VCAPDCA Exam Blueprint Guide 1.2

8/6/2019 VCAPDCA Exam Blueprint Guide 1.2

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VMware,Inc.AllrightsreservedMay2010 1

VDCA410Exam

ExamBlueprintVersion1.2

15June2010

Disclaimer:

Thisblueprintisintendedtoprovideinformationabouttheobjectivescoveredbythisexam,related

resources,andrecommendedcourses. Thematerialcontainedwithinthisblueprintisnotintendedto

guaranteethatapassingscorewillbeachievedontheexam. VMwarerecommendsthatacandidate

thoroughlyunderstandstheobjectivesindicatedinthisguideandutilizestheresourcesandcourses

recommendedinthisguidewhereneededtogainthatunderstanding.

BlueprintAuthor:

JonC.Hall,TechnicalCertificationDeveloper,VMware,Inc.

Contributors:

BillCall,StaffSystemsEngineer

MarkJones,TechnicalTrainer

LucasNguyen,TechnicalAllianceManager

TomMacKay,StaffSystemsEngineer

ConnieEconomou,TechnicalTrainer

AndreAndriolli,Sr.SystemsEngineer

BillGriffith,TechnicalTrainer

EvelynBaymondBoyd,TechnicalTrainer

ShridharDeuskar,TechnicalSolutionsArchitect

MostafaKhalil,StaffTechnicalSupportEngineer

VMware Certified Advanced ProfessionalDatacenter Administration Exam Blueprint


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TableofContents

Section1:TheExam............................................................................................................................................... 3

1.1PurposeofExam........................................................................................................................................... 3

1.2NumberofQuestions.................................................................................................................................... 3

1.3PassingScore................................................................................................................................................ 3

1.4HowObjectivesRelatetoQuestionsontheExam....................................................................................... 3

1.5Languages..................................................................................................................................................... 4

1.6TimeLimit..................................................................................................................................................... 4

1.7SchedulingandTakingtheExam.................................................................................................................. 4

1.8CertificationTracks....................................................................................................................................... 4

1.9RetakePolicy................................................................................................................................................. 4

1.10ExamSecurity.............................................................................................................................................. 5

Section2:IntendedAudience................................................................................................................................ 5

2.1IntendedAudience........................................................................................................................................ 5

Section3:ObjectivescoveredintheVDCA410Exam........................................................................................... 5

3.1Introduction.................................................................................................................................................. 5

3.2Objectives..................................................................................................................................................... 6

Section4:VCAPDCAPathsandSuggestedCourses........................................................................................... 27

4.1VCAPDCAPathOptions............................................................................................................................. 27

4.2SuggestedCourses...................................................................................................................................... 27

Section5: AdditionalResources......................................................................................................................... 29

5.1MockExam.................................................................................................................................................. 29

5.2VCAPDCACommunity................................................................................................................................ 29

5.3BuildingavSphereTestEnvironment......................................................................................................... 29


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Section1:TheExam

1.1PurposeofExam

TheVDCA410VMwareCertifiedAdvancedProfessionalonvSphereDatacenterAdministrationexamtests

potentialVCAPDCAcandidatesontheirskillsandabilitiesinstalling,configuringandadministeringlarge

and/ormorecomplexvirtualizedenvironments.

1.2NumberofQuestions

TheVDCA410examconsistsofapproximately40livelabactivitiesandashortpreexamsurveyconsistingof9

questions.

Live

lab

activities

consist

of

multiple

tasks,

where

each

task

is

scored.

The

total

number

of

activitiesprovidedisbasedonthetotalnumberoftasks. Becauseofthis,theactualnumberoflabactivities

mayvaryslightlybetweenexams.

1.3PassingScore

Thepassingscoreforthisexamwillbedeterminedafterthebetaperiod,usingascaledscoringmethod. The

scaleisfrom100500. Scaledscoresarecalculatedusingamathematicalformulathatconsidersavarietyof

factors,

including

the

number

and

type

of

exam

questions

included

in

a

specific

version

of

the

exam.

Because

thiscombinationmayvaryindifferentversionsofthesameexamination,scaledscoresprovideafairscorefor

eachindividualbasedontheversionoftheexamtaken.

1.4HowObjectivesRelatetoQuestionsontheExam

Objectivessummarizewhatthetestisdesignedtomeasure. ObjectivesaredevelopedbyExamDevelopers

andSMEsbasedonidentifiedtasksthatrelatetothejobofadministeringavSphereenvironment. Oncethe

initial

development

process

is

complete,

these

objectives

are

verified

using

an

external

group

of

individuals

in

theactualjobrole. Theexternalsurveydeterminesthenumberofquestionsforeachobjective,whichrelates

directlytothecriticalityofthetaskinthejobrole.


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1.5Languages

TheexamisavailableinEnglish.

1.6TimeLimit

Thetotaltimeforthisexamwillbebasedonresultsfromthebetaperiod. CandidateswhotaketheVCAP

DCAexaminacountrywhereEnglishisnotaprimarylanguagewillhaveanadditional30minutesaddedto

theexamtime. Thistimeextensionisautomatic,noadditionalactionisrequiredfromthecandidate. For

thepurposesofthisexam,countrieswhereEnglishisconsideredoneoftheprimarylanguagesinclude

Australia,NewZealand,Belize,SouthAfrica,Bermuda,theUnitedKingdom,Canada,theUnitedStatesand

Ireland. Anadditional15minutesisprovidedtocompletethesurveyquestionsandagreements.

1.7SchedulingandTakingtheExam

ThisexamisadministeredthroughPearsonVUE. Fordetailsontherulesandproceduresassociatedwith

registeringforandtakingtheexam,whichexamsareavailable,latestcertificationnewsandmore,pleasevisit

theVMwarepageonPearsonVUEswebsiteathttp://www.pearsonvue.com/vmware.

PearsonVUEswebsitecanalsobeusedtolocateatestingcenterinyourarea,scheduleaVMwareexam,and

reviewexamhistoryinformation.

1.8CertificationTracks

TheVDCA410examisacorecomponentoftheVCAPDCAcertification. Thecertificationrequiresapassing

scoreontheexam,andthecandidatemustbeaVCPtoobtainthiscertification. Thereisnocourse

requirementforthisexam,thoughseveralcoursesaresuggestedbelow.

TheVCAPDCACertificationisacomponentoftheVMwareCertifiedDesignExpertcertificationtrack.

1.9RetakePolicy

Ifacandidatefailsanexamonthefirstattempt,heorshemustwait10businessdaysfromtheiroriginal

appointmenttimebeforeheorshecanregistertoretaketheexam. Thereisnolimittothenumberofretakes


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acandidatecanattempt,butthesamewaitingperiodappliesaftereachfailedattempt. Oncetheexamis

passed,acandidatemaynotmakeanyfurtherattempts.

1.10ExamSecurity

VMwarereservestherighttorefusecertifyingacandidatewhoviolatesexamsecuritypolicies. Thisincludes

copyingandredistributionofexammaterial,usinganytypeofstudymaterialduringtheexamitself,

attemptingtophotographexamitemsandtakinganexamusingafalseidentity. VUEtestingcenterswilltake

youphotoandcaptureyourdigitalsignatureuponarrivaltotaketheexam.

Section2:IntendedAudience

2.1IntendedAudience

Acandidateshouldhaveapproximatelytwoyearsexperienceinavirtualenvironmentandhavedemonstrated

technicalleadershipwithvSpheretechnologies. Candidatesshouldbecapableofusingautomationtoolsand

shouldbeabletoimplement,configureandadministerallvSphereEnterprisecomponents. Asuccessful

candidatewillmostlikelyhaveadditionalindustryrecognizedgeneralITcertificationsortheequivalent

experience(typically47years).

Section3:ObjectivescoveredintheVDCA410Exam

3.1Introduction

Itisrecommendedthatcandidateshavetheknowledgeandskillsnecessarytoinstall,configureand

administer

a

vSphere

4

environment

before

taking

the

VDCA410

exam.

While

there

is

no

course

requirement

forthisexam,severalcoursesareavailablethatcanhelpprovideknowledgeonobjectivesthatarecoveredby

thisexam. Itisrecommendedthatthecandidateutilizethesecoursesand/orothermaterialswhereneeded

toprovidebackgroundinformationontheobjectivesintheexam.


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3.2Objectives

Priortotakingthisexam,candidatesshouldunderstandeachofthefollowingobjectives. Eachobjectiveis

listedbelow;alongwithrelatedtoolsthecandidateshouldhaveexperiencewith,andrelateddocumentation

thatcontainsinformationrelevanttotheobjective. Allobjectivesmayalsobereferencedinotherproduct

documentationnotspecificallyhighlightedbelow. Thecandidateshouldbefamiliarwithallrelevantproduct

documentationorhaveanequivalentskillset.

VDCA410Section1ImplementandManageStorage

Objective1.1ImplementandManageComplexStorageSolutions

Knowledge

IdentifyRAIDlevels

IdentifysupportedHBAtypes

Identifyvirtualdiskformattypes

SkillsandAbilities

DetermineusecasesforandconfigureVMwareDirectPathI/O

DeterminerequirementsforandconfigureNPIV

DetermineappropriateRAIDlevelforvariousVirtualMachineworkloads

ApplyVMwarestoragebestpractices

UnderstandusecasesforRawDeviceMapping

ConfigurevCenterServerstoragefilters

UnderstandandapplyVMFSresignaturing

UnderstandandapplyLUNmaskingusingPSArelatedcommands

AnalyzeI/Oworkloadstodeterminestorageperformancerequirements

Tools

FibreChannelSANConfigurationGuide

iSCSISANConfigurationGuide

ESXConfigurationGuide ESXiConfigurationGuide

vSphereCommandLineInterfaceInstallationandReferenceGuide

ProductDocumentation

vSphere Client

vscsiStats

vSphereCLI

o vicfg-*


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o vifs

o vmkfstools

o esxtop/resxtop

Objective1.2ManageStorageCapacityinavSphereEnvironment

Knowledge

Identifystorageprovisioningmethods

Identifyavailablestoragemonitoringtools,metricsandalarms

SkillsandAbilities

Applyspaceutilizationdatatomanagestorageresources

ProvisionandmanagestorageresourcesaccordingtoVirtualMachinerequirements

Understandinteractionsbetweenvirtualstorageprovisioningandphysicalstorageprovisioning

ApplyVMwarestoragebestpractices

Configuredatastorealarms

Analyzedatastorealarmsanderrorstodeterminespaceavailability

Tools

vSphereBasicSystemAdministrationGuide





vSphereClient

vSphereCLI

o vmkfstools

Objective1.3ConfigureandManageComplexMultipathingandPSAPlugins

Knowledge

ExplainthePluggableStorageArchitecture(PSA)layout

SkillsandAbilities

InstallandConfigurePSAplugins

Understanddifferentmultipathingpolicyfunctionalities

Performcommandlineconfigurationofmultipathingoptions

Changeamultipathpolicy

ConfigureSoftwareiSCSIportbinding


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Tools


ESXConfigurationGuide

ESXiConfigurationGuide




vSphereClient

vSphereCLI

o esxcli

Section2ImplementandManageNetworking

Objective2.1ImplementandManageComplexVirtualNetworks

Knowledge

Identifycommonvirtualswitchconfigurations

SkillsandAbilities

DetermineusecasesforandapplyIPv6

ConfigureNetQueue

ConfigureSNMP

DetermineusecasesforandapplyVMwareDirectPathI/O

MigrateavSSnetworktoaHybridorFullvDSsolution

ConfigurevSSandvDSsettingsusingcommandlinetools

AnalyzecommandlineoutputtoidentifyvSSandvDSconfigurationdetails

Tools


vNetworkDistributedSwitch:MigrationandConfiguration


ESXi

Configuration

Guide


vSphereClient

vSphereCLI

o vicfg-*


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Objective2.2ConfigureandMaintainVLANs,PVLANsandVLANSettings

Knowledge

IdentifytypesofVLANsandPVLANs

SkillsandAbilities

DetermineusecasesforandconfigureVLANTrunking

DetermineusecasesforandconfigurePVLANs

UsecommandlinetoolstotroubleshootandidentifyVLANconfigurations

Tools





vSphereClient

vSphereCLI

o vicfg-*

Objective2.3DeployandMaintainScalableVirtualNetworking

Knowledge

IdentifyVMwareNICTeamingpolicies

Identifycommonnetworkprotocols

SkillsandAbilities

UnderstandtheNICTeamingfailovertypesandrelatedphysicalnetworksettings

DetermineandapplyFailoversettings

ConfigureexplicitfailovertoconformwithVMwarebestpractices

Configureportgroupstoproperlyisolatenetworktraffic

Tools





vSphereClient


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vSphereCLI

o vicfg-*

Objective2.4 AdministervNetworkDistributedSwitchSettings

Knowledge

ExplainrelationshipbetweenvDSandlogicalvSSes

SkillsandAbilities

UnderstandtheuseofcommandlinetoolstoconfigureappropriatevDSsettingsonanESX/ESXi

host

DetermineusecasesforandapplyPortBindingsettings

ConfigureLivePortMoving

Givenasetofnetworkrequirements,identifytheappropriatedistributedswitchtechnologyto

use

UsecommandlinetoolstotroubleshootandidentifyconfigurationitemsfromanexistingvDS

Tools





vSphere

Client

vSphereCLI

o vicfg-*

Section3DeployDRSClustersandManagePerformance

Objective3.1TuneandOptimizevSpherePerformance

Knowledge

IdentifyappropriateBIOSandfirmwaresettingrequirementsforoptimalESX/ESXiHost

performance

IdentifyappropriateESXdriverrevisionsrequiredforoptimalESX/ESXiHostperformance

RecallwheretolocateinformationresourcestoverifycompliancewithVMwareandthirdparty

vendorbestpractices


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SkillsandAbilities

TuneESX/ESXiHostandVirtualMachinememoryconfigurations

TuneESX/ESXiHostandVirtualMachinenetworkingconfigurations

TuneESX/ESXiHostandVirtualMachineCPUconfigurations

TuneESX/ESXiHostandVirtualMachinestorageconfigurations

ConfigureandapplyadvancedESX/ESXiHostattributes

ConfigureandapplyadvancedVirtualMachineattributes

TuneandoptimizeNUMAcontrols

Tools

vSphereResourceManagementGuide


PerformanceTroubleshootingforVMwarevSphere4


vSphereClient

o PerformanceGraphs

vSphereCLI

o vicfg-*

o resxtop/esxtop

o vscsiStats

Objective3.2OptimizeVirtualMachineResources

Knowledge

Compareandcontrastvirtualandphysicalhardwareresources

IdentifyVMwarememorymanagementtechniques

IdentifyVMwareCPUloadbalancingtechniques

IdentifyprerequisitesforHotAddfeatures

SkillsandAbilities

Calculateavailableresources

ProperlysizeaVirtualMachinebasedonapplicationworkload

Configurelargememorypages

Understand

appropriate

use

cases

for

CPU

affinity

Tools



UnderstandingMemoryResourceManagementinVMwareESXServer

VMwarevSphere4:TheCPUSchedulerinVMwareESX4


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vSphereClient

o PerformanceCharts

vSphereCLI

o resxtop/esxtop

Objective3.3ImplementandMaintainComplexDRSSolutions

Knowledge

ExplainDRSaffinityandantiaffinityrules

IdentifyrequiredhardwarecomponentstosupportDPM

IdentifyEVCrequirements,baselinesandcomponents

UnderstandtheDRSslotsizealgorithmanditsimpactonmigrationrecommendations

SkillsandAbilities

ProperlyconfigureBIOSandmanagementsettingstosupportDPM

TestDPMtoverifyproperconfiguration

ConfigureappropriateDPMThresholdtomeetbusinessrequirements

ConfigureEVCusingappropriatebaseline

ChangetheEVCmodeonanexistingDRScluster

CreateDRSandDPMalarms

ConfigureapplicablepowermanagementsettingsforESXHosts

ProperlysizevirtualmachinesandclustersforoptimalDRSefficiency

Properlyapplyvirtualmachineautomationlevelsbaseduponapplicationrequirements

Tools



vSphereClient

o DRSResourceDistributionChart

Objective3.4PerformCapacityPlanninginavSphereEnvironment

Knowledge

UnderstandtheDRSslotsizealgorithmanditsimpactonmigrationrecommendations

Identifytoolsneededformonitoringcapacityplanning

Identifyperformancemetricsrelatedtoresourcecontentionandsaturation


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SkillsandAbilities

PredictwhenadditionalESX/ESXiHost,networkorstorageresourceswillberequiredbyobserving

anexistingenvironment

DeterminewhentoexpandorcontractprovisionedVirtualMachineresourcesbasedupon

observedVirtualMachineutilization

InterpretperformancemetricsfromvCentertoproperlysizetheenvironment

Tools


OverviewPerformanceChartsHelp


vSphereClient

Objective3.5UtilizeAdvancedvSpherePerformanceMonitoringTools

Knowledge

Identifyhotkeysandfieldsusedwithresxtop/esxtop

IdentifyfieldsusedwithvscsiStats

SkillsandAbilities

Configureesxtop/resxtopcustomprofiles

Determineusecasesforandapplyesxtop/resxtopInteractive,BatchandReplaymodes

UsevscsiStatstogatherstorageperformancedata

Useesxtop/resxtoptocollectperformancedata

Givenesxtop/resxtopoutput,identifyrelativeperformancedataforcapacityplanning

purposes

Tools




vSphereClient

vSphereCLI

o esxtop/resxtop

o vscsiStats


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Section4ManageBusinessContinuityandProtectData

Objective4.1ImplementandMaintainComplexVMwareHASolutions

Knowledge

IdentifythethreeadmissioncontrolpoliciesforHA

Identifyheartbeatoptionsanddependencies

SkillsandAbilities

Calculatehostfailurerequirements

Configurecustomizedisolationresponsesettings

ConfigureHAredundancyinamixedESX/ESXienvironment

ConfigureHArelatedalarmsandmonitoranHAcluster

Createacustomslotsizeconfiguration

UnderstandinteractionsbetweenDRSandHA

CreateanHAsolutionthatensuresprimarynodedistributionacrosssites

AnalyzevSphereenvironmenttodetermineappropriateHAadmissioncontrolpolicy

Analyzeperformancemetricstocalculatehostfailurerequirements

AnalyzeVirtualMachineworkloadtodetermineoptimumslotsize

AnalyzeHAclustercapacitytodetermineoptimumclustersize

Tools

vSphereAvailabilityGuide


vSphereClient

Objective4.2DeployandTestVMwareFT

Knowledge

IdentifyVMwareFThardwarerequirements

IdentifyVMwareFTcompatibilityrequirements

SkillsandAbilities

ModifyVMandESX/ESXiHostsettingstoallowforFTcompatibility

UseVMwarebestpracticestoprepareavSphereenvironmentforFT

ConfigureFTlogging


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PreparetheinfrastructureforFTcompliance

TestFTfailover,secondaryrestartandapplicationfaulttoleranceinaFTVirtualMachine

Tools

vSphereAvailabilityGuide


vSphereClient

Objective4.3ConfigureavSphereEnvironmenttosupportMSCSClustering

Knowledge

IdentifyMSCSclusteringsolutionrequirements

IdentifythethreesupportedMSCSconfigurations

SkillsandAbilities

ConfigureVirtualMachinehardwaretosupportclustertypeandguestOS

ConfigureaMSCSclusteronasingleESX/ESXiHost

ConfigureaMSCSclusteracrossESX/ESXiHosts

Configurestandbyhostclustering

Tools

SetupforFailoverClusteringandMicrosoftClusterService


vSphereClient

Objective4.4DeployandMaintainvCenterServerHeartbeat

Knowledge

IdentifythefiveprotectionlevelsforvCenterServerHeartbeat

IdentifythethreeserverprotectionoptionsforvCenterServerHeartbeat

Identifysupportedcloningoptions

SkillsandAbilities

InstallandconfigurevCenterServerHeartbeat

Determineusecasesforandexecuteamanualswitchover

Recoverfromafailover


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MonitorvCenterServerHeartbeatandcommunicationstatus

Configureheartbeatsettings

Configureshutdownoptions

Configureapplicationprotection

Add/EditServices

Add/EditTasks

Edit/TestRules

Install/EditPlugins

Add/RemoveInclusion/ExclusionFilters

PerformFullSystemandFullRegistrychecks

Configure/TestAlerts

TroubleshootcommonvCenterServerHeartbeaterrorconditions

Tools

vCenterServerHeartbeatQuickStartGuide

vCenterServerHeartbeatReferenceGuide


vSphereClient

Section5PerformOperationalMaintenance

Objective5.1ImplementandMaintainHostProfiles

SkillsandAbilities

UseProfileEditortoeditand/ordisablepolicies

Createsubprofiles

UseHostProfilestodeployvDS

Tools


VMwarevSphere4:DeploymentMethodsfortheVMwarevNetworkDistributedSwitch


vSphere

Client


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Objective5.2DeployandManageComplexUpdateManagerEnvironments

Knowledge

IdentifyfirewallaccessrulesforUpdateManager

SkillsandAbilities

Determineusecasefor,installandconfigureUpdateManagerDownloadService

Configureasharedrepository

Configuresmartrebooting

Manuallydownloadupdatestoarepository

PerformorchestratedvSphereupgrades

Createandmodifybaselinegroups

TroubleshootUpdateManagerproblemareasandissues

GeneratedatabasereportsusingMSExcelorMSSQL

UpgradevAppsusingUpdateManager

Tools

VMwarevCenterUpdateManagerAdministrationGuide


vSphereClient

vmware-umds

Section6PerformAdvancedTroubleshooting

Objective6.1Configure,ManageandAnalyzevSphereLogFiles

Knowledge

IdentifyvCenterServerlogfilenamesandlocations

IdentifyESX/ESXilogfilesnamesandlocations

IdentifytoolsusedtoviewvSpherelogfiles

SkillsandAbilities

GeneratevCenterServerandESX/ESXilogbundles

Usevicfgsyslog toconfigurecentralizedloggingonESX/ESXiHosts

Testcentralizedloggingconfiguration

ConfigurethevMAapplianceasaloghost

Useviloggertoenable/disablelogcollectiononthevMAappliance


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Useviloggertoconfigurelogrotationandretention

Analyzelogentriestoobtainconfigurationinformation

Analyzelogentriestoidentifyandresolveissues

Tools

vSphereManagementAssistantGuide




vSphereClient

vicfg-syslog

vilogger

Objective6.2TroubleshootCPUandMemoryPerformance

Knowledge

Identifyresxtop/esxtopmetricsrelatedtomemoryandCPU

IdentifyvCenterServerPerformanceChartmetricsrelatedtomemoryandCPU

SkillsandAbilities

TroubleshootESX/ESXiHostandVirtualMachineCPUperformanceissuesusingappropriate

metrics

TroubleshootESX/ESXiHostandVirtualMachinememoryperformanceissuesusingappropriate

metrics

UseHotAddfunctionalitytoresolveidentifiedVirtualMachineCPUandmemoryperformance

issues

Tools




vSphereClient

vSphereCLI

o resxtop/esxtop


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Objective6.3TroubleshootNetworkPerformanceandConnectivity

Knowledge

IdentifyvirtualswitchentriesinaVirtualMachinesconfigurationfile

Identify

virtual

switch

entries

in

the

ESX/ESXi

Host

configuration

file

IdentifyCLIcommandsandtoolsusedtotroubleshootvSpherenetworkingconfigurations

Identifylogsusedtotroubleshootnetworkissues

SkillsandAbilities

Utilizenet-dvstotroubleshootvNetworkDistributedSwitchconfigurations

Utilizevicfg-*commandstotroubleshootESX/ESXinetworkconfigurations

ConfigureanetworkpacketanalyzerinavSphereenvironment

TroubleshootPrivateVLANs

TroubleshootServiceConsoleandvmkernelnetworkconfigurationissues

TroubleshootDNSandroutingrelatedissues

Useesxtop/resxtoptoidentifynetworkperformanceproblems

UseCDPand/ornetworkhintstoidentifyconnectivityissues

Analyzetroubleshootingdatatodetermineiftherootcauseforagivennetworkproblem

originatesinthephysicalinfrastructureorvSphereenvironment

Tools





vSphereClient

vSphereCLI

o vicfg-*

o net-dvs

o resxtop/esxtop

Objective6.4TroubleshootStoragePerformanceandConnectivity

Knowledge

Recallvicfg-*commandsrelatedtolistingstorageconfiguration

RecallvSphere4storagemaximums

Identifylogsusedtotroubleshootstorageissues

DescribetheVMFSfilesystem


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SkillsandAbilities

Usevicfg-*andesxcli totroubleshootmultipathingandPSArelatedissues

Usevicfg-moduletotroubleshootVMkernelstoragemoduleconfigurations

Usevicfg-*andesxcli totroubleshootiSCSIrelatedissues

TroubleshootNFSmountingandpermissionissues

Useesxtop/resxtopandvscsiStatstoidentifystorageperformanceissues

ConfigureandtroubleshootVMFSdatastoresusingvmkfstools

Troubleshootsnapshotandresignaturingissues

Analyzelogfilestoidentifystorageandmultipathingproblems

Tools





vSphereClient

vSphereCLI

o vicfg-*

o esxcli

o resxtop/esxtop

o vscsiStats

o vmkfstools

Objective6.4TroubleshootvCenterServerandESX/ESXiHostManagement

Knowledge

IdentifyCLIcommandsandtoolsusedtotroubleshootmanagementissues

SkillsandAbilities

TroubleshootvCenterServerserviceanddatabaseconnectionissues

TroubleshoottheESXServiceConsolefirewall

TroubleshootESX/ESXiservermanagementandconnectivityissues

DeterminetherootcauseofvSpheremanagementorconnectivityissue

Tools





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vSphereClient

vSphereCLI

o vicfg-*

Section7SecureavSphereEnvironment

Objective7.1SecureESX/ESXiHosts

Knowledge

Identifyconfigurationfilesrelatedtonetworksecurity

Identifyvirtualswitchsecuritycharacteristics

SkillsandAbilities

Add/EditRemoveusers/groupsonanESXHost

CustomizeSSHsettingsforincreasedsecurity

Enable/Disablecertificatechecking

GenerateESXHostcertificates

EnableESXilockdownmode

ReplacedefaultcertificatewithCAsignedcertificate

ConfigureSSLtimeouts

SecureESXWebProxy

Enablestrongpasswordsandconfigurepasswordpolicies

Identifymethodsforhardeningvirtualmachines

Analyzelogsforsecurityrelatedmessages

Tools





vSphereClient

vSphereCLI

o vicfg-user

o vifs


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Objective7.2ConfigureandMaintaintheESXFirewall

Knowledge

Identifyvicfg-firewallcommands

Explain

the

three

firewall

security

levels

IdentifyESXfirewallarchitecturewith/withoutvCenterServer

SkillsandAbilities

Enable/Disablepreconfiguredservices

Configureservicebehaviorautomation

Open/Closeportsinthefirewall

Createacustomservice

Setfirewallsecuritylevel

Tools





vSphereClient

vSphereCLI

o vicfg-firewall

Objective7.3DeployandAdministervShieldZones

Knowledge

IdentifyvShieldZonescomponents

IdentifythefourCLIcommandmodes

SkillsandAbilities

ConfigurevShieldZones

BackupandrestorevShieldManagerData

BackupCLIConfiguration

Create/DeleteLayer2/3/4firewallrulesusingVMWall

Install/UninstallavShieldmanuallyandfromtemplate

ConfigurevShieldManagerplugincapability

ConfigureVMFlowcharts

UpdatevShieldZones


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Add/Edit/DeleteUserAccounts

Assignrightstoauser

Add/DeleteApplicationPortPairmapping

Execute/ScheduleExecutionofvirtualmachinediscovery

UtilizevShieldZonesCLIcommandstoconfigureandmonitorvShieldZones

AnalyzetrafficusingVMFlowtodeterminerootcauseofnetworkrelatedissues

Tools

vShieldZonesQuickStartGuide

vShieldZonesAdministrationGuide

IntroductiontovShieldZones


vShieldManager

vShieldCLI

vSphereClient

Section8PerformScriptingandAutomation

Objective8.1ExecuteVMwareCmdletsandCustomizeScriptsUsingPowerCLI

Knowledge

IdentifyvSpherePowerCLIrequirements

IdentifyCmdletconcepts

Identifyenvironmentvariablesusage

SkillsandAbilities

UseVMRuntoexecutecommandsinaguestOS

InstallvSpherePowerCLI

InstallUpdateManagerPowerShellLibrary

UsebasicandadvancedCmdletstomanageVMsandESXHosts

UseWebServiceAccessCmdlets

Use

Datastore

and

Inventory

Providers

Givenasamplescript,modifythescripttoperformagivenaction

Tools

vSpherePowerCLIInstallationGuide

vSpherePowerCLIAdministrationGuide



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vSpherePowerCLIcommands

vSpherePowerCLICmdlets

Objective8.2AdministervCenterOrchestrator

Knowledge

IdentifyvCenterOrchestratorrequirements

IdentifydefaultOrchestratorplugins

SkillsandAbilities

InstallandConfigurevCenterOrchestrator

ConfigurevCenterOrchestratordatabase

ConfigurevCenterOrchestratorLDAPconnection

ConfigurevCenterOrchestratorvCenterserverconnections

RunaWorkflow

AdministerActions,Tasks,WorkflowsandPolicies

AdministerPackages

IdentifyappropriateWorkflowforagivenmanagementactivity

Tools

vCenterOrchestratorInstallationandConfigurationGuide

vCenterOrchestratorAdministrationGuide


vCenterOrchestratorWebConfiguration

vCenterOrchestratorClient

vSphereClient

Objective8.3AdministervSphereUsingthevSphereManagementAssistant

Knowledge

IdentifyvMAprerequisites

IdentifyvMAspecificcommands

DeterminewhenvMAisneeded

SkillsandAbilities

InstallandConfigurevMA

Add/Removetargetservers


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PerformupdatestothevMA

UsevmkfstoolstomanageVMFSdatastores

Usevmware-cmdtomanageVMs

UseesxclitomanageStorageMultipathing

TroubleshootcommonvMAerrorsandconditions

Tools

vSphereManagementAssistantGuide



vSphereManagementAppliance

vifp

vima-update

vSphereCLI

o vicfg-*o vmkfstools

o esxcli

o vmware-cmd

vSphereClient

Section9PerformAdvancedvSphereInstallationsandConfigurations

Objective9.1InstallESXServerwithcustomsettings

Knowledge

IdentifyServiceConsolememorydefaultsandmaximums

IdentifydefaultandoptionalESXpartitions

SkillsandAbilities

ConfigureoptionalESXpartitionsduringinstallation

Install/uninstallcustomdrivers

Configureadvancedbootloaderoptions

Configurekerneloptions

Givenascenario,determinewhentocustomizeaconfiguration

Tools

ESXandvCenterServerInstallationGuide



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vSphereCLI

o vicfg-advcfg

o vicfg-module

vSphereClient

Objective9.2PlanandExecuteScriptedInstallations

Knowledge

Identifydefaultinstallationscripts

Identifybootoptionsforscriptedinstallation

SkillsandAbilities

PerformascriptedESXHostinstallation

PerformascriptedESXiHostinstallation

Configuremediarepository

Editinstallationscriptparameters

Configurepre/postscripttasks

Evaluateusecasesforscriptedinstallation

Tools



ks-first-safe.cfg ks-first.cfg

Objective9.3ConfigurevCenterServerLinkedMode

Knowledge

IdentifyLinkedModePrerequisites

IdentifydifferencesbetweenLinkedandnonlinkedvCenterServerConfigurations

Identifywhenarolerequiresreconciliation

SkillsandAbilities

ReconcileRolesinaLinkedModeConfiguration

CreateandJoinaLinkedModeGroup

DetermineusecasesforvCenterServerLinkedMode

TroubleshootLinkedModeConfigurations


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Tools




vSphereClient

Section4:VCAPDCAPathsandSuggestedCourses

4.1VCAPDCAPathOptions

4.2SuggestedCourses

TheVCAPDCAexamcoversseveralbodiesofknowledge,includingperformanceoptimization,

troubleshooting,securityandautomation. VMwareofferscoursesthatcoverthesebodiesofknowledge,as

shownbelow:

VMwarevSphere:ManageforPerformance

Thiscourseisathreeday,handsontrainingcoursethatexploresperformancemanagementinaVMware

vSphereenvironment. Itprovidestheknowledgeandskillsnecessarytomakefundamentaldesigndecisions

thatenhanceperformanceandtomeetperformancegoalsinanalreadydeployedvSphereinstallation. The

coursecoversthefollowingobjectives:

Explaintheperformanceimpactofusingdifferentmonitormodes

UsevSpheretoolstomonitortheperformanceofESX/ESXihosts

DiagnoseperformanceproblemsrelatingtoCPU,memory,network,andstorageonanESX/ESXihost

Discusshowtoachieveanoptimalvirtualmachineconfiguration

Discussguidelinesformonitoringapplicationperformance

ManagehigheravailabilityanddataprotectionusingvCenterServer


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ThiscoursecoversperformancerelatedobjectivesontheVDCA410examandisrecommendedforindividuals

whowanttogainabetterunderstandingofperformancerelatedobjectives.

VMwarevSphere: Troubleshooting

Thiscourseisafourdayhandsontrainingcoursethatfocusesonprovidingsystemadministratorswiththe

advancedknowledge,skills,andabilitiestoachievecompetenceintroubleshootingaVMwarevSphere

environment. Inthiscourse,youwillspendmostofthetimediagnosingandrectifyingconfigurationproblems

createdonVMwareESX/ESXihostsandVMwarevCenterServersystems.Thiscoursecoversthefollowing

objectives:

UsetheVMwarevSphereClientandserviceconsolecommandstoconfigureordiagnoseandrectify

problemsonESX

UsethevSphereClientandtheVMwarevSphereManagementAssistant(vMA)appliancetoconfigure

ordiagnoseandrectifyproblemsonESXandESXihosts

UseESXitechnicalsupportmodetodiagnoseandrectifyproblemsonESXi

Createanduseanetworksniffertocaptureanddisplayvirtualswitchnetworktraffic

UsethevSphereClientandcommandlinetoolstotroubleshootVMwareVMotion,VMwareStorage

VMotion,VMwareHighAvailability,VMwareDistributedResourceScheduler,andvirtualmachine

poweronproblemsThiscoursecoverstroubleshootingrelatedobjectivesandcoversuseofthevSphereManagementAssistance

andthevSphereCLI. Itisrecommendedforindividualswhowanttogainabetterunderstandingof

troubleshootingrelatedobjectivesand/orcommandlineprocesses.

VMwarevSphere:ManageandDesignforSecurity

Thiscourseisathreedayhandsontrainingcoursethatfocusesonbestpracticesforsecuredesign,

deployment,andoperationofaVMwarevSphereenvironment. Throughlecture,discussion,andhandson

practice,youwillgaintheknowledgeandskillsnecessarytomeetthesecurityandcompliancegoalsofyour

organization.Thiscoursecoversthefollowingobjectives:

IdentifyvulnerabilitiesinthecurrentdesignofavSphereenvironmentandrecommendcorrective

actions

HardenvSpherecomponentsasdescribedinvSphereHardeningGuide

Recommendconfigurationandchangemanagementpolicies,processes,andsystems

Thiscoursecoverssecurityrelatedobjectivesandrecommendedforindividualswhowanttogainabetter

understandingofthoseobjectives.


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VMwarevSphere:AutomationwithvSpherePowerCLI

ThiscourseisatwodayhandsontrainingcoursethatfocusesontheuseofVMwarevSpherePowerCLIto

automateVMwarevSphere4. ThiscoursedemonstrateswaystoautomatetasksthatcanreduceyourITcosts

whileimprovingefficiency,availability,flexibility,andmanageability:

AutomateVMwareESXconfiguration

Automatetheprovisioningofvirtualmachines

Automatechangestovirtualmachineconfiguration

Automateclusteroperations

AutomatereportingThiscoursecoversobjectivesrelatedtoPowerCLIandautomationandisrecommendedforindividualswho

wanttogainabetterunderstandingoftheseobjectives.

Section5: AdditionalResources

5.1MockExam

VMwarewillprovideamockexamfortheVDCA410. Themockexamsimulatesasamplequestionandlab

activitysimilartothetypeofquestionsandactivitiesfoundontheexam.

Themockexam,whenavailable,willbelocatedat: http://www.vmware.com/go/vcap

5.2VCAPDCACommunity

VMwareprovidesanonlinecommunityforVCAPDCAcandidates. Thiscommunitycontainsvaluable

informationfromothercandidatesandseniorVCAPs,andismoderatedbyVMwarecertificationstaff.

Thecommunityislocatedat: http://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/certedu/certification/vcap

5.3BuildingavSphereTestEnvironment

AllVMwareproducts,includingvSphere4,canbedownloadedandevaluatedfor60days. Ifyouhavethe

equipmenttoinstallacopyofESX/ESXi4.x,youcaninstallESXinaVM. Thiswouldallowyoutoinstall


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multiplecopiesofESXandacopyofvCenterServer. Forsharedstorage,obtainavirtualappliancethat

containsaniSCSItarget. Severaloftheseareavailableontheappliancemarketplace.

VCAPDCA Exam Blueprint Guide 1.2

Documents

Transcript of VCAPDCA Exam Blueprint Guide 1.2