I am scheduled to take the VCAP5-DCA in a few weeks and this will be the first time I have taken a VCAP-DCA exam. I am a little nervous because of the limited amount of time that there is.
I have read a lot of exam experiences from VCAP4-DCA and many people say not to use the PDF manuals because they take of too much time and resources. Is it still recommended not to use the manuals? If I know which manual something is in and use the search functionality in pdf reader, shouldn't this be a good strategy?
I know that I should not rely on the manuals, but do I really need to memorize things like the 4 types of storage filters that can be applied in the advanced settings?
Searching one PDF isn't bad, it's when you are not sure where the info is and you have to open several PDFs and search in each.
If it's in the blueprint make sure you are familiar with it.
Start with the Blueprint - http://mylearn.vmware.com/register.cfm?course=139202 - This details what is covered in the exam and provides the links to supporting documentation - so the areas you do not know then you research further -
Do not rely on being able to access the PDF manuals - that's my very simple advice - I am a VCAP4-DCA and have heard the same things said about VCAP5-DCA. The more you can do from memory or from a very small amount of research (checking syntax perhaps) the better you will do.
I've used the PDFs on both the 4 and 5 exam for looking up one particular thing or another that I couldn't recall. Nothing wrong with using them. They are rather slow to load and eat up a lot of valuable time, a successful candidate will not spend much time referring to them.
Personally I recommend not depending on them and trying to get your knowledge to a point where if they weren't available you feel confident. One thing Hersey Cartwright recommended from his VCAP5-DCA was if you plan to use the manuals for a very specific thing say a powercli command you can never remember then learn the exact page that piece is on so that you don't waste time searching for it.
Gregg
Searching one PDF isn't bad, it's when you are not sure where the info is and you have to open several PDFs and search in each.
If it's in the blueprint make sure you are familiar with it.