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prashantMehtaCc
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VCAP5-DCA , vSphereclient , CLI , question type

Hi,

I am preparing for my VCAP-DCA exam and want to clear ASAP. I have below questions... appreciate your inputs..

1) In the exam we would have to work with which vsphere client  Windows

client or web client ?

2) for the CLI tasks, can they ask any of the taks to completed by CLI

only ? i mean apart from the 8-Scripting/Automation section can they ask

any of the other tasks also to be completed only by CLI  or we can do

with GUI also.... ?

3) what are the topics from VCAP-DCA blueprint other than 8-

Scripting/Automation that can be done only by CLI (cant be done via GUI)

so i could master them in CLI

4)  do we have internet connectivity to download tools like vmware site

survvey utility or CPU identification utility ?

5)Any guidance on what type of questions they can ask ? i saw few in the threads ... but  if anything more is available...

1 Solution

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JoshuaAndrewsVM
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(for the record, I have not tested or spent really any time on these, but you get the idea)

q1)

For a new development project you have been asked to create 100 virtual machines

Requirements:

vCenter Server:vCenter

Credentials: admin password:password

Virtual machines:

Name: PowerCLIxxx (where xxx is a number 001-100)

OS: "Other" 32-bit Linux

one CPU

128MB RAM

1GB thin-provisioned VMDK

Host: ESXi01

DataStore: ThinIsGreatCauseIDon'tHaveThatMuchSpace

Create the VMs to meet the requirements

NOTE: Do NOT by all that is holy power those VMs up.  I'm serious.  Really.

q2)

The development team has asked that VMs PowerCLI51-100 be given 256MB of RAM

Requirements:

vCenter Server:vCenter

Credentials: admin password:password

Virtual machines:

Name: PowerCLIxxx (where xxx is a number 051-100)

256MB RAM


Change the VMs to meet the requirements

NOTE: Do NOT by all that is holy power those VMs up.  I'm serious.  Really.

Other NOTE: You may be tempted by reading ahead to create 51-100 with 256MB in the first place, however you will get parts of the last question wrong.

q3)

One of your hosts is missing a LUN, which your storage admin swears was provisioned correctly.  Another administrator confessed that while studying for the DCA exam they were trying out masking rules on production servers and *may* have made a mistake.

Requirements:

ESXi host: ESXi01

Credentials: root password:password

vMA appliance: vma

Credentials: vi-admin password:password

Correct the problem.

q4)

To enhance your lunchtime Quake tournament, configure your environment such that the Quake resource pool is granted a 2Ghz CPU reservation and 4GB RAM reservation from 12-1 each day.  Also during that time, make sure the "Production" portgroup can only use one vmnic1 - outside of that time frame it can also use vmnic2 and vmnic3.

Requirements:

vCenter Server:vCenter

Credentials: admin password:password

q5)

Create a custom image using the ISO and VIBs contained in "c:\OhNoNotAutoDeploy" and make sure that image is applied to any new host from "Alienware."

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17 Replies
JoshuaAndrewsVM
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>>>1) In the exam we would have to work with which vsphere client  Windows client or web client ?

The exam environment is 5.0 - so only the vSphere "fat" client.

>>>>2) for the CLI tasks, can they ask any of the taks to completed by CLI

The PowerCLI questions are powerCLI-specific cannot be acheived in the GUI.  Note that if such a question were written it would be "create a thousand objects numbered 1-1000". Which you could certainly do in the GUI - but which would take 5 seconds in PowerCLI.

>>>3) what are the topics from VCAP-DCA blueprint other than 8-Scripting/Automation that can be done only by CLI (cant be done via GUI) so i could master them in CLI

Autodeploy.   resxtop/esxcli

 

>>>>4)  do we have internet connectivity to download tools like vmware site survvey utility or CPU identification utility ?

No

prashantMehtaCc
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Hello Andrew,

Thanx for your reply ....

I am actually concerned with anything related to tasks that can not be done via GUI in the exam.....can you help me to answering below...

I am not that knowledgeable in this domain.....so please excuse me for my silly questions....

1) Now I can see several people mentioning 3 terms ,  CLI , power CLI , esxcli..... etc.....  are they all one thing only with different names ?  and if they are different , which one is to be studied for preparing for the exam...

2) do you suggest any weblink for the guide on vmware.com  site  which could help me to prepare above skills in full...... so i can take care of them in exam....

3) Just as a thought , if I do not want to attend any questions which are non-GUI based.....  how many % of the marks according to you probably i would loose.... ? i want to know is it really worth to put my time and efforts for this as i need to learn it from the beginning.... as i do not have programming skills..

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aravinds3107
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1) Now I can see several people mentioning 3 terms ,  CLI , power CLI , esxcli..... etc.....  are they all one thing only with different names ?  and if they are different , which one is to be studied for preparing for the exam.

All three are different and their syntax is also different but they would perform the same task but on their syntax

...

2) do you suggest any weblink for the guide on vmware.com  site  which could help me to prepare above skills in full...... so i can take care of them in exam....

Take a look at CLI, PowerCLI Documents which are listed VMware vSphere Documentation

3) Just as a thought , if I do not want to attend any questions which are non-GUI based.....  how many % of the marks according to you probably i would loose.... ? i want to know is it really worth to put my time and efforts for this as i need to learn it from the beginning.... as i do not have programming skills..

I think it would be a difficult question to answer .. There are some tasks which can be done via command line in less time when compared to GUI, So I would suggest to study the CLI as well

DCA is lab based exam so its better you enough practical exposure and make sure you cover all the topics in the blueprint.  Check this study sheet http://wahlnetwork.com/2012/07/02/the-vcap5-dca-study-sheet/

If you not check this study resource make sure to check them as well VCAP5-DCA & DCD | TheSaffaGeek

If you find this or any other answer useful please consider awarding points by marking the answer correct or helpful |Blog: http://aravindsivaraman.com/ | Twitter : ss_aravind
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JoshuaAndrewsVM
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>>>1) Now I can see several people mentioning 3 terms ,  CLI , power CLI , esxcli..... etc.....  are they all one thing only with different names ?  and if they are different , which one is to be studied for preparing for the exam...

CLI

The vSphere Command-Line Interface (vSphere CLI) command set allows you to run common system administration commands against ESX/ESXi systems from any machine with network access to those systems. You can also run most vSphere CLI commands against a vCenter Server system and target any ESX/ESXi system that vCenter Server system manages. vSphere CLI includes the ESXCLI command set, vicfg- commands, and some other commands.

http://www.vmware.com/support/developer/vcli/

PowerCLI

VMware vSphere PowerCLI contains snap-ins of cmdlets based on Microsoft PowerShell for automating vSphere and vCloud Director administration. It provides C# and PowerShell interfaces to VMware vSphere and vCloud APIs.

vSphere PowerCLI Documentation

esxcli is a subset of CLI and is a power set of commands to help manage vSphere

You can manage many aspects of an ESXi host with the ESXCLI command set. You can run ESXCLI commands...as vCLI commands or run them in the ESXi Shell in troubleshooting situations.

You can also run ESXCLI commands from the PowerCLI shell by using the Get-EsxCli cmdlet. See the vSphere PowerCLI Administration Guide and the vSphere PowerCLI Reference.

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-55/index.jsp#com.vmware.vcli.getstart.doc/cli_jumpstart.3.4.html#1105...

CLI is available as part of the VMA appliance, which is covered by the DCA exam blueprint

vSphere 5.5 Documentation Center

>>>2) do you suggest any weblink for the guide on vmware.com  site  which could help me to prepare above skills in full...... so i can take care of them in exam....

See above, plus Microsoft has a bunch of free stuff on PowerShell, which is the basis for PowerCLI

>>>3) Just as a thought , if I do not want to attend any questions which are non-GUI based.....  how many % of the marks according to you probably i would loose.... ? i want to know is it really worth to put my time and efforts for this as i need to learn it from the beginning.... as i do not have programming skills..

It would be very tough to pass the DCA by skipping any PowerCLI, CLI, vMA, esxcli and Autodeploy questions.

Note that you do not need programming skills, just understand how the commands function, what they do, how to find answers on the fly with these tool, etc.

prashantMehtaCc
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ok, so all these three are different ....

1) Since the 3 CLI options have their own different syntax  , if I learn main namespaces of powerCLI  (it seems to be easier for me - is it ?) , would that be enough for the exam....?

2) As there is no internet connectivity in the exam , how can i download and install  components required for vmware powerCLI ?

3) I would really appreciate the few examples for type of questions in exam for   non-GUI topic....

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JoshuaAndrewsVM
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1) Since the 3 CLI options have their own different syntax  , if I learn main namespaces of powerCLI  (it seems to be easier for me - is it ?) , would that be enough for the exam....?

There is not a good answer for this other than - know the blueprint.

2) As there is no internet connectivity in the exam , how can i download and install  components required for vmware powerCLI ?

All the components you need are installed or available.

3) I would really appreciate the few examples for type of questions in exam for   non-GUI topic....

I'll work on it.

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JoshuaAndrewsVM
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(for the record, I have not tested or spent really any time on these, but you get the idea)

q1)

For a new development project you have been asked to create 100 virtual machines

Requirements:

vCenter Server:vCenter

Credentials: admin password:password

Virtual machines:

Name: PowerCLIxxx (where xxx is a number 001-100)

OS: "Other" 32-bit Linux

one CPU

128MB RAM

1GB thin-provisioned VMDK

Host: ESXi01

DataStore: ThinIsGreatCauseIDon'tHaveThatMuchSpace

Create the VMs to meet the requirements

NOTE: Do NOT by all that is holy power those VMs up.  I'm serious.  Really.

q2)

The development team has asked that VMs PowerCLI51-100 be given 256MB of RAM

Requirements:

vCenter Server:vCenter

Credentials: admin password:password

Virtual machines:

Name: PowerCLIxxx (where xxx is a number 051-100)

256MB RAM


Change the VMs to meet the requirements

NOTE: Do NOT by all that is holy power those VMs up.  I'm serious.  Really.

Other NOTE: You may be tempted by reading ahead to create 51-100 with 256MB in the first place, however you will get parts of the last question wrong.

q3)

One of your hosts is missing a LUN, which your storage admin swears was provisioned correctly.  Another administrator confessed that while studying for the DCA exam they were trying out masking rules on production servers and *may* have made a mistake.

Requirements:

ESXi host: ESXi01

Credentials: root password:password

vMA appliance: vma

Credentials: vi-admin password:password

Correct the problem.

q4)

To enhance your lunchtime Quake tournament, configure your environment such that the Quake resource pool is granted a 2Ghz CPU reservation and 4GB RAM reservation from 12-1 each day.  Also during that time, make sure the "Production" portgroup can only use one vmnic1 - outside of that time frame it can also use vmnic2 and vmnic3.

Requirements:

vCenter Server:vCenter

Credentials: admin password:password

q5)

Create a custom image using the ISO and VIBs contained in "c:\OhNoNotAutoDeploy" and make sure that image is applied to any new host from "Alienware."

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prashantMehtaCc
Contributor
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Hello Andrew,

I marked your answer as correct answer , I just did not get below answer of yours......

        1) Since the 3 CLI options have their own different syntax  , if I learn main namespaces of powerCLI  (it seems to be easier for me - is it ?) , would that be enough for the           exam....?

         There is not a good answer for this other than - know the blueprint.

Can you please explain this in some more detail , my purpose is to understand if  i can learn the powerCLI  and would it be enough to go through the VCAP exam or  need to learn all three (CLI , power CLI , esxcli).......... ? ?   I am not planning to master those.... but want to learn quickly which should be enough for exam.... also if you could suggest any good resource for this purpose would be appreciated ....

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JoshuaAndrewsVM
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In order to pass the VCAP5-DCA exam you should be familiar with CLI and PowerCLI.  One of the components of those tools is the esxcli command structure.

I posted a bunch of links above regarding PowerCLI, CLI and esxcli.  You can also check the bloggers who have covered DCA (google "VCAP5-DCA blog") or check the communities at vmware.com dedicated to command-line

https://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/automationtools/content?filterID=contentstatus[publish...

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Marcus316
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Enthusiast
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Hi Josh,

Thanks for the answers, but I have a question regarding question #4 you posted :

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

q4)

To enhance your lunchtime Quake tournament, configure your environment such that the Quake resource pool is granted a 2Ghz CPU reservation and 4GB RAM reservation from 12-1 each day.  Also during that time, make sure the "Production" portgroup can only use one vmnic1 - outside of that time frame it can also use vmnic2 and vmnic3.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

During the exam, is it acceptable to use Windows' Task Scheduler to schedule a PowerCLI script that accomplishes the above mentionned tasks?

Because this question seems to imply that there would be such a thing as a "schedule" on a resource pool (to add or remove reservations) or a portgroup (to add or remove used vmnics).

Thanks!!

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JoshuaAndrewsVM
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The intended solution would use a vCenter scheduled task. 

Marcus316
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HI Josh,

I haven't used Scheduled Tasks in months, I sometimes even forget they exist!

I figured out how to modify the resource pool settings, but I still haven't found how to schedule the vmnic modifications for the port group...

Is it through a vCenter Scheduled Task as well? I can't seem to find the right option.

Does it need to be done through the web client?

Thanks for your help!

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JoshuaAndrewsVM
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Have the scheduled task kick off a PowerCLI script.

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Marcus316
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
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That's what I thought!

Thanks a lot for the answers Andrew!

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Shahnawaz26
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
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Just to add to your VCAP DCA preparation, Here is the command for

Enumerating GuestId supported by VMware ESXi:

[System.Enum]::GetNames([VMware.Vim.VirtualMachineGuestOsIdentifier])

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Shahnawaz26
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Also during that time, make sure the "Production" portgroup can only use one vmnic1 - outside of that time frame it can also use vmnic2 and vmnic3.


Dear, I am unable to find a Scheduled Task that changes Portgroup Uplink...Is this just a Rhetorical Question Or AM I Missing something :smileyplain:

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scott28tt
VMware Employee
VMware Employee
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Again, use scheduled tasks to call scripts to make those changes.


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