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VMware Certifications To Boost Your Data Center Skills

  • The demand for IT professionals with specialized skills is increasing every day, and VMware certifications provide a touchstone to validate skills in virtualization, cloud, and network virtualization -- specialties that are central to the modern data center. Having a VMware certification can help you stand out in the crowd and make you more appealing to current and prospective employers. Perhaps more important, pursuing certification in your chosen field can help you consistently move towards your long-term goals.

    Certification can definitely increase opportunities for career advancement and provide professional recognition. VMware certification holders are also entitled to use the official VMware certification logo and have access to an exclusive portal and corporate merchandise.

    Each VMware area of specialty offers various certification levels, including Associate, Professional, Advanced Professional, and Design Expert. IT professionals who wish to specialize and increase their skills can apply for VMware certifications that match their current technical competencies, and then work toward more advanced levels.

    VMware also offers certs in desktop and mobility, but here we'll focus on those oriented toward the data center. In the following slides, you'll find a list of the certifications infrastructure professionals are most likely to pursue, along with associated prerequisites, exam details, price, recommended trainings, and practice exams.

    (All images courtesy of VMware)

  • VMware Certified Associate 6 - Data Center Virtualization (VCA6-DCV)

    This certification enables the candidate to define the technical requirements for data center virtualization, describe and differentiate vSphere related products and technologies, and identify common use cases and ways they can be implemented.

    Prerequisites: There is no course requirement for this certification, but candidates are encouraged to complete the Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals course.

    Exam Details: Exam Number 1V0-601, Duration: 75 Minutes, Number of Questions: 50

    Exam Price: $120 USD

    Recommended Training: Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals, 3 Hours, Self-Paced

    Practice Exam: VCA6-DCV (1V0-601) Practice Exam

  • VMware Certified Professional 6 - Data Center Virtualization (VCP6-DCV)

    This certification enables the candidate to validate the ability to configure, administer, and scale a vSphere virtualized data center.

    Prerequisites: If the candidate is new to VMware Data Center Virtualization technology, then:

    • Minimum 6 months experience with vSphere 6 is recommended
    • Attending one of these training courses is required:
      • vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V6]
      • vSphere: Optimize & Scale [V6]
      • VMware vSphere: Bootcamp [V6]
      • vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V6] On Demand (coming soon)
      • vSphere: Optimize and Scale [V6] On Demand (coming soon)
      • vSphere: Design & Deploy (coming soon)
    • Or, if the candidate has previous vSphere 5.x training, but is not VCP certified, then attending the vSphere What's New [V5.5 to V6] course is required

    Exam Details:

    • vSphere 6 Foundations Beta Exam -- Exam Number: 2V0-620, Duration: 120 Minutes, Number of Questions: 100
    • VMware Certified Professional 6 - Data Center Virtualization Beta Exam -- Exam Number: 2V0-621, Duration: 120 Minutes, Number of Questions: 100

    Exam Price:

    • vSphere 6 Foundations Beta Exam: $50 USD
    • VMware Certified Professional 6 - Data Center Virtualization Beta Exam: $50 USD

    Recommended Training:

  • VMware Certified Advanced Professional 5 - Data Center Administration (VCAP5-DCA)

    This certification is a lab-based exam. Candidates perform tasks using actual equipment to verify skills at installing, configuring, and administering large and complex virtualized environments.

    Prerequisites: Any one of the following VCP Certifications:

    • VMware Certified Professional 5 - Data Center Virtualization
    • VMware Certified Professional 5 - Desktop
    • VMware Certified Professional - Cloud
    • VMware Certified Professional - Network Virtualization

    Exam Details: Exam Number: VCAP5-DCA, Duration: 180 Minutes, Number of Questions: 23 live lab activities and a short pre-exam survey consisting of 9 questions

    Exam Price: Can be requested from VMware Exam Authorization.

    Recommended Training:

    Practice Exam: Interactive Exam Simulation

  • VMware Certified Advanced Professional 5 Data Center Design (VCAP5-DCD)

    This certification is designed for IT architects who design and integrate VMware solutions in multi-site, large enterprise, virtualized environments.

    Prerequisites: Any one of the following VCP Certifications

    • VMware Certified Professional 5 - Data Center Virtualization
    • VMware Certified Professional 5 - Desktop
    • VMware Certified Professional - Cloud
    • VMware Certified Professional - Network Virtualization

    Exam Details: Exam Number: VDCD550, Duration: 195 Minutes, Number of Questions: 46

    Exam Price: Can be requested from VMware Exam Authorization.

    Recommended Training:

    Practice Exam: Interactive Exam Simulation

  • VMware Certified Design Expert 5 - Data Center Virtualization (VCDX5-DCV)

    This certification is at the highest level of VMware certification. The program is designed for veteran professionals who want to validate and demonstrate their expertise in VMware technology. All candidates must submit and successfully defend a production-ready VMware solution before a panel of veteran VCDX-DCV holders.

    Prerequisites: VCAP5-DCA and VCAP5-DCD certified

    Exam Details: Candidates must pre-register and then submit and successfully defend a cloud design.

    Exam Price: Not available

    Recommended Training:

  • VMware Certified Associate 6 - Cloud Management and Automation (VCA6-CMA)

    This certification is designed to help candidates address business challenges of the vCloud Suite by deploying VMware Cloud solutions.

    Prerequisites: None

    Exam Details: Exam Number: 1V0-603, Duration: 75 Minutes, Number of Questions: 50

    Exam Price: $120 USD

    Recommended Training:

    Practice Exam: VCA6-CMA (1V0-603) Practice Exam

  • VMware Certified Associate 6 - Hybrid Cloud (VCA6-HC)

    This certification enables the candidate to define technical requirements for public, private, and hybrid cloud platforms; describe and differentiate vCloud Air and related services and technologies; and identify common use cases and ways in which they can be implemented.

    Prerequisites: None

    Exam Details: Exam Number: 1V0-602, Duration: 75 Minutes, Number of Questions: 50

    Exam Price: $120 USD

    Recommended Training: vCloud Air Fundamentals

    Practice Exam: VCA6-HC (1V0-602) Practice Exam

  • VMware Certified Professional 6 - Cloud Management and Automation (VCP6-CMA)

    This certification validates a candidate's skills and experience in deploying and configuring vRealize Automation into a vSphere virtualized data center, and using vRealize Automation and related technologies to deploy and manage services across a multi-vendor, multi-cloud infrastructure.

    Prerequisites:

    • Minimum 6 months experience with vSphere 6 and vRealize
    • Attend one of the required training courses:
      • Cloud Orchestration and Extensibility [V6.1]
      • vRealize Business: Costing and Implementation [V8.0]
      • vRealize Automation: Install, Configure, Manage [V6.0]
      • Cloud Orchestration and Extensibility [V6.X]
      • Cloud Automation: Design & Deploy [V6.0] (coming soon)
      • vRealize Automation: Install, Configure, Manage [V6.0] On Demand (coming soon)
      • vRealize Automation: Install, Configure, Manage [V6.2] On Demand (coming soon)
    • Complete the vSphere 6 Foundations Beta Exam

    Exam Details: Exam Number: 2V0-631, Duration: 120 Minutes; Number of Questions: 110

    Exam Price: $50 USD

    Recommended Training:

    Practice Exam: VCP6-CMA (2V0-631) Practice Exam

  • VMware Certified Professional 6 - Cloud (VCP6-Cloud)

    This certification validates that an IT professional has the skills and experience needed to effectively install, configure, and administer a cloud environment using VMware vCloud Automation Center and its related components.

    Prerequisites: A candidate must have a valid VCP-level certification or complete one of the following courses:

    • vCloud Automation Center: Install, Configure, Manage [V6.0]
    • vCloud Automation Center: Install, Configure, Manage [V6.0] On Demand

    Exam Details: Exam Number: VCPC610, Duration: 120 Minutes, Number of Questions: 135

    Exam Price: Can be requested from VMware Exam Authorization.

    Recommended Training:

    Practice Exam: Mock Exam