Yellow Bricks

by Duncan Epping

Search Results for: vcdx

RE: The VCDX candidates advantage over the panellists

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I was reading Josh Odger’s post on the VCDX Defense. Josh’s article can be summarised with the following part:

As a result, the candidate should be an expert in the design being presented and answering questions from the panel about the design should not be intimidating.

Having gone through the process myself, knowing many of the VCDX’s and having been on countless of panels I completely disagree with Josh. Sure, you do need to know your design inside/out… but, it is not about “who’s having an advantage”, the panel member is not there to fail or pass the candidate… they are there to assess your skills as an architect!

If you look at the defense day there are three parts:

  1. Defend your design
  2. Design scenario
  3. Troubleshooting scenario

For the design and troubleshooting scenario you get a random exercise, so you have no prior knowledge of what will be asked. When it comes to defending your design of course you will know your design (hopefully) better then anyone else. However, the questions you get will not necessarily be about the specifics or details of your design. The VCDX panel is there to assess your skills as an architect and not your “fact cramming skills”. A good panel will ask a lot of hypothetical questions like:

  • Your design uses NFS based storage, how would FC connected storage have changed your design?
  • Your design is based on capacity requirements for 80 virtual machine, what would  you have done differently when the requirement would be 8000 virtual machines?
  • Your design …

So when you do mock exams, prepare for these types of hypothetical questions. That is when you really start to understand the impact decisions can have, and when during your defense you get one of these questions and you do not know the answer make sure you guide the panel through your thought process. That is what differentiates someone who can learn facts (VCP exam) and someone who can digest them, understand them and apply them in different scenarios (VCDX exam).

As I stated, it may sound like that you knowing your design inside out means having a big advantage over the panel members but it probably isn’t… that is not what they are testing you on! Your ability to assess and adapt are put through the wringer, your skills as an architect are tested thoroughly and that is where you will need to do well.

Good luck!

VCDX 4

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It took a while, but finally here it is the VCDX 4 program. Now some of us who were fortunate enough to complete the VCDX 3 certification and managed to pass VCAP-DCD are already a VCDX 4, but for those of you who just started the journey now is the time to start digging!

In general the process hasn’t really changed all that much:

  • Pass the VCP exam
  • Pass the VCAP-DCA exam
  • Pass the VCAP-DCD exam
  • Submit a vSphere 4.x design
  • Defend your vSphere 4.x design

There are a couple of things I do want to point out here though:

  1. The VCDX Application Form has changed! We received a lot of feedback on the form and based on that we decided to trim it down. So if you are planning to do the VCDX4 defense make sure you download the latest version of the form. Also note that the design decision tree was taken out, reason for that being is that many already included these decisions in their design. If you haven’t done that yet, make sure you do it. For every decision make sure you explain why/what etc.
  2. Dates… no indeed no dates have been announced so far. However, the VCDX4 website does state the following “Unlike previous years, currently, there are no plans to have VCDX Defenses coinciding with the VMworld events in 2011 at this time”. Some of you will ask why, well just think about it for a second you have VMworld and then during VMworld you have the top experts confined to a room with hardly any opportunity to present/attend. I guess that is the main reason, I said “guess” cause I wasn’t part of the decision making process.

All there is left to say, if you plan on certifying this year make sure you start writing today! Your design will be a lot of work, make sure you meet the requirements and don’t forget any of the required documents mentioned in the application. For tips, do a search on VCDX on my blog…

5 Tips for preparing your VCDX Defense

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After the VCDX defenses Boston I had a chat with Craig Risinger, also known as 006 ;-). We discussed some of the things we’d seen on the panels and came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t hurt to reiterate some of the tips we’ve given in the past.

  1. It’s OK to change your actual project documents. See the following points for examples. This isn’t really about what you actually happened to do on a particular project with its own unique set of circumstances. It’s about showing what you can do.This is your portfolio to convince potential customers you can do their design, whatever they might need. It’s about proving you could work with a customer to establish requirements and design an architecture that meets them.
  2. Include everything the Application says is mandatory. Don’t be surprised if you have to write some new documents or sections. For example, maybe a Disaster Recovery plan wasn’t important in your project, but it will be to another customer or in another project, so you should show you know how to create one.
  3. Explain any bad or debatable decisions. Did your customer insist on doing something that’s against best practices? Did you explain what was wrong with it? Say how you would have preferred to do things and why. Even if you just made a mistake back then, that’s OK if you can show that you’ve learned and understand the error you made. If you are using VMware’s best practices make sure you know why it is a best practice and why it met your customer’s requirements.
  4. Show you can design for large scale. It’s OK if your actual project was for a small environment, but show that you can think big too. What would you have done for a bigger customer, or for a customer who wanted to start small but be able to scale up easily? What would you need to do to add more VMs, more hosts, more storage, more networking, more vCenter servers, more roles and division of duties, a stronger BC/DR plan in the future? How would that change your design, if at all?
  5. Architect = Knowledge + Reasoning. The VCDX certification isn’t just about knowing technical facts; it’s about being able to apply that knowledge to meet goals. In the defense session itself, be prepared to discuss hypothetical scenarios and alternative approaches, to decide on a design, and to explain the reasons for your choices. Show you know how to consider the pros and cons of different approaches.

There are also many other useful collections of advice for pursuing a VCDX certification, we highly recommend reading them as they will give you an idea of the process. Here’s just a sample:

Craig Risinger (VCDX006) & Duncan Epping (VCDX007)

Last chance to become a VCDX3!

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For those who are currently in progress of obtaining a VCDX certification please note that VCDX3 has come to an end. If you still want to become a VCDX 3 and already passed the Design and Enterprise exam Partner Exchange in Orlando (February 7, 2011) is your last chance.

If you have passed both the VCE310 and VCD310 exams and wish to apply for a VCDX3 certification:

  • Download the VCDX3 Application & Handbook and prepare your defense for the week of February 7, 2011.
  • The application will be due on November 22, 2010, at 5:00 PM PST.
  • The final opportunity to deliver a defense in pursuit of the VMware Certified Design Expert on VI3 (VCDX3) certification will be at VMware Partner Exchange in Orlando, Florida the week of February 7, 2011.
  • Please note that defense slots are limited and will be reserved for candidates who submit completed applications in the order received.

You have got a month and a half to submit your design, but I would definitely recommend to get it in as soon as possible. Make sure however that your Application Form is completely filled out. There are a bunch of tips to be found here.

For those who think they can still quickly register both exams to become a VCDX3

  • Registrations for the VMware Enterprise Administration on VMware Infrastructure 3 Exam: VCE310 have been closed.  No new registrations for this exam will be accepted.
  • Registrations for the VMware Design on VMware Infrastructure 3 Exam: VCD310 have been closed. No new registrations for this exam will be accepted.

VCDX Prep Workshop Powerpoint published…

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Just got noted that the Presentation of the VCDX 3 Preperation Workshop has been published. This Powerpoint presentation was given by John Arrasjid and Pang Chen during Partner Exchange and got a lot of great feedback. For everyone aiming to become a VCDX over the course of the upcoming months this is definitely a must read!

VCDX Defense Preparation

Preparation time
  • Plan on working a minimum of 30-40 hours to complete the application and supporting documentation.
Mandatory VDCX documentation
  • Architectural design document with diagrams and blueprints
  • Implementation and next steps documentation
  • Validation/test plans
  • Operational plan/guide
  • Installation and configuration instructions