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VCDX Defense, the blog article!

Duncan Epping · Jun 16, 2009 ·

As you know I did the final part of the VCDX certification in San Francisco during the VMware Technical Services vSummit. I wanted to share my experience with you so you know what to expect to a certain degree and more importantly get the word out in general.

The last part of the VCDX certification is the defense. In short: you will need to write a design, fill out the application and defend your design during a two to three hour session.

Although I can describe it in 30 words it is not as simple as it may sound. First of all your design needs to meet specific requirements. I can’t go in to the details unfortunately but when you receive an invitation you will receive all the prerequisites. Like me, most of you done numerous designs, but keep in mind it needs to be in English and so will your defense need to be. This is an extra barrier for many of the non- native speakers; I know it was for me.

The defense part:
75 minutes – executive overview and an in-depth design defense
30 minutes – design workshop
15 minutes – problem analysis

For the first 15 minutes, the executive overview, you can use a couple of slides. Like I said it’s an executive overview and its only 15 minutes so don’t go into the technical details, there’s no need for that share your experience and maybe tell about political issues for instance. These 15 minutes gave me the opportunity to get rid of my nerves.

The in depth design defense is self-explanatory I think. Just be prepared to get questions on every single aspect of your design, know it inside out and not only “what” and “how”, but especially “why”.

Next two are role-play based. The panel is the customer and you are the architect. By asking questions, white boarding, discussions you will need to solve an issue or come to a specific solution for the customer. This is something you can not really prepare. Although you may think you will have more than enough time, you will not have time enough. Time flies when the pressure is on. Keep in mind that it’s not the end result that counts for these scenarios, it’s your thought process!

I’ve read comments on the written exams; some thought they were too easy. I can promise you this will not be easy this is not a test you can study for and pass if you crammed all the details. You will need specific soft skills and a wealth of knowledge.

Good luck and enjoy the ride,

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Comments

  1. Rodos says

    16 June, 2009 at 16:07

    007 I am sure you were very smooth in your presentation with excellent powers of self defense!

  2. Kenneth van Ditmarsch says

    16 June, 2009 at 16:37

    Still waiting for the Design exam to be publicly released. They told me that this would be in May 2009 but I already heard that this is delayed… So still no defending any design for me 😐

  3. Nevynxxxx says

    16 June, 2009 at 17:55

    Mr Epping, you make this sound like fun. I want to do this now!

  4. Tom Howarth says

    17 June, 2009 at 14:14

    It would be nice to do the defence, but I am still waiting for my invite to do the Advanced Admin Exam 🙁

  5. Dave Convery says

    17 June, 2009 at 17:22

    Duncan –
    Can’t wait…still waitning for results of my design exam :o( six weeks over due!
    Dave

  6. Carl Lawton says

    18 June, 2009 at 16:08

    It sounds like good fun to be honest.. 🙂

  7. Albin Penic says

    19 June, 2009 at 23:09

    Haill Duncan. I still waiting for Design results. 2 months and counting 🙁

  8. MikaelWinther says

    5 August, 2009 at 12:06

    I’m preparing to submit my design… however i have come across something i hope you can help me with…
    The documents to include should at minimum be:
    the design, blueprints, test plan, assembly and configuration guide, and operations guide.
    But what blueprints are those? there are so many blueprints to choose from…

  9. Duncan Epping says

    5 August, 2009 at 21:01

    I dropped you an email Mikael

  10. dconvery says

    6 August, 2009 at 20:14

    Just re-read your post. Working on choosing a design to submit. Hope to see you at the head table!
    Dave

  11. ceri says

    25 August, 2009 at 17:56

    Are there any examples of a submitted design anywhere?

  12. atlanta interior designer says

    17 January, 2012 at 01:50

    As a decorator i found this very interesting topic, thanks for posting.

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About the author

Duncan Epping is a Chief Technologist in the Office of CTO of the Cloud Platform BU at VMware. He is a VCDX (# 007) and the author of the "vSAN Deep Dive" and the “vSphere Clustering Technical Deep Dive” series.

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