Monday was my first day at VMworld. I didn’t attend any sessions, but I did defend a design for my VCDX and I took the VCP4 Certification test. After that, I tried to attend the View Advanced Config and Troubleshooting Lab, but the line was huge, even for registered users. The one nice thing about being a registered VMworld attendee is that all of the materials eventually make it to the VMworld site and I can download the LAB and do it on my own time. So someone on the wait list probably took my spot.
Ok, on to the VCDX Design Defense. First off, its pricey, so make sure you are serious. The defense is the final step in the process for VCDX. I reported to the VMware San Fransisco office at the appointed time Monday morning. My facilitator came out to greet me and explain the process. Then I met the Uber Geeks (I mean that in a good way) from VMware. These guys were the first to recieve the VCDX certification and they really know their stuff. They regularly host the more advanced sessions at VMworld and Partner Exchange. The first part is to spend 15 minutes giving an executive presentation about your design, then you spend about an hour “defending” that design. Once that is done, there is a hypothetical design scenario and a hypothetical troubleshooting scenario. They guys were great and it was a really good experience. Hopefully, I will hear the results in a few weeks.
The VCP4 Test was similar to the VCP3. Questions were added for new features and the new maximum configurations were in there. I glanced at the blueprint last week and it seems to be a pretty good indication of what you will need to know to pass. The systems were slow as hell on Monday. Usually with multiple guess tests, I rifle through the questions and answer them using my gut. I will mark a few as I go along if I am unsure weather my gut is giving me an answer or if it is just gas. It took about a minute for each question to load after I hit the next button. So it took over an hour for me to get through it instead of the usual 15-30 minutes. Very frustrating, but hey, no I are one!