VCP 510 fail =(

[LaPist0la]

Hello

Unfortunately, I failed my VCP-510 today. I used the study material and labs provided by the training centre, completed all theory and ensured that all theory and practical was remembered. I also went further and referred to VMware documentation provided by vmware.

I think there are a few reasons that I failed. To start off with, the questions were very practical and the exam was not as theoretical as previous exams that I have taken. Further to this, the labs provided by the training centre were very minimal and some practical tasks and troubleshooting could not be performed. Some of the questions had practical tasks (a lot of them) the training centre labs didn't even cover. This training centre is also a partner. Obviously I require more practical experience, especially with storage based modules.

I also found it difficult to answer 85 questions in 90 minutes. I found myself trying to rush as the exam continued on. I think that this may have been the wrong strategy, it may have been better to concentrate on quality rather than quantity. I am not 100℅ certain on how the scoring works, this information would be useful e.g. are multiple selections worth more? Did anyone else not answer all the questions?

I will move through the forum posts to obtain additional practical resources. I am not upset about it. I am more disappointed that I sacrificed a lot of time to study, did my best with the material provided, studied additional resources in accordance with the vmware blueprint and still failed. I didn't just fail, I got below 250. I will sit the exam next year with more practical experience, yet I would just like to obtain some feedback on the time on the exam, the practical exercises and troubleshooting to prepare and also any other additional resources that would help. Would anyone also be able to provide the failure rate of this exam? I would say that this is one of the toughest exams I have ever sat!

I didn't pass for a reason and need to work on things before sitting the exam again. Any tips from VCP510 professionals would help...Hopefully I pass next time 😃

[scott28tt]

Sorry to hear that.

i would agree that practical experience is important, I think there are many questions you could answer more easily if you've actually done what's being asked. You were right to focus on the blueprint, I would recommend doing that with every effort anybody makes in readiness for the exam. There is a disconnect between the training and the exam, this is easily verified by comparing the training syllabus against the exam blueprint. I used to work as a VMware instructor for a training partner by the way.

Pass and fail rates are not published, but I have heard more tales on here of people struggling with VCP5 compared to previous versions, and when I took the exam myself I drew the "practical" conclusion. The scoring system is complex, and not published, but you definitely don't need to complete every question - those that are incomplete are just marked as incorrect - what I would say though is that those that run out of time are typically those that struggle to achieve the required score.

Did you build or have access to a lab? You don't say in your post, but you definitely should do more than study notes and documentation.

I reviewed the exam on my blog when I took it, and have also gathered information and useful links, have a look at the VCP5 tab: http://vmwaretraining.blogspot.com

[LaPist0la]

Hi Scott;

Thank you for the post. I appreciate that you have taken the time to ask further questions on my experiences.

Pass and fail rates are not published, but I have heard more tales on here of people struggling with VCP5 compared to previous versions

With previous VCP exams, were they more theory or practical based? I have completed previous technical exams (Not VCP) and I must say that the VCP exam is by far the hardest exam that I have attempted to date. Previous technical exams were more theory based with some practical, yet this exam was practical based. Questions being asked revolved around things that have been experienced practically. A high amount of the questions were also based around practical troubleshooting. I also noticed alot of look and feel questions - easy marks to obtain yet not remembering some of these don't help! I understand the reason behind this - they are making this certification tougher to acheive. It was really based on real life technical troubleshooting and their scenarios. This is actually good, yet I was not prepared for this because...

Did you build or have access to a lab? You don't say in your post, but you definitely should do more than study notes and documentation.

I did have access to a lab, yet I did not build this lab on my own. It is pre configured. The lab itself was very basic. It was provided through the training centre, in which I couldn't even create, utilise or troubleshoot storage or vmotion. To make up for some of the things I couldn't do, I watched alot of youtube videos from vMWare and also other videos, which outlined content and how to perform specific tasks. The training centre itself is a partner of VMware. From what I understand, I had to register with a training centre to obtain a certification from vMWare. I could also only work within the labs - they did not provide additional storage space to allow the setup of specific VM's. There was no access to SAN, storage switches, physical switches, ESXi Host BIOS or ESXi local devices. I could only add the ESXi hosts to vCenter, remote into the ESXi/vCenter host with vSphere client and utilise putty to remote into them. I am a little dissappointed about this. I was informed that all I had to do was complete the physical tasks that they had provided, study the theory (which I did) and I would be OK to pass the exam.

I even went beyond this and studied the blueprint. The tasks they provided in the labs were very basic and alot of things in the exam were not covered within their practise labs or couldn't be covered due to the constraints. A little frustrating as I do feel as though I was a little misguided by this...I studied and learnt everything they gave me and took their advise, put alot of hours into remembering it, locking myself in my room and shutting myself off from the world for some time! If I would have known that further experience beyond what they had provided me was required, I wouldn't have even sat the exam, I would have done alot more practical instead...Obviously, I shouldn't have taken their word for it. I did though, failed the exam and lost $240.00AUD

/emd rant. From what you have said and the thinking I have done over the course of the day, it would seem as though I would need to perform the following before passing the exam next time around:

• Concentrate more on practical tasks rather than theory.
  
  • Setup my own lab with my own ESXi host/s and external storage.
    
• Concentrate on troubleshooting with ESXi/vCenter
  
  • Create issues in a practice lab and rectify these issues
    
• Obtain more of a look and feel for vCenter and ESXi.
  
• Work a little harder by studying content beyond the training centre lab and theory
  

I would have to say that the time limit on the exam itself is not the best. 90 minutes to answer 85 questions is a very short amount of time - it averages to 1 minute per question, some of these questions are straight forward, yet alot of these questions, it takes around one minute to even understand what is being asked! If I had to provide some negative feedback on this exam, it would be the time limit. Not too sure if this is because I am not experienced or well equiped as some have been! I think that 1 minute per question is a little scarce.

I do not have any regrets. I gave it my all, put in alot of effort yet I was misguided on the content to study. Never once did I act arrogant, I always kept and open mind and tried to learn new things. Please let me know any thoughts on this

[scott28tt]

I'm a VCP2, VCP3, VCP4, and VCP5, and yes I would say that VCP5 is the most practical so far. (I've also passed 25+ Microsoft exams in my past!)

By lab, I didn't just mean the lab used during the training - as per my blog based on my own experience I would recommend working in an exam-focused way through the objectives in the blueprint on a test lab.

I think your plan sounds like a good one - I always emphasise the significance of the blueprint objectives in any conversation I have around the exam.

I do stand by my comment about the exam time - it's based on my own personal experience with the exam, and of talking with a large population of candidate VCPs and actual VCPs over the 6 years I worked as a VCI - those that are well prepared don't typically need or take 90 minutes in my experience.

I hope you will find time less of a pressure next time, and wish you the very best of luck.

[LaPist0la]

Thank you Scott. I will aim to sit the exam early next year, after I have completed the objectives further. I will also phone the training company and provide some feedback

I will let you know how I go next time around - thank you for the responses.

[LaPist0la]

I also have one more question - with the retake policy (2nd attempt) do I have to pay a second time around? I have been told that with Microsoft and Cisco, they allow the 2nd attempt for free, without paying the 2nd time around. Please let me know (final question )

[scott28tt]

Free re-takes are often a promotional rather than permanent thing - VMware aren't offering that at the moment.

[RickRobbinsJr]

I would like to drop my two cents for what it is worth.

I also failed my first attempt at the exam, granted I am an essentials plus customer and most of my IRL experience comes from essentials, I did build a decent test lab and worked through the blue prints.  I also have the VCP certification guide and the TrainSignal DVD set.

I read through the book, built my test lab, watched the DVDs and tried/passed every online practice test and mock exam I could find.

I thought I was ready, until I sat down to take the exam and was pelted with vDR and Auto Deploy questions, I quickly went back post exam and cracked open my "VMware Press Official VCP5 Certification Guide" and to my amazement, they were both covered on less than 5 pages.

Since then I have jumped on every practice test and mock exam and still pass them with flying colors, I'm still a little stunned on where to go from here, my heart says I know the content, but the exam score states otherwise.

I would also like to point out that all the content on the web is outdated, we are about to enter 2013 and it is hard to find anything new on the VCP510 within the last 6 months and the blue print last changed in October of 2012.

[LaPist0la]

Very interesting point...Thank you very much for the response.

When I sat previous certifications, the questions were both theory and practical based. If you studied the content you were provided, performed all the practical tasks provided, put in a high amount of effort and study time for both practical and theory, even if you didn't have a high amount of technical exposure to the product in the real world, you could still pull through if you did a high amount of study, researched the product beyond the training material, performed practical exercises beyond the training material and also knew the product and the technicalities of it.

With any exam, you would expect practical questions, yet I felt as though the practical questions in the exam were very in depth from a troubleshooting and practical perspective and they dominated the exam. I have also completed the VCP mock exam provided by VMWare and practise tests provided by my training centre and I still failed the exam significantly...I will also say that I invested alot of hours into it and did my best to know the content I was provided.

I think it comes down to this - VMWare may only want to certify those who have in depth, hands on thorough technical knowledge on the product from this point onward. Checking other forums, people who have passed the exam seem to have a high amount of experience and exposure on the product. I do have experience and exposure on the product, yet not to the extent that the exam has portrayed.

I am still feeling a little mixed about this. I am not sure if the exam  itself has been made too tough? From Scott's comments, it would seem as though the exam is alot tougher than the previous ones, which I gather are based more on practical questions rather than theory. After reading your post and your  experiences, I am a little concerned that if I do work through the Blue  Print and setup my own lab and still fail the exam, I would not know what to do following  this as all options have been explored.

Would be interesting to read other experiences from other people.

[scott28tt]

The blueprint may be updated from time to time, but I don't think the objectives within it have changed since the exam was first released - it is often a broken or updated link that causes an update to the document, or an amendment to one of the logistical elements.

Don't lose heart, you've seen what the real exam is like, you understand the significance of the objectives in the blueprint and that you can be asked questions from any corner of it.

[cuxport]

Answer from the education team of vmware:

The exam is version neutral so the differences between 5.0 and 5.1 will not be on the exam.

You can use the 5.1 documentations when preparing for the 510 exam.

[LaurinDavis]

I'm pretty disappointed with the VCP 510 exam: Numerous spelling and grammatical errors, and questions that had little or no bearing on real world use of the products.

If I'd simply walked in off the street with no knowledge or experience and supplied random answers to the exam questions, I would have achieved a better score, and saved myself thousands of dollars and months of lab work and study.

I've achieved certifications in IBM x-Series hardware, MCSE, MCSE+I, CCNA, Cisco Certified SAN sales, Cisco Certified SAN Design, Brocade Certified Fabric Administration, and Brocade Certified FCoE Specialist.  Every exam, for every certification, was passed on the first attempt.

The VCP 510 exam needs a thorough revision.

[LaPist0la]

Hello;

Thanks for bumping up this topic. I have further, interesting information on this. I realised that a family member (in law) works at a testing centre here in Sydney, Australia. I saw her on Sunday at a family function. I spoke to her and let her know that I had failed the VCP certification. Her response was "Is that the version 5 exam?" I responded "Yes" and she said "Alot of people are failing that exam...It has a high failure rate."

Also very interesting that someone who has sat numerous certifications and passed them legitimately, with experience and expertise in additional technologies has also failed the exam. I am really starting to believe that the exam itself has been made too difficult and goes beyond studying theory and setting up labs in order to pass an exam.

I am still going through the blue print and working through all of this in order to pass this exam, I hope that I can pass next time around, yet time will tell. If anyone else has any similiar experiences, please share them. It would be good to highlight this to VMWare so that they are aware of our experiences.

[vitalsign0]

The VCP510 is a terrible exam. I was surprised just how poor it was.

[jj_issq]

Going to give the VCP 510 exam this Friday... fingers crossed :smileyconfused:

[francism08]

I just passed my vcp510 exam last 29-Dec. The questions is great and my 3 1/2 yrs of experience in doing the VMware is worth. I think if you do not have enough hands on experience in deploying VMware it will be difficult to answers some of the questioner.