VMware delta exam VCP550D… Passed!

VMware delta exam passed

Over the weekend I decided to go ahead and take the VMware Delta VCP550D Exam since my VCP5 was set to expire in March of 2015 due to VMware’s new recertification policy. Even managed to pass it with a fairly decent score of 460 (300 is the minimum to pass). Below I’ll share some of my notes prior and after the exam.

Studying for VCP550 VMware Delta Exam

Back in October when I posted the news about the VMware Delta Exam, a reader asked in the comments what the differences between the VMware 5.1 DCV and 5.5 DCV blueprints were and I replied with a number of differences that stood out to me:

  • Identify vCenter Server and vCenter Server database requirements Deploy the vCenter Appliance
  • Upgrade a vSphere Distributed Switch
  • Upgrade from VMFS3 to VMFS5
  • Upgrade VMware Tools
  • Upgrade Virtual Machine hardware
  • Upgrade an ESXi Host using vCenter Update Manager
  • Secure vCenter Server and ESXi (Objective 1.5)
  • Configure and Administer Software Defined Storage (VSAN – Objective 3.3) Enable/Configure/Disable Host Power Management/Distributed Power Management Create/Delete vFlash Resource Pool
  • Assign vFlash resources to VMDKs
  • Install and Configure VMware Data Protection
  • Create a backup job with VMware Data Protection
  • Install, Configure and Administer vCenter Operations Manager (Objective 7.3)

After taking the VMware Delta Exam I can say this is a VERY good list to study by. I received questions in nearly each of the above subjects along with several of the “general” VCP-DCV exam questions.

Another suggestion I would make would be to take a look at the Pluralsight videos:

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Overall it felt a lot like taking the VMware VCP-DCV exam all over again, though just a few less questions and shorter time frame to complete as the Delta Exam is 65 questions in 75 minutes vs 85 questions in 90 minutes. I believe I finished the Delta Exam with just about 20 minutes to spare.

If you’re thinking about taking the exam to renew your VCP certification then you better get to it as the Delta exam is only available to take up till November 30, 2014, March 15, 2015, May 8, 2015 so time is of the essence. Get the test registered and get to taking it!

Good luck!

UPDATE: The VCP550 Delta exam has been brought back and is now available to take until March 10, 2015!

UPDATE #2: The VCP550 Delta exam has again been extended, now available until May 8th, 2015!

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