Comments on: VMware VCAP4-DCA BETA Exam Experience

By: VMware VCAP Preparation Tips and Study Resources

VMware VCAP Preparation Tips and Study Resources — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 06:20:50 +0000

[...] Jason Boche [...]

By: VMware VCAP4-DCD BETA Exam Experience » boche.net – VMware Virtualization Evangelist

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 21:48:39 +0000

[...] the exam.. much better experience this time compared to the VCAP4-DCA BETA. The interface felt polished and I felt there was a 300% improvement with the Visio-like tool [...]

By: VCAP-DCA BrownBag Follow-Up (Section 3, pt 1)

VCAP-DCA BrownBag Follow-Up (Section 3, pt 1) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:50:48 +0000

[...] Test experiences here and [...]

By: I’m a VCAP-DCA » boche.net – VMware Virtualization Evangelist

I’m a VCAP-DCA » boche.net – VMware Virtualization Evangelist — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 04:39:36 +0000

[...] [...]

By: Raj

Raj — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:30:47 +0000

Any idea which book would be beneficial to help in VCPA4 – DCA Exam

By: My VCAP-DCA Exam Experience | Daily Hypervisor

My VCAP-DCA Exam Experience | Daily Hypervisor — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:35:51 +0000

[...] like Jason Boche, William Lam and Duncan Epping, I had the privilege of taking the beta version exam. As you can see [...]

By: VCAP4-DCA in my sights! « vDestination: you're virtually there

VCAP4-DCA in my sights! « vDestination: you're virtually there — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:46:36 +0000

[...] [...]

By: RTFM Education » Blog Archive » vNews – 30th June, 2010

RTFM Education » Blog Archive » vNews – 30th June, 2010 — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:09:10 +0000

[...] DCAP – DataCenter Admin Exam Experiences – boche.net vmwaretips.com simonlong.co.uk [...]

By: Dustin Pike

Dustin Pike — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:42:31 +0000

@Jason
Looks like VMware is really pushing that ESXi stuff. I’ve never had the pleasure (or pain) of sitting a full lab exam, so that part has me, and Im sure plenty of other folks very nervous. Glad to see you and the other folks who posted about their beta experience did mention that they felt it was a great representation of skills on the topic of Datacenter Administration. Thanks for putting up the info.

By: VCAP-DCA and my impressions | VMWISE

VCAP-DCA and my impressions | VMWISE — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:17:27 +0000

[...] [...]

By: jason

jason — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:01:47 +0000

@Dustin Pike
Yes absolutely. That was the reason for the Enterprise Admin exam and the Design exam for VCDX on VI3. The DCA and DCD exams are essentially the same but for the VCDX on vSphere track. Although the two new exams represent the two older exams respectively, expect some changes in the new versions. For instance, a change which is already evident on the DCA exam is that it is 100% lab whereas only a smaller portion of the EA exam was lab. The EA exam felt very Red Hat centric (plenty of Service Console in the enterprise items). Some of that was still apparent in the DCA exam, but a much smaller portion. Speaking of Red Hat or lack thereof, another change is that the DCA exam encompasses ESXi by virtue of its coverage of the vMA appliance.

By: Dustin Pike

Dustin Pike — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 19:47:42 +0000

I was glad to see VMware announce the VCAP program as a mid tier to the VCDX. As a VCDX, do you think this exam help prepare you for the design and defense portion required for the VCDX?

By: Simon Long

Simon Long — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:45:55 +0000

Thanks for the write up Jason, I hope to be taking this exam shortly, so reading your experiences gives me a good insight on what to expect.

Simon

By: Russell

Russell — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 07:16:57 +0000

I was invited to sit the beta DCA exam too but unfortunately I’m in Arizona on engagement and they couldn’t accommodate my schedule. I suspected a similar experience to the release candidate Enterprise Admin exam I sat in on back when the VCDX was announced.

I’m frankly a little surprised they haven’t sorted out the lab issues. My exam experience for the EA exam was riddled with labs that were either partially completed (in many cases with the absolute wrong solution) or in some cases literally had the same solution.

That said, the worst exam beta I ever took was the design exam. 4 and a half hours and some 300+ questions some with incorrect or missing answers and some just eating the solution.

I think our time as an architect takes us a little far away from the weeds of the technology and that’s what is impacting your accuracy. Spend some time in the trenches with a customer or give yourself some pet projects and force yourself to implement them via VMA/PowerCLI for example.

Thanks for sharing!