The good and the bad of my job? You never stop learning 🙂
Keeping up with technology requires a lot of effort in terms of time and money, stay on track can prove stressful but challenging at the same time. That’s why certifications are part of my continuing education; they are important milestones that demonstrate achievements.
Why VMware Cloud Foundation Administrator ? Because it represents the whole set of technologies I work on and have been focusing on these last years. Also, a recent study (mentioned in this article and at the vmware explore keynote) reports that there will be a return to “on-premises” infrastructure in the coming years.
I I’m sure many are thinking about taking this exam, glad to share my personal experience with everyone!
Exam Details
| Exam | VMware Cloud Foundation 5.2 Administrator |
| Code | 2V0-11.24 |
| Price | 250$ |
| Items | 70 |
| Time | 135 minutes |
| Minimum score | 300 (max 500) |
NOTE: As announced last May, it is no longer necessary to take an official course in order to take the exam. Fees have also been changed, now all exam types (VCTA/VCP/VCAP) have the same price.
Preparing for the exam
Details of the exam are available at this link
The blueprint consists of 5 sections :
- IT Architectures, Technologies, Standards
- VMware by Broadcom Solution
- Plan and Design the VMware by Broadcom Solution
- Install, Configure, Administrate the VMware by Broadcom Solution
- Troubleshoot and Optimize the VMware by Broadcom Solution
For the exam, we can ignore sections 1 and 3 and focus on the remaining ones. A quick glance immediately reveals the weight of sections 4 (as many as 4 pages) and 5 on the exam. Study should be focused mainly on these sections.
The objectives are many and on all components of VCF. How to prepare for this exam?
Obviously by studying the official documentation; remember that VCF consists of many products, and for each you need to study the relevant guide:
- Cloud Builder
- SDDC Manager
- VMware vCenter Server
- VMware ESXi
- VMware vSAN
- VMware NSX
- VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle
NOTE: Expect questions about each of the products listed 😉
Taking an official course can certainly accelerate learning; details of the courses can be found at this link.
Other valuable tools are Hands on Labs that allow you to practice on virtual labs. Practice is essential to assimilate the theory.
My advice is to install VCF from scratch, for me it was a key experience. Getting hands-on in all phases of installation and configuration remains the best study : Learning by doing!
If you do not have a cluster with the requirements to install VCF you can try the nested version : Holodeck Tool Kit
NOTE : the previous link leads to a discussion on how to download the latest version of the Tool Kit, this is the form to request the download
There are many articles on how to implement Holodeck, I will leave you the search 🙂
Exam
This is the classic vmware exam: single/multiple choice questions, state the right sequence of events, associate terms and definitions. Questions should be read carefully and slowly, the important thing is to remain clear-headed and focus on the answers.
Divide your time by the number of questions; do not spend more time than necessary on a question. If you find one challenging, don’t freeze: move on, you can mark it and review it before the final submission.
Try to answer all questions; be careful about the number of answers you select for multiple-choice questions!
Some answers are obviously wrong, a good strategy is to go by exclusion: the answers that remain, with a good chance, are the right ones.
The questions are really varied, ranging from simple ones with immediate answers to those that require not only reasoning but also experience in using the tools. Well yes, I found a question regarding a KB of NSX that allowed me to solve a problem not long ago 🙂 This does not mean that you have to read all existing KBs but that the exam tests your actual experience of the various technologies.
Conclusion
Passing the VCF administrator exam requires commitment, discipline and a good study strategy. Sharing my experience has been a way to inspire and support anyone who wants to take this path. Good study and good luck!
