VMware launched the VCP5 certification exam on August 29th 2011, and they had given VCP3 and VCP4 holders a 6-month window in which they could update to VCP5 with little or no training requirement.As of March 1st 2012, that window closed, meaning that from this point forward these are the paths to achieve VCP5:
Note that if you are a VCP2 or VCP3 holder that certification now doesn't qualify you for any form of VCP "upgrade" and you must take a full 5-day vSphere 5 training course.VCP4 holders have the option of attending just the 2-day What's New training course, they can also take the 5-day courses if they wish but shouldn't need to do that unless they want a refresher of some of the fundamental vSphere features. The same applies to those who have attended training that would qualify them for VCP4 certification but have yet to take the VCP4 exam.
VMware have just released a new course for vSphere 5, and it's a big one, the Fast Track!The list of topics covered is the largest yet of any VMware course I've come across, there are 17 course modules and 35 lab exercises covering a huge number of vSphere 5 features. Look inside the content and you'll find all of the material we cover in Install Configure Manage, a lot of the higher-level material from What's New, as well as new material not currently available in any other vSphere 5 courses.I'm not going to copy and paste the full list of topics here, you can find those in the course datasheet, but here's the modules we cover in this course, the modules that contain material not found in Install Configure Manage are in bold:- Course Introduction- Introduction to Virtualization- Create Virtual Machines- VMware vCenter Server- Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks- Configuring and Managing Virtual Storage- Virtual Machine Management- Access and Authentication Control- Resource Management and Monitoring- High Availability and Fault Tolerance- Host Scalability- Network Scalibility- Storage Scalability- Data Protection- Patch Management- vSphere Management Assistant- Installing VMware ComponentsThis course is going to give you the best preparation for the VCP5 certification exam of any official vSphere 5 training available today, and you should definitely consider it instead of Install Configure Manage if VCP5 certification is a primary goal for you or your employer. The course does count towards the training requirement for VCP5.Be prepared though, although this is still a 5-day course it will take place over extended hours - expect the days to run from 9:00am-7:00pm. If you're completely new to vSphere 5 you might find the pace and volume of material covered a challenge, consider the regular Install Configure Manage course instead.Global Knowledge UK are running vSphere 5: Fast Track courses, there are a number of dates available now, additional dates will be added in the coming weeks.
A project I was working on towards the end of 2011 was the Global Knowledge vSphere Exam Preparation Workshop for VCP5. It's a unique 1-day workshop that's designed to maximise your chances of getting the best score possible when you take your VCP5 exam.I first developed a workshop for VCP4, we've run that in the UK many times over the last couple of years and given attendees a real boost in terms of focus, confidence, readiness, and knowledge.I have some excellent connections within the Certification team at VMware, which allows me to have a good insight into how the VCP exam items are designed, and I'm now a 4-time VCP after passing the VCP5 exam myself in November 2011 so I have a very good understanding of what is required in terms of not only knowledge but exam technique as well.We start the day by reviewing the exam format and giving lots of study and exam tips, then we go through the all-important exam blueprint, section by section, and ask you over 100 practice questions that you won't find anywhere else! The practice questions are written in the same style as those in the real exam, and try really hard to pull all the same tricks too! Each question comes with an explanation of the question and answer(s), and of course questions can be discussed with the instructor and other attendees.I recommend attending the workshop a couple of weeks before attempting the real exam, to highlight areas that need improvement, enhance your exam-taking technique, or to provide additional focus as the "big day" gets close. Global Knowledge offer the workshop as a 1-day instructor-led event at locations across the UK, some of the scheduled dates are delivered using Webex instead, this page will show you the dates we currently have available. The workshop also forms part of our VMware Bundles, which are cost-effective ways of attending any required vSphere 5 training, attending the workshop, and also receiving a voucher that covers the cost of the VCP5 exam.
Are you a VCP3 holder who wants to gain VCP5? If so, your options today are:1. Attend a vSphere: What's New [v5] course and pass the VCP5 examor2. Attend a vSphere: Install Configure Manage [v5] course and pass the VCP5 examThe difference between the two options is roughly £1700 (excluding VAT) in course fees, What's New is only a 2-day course whereas Install Configure Manage is a 5-day course.But, option 1 will only remain an option until 29th February 2012! Global Knowledge are running a number of What's New courses in January and February to help those who want to update their VCP3 to take advantage of this.The best offer we have includes our unique 1-day VCP5 exam preparation workshop and an exam voucher that pays for the VCP5 exam - the price is almost the same as the What's New course fee alone. Take a look at Bundle 2 on our VMware Bundles page.
I've taken the VMware Certified Professional on vSphere 5 (VCP5) exam today, not only is it part of my requirements as a VMware Certified Instrucor (VCI) but it also makes a lot of sense for me personally to update my VCP to the latest version.So, what's the exam like? Well I'll tell you as much as I can, and what I think is relevant to those of you preparing to take it yourselves...The VCP5 exam is the same format as VCP4 in terms of the basic format, for those of you doing your first VCP exam, you will be faced with 85 multiple-choice questions that you have 90 minutes to answer, and a good number of the questions will require you to choose multiple answers - I'd say about 50% of the items I saw today - as always with VCP exams when that's the case you'll be told "choose two" or however many answers are required.As a VCI I was required by VMware to take a VCI-specific version of the exam that has a higher passing score than the regular VCP exam that the majority of you will take, but the items in the VCI and VCP exams are the same. The passing score for the VCP exam is 300, the scoring system is scaled and does not represent any kind of percentage - I had to score at least 350 to pass my VCI exam and I'm glad to report that I achieved that by some margin - I never give out my exact scores to anyone, so don't ask :-)The items themselves definitely demand a combination of two skills around the vSphere features tested on in order to answer them effectively:- a deep knowledge of the concepts, features, requirements, and limitations- hands-on experienceAs has been reported by a good number of others who've taken the exam, there are hardly any items that you could answer just by having memorized a maximum number - I got no questions like that at all. There are items with screenshots shown as exhibits, and you will get some items that go "beyond the vSphere Client" and test you on your knowledge of some of the command-line tools and other interfaces available that an administrator would use to interact with vSphere.I have to say that VMware are very fair in the objectives they publish in the VCP Exam Blueprint guide - I was tested on most of the objectives, but nothing that I would class as being outside those objectives. You will also get questions on technologies and concepts around the subject too, exactly as it mentions in the blueprint, without giving too much away I was asked about other VMware products, hardware components used as part of a vSphere infrastructure, and white fluffy things you find in the sky too!I would definitely suggest you take a look at the other VCP5-related posts on my blog as part of your preparations, click the VCP5 tab towards the top for links to the key posts, including pointers to some excellent study resources.Best of luck to anyone preparing for their VCI or VCP exam, I hope you've found this particular post and many of my other posts useful!
Even though the VCP5 exam is only 5 weeks old at the time of writing, there are some amazing resources already available to help with those preparing for the exam.I've always been an advocate of trying to prepare yourself using the official resources that VMware make available - the exam blueprint tells you what aspects of vSphere 5 you will get tested on, the exam format, number of questions, time limit, and the scoring system. The exam blueprint makes references to the official vSphere 5 documentation, which VMware validate the exam items against, and the mock exam gives a decent indication of the exam format. The VCP community forum is an excellent way of asking VCP5-related questions and getting furter information.VCP5 homepageVCP5 exam blueprintVCP5 mock examVCP community forumvSphere 5 documentationA project that I completed towards the end of 2011 was an exclusive 1-day VCP5 workshop designed to focus you on the VCP5 exam and give you the chance to attempt over 100 practice questions, complete with questions/discussions with a VCI and others preparing for the exam.Global Knowledge VCP5 Exam Preparation WorkshopSomething that VMware don't publish is an expanded exam blueprint that includes all the relevant study notes, however there are a number of sites where people have done exactly that - be careful when using these study notes in case they're not accurate in comparison to the official documentation.Forbes Guthrie's vReference card for vSphere 5Forbes Guthrie's vReference documentation notes for vSphere 5Preetam Zare's Prep Guide for VCP5.0Andre Mauro's vInfrastructure VCP5 notesMike Preston's VCP5 study notes - with practice questionsJason Langer's VCP5 study guideThere are a number of people in the VMware community that write and publish their own practice questions, normally as part of their own preparations - it should be noted that these do not necessarily indicate the types and styles of questions you will get in the real exam, and the accuracy of these practice exams cannot be guaranteed either.Robert Stothard's VCP5 practice questionsSimon Long's VCP5 practice examsPaul McSharry's VCP5 practice questionsMike Preston's VCP5 practice questions - with study notesTo finish, here are a couple of exam experience blog posts from people that have taken the exam themselves, including me!My review of the VCP5 examEric Sloof's VCP5 exam experienceBrian Tobia's VCP5 exam thoughts and experienceBest of luck to anyone taking their VCP5 exam, I hope the resources above will prove useful to you!
