VCAP 6 DCV Deploy exam prep

So my blog journey begins!  This is my first post, which was inspired by many others in the vExpert community that I have been following as I prep for my VCAP 6 DCV Deploy exam.  My VCAP journey actually began about a year and a half ago, when I was “volunteered” to achieve the VCAP 5.5 DCD certification for my company’s partner status requirements.

And what an achievement that was, as that was a beast of an exam!  Definitely a huge step from the VCP, but also much more fulfilling.  Prepping for that exam not only helped me take a massive leap in my VMware abilities, but introduced me to the online / social media communities as well.

After passing the VCAP 5.5 DCD exam, I had in the back of my mind that I wanted to eventually go for what is now VCIX6-DCV.  I will be attending VMworld later this month and figured that was a good enough reason to give myself a deadline, and save my company 50% off the exam price!

So I signed up to take the VCAP Deploy and have been prepping to sit the exam for the last few weeks.  Thankfully, the deploy track of the VCAP suits me fairly well, as my day job typically focuses on deployment.  I don’t usually have an opportunity to deploy some of the more advanced topics for work, so it is nice to put my head down and dive in to some areas that I had only seen marketing materials for.

One resource that was extremely valuable to me for the design exam was the Google+ study group. The first thing I did after registering for this exam was join the VCAP 6 DCV Deploy group and browse around.  I found a couple GREAT exam simulators that are run by Ricardo Conzatti and VirtualG.  You can schedule a time slot with them via social media.  I highly recommend anyone prepping for this exam to go through the simulations.  I know that the simulators are in no ways replicas of the exam itself, but they are great for getting in the mindset of what the exam will “feel” like, especially after spending a lot of time reading tons of technical documents and blog posts.

Well, that was quite a lot for a first post!  I’m hoping to get a work related post in prior to VMworld, and certainly will get a conference recap in early next month.  In the meantime, it is back to the VCAP grind for me.  Wish me luck!