Yellow Bricks

by Duncan Epping

training

Train Signal free trial for new subscription model

· ·

Recently Train Signal changed the way they deliver training… Instead of buying a single training every time they changed to a subscription based model. It makes a lot of sense if you ask me. I always liked the Train Signal concept as it allows you to do a training when you have the time, instead of the standard 9 to 5 times. Especially when you need to quickly brush up in a certain area it is nice to sit down and just go over it quickly. It is $ 49,- a month, so even if you just want to do that one training by Scott Lowe on how to design a virtual infrastructure, or get to know everything about UCS from Jason Nash you could just sign up and follow that training and cancel the subscription afterwards! There is a long list of courses, if you are not interested in VMware training but rather Microsoft or Linux… don’t worry.

If you were awarded with the vExpert status this year and hadn’t seen it on twitter yet, you can sign up for a year long free training. If you are not a vExpert but would love to have a taste of this subscription based training model, sign up for a 3 day Free Trial today and just try it out!

Last chance to become a VCDX3!

· ·

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.

VCAP-DCA Exam

· ·

I was “fortunate” enough to be part of the group of people who were invited to do the VCAP-DCA exam. Some of the others like Jason Boche and William Lam who recently did this exam already shared their experience. The VCAP-DCA Exam is the follow up to the VI-3 Enterprise Exam which I passed two years ago as part of my VCDX Journey. I must say that my experience was different than some others mentioned. No lag, no overlay issues… everything worked perfectly well. I guess one thing to keep in mind when you experience issues like that is that this exam is still beta, there is a reason there is a beta period even for exams!

Of course I can’t share any specifics with you regarding the questions as the VMware Certification Team would have to kill me if I would. However I do want to stress, and I guess that Jason and William had a similar experience, that this was seriously one of the most difficult tests I have done so far. The range of products (vCenter, ESX, vMA, vShield, Orchestrator, PowerCLI, Heartbeat) is huge which makes it really difficult to prepare for this exam. Keep in mind though that no one expects you to know the full range of products in-depth, but they do expect you to know how to solve things or how to set-up things. This could be particularly difficult with products like vShield, Orchestrator and Heartbeat. For me particularly this was a challenge as I tend to focus more on the architectural side these days, I guess being a technical consultant / implementation specialist would definitely help!

I guess the one reason you are reading this article is to make sure you prep well, here are some tips:

  1. Read the VCAP-DCA blueprint!
  2. L A B T I M E. Make sure you get enough time to spent in your lab. I can’t stress this enough as the test is 95% Lab based as opposed to the VI3 Enterprise exam which was roughly 40% Lab based.
  3. Make sure you are familiar with vMA, PowerCLI, ESX, vCenter(and all the features like vDS, vSwitches, Host Profiles, VUM etc…), Heartbeat, Orchestrator, vDR and all the rest that you can think off.
  4. Make sure you are familiar with the command line:
    1. esxcfg-* commands or the vMA equivalents (vicfg-*)
    2. esxcli
    3. PowerCLI
    4. vifp
    5. vmware-cmd
  5. Did I already mention Lab Time?

VMware releases new Certification “VMware Certified Advanced Professional”

· ·

VMware just announced/released a new certification called “VMware Certified Advanced Professional”. This certification sits in between VCP and VCDX!

VCAP4 – Datacenter Administration

Gain industry recognition for your technical leadership in the planning and administration of vSphere technologies. Learn more about VMware Certified Advanced Professional – Datacenter Administration certification and get started today.

  1. Be a VMware Certified Professional 4 (VCP4)
  2. Pass the VCAP4-DCA exam

VCAP4 – Datacenter Design

Gain recognition for technical leadership in data center design methodologies and principles of vSphere technologies. Learn more about VMware Certified Advanced Professional – Datacenter Design certification and get started today.

  1. Be a VMware Certified Professional 4 (VCP4)
  2. Pass the VCAP4-DCD exam

VMware vSphere Design Workshop

· ·

A week ago I posted about an upcoming class titled “managing for performance“. As many of you know Scott Drummonds, VMware’s performance guru was involved in crafting this excellent course. This is VMware’s new approach for developing new training material / courses. Course material will be developed with the help of the Subject Matter Experts within the company.

I was fortunate enough to be part of the development team for the VMware vSphere Design Workshop. Notice the “Workshop” part as this course is different then any other VMware course you have done so far. Indeed it is a real workshop and it is all about discussing design considerations with your peers and crafting a design based on specific requirements and constraints. Although it is not an official pre-requisite I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to become a VCDX. I hope you will enjoy this workshop as much as we did creating it.

Again a great job by the VMware Education Team, I just love this new concept. For those who can’t wait, check this section of the VMware website to see where they are scheduled. And for the Benelux readers, Eric Sloof is running three of these workshops soon… be there!

Source: VMware vSphere: Design Workshop

Module 1: Course Introduction

  • Provide a general overview of the course

Module 2: Design Process Overview

  • Discuss the design methodology, criteria, and approach
  • Introduce an example five-step design process

Module 3: ESX/ESXi Host Design

  • Identify useful information for making host design decisions
  • Analyze best practices and host design alternatives

Module 4: vSphere Virtual Datacenter Design

  • Identify useful information for making vCenter Server, database, cluster, and resource pool design decisions
  • Analyze best practices and vCenter Server, database, cluster, and resource pool design alternatives

Module 5: vSphere Network Design

  • Identify useful information for making network design decisions
  • Analyze best practices and network design alternatives

Module 6: vSphere Storage Design

  • Identify useful information for making storage design decisions
  • Analyze best practices and storage design alternatives

Module 7: Virtual Machine Design

  • Identify useful information for making virtual machine design decisions
  • Analyze best practices and virtual machine design alternatives

Module 8: Management and Monitoring Design

  • Identify useful information for making management and monitoring design decisions
  • Analyze best practices and management and monitoring design alternatives