A couple of months ago (in March) I took the VCAP6-DCV Design Beta exam (3V0-622). At last, today I could see the result (passed) on Pearson Vue page (even still I have not received any official email from VMware) 😉 
Beta and GA Exams
I decided to take Beta exam because of some reasons:
- Cost only 100$ (yes, VMware does not offer beta exam free of charge. I remember when I could achieve MCSA 2008 because Microsoft offered beta exams free of charge!)
- I'm a holder of VCAP 5 DCA&DCD and because of VMware introduced a new certificate VCIX, I needed to take and pass VCAP 6 Design or Deploy to automatically upgrade/get VCIX 6 - DCV.
- Test my real knowledge and be one of the first people getting this certificate.
Some details:
- 31 questions - most of "Drag and Drop" and some design questions (Visio tool).
- Possible to mark and later review (back) questions (the same as VCPs).
- Duration 4 hours - I forgot completely about it. When I arrived to test center I had a unwelcoming surprise - less time and hurry (I had a scheduled meeting with customer after taking the exam).
I did not prepare specially to this exam because I assumed that would be similar to VCAP5-DCD (I took in 2013) with some questions about new features of vSphere 6. I was not wrong so if you hold VCAP5-DCD already, you should pass without problems. I didn't face any technical issues - the Visio tool worked smoothly. I left 2-3 comments under questions as there weren't clear to me.
GA Exam is a little bit different - at least what I read and hear about this exam. VMware changed a design tool and the exam duration is shorter - ~3 hours. There are only 18 questions. Now, the exam cost is 400$. VMware decided to offer this exam in every test center (e.g. VCAP-DCD 5 was not offered. There was only one place to take this exam in Poland) so it means that probably soon this exam will be more "popular".
Useful resources
Some recommended tools and documents:
- Practice Exam
- VMware Virtualization Case StudiesSystems Architecture Fundamentals – Conceptual, Logical, Physical Designs
- Functional vs. Non-Functional Requirements
- Conceptual, Logical, Physical: It is Simple
- VMware TCO Calculator
- VMware Cost-Per-Application Calculator Methodology
- Constraints, Assumptions (Risk, Requirements) & Dependencies
- What’s New in VMware vSphere 6.0
- Functional vs. Non-Functional Requirements
Exam experiences:
- Manfred Hofer - Exam Experience – VCAP6-DCV Design exam beta
- Rene Van den Beden – VMware VCAP6-DCV Design Beta Exam Recap
The below screenshot presents exam topics. Please follow the official exam page for more details and to registration for exam.
