.co.uk/blog/2006/12/passed-the-vmware-certified-professional-exam.htm http://www.vmuser.com/ http://www.ozvms.com/ [...]

4

Comment from Laye,Chang
Time: Saturday 9 June 2007, 7:15

I have read you notes,and hope it can help me in hte exam.Thank you!

5

Pingback from mainesysadmin.com :: Entries :: vmware vcp prep
Time: Thursday 16 August 2007, 0:11

[...] http://www.markwilson.co.uk/blog/2006/12/passed-the-vmware-certified-professional-exam.htm [...]

6

Comment from Eugene
Time: Saturday 20 October 2007, 4:38

Mark,

Thanks a lot for your notes. They helped me get my vcp this week.

Eugene

7

Comment from Mark Wilson
Time: Sunday 21 October 2007, 10:05

Congratulations Eugene – glad they helped :-)

8

Comment from rick
Time: Friday 26 October 2007, 16:07

where can I find the course preparation guide, is this the courseware, is this on the vmware site?

thanks.

9

Comment from Mark Wilson
Time: Friday 26 October 2007, 23:05

Rick,
This absolutely is not the courseware – just my revision notes for the exam. You will need to attend the course first – details on the available courses (and how to prepare for them) can be found on the VMware website.

Mark

10

Comment from rick
Time: Saturday 27 October 2007, 18:31

Sorry,
where can I find the course preparation guide, I’ve already taken the Install and configure course. Im starting to prepare for my VCP and was reviewing your study suggestions..

1) Read course preparation guide

Cannot find any such document

thanks

11

Comment from Mark Wilson
Time: Sunday 28 October 2007, 10:16

Hi Rick,
Now I understand the confusion – I think you are referring to a list of study suggestions on the VMzare blog post that links here.

I’m not sure what course preparation guide VMzare is referring to but, for someone with existing systems administration skills on Windows (and some Linux familiarity), a combination of the formal training course plus the basic administration, resource administration and server configuration guides (using the notes on this post as a revision aid) should prepare you pretty well.

Good luck, Mark

12

Comment from Andy
Time: Friday 25 April 2008, 16:23

Hi Mark,

Just to say thanks for your VCP exam notes, Passed that exam this morning and your notes were a great help to get me thru.

Cheers again

Andrew

13

Comment from Anonymous
Time: Friday 23 May 2008, 3:57

Mark,

Your notes are very good. Just one quick question. Is still valid or lot has changed since you had this great notes prepared.

Thanks and regrads,

Rukase

14

Comment from Mark Wilson
Time: Friday 23 May 2008, 9:20

Hi Rukase,
I honestly don’t know – as you noticed, these were written at the end of 2006 and I haven’t don’t much work with VMware products since early 2007. I imagine there have been some changes with subsequent product upgrades and the introduction of ESXi but the basics will still be valid.

The best indicator I have is that Andy took the exam last month and he still found the notes useful (see previous comment).

Good luck, Mark

15

Comment from Anonymous
Time: Tuesday 24 March 2009, 9:55

Hi Mark,

These notes and tips are a big help so far, I am sitting the exam tommorow so fingers crossed.

16

Comment from Mark Wilson
Time: Tuesday 24 March 2009, 10:11

@Anonymous – good luck with the exam but I should caution you – these notes were written over 2 years ago for VI3 and there is almost certainly more to know for VI3.5 and 4.

17

Comment from PATRICK MAHONEY, MCSA
Time: Monday 6 April 2009, 0:36

Mark,

Thank you for the notes, question: Is there an way in the US to get this course for less than 2,200?

Regards,
Patric Mahoney, MCSA

18

Comment from Mark Wilson
Time: Monday 6 April 2009, 8:18

@Patrick – The price I quoted was £2200 (GB pounds), which would actually be more in US Dollars but it was also current when I wrote this in December 2006 – it may not be the case now.

My best advice is to check with a number of VMware authorised training providers and see what the current pricing is in your region.

19

Comment from Segzy
Time: Tuesday 26 May 2009, 22:40

Hey Mark,

Where did you take the training for £2200 in the UK? If I don’t use this everyday, do you think I still have a shot at this?

Thanks

20

Comment from Mark Wilson
Time: Thursday 28 May 2009, 23:07

@Segzy – This information is now old… if I were you, I’d check the what the current exams are (VI3.5/vSphere?) and also how much the current training costs but, FWIW, I took my training at ETC (a subsidiary of SCH/SCC). Sure, you could still have a shot at this but, unless VMware have changed their policy you need to take the training before you can take the exam.

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