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THADC
Contributor
Contributor

vcp5 Certification - Best Self-Study Books

Hello,

I have reviewed the vcp5 Exam Blueprint. I will be taking the VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V5.0] training later this month, I see the Mock Exam, and perhaps will set up a vSphere Test Environment.

I have some, but limited (< 6 months) experience setting up VMWare virtualized instances for demo and development environments (Windows Server 2008 64-bit instances).

However, in preparation for the exam, I was really hoping for some ideas/advice on good certification/exam study guides/books, that are so prevelent for other certifications I have taken in the past in other areas of IT.

If anyone can recommend good (and/or steer me away from bad) book resources, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks very much, and enjoy your weekend!

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9 Replies
weinstein5
Immortal
Immortal

Welcome to the Community -  I know there are books out there but I have never relied upon them - I have always recommended using the blue print as you guide and the course material form the ICM class filling in the holes with VMware documentation and continue getting hands on experience -

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AnthonyChow
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

weinstein5 is correct book are not that useful for exam preparation.  Good for knowledge.

I get an Email from Pearson VUE that there is a book which will be quite interesting:

The Official VCP5 Certification Guide (VMware Press)

According to the description, the book is based on the vcp 5 exam blue print.  May be helpful.

The book is not out yet and I have not read this nor I am related to the publisher.

Have a nice day.

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vmroyale
Immortal
Immortal

Hello and welcome to the forums.

I see a lot of people thanking Scott Lowe or referencing his book, which is excellent. I have a book coming out with Sybex in May of this year, if you are still in the market for a study guide then. It covers every objective of the VCP5 and includes many exercises to build your experience level.

Good Luck!

Brian Atkinson | vExpert | VMTN Moderator | Author of "VCP5-DCV VMware Certified Professional-Data Center Virtualization on vSphere 5.5 Study Guide: VCP-550" | @vmroyale | http://vmroyale.com
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EdWilts
Expert
Expert

I'll add my vote for Scott Lowe's book.  I ordered the darn book in October but didn't get around to really digging into it until a few weeks ago.  I wrote (and passed) my exam today and I can tell you that if you pay enough attention to the details in that book, you will pass.

My only regret is that I didn't spend more time with the book earlier!  There are parts of the book that I still need to spend more time on and it will become a good reference item until v6 comes out and then I'll buy Scott's new book (and read it sooner!).

.../Ed (VCP4, VCP5)
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nava_thulasi39

Hi,

Plus Eventhough you asked for the book, Cody bunch Brownbag video series is the best resource now.

It's based on the blue print Objective.. http://professionalvmware.com/2012/02/vcp5-brownbag-playlist/

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scott28tt
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

In my opinion there is no substitute for using the exam blueprint, official documentation, and hands-on with vSphere 5. There are some posts on my blog about VCP5 which you should find useful too: http://vmwarertraining.blogspot.com


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VMware Training & Certification blog
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vGreg
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Your best bet is to buy the Mastering vSphere 5 book by Scott Lowe, read it forwards and backwards.  Make sure that you take the mock exam on VMware's site to give you a good idea of how the test questions will look and feel.  I wrote a blog post about how I prepare and how to best prepare yourself for the exam.  Pleased to say I passed today with a 433 score.  Good luck. 

Mark this reply helpful if in fact it was... Greg W. Stuart Network+, Security+, VCP4/5 blog: http://vdestination.com http://twitter.com/vDestination
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THADC
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks for all the responses. I will embrace and concentrate on all the blueprint recommendations. Based on the feedback, I will also buy the Scott Lowe book and learn it well. Thanks again for all the help!

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phykell
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Just one more recommendation for "Mastering vSphere 5" by Scott Lowe. It's definitely a good "base" to work from and it really helps when you're doing the VMware mock exam to go and research everything your unclear about. It also serves as a great contrast to the wealth of VMware documentation out there and perhaps it's worth stressing that the latter can only augment the other available resources such as books, blogs and forums.

Here's just a brief list of the resources I read through:

Whats New Flyer - http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/products/vsphere/vmware-what-is-new-vsphere5.pdf

Whats New - Storage - http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/techpaper/Whats-New-VMware-vSphere-50-Storage-Technical-Whitepaper.p...

Examples and Scenarios - http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-example...

Networking - http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-network...

Resource Managment - http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-resourc...

Security - http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-securit...

Storage - http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-storage...

Troubleshooting - http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-trouble...

Upgrade - http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-upgrade...

VM Admin - http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-virtual...

Install/Setup - http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-install...

This is by no means an exhaustive list and there are also a number of whitepapers to read on availability, networking, etc. It may appear a bit daunting but it's surprisngly well-written and easy-to-read Smiley Happy

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