Exam Profile: VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX)
Date: Jun 28, 2012
VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX) is the highest level of VMware certification. This elite group is comprised of design architects highly-skilled in VMware enterprise deployments and the program is designed for veteran professionals who want to validate and demonstrate their expertise in VMware virtual infrastructure. The multi-step certification process consists of three exams, a VCDX design defense application, and finally a VCDX panel defense. This VCDX description is for the VCDX4. There will be new requirements for what VMware is calling VCD.next coming soon.
Exam Details
The VCDX is not just a single exam. This is VMware’s highest level of certification and the most difficult to obtain. For the VCDX4, the candidate must pass the VCP4, VCAP4-DCA and VCAP4-DCD in no particular order. Then, the candidate must submit a design and application to be considered for a VCDX defense panel. Finally, if the application is accepted, the candidate must attend a VCDX defense panel where they will defend their design and participate in a mock design and a mock troubleshooting scenario.
VCP4 (VCP410) Details
- Number of Questions: 85
- Type(s) of questions: Multiple-choice and drag-and-drop
- Passing Score: 300
- Time Limit: 90 Minutes. Candidates who take the VCAP-DCA exam in a country where English is not a primary language will have an additional 30 minutes added to the exam time. An additional 15 minutes is provided to complete survey questions and agreements.
- How to register: The exam is administered through Pearson VUE.
VCAP4-DCA (VDCA410) Details
- Number of Questions: 40
- Type(s) of questions: Live Lab Activities
- Passing Score: 300
- Time Limit: 210 Minutes. Candidates who take the VCAP-DCA exam in a country where English is not a primary language will have an additional 30 minutes added to the exam time. An additional 15 minutes is provided to complete survey questions and agreements.
- How to register: The exam is administered through Pearson VUE. A pre-authorization to verify the candidate’s existing VCP status is also required.
VCAP4-DCD (VDCD410) Details
- Number of Questions: 113
- Type(s) of questions: Multiple-choice, drag-and-drop, design items using an in-exam design tool
- Passing Score: 300
- Time Limit: 225 Minutes. Candidates who take the VCAP-DCA exam in a country where English is not a primary language will have an additional 30 minutes added to the exam time. An additional 15 minutes is provided to complete survey questions and agreements.
- How to register: The exam is administered through Pearson VUE. A pre-authorization to verify the candidate’s existing VCP status is also required.
After the two prerequisite exams are passed, the candidate must submit a design and VCDX defense application. If the design and application are accepted, the candidate is invited to participate in the VCDX panel defense. The panel defense is broken into three sections.
- Section 1: Orally defend the submitted design (75 Minutes)
- Section 2: Orally work through a mock design problem given by the panelists (30 Minutes)
- Section 3: Orally work through a troubleshooting scenario given by the panelists (15 Minutes)
In this section, you will spend about 15 minutes explaining the design and justifying any decisions made in the design. The rest of the time is dedicated to answering the panelists’ questions about the design.
The panelists will act as a customer and present a design scenario. It is up to you to ask the appropriate questions and work through the customer requirements of the design.
The panelists will act as a customer and present a troubleshooting scenario. It is up to you to ask appropriate questions to approach a resolution.
Trouble Spots
This will be unique for every candidate. Personally, I had to brush up on my troubleshooting skills. I am a design architect and do not have the opportunity to troubleshoot implementation or administration problems on a daily basis. I had some of my peers break things in our lab, and I proceeded to fix them. This prepared me better than anything else for the troubleshooting section.
Preparation Hints
I would highly recommend taking as many of the classes listed in the suggested courses section of the VCDX4 certification page.
For the defense portion of the VCDX, I can offer the following advice:
- If you do not fill out every section in the defense application it will be rejected. Also, make sure that what VMware is asking for in the application is also in the design documentation.
- Know your design. Also, know your design. Seriously, know your design inside and out. You will be grilled on every aspect during the defense.
- Practice defending your design in front of peers. Have them help you with a mock defense.
- Practice thinking out loud and translating your thoughts onto a whiteboard. In the actual defense, it is not enough to arrive at the correct answer. You may not even arrive at a correct solution or answer in the given time. Like your high school math teacher may have told you, it is more important to show your work. The panelists want to see and hear your thought process.
- Get plenty of sleep the night before your defense.
- Use the first 15 minutes to explain your design and decisions. Also, use the first 15 minutes to get your nerves under control.
Recommended Study Resources
Aside from the recommended resources from VMware, the following resources helped me out in preparing for my VCDX.
- Sean Crookston’s Blog: Sean has resources for the VCAP-DCA, the VCAP-DCD, and the VCDX.
- Duncan Epping’s Blog, specifically, his “5 tips for the VCDX defense” post that came out after I received my VCDX will help you on your own VCDX journey.
- My Blog, specifically, my VCDX experience and the posts with the VCDX tag.
Exam Objectives
The objectives for each prerequisite exam and the VCDX defense itself are listed in the exam and defense blueprints on each exam page.
VCP: http://www.vmware.com/go/vcp
VCAP-DCA/DCD: http://www.vmware.com/go/vcap
VCDX: http://www.vmware.com/go/vcdx
Where to Go from Here
Achieving the VCDX is not an easy task. You should celebrate this achievement and perhaps take a well-deserved rest once you achieve it. Having said that, any of the Cisco networking certifications and any storage certifications are a nice complement to the VCDX. Once you receive your VCDX credentials, here are just a few of the job titles that you can expect to hold:
- Enterprise Architect
- Design Consultant
- Presales Architect
- Presales Consultant
Have you gone through the VCDX process? Share your experiences by posting to the <thread name here> thread in our forums.