On 1 February 2017, I passed the VMware VCAP6-DCV Deployment exam (3V0-623). This was my first VMware VCAP exam that I ever did. I prepped for about two months in my Home Lab environment and a couple of times I used the VMware Hands-on Labs. The main goal wat to exercise all the objectives listed in the exam blueprint.
So what exactly is the VCAP6-DCV Deployment exam? VMware describes it as following:
This exam tests your skills and abilities in implementation of a vSphere 6.x solution, including deployment, administration, optimization and troubleshooting.
Lab environment:
In my home lab environment I deployed the following components to complete all the exam blueprint objectives:
- 2x – VMware vCenter 6.0 (Windows and VCSA)
- 1x – Windows Machine with Update Manager (VUM)
- 6x – VMware ESXi 6.0 (for vSAN and traditional storage testing)
- 2x – Site Recovery Manager (SRM)
- 2x – vSphere Replication
- 1x – VMware vSphere Data Protection (VDP)
- 1x – Dell Unity VSA for iSCSI, NFS and Virtual Volumes.
The hardware I used can be found on the following page Home Lab. The environment was using nested ESXi hosts to accommodate the required amount of ESXi hosts.
Personal experience:
The exam is a Lab based exam, so this is completely different than a VMware VCP exam. The exam itself is not the most difficult one out their… at least for someone who is working on a day-to-day base with VMware vSphere. The most difficult part is the time management. You have got twenty-seven objectives to complete and you have 205 minutes to complete them, of course, you just need to score 300 points. That can be a bit tricky because if you get stuck you need to go to the following objective.
There are two unofficial study guides available on the internet. These are based on the VMware Blueprint and they helped me a lot. Both guides are detailed and full of information.