VCAP 5.5 Documentation question and multiple simultaneous PDF searching + advice

[lukeglazebrook]

So I am working my way very slowing through the train-signal/Pluralsight material at the moment in preparation for my VCAP at the end of may done about 90%.  I say slowly because I am trying my best to practice each part in the lab as I work my way through it and trying my best to ensure I know it inside-out and fully understand it and hopefully can do things instinctively.  Sadly speed is not my strong point when doing anything period and this concerns me.  Additionally I am not blessed with a photographic memory so although I will try to avoid it at all costs I may need to refer to the documentation at some point (especially for CLi stuff.

Can anyone tell me or provide a list of all the documentation provided in the exam and can I ask is it simply left sitting on the desktop on lots of PDF's?  Additionally if I have to resort to the PDFs I vaguely recollect that there was a special trick/tip to searching all of them at the same time.  And my exam is 26//05/2015 and I am trying to get in 1-1.5hrs a day do you think I need to up the pace a bit?

[scott28tt]

Have a look here: Re: Documentation in the VCAP-DCA Test

[scott28tt]

Time will be a challenge from what you've said, the more you can memorise the better...

[JoshuaAndrewsVM]

I have the same documents (PDFs and links) set up in test track.  For searching all, the HTML is probably faster

But you can use the Advanced Search for Reader to scan all PDFs in a folder.  Close the PDF when you are done!   Also, the CLI's have decent online help, esxcli is really nice since it lists all of the options for each branch.

Adobe Acrobat X Standard * Advanced Search Options

[scott28tt]

I would definitely try and use the CLI online help rather than the PDFs - much faster (assuming you know the correct command to begin with)

[lukeglazebrook]

Oh Are you saying I have access to the below link during my exam? ....

vSphere 5.5 Documentation Center

https://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-55

If so that's great news I'm well chuffed...

[scott28tt]

I believe so, but you won't have much time to refer to the documentation as I said above - people regularly end the exam without completing every task, obviously the greater number you can do correctly the better...

[NealeC]

Luke,

I really can't re-iterate Scott's point enough.  Whilst I did have to rush my revision (due to an exam voucher I had and the months' notice of VCAP-DCA510 expiry) time was the enemy.

I'd planned myself to refer to the documentation.  Particularly as I revised the section on AutoDeploy and the big section on automated licensing seemed like a lot of text to memorise.  But hey it's in the PDFs I thought.

I won't reveal (even though 510 is defunct now and AutoDeploy has been replaced with Orchestrator in 550) if I got a question on it or not.

But I will say that I didn't have time to read PDFs.  I did however make use of Powershell/PowerCLI help.

Get-command *insertcommandhere*

or

get-help get-vm --examples

as that can be typed quickly, in a command line window you're already in to remind you of a parameter or two.

You need to be so drilled on any topic you are questioned on that if it asks you to create a datastore with parameters x,y,z on hosts a,b,c, then you can do that in 5 minutes.

You need to be able to migrate VMs from a standard switch to a distributed switch, to host x,y,z but only components a,b,c and leave this bit or that bit on the standard switch.  in 5 mintues.

No matter how complex the task/question you need to be able to do it in 5 minutes.  The exam for 550 is shorter than 510 but has reduced the question/task count slightly.

As many people have said and is common knowledge, because the environment is meant to be production like.......some bits are broken intentionally.

Take 1 minute off your 5 minutes for you to fix something or realise that to do X you need to do Y first, even though Y wasn't listed explicitly in the question.

My point is, I went in to the exam thinking what a lot of people probably do "they're all exaggerating about the time pressure"

Well they're not and I might get a t-shirt done

"There's no time in VCAP for PDFs"

🙂

[NealeC]

If you haven't already.

Download and print this checklist.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1648983/StudySheets/VCAP5_5_DCA_Study%20Sheet_Fillable.pdf

Once you can do any of the individual tasks on it in under 5 minutes.  You're ready 🙂

[lukeglazebrook]

Blimey!

Your comments are making me feel even more despondent about passing mate, and I didn't think that was actually possible.  Incidentally with regards to ...

"(even though 510 is defunct now and AutoDeploy has been replaced with Orchestrator in 550)"

And I wasting my time doing the Autodeploy bit in Scots video?