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Hi vAdmins and vArchitects. I am incredibly excited to inform you about the release of the brand new VCAP-DCV Design exam!

VMware vSphere 8 is GA since November 2022 and from now on it is also possible to obtain or renew your VCAP-DCV Design certification based on this version.

Over the past few months, a number of Subject Matter Experts (including me) have been working hard to develop this new exam. This exam can be found under the code (3V0-31.21), which eventually replaces the exam 3VO-21.21 based on VMware vSphere 7.

Examination level and audience.

See the exam preparation guide for alle details about this specific exam.

The Minimally Qualified Candidate:

The candidate can design and deploy a vSphere 8.x environment but may occasionally require assistance with carrying out the more complex tasks. The candidate can apply most design principles to develop a vSphere 8.x conceptual model given a set of customer requirements, determine most of the business and technical (formerly non-functional and functional) requirements needed to create a logical design, and architect a physical design using these elements; but may occasionally need to research these topics. The candidate has a fundamental understanding of compute, storage, networking and security, design principles, capacity planning, disaster recovery, scalability, interoperability, and compatibility. The candidate possesses most of the knowledge captured in the exam sections (blueprint).

This is a 60-item exam, with a passing score of 300 using a scaled method. Candidates are given an appointment time of 145 minutes, which includes adequate time to complete the exam for non-native English speakers. This exam contains scenario-based single-selection and multiple- selection multiple-choice items

How to prepare for the 3VO.21.23 exam ?

This exam mainly focuses on planning and designing VMware Solutions, but that certainly doesn’t cover the full picture. To pass this exam you should also be comfortable with all the objectives described in the exam blueprint below.

1: Exam preparation guide

Section 1 – IT Architectures, Technologies, Standards
Section 2 – VMware Solution
Section 3 – Plan and Design the VMware Solution
Section 4 – Install, Configure, Administrate the VMware Solution

Section 5 – Troubleshoot and Optimize the VMware Solution

This blueprint provides clear guidelines regarding the focus of this Design exam. These guidelines will help you determine which components you should focus your study on.

Pro tip: familiarize yourself with Gather and analyze business and technical (the Functional and Non-functional) requirements.

• Functional requirements specify the objectives or functions that a design must meet. 
• Nonfunctional requirements define how the design accomplishes the functional requirements.

I definitely recommend reading this awesome article. Personally, I think this is one of the best resources to consult in preparation for this exam.

See also my previous post: VMware Certified Advanced Professional – Data Center Virtualization Design 2023 exam experience, which is based on the exam (3VO-21.21 which wil retire on 31 januari 2024).

The resources below have helped me well with the development and preparation for this VCAP-DCV Design exam!

2:  vBrownBag – VCAP-DCV Design YouTube Channel

3: vSphere 6.7 Design Cookbook 

4: VMware vSphere Design 8 course

5: VMware vSphere 8 Security Configuration Guide

6: https://www.vmware.com/techpapers.html

7: VMware vSphere: Design [V8]

*vSphere content in this exam is based on version 8.0. Review all 8.0 release notes and material for features and function.

Exam Delivery

There is a proctored and online exam available, delivered through Pearson VUE.

This exam can be found and booked via the SSO Pearson VU mange exams tool, which will redirected your VMware account to Pearson VU. You can find this tool the menu of my learn.vmware.com. Browse to VMware Learning>myEnrollments>.

VMware Certification and Badge

VMware Data Certifications are in high demand. According to a recent Skillsoft survey taken by 2,557 IT professionals, The VMware Certified Professional in Data Center Virtualization (VCP-DCV) is among the 15 top-paying IT certifications of 2022 at $138,349.17. Interested in becoming an expert? The Advanced Professional in Data Center Virtualization (VCAP) certification is a particularly valuable certification because it demonstrates the holder’s commitment to customers and validates their technical expertise.  Source

To be eligible for a certificate or badge, you must meet specific requirements. 

All the requirements are documented. For the VMware Datacenter virtualization criteria see the related Certification path.

How to earn badges?

The VCAP (Advanced) exams which are based on VMware vSphere 7 and VMware vSphere 8 come in two flavors, Design and Deployment.

Passing both exams makes the designation VMware Certified Implementation Expert (VCIX-DCV).

This image refers to the VCAP 7 DCV Design exam (3V0-21.21 instead of 3V0.21.23)

See the related badges below:

Exam Content Contributors

Who should get VCAP certified?

If you look at the exam requirements you will probably share the opinion with me that quite a bit of knowledge and experience is expected from the exam candidate in this VCAP exam.

Personally, I find the VCAP certification very valuable, precisely because this exam is based on the level of an (Solution) Architect.
Consequently, far fewer candidates are VCAP certified compared to VCP, see the numbers below!

Source: VMware

Good luck all, with your exam preparation!

End of this post.

Disclaimer: This blog is based on my personal title and assumptions. No rights can be derived from this blog.