VCAP5-DCA
Welcome to the ValCo Labs VCAP5-DCA page. Here you will find a full and in-depth breakdown of each section from the VCAP5-DCA blueprint, to include the ‘Knowledge’ and ‘Skills and Abilities’ sections. Not too sure what the VCAP5-DCA certification is or to whom it is targeted at?
“The VDCA511 VMware Certified Advanced Professional on vSphere 5 – Datacenter Administration exam tests potential VCAP5-DCA canidates on their skills and abilities installing, configuring and administering large and/or more complex virtualized environments” -VCAP5-DCA Exam Blueprint Guide
In other words, the VCAP5-DCA is a VMware advanced certification with a focus on vSphere 5 in environments that are large and/or complex. I haven’t taken any of the previous VCAP exams so I cannot provide first hand input on their difficulty, but if the blueprint is any indication, you better be ready to work. VDCA511 will have 26 live lab questions and you will have 210 minutes to complete it. If you take the exam in a country whose primary language is not English you will receive 30 additional minutes to complete the exam. You need a 300 or better for a passing score.
If you’ve seen my VCP5 page then this layout and format will be familiar. As with the VCP5, Jason Langer (blog/twitter) and I will be splitting up the sections and covering them on our respective blogs, but all links for each section will be posted on both Jason’s and my VCAP5-DCA page for easy access. Jason has sat and successfully passed the VCAP4-DCA exam so he will have more insight what you might expect on this exam.
Without further ado, lets get to it!
UPDATE: February 15th, 2013
You can download the complete guide in PDF format. It includes ALL sections.
The Unofficial Official VCAP5-DCA Study Guide
(PDF Version)
Section 1 – Implement and Manage Storage
Objective 1.1 – Implement and Manage Complex Storage Solutions
Objective 1.2 – Manage Storage Capacity in a vSphere Environment
Objective 1.3 – Configure and Manage Complex Multipathing and PSA Plug-ins
Section 2 – Implement and Manage Networking
Objective 2.1 – Implement and Manage Complex Virtual Networks
Objective 2.2 – Configure and Maintain VLANs, PVLANs and VLAN Settings
Objective 2.3 – Deploy and Maintain Scalable Virtual Networking
Objective 2.4 – Administer vNetwork Distributed Switch Settings
Section 3 – Deploy DRS Clusters and Manage Performance
Objective 3.1 – Tune and Optimize vSphere Performance
Objective 3.2 – Optimize Virtual Machine Resources
Objective 3.3 – Implement and Maintain Complex DRS Solutions
Objective 3.4 – Utilize Advanced vSphere Performance Monitoring Tools
Section 4 – Manage Business Continuity and Protect Data
Objective 4.1 – Implement and Maintain Complex VMware HA Solutions
Objective 4.2 – Deploy and Test VMware FT
Section 5 – Perform Operational Maintenance
Objective 5.1 – Implement and Maintain Host Profiles
Objective 5.2 – Deploy and Manage Complex Update Manager Environments
Section 6 – Perform Advanced Troubleshooting
Objective 6.1 – Configure, Manage, and Analyze vSphere Log Files
Objective 6.2 – Troubleshoot CPU and Memory Performance
Objective 6.3 – Troubleshoot Network Performance and Connectivity
Objective 6.4 – Troubleshoot Storage Performance and Connectivity
Objective 6.5 – Troubleshoot vCenter Server and ESXi Host Management
Section 7 – Secure a vSphere Environment
Objective 7.1 – Secure ESXi Hosts
Objective 7.2 – Configure and Maintain the ESXi Firewall
Section 8 – Perform Scripting and Automation
Objective 8.1 – Execute VMware Cmdlets and Customize Scripts Using PowerCLI
Objective 8.2 – Administer vSphere Using the vSphere Management Assistant
Section 9 – Perform Advanced vSphere Installations and Configurations
Awesome
[...] ValCo Labs VCAP5-DCA Study Guide – by @joshcoen [...]
[...] Josh Coen. Valco Labs [...]
[...] VCAP5-DCA [...]
[...] Josh Coen (@joshcoen) also goes into really good detail on the different objectives: http://www.valcolabs.com/vcap5-dca/ [...]
[...] VCAP5-DCA [...]
[...] http://www.valcolabs.com/vcap5-dca/ [...]
The document is nice.. what about the objectives 6.4,6.5,8.1 the link is not working.??
Still working on Objectives 6.4, 6.5 and 8.1
Thank you for the awesome guide! I studied this in great detail up until and even the day of my test! I just took the VCAP5-DCA test Friday, and even if I don’t pass, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to do this!
[...] [...]
[...] Jason's guide at virtuallanger.com (Jason is a local Seattle VMUG member), and that of Josh Coen at ValCo Labs. Another excellent resource is the Professional VMware web site which has a list of past podcasts [...]
[...] Josh Nick Marshall Florian Grehl Jason Langer Cody [...]
Well done sirs! Skimmed your guide. Looks like my road to VCAP will start here!.
Thanks John, and good luck! Let me know if I can be of help.
Just wanted to say thank you for putting together these awesome guides and provide a success story. I studied this (and paulgrevink’s guide) thoroughly and just got my exam report back. Passed
Very, very thankful for all of your hard work that went into this guide.
Congratulations on the pass Mike, I’m happy to hear that the guide was helpful. It’s definitely not an easy test; great job!
[...] Study Guide by Josh Coen and Jason Langer @ http://www.valcolabs.com/vcap5-dca/ [...]
Thank you josh and jason. Hardwork done.
You’re welcome Harry! Hope it was useful.