Failed ... again!

[ScottCoe]

I really cant believe this. Just got back from the test center, so its still a little raw but failed AGAIN!. This time with 265 so Im actually going backwards now. My first two results I covered here Failed!

What annoys me the most is that I consider myself knowledgeable on this but Im not improving at all. The first two times I wasnt happy with what I did on the visio questions but this time I concentrated the most on getting those right but seem to have taken a step back. Im clearly not getting it despite being able to draw you a design no problem at all. Im having trouble reconciling what Ive learnt with what the exam is asking me. If you have 4 physical nics you can only have two vSwitches while still having failover, but then to load up one of them with so many port groups that just isnt feasible in a 4 nic solution. Then to do the same again with just 2 nics even if they 10Gb!??!. I put what I thought was correct but Ive clearly go it wrong. The problem now is I just dont know. If im not showing a clear progression is there any point in continuing? I worked so hard on the network design only to be told that Im still no closer than when I first started. Im not sure if my work will sponsor me for a fourth try so this could be it for me.

Im still not happy with the way the visio questions work. So many times when I placed one object on top of another it didnt hold. Maybe Im just not cut out for this.

You can probably tell the hurt is still raw. Im going to see if work will spot me another go, if they do great, but looking back I would only modify my designs slightly. It must be all or nothing with the design ones. Surely I would deserve more points than what I got with the design I submitted. Without guidance on where I went wrong im not sure I can improve. As far as I can see Im right but according to the exam I am SO wrong. Two ends of the scale and a long way between.

What you will all be interested in is that they have changed the exam and you can now review your questions at the end of the exam. Same procedure as other exam, mark for review as you go and you can go back at the end.

Im going to try to pick myself up but I still cant see how I can improve on what Ive done. Not a good day.

Scott

[virtualinstall]

Sorry to hear that Scott, the VCAP exams are exhausting and to go through the process and not pass can be a confidence knock.  My neighbour sat one of his accountancy exams 10 times before passing, he said it was frustrating but didn't deter him, and once he passed no one cared or knew how many attempts it took.  I remember reading about a VCDX prepartion and saying that studying in a bubble doesn't work, reading your comments maybe some outside views on your aproach in the form of a study group may help?

All the best

[vfk]

Scott, I am sorry to hear you didn't make it, but I am sure you will eventually gain the DCD, you just need to stay positive and reflect.   The failure right seems a little high, there are a lot of material and books that are coming to tackle the DCD exam.  But I am becoming a little sceptical about the hight failure rate, and the number of retake to pass these exams, these are mid-level exam and should have reasonable and steady pass rate.  Better luck next time and stay focused.

All the best.

[ScottCoe]

Thank you very much for your reply, Ive cheered up a bit now, mainly because Ive been so so busy with work. That and my boss said we'll have a chat about the best way to help me get passed this exam. For this I am very grateful. Ive pinned alot on passing this exam, pride more than anything. Ive never failed an exam 3 times. Im still not sure how I would modify my designs but I want to pass this exam more than anything. I did unearth some more reading material so something might turn up.

Thank you again for the words of encouragement, it is what I needed. Looking back at my post, it is just a long whinge, no question in there so I appreciate you taking the time to write.

Hopefully, next time, will the one.

Best regards

Scott

[ScottCoe]

I just wanted to say thank you. Ive replied to vfk but the same sentiments apply to your post. This community is so good for encouragement, I want to convey my gratitude.

Best regards

Scott

[vfk]

Scott, sounds like you have very cool boss.  Continue sharing your experience and possibly post material you are using for your studies.

[jroyale]

Hi Scott

Sorry to hear you failed.  I finally passed today on the 3rd attempt.  The Design questions are seriously flawed (crashed on me today and had to move to another PC).  I only just finished and had to rush the last 10 questions or so to complete the exam.  I know these design questions can't be working properly as when you move grouped objects they sometimes don't move together.  Make sure that your groups eg VApps move as one or it probably isn't marking g it right.  I barely scraped a pass today with 312 after 2 scores of 270....  Too many failures on this exam for it to be working correctly in my opinion.  If you are convinced that your designs were correct I would complain to certification....

[jroyale]

By the way, my work only pays if I pass, so this exam was starting to seriously hurt my pocket..

[ScottCoe]

Congratulations on your pass. I look forward to the day I get mine. Do you seriously think its worth saying something? One of the most frustrating elements is not really knowing what you did wrong. I suppose it cant hurt to try. I'll do that and see what they have to say. Thanks for the words of encouragement.

Regards

Scott

[jroyale]

Scott

If you want to PM me we can brainstorm a little. I can't tell you which bits I got right and didn't get right as I simply don't know, but happy to go over some design thoughts...

[JPM300]

Hey Scott,

Try leveraging the community to help you with your design options as they can be very insightful.  Also when it comes to the 10GB NIC things you where talking about, don't forget it wasn't so many years ago in the ESX 3.5/4.0 days when blades only had 4 1GB NICS MAX and still managed to run iSCSI, Mangement, vMotion, and VM Networks port groups and that's only half of the speed 1 10GB nic can do now-a-days

Anyhow, sorry to hear about the results and keep at it, you'll get that pass soon!

Rememeber:

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If you quit, however, it lasts forever."

[brikeyes]

just failed the VCAP-DCD for the first time:smileyangry:

[vfk]

brikeyes, can you tell us your impressions of the exam?  How have you prepared for the exam? i.e material used, blogs and so on.  Where do you think you went wrong?  How do you think the exam can be improved?  a bit more detailed feedback is always appreciated as you can tell this is a supportive community.

vfk