VMware VCP5-DV Resources

As mentioned in a previous blog post, I managed to pass the VCP5-DV exam (second attempt) and thought I would give a list of the resources I used.

Its worth noting before becoming VCP5-DV certified you need to attend a course, see here for my  review on the course I did via the 360gsp college.

The most important place to start studying is checking out the VMware VCP5-DV Exam Blue Print. Be expected to know everything on the blueprint. You get 85 questions with a time limit of 90 minutes for the exam.

When looking at articles/documentation I tend to clip them to Evernote and tag them so I can reference them later. I use Google Chrome with an Evernote plugin to achieve this.

VMware Documentation:

http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-pubs.html
http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp

Books:

Scott Lowe – Mastering VMware vSphere 5
VMware vSphere 5 Clustering Technical Deepdive by Duncan Epping and Frank Denneman 

Videos:

TrainSignal – VMware vSphere 5 Training
YouTube has some good videos.

Blogs:

http://www.vmfocus.com/
http://www.yellow-bricks.com/

http://www.techhead.co.uk/
http://blog.scottlowe.org/
http://frankdenneman.nl/
http://vmwaretraining.blogspot.co.uk/
http://blog.mwpreston.net/

Forums:

The VMware forums are worth contributing to whilst studying and afterwards.

AutoLab:

Whilst I didn’t use the AutoLab, it seems like a great resource. The AutoLab pre-configures a vSphere5 environment.

Practice Questions:

Once you have completed the VMware course, VMware have a mock exam via the VMware learn portal.

http://www.simonlong.co.uk/blog/
http://blog.mwpreston.net/vcp-5/practice-quiz/

Flashcards:

I would recommend AnkiDroid as a flashcard app for Android, you can download a VCP5 pack which includes maximums and some practise questions, you can also create your own flashcards. Very useful on the go. I have been using this method of flashcards since my ICND1 stuides. There are other flashcard packs for CCNA etc.

And finally…

Google google google! I found googling topics/errors/etc brought me to loads of VMware blogs, reading articles after articles helped with learning and also the real word stuff.

Most of the people that have blogs are on twitter, I would highly recommend getting into Twitter and following bloggers, its a great way to keep an eye on whats happening quickly. I use Tweetdeck and have multiple lists and columns for bloggers – it’s just a fantastic way to easily filter out the noise on twitter.

You can follow me on twitter @ChrisLStark

So whats next for me? Well, I was studying towards the Cisco ICND2 for the CCNA before I saw the excellent offer by 360gsp college so snapped that up. I shall now continue with my Cisco ICND2 studies and when I have time get more familiar with the vSphere 5 PowerCLI.

Review: 360gsp College – VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V5.0] course

This post is way overdue.

This is a quick review of the VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V5.0] course I attended via 360gsp college.

I attended this course over 4 weekends Saturday – Sunday (8 days) The last couple of days were covering some material that has been cut out of the training material but is on the exam such as host profiles and storage profiles.

The instructor Dai is a fantastic teacher and knows the subject inside out. Any questions we had were answered in confidence.

I was surprised by the level of knowledge of fellow students on the course,  ranging from CCIE to Project Managers, I was not expecting this and this made the course more enjoyable talking to fellow IT professionals.

The facilities and course material were superb, this being my first IT course and self funded I wasn’t disappointed. There is on site parking, although its best calling ahead to ensure a space can be reserved. Across the round from the training centre are a few newsagents and a fast food place (does nice food). There is a pub, but the people hanging outside kinda put as off.. therefore no idea if it’s any good! Be aware there are a couple of cash machines, these do in fact charge. Most of the weekends I took packet lunch as this was cheaper and can just snack in class. There is water (chilled) drinking facilities on site.

I would highly recommend taking the VMware course via the 360gsp college. Other IT Professionals over at certforums have had a similar experience.

I plan on taking the VCP 5 exam sometime early next year. A post will follow with study material I used similar to that of my Cisco ICND 1 post.