This content is 18 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.
This morning I passed the VMware Certified Professional on VI3 exam.
VMware’s non-disclosure agreement prevents me from saying anything about the exam itself but I can say that it involved a lot of preparation and this was my strategy:
- Most importantly, get some experience of working with VMware products (I have been working on a project to implement VI3 since July and also use VMware Server every day).
- Attend the mandatory VMware Infrastructure 3 Install and Configure course (I don’t believe that making a £2200 course mandatory is a good thing – people with suitable experience should be allowed to take the test without having to either shell out that sort of cash themselves or persuade their employer to do it – often locking them into an agreement to stay with the company…).
- Book the exam (oh yes, the £2200 doesn’t include exam fees – that’s another £100).
- Use the week before Christmas, when most of my colleagues were on holiday, to lock myself away and cram like crazy, reading the course notes through again as well as the product documentation. I find that writing notes helps me to taking information on board and I’ve published my revision notes here (note that these were written prior to taking the exam and, to avoid breaking the terms of the exam NDA, the content has not been edited to reflect what I experienced in the exam – the only changes from the originals relate to formatting and grammar).
vmzare has started a blog about preparing for the VCP.
Mark,
I have my exam booked for the 30th of March, I’m sure your notes will assist in my learning!
Thanks.
I have read you notes,and hope it can help me in hte exam.Thank you!
Mark,
Thanks a lot for your notes. They helped me get my vcp this week.
Eugene
Congratulations Eugene – glad they helped :-)
where can I find the course preparation guide, is this the courseware, is this on the vmware site?
thanks.
Rick,
This absolutely is not the courseware – just my revision notes for the exam. You will need to attend the course first – details on the available courses (and how to prepare for them) can be found on the VMware website.
Mark
Sorry,
where can I find the course preparation guide, I’ve already taken the Install and configure course. Im starting to prepare for my VCP and was reviewing your study suggestions..
1) Read course preparation guide
Cannot find any such document
thanks
Hi Rick,
Now I understand the confusion – I think you are referring to a list of study suggestions on the VMzare blog post that links here.
I’m not sure what course preparation guide VMzare is referring to but, for someone with existing systems administration skills on Windows (and some Linux familiarity), a combination of the formal training course plus the basic administration, resource administration and server configuration guides (using the notes on this post as a revision aid) should prepare you pretty well.
Good luck, Mark
Hi Mark,
Just to say thanks for your VCP exam notes, Passed that exam this morning and your notes were a great help to get me thru.
Cheers again
Andrew
Mark,
Your notes are very good. Just one quick question. Is still valid or lot has changed since you had this great notes prepared.
Thanks and regrads,
Rukase
Hi Rukase,
I honestly don’t know – as you noticed, these were written at the end of 2006 and I haven’t don’t much work with VMware products since early 2007. I imagine there have been some changes with subsequent product upgrades and the introduction of ESXi but the basics will still be valid.
The best indicator I have is that Andy took the exam last month and he still found the notes useful (see previous comment).
Good luck, Mark
Hi Mark,
These notes and tips are a big help so far, I am sitting the exam tommorow so fingers crossed.
@Anonymous – good luck with the exam but I should caution you – these notes were written over 2 years ago for VI3 and there is almost certainly more to know for VI3.5 and 4.
Mark,
Thank you for the notes, question: Is there an way in the US to get this course for less than 2,200?
Regards,
Patric Mahoney, MCSA
@Patrick – The price I quoted was £2200 (GB pounds), which would actually be more in US Dollars but it was also current when I wrote this in December 2006 – it may not be the case now.
My best advice is to check with a number of VMware authorised training providers and see what the current pricing is in your region.
Hey Mark,
Where did you take the training for £2200 in the UK? If I don’t use this everyday, do you think I still have a shot at this?
Thanks
@Segzy – This information is now old… if I were you, I’d check the what the current exams are (VI3.5/vSphere?) and also how much the current training costs but, FWIW, I took my training at ETC (a subsidiary of SCH/SCC). Sure, you could still have a shot at this but, unless VMware have changed their policy you need to take the training before you can take the exam.
Mark can you go over what Prerequisites is needed to take the certification course. The vmware site states:
System administration experience on Microsoft Windows or Linux operating systems.
I have dealt with virtualisation from sales side and wondering if more is needed before taking the course?
@Saint It’s now three and a half years since I took the exam and wrote this – I imagine a lot has changed but you can see in my revision notes (linked above) what sort of topics you can expect to cover – in my opinion, sales experience is unlikely to be enough, unless you have been in technical pre-sales roles with some degree of exposure to IT operations ans system administration.