Becoming a VCF Certified Architect(2V0-13.24)is no small feat, and as I recently passed the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Certified Architect exam, I wanted to share my journey to help others prepare for this challenging yet rewarding certification. If you’re looking to take the exam, or are just curious about the process, this post will walk you through my experience, the key resources I found invaluable, and tips for success.

The Road to VCF Certification: A Structured Approach

The VCF Certified Architect exam assesses your ability to design, deploy, and manage VMware Cloud Foundation in real-world scenarios. The certification covers a wide array of topics, including business requirements, conceptual models, technical design, and much more. Here’s how I approached my preparation:

1. Referencing the Exam Guide

The first step in my preparation journey was reviewing the VMware VCF Architect 2V0-13.24 Exam Preparation Guide. This guide is critical for understanding the exam objectives, as it clearly outlines the skills and knowledge areas you will be tested on. I highly recommend starting with this guide to get a clear sense of what’s expected.

The exam objectives are divided into multiple sections that cover a broad range of topics:

• Objective 1: Design Process and Documentation
• Objective 2: VMware by Broadcom Solution
• Objective 3: Planning and Designing the VMware by Broadcom Solution

By understanding each objective, I was able to organize my study efforts effectively, ensuring I was prepared for every aspect of the exam.

2. Understanding Key Design Principles

A crucial part of the exam focuses on differentiating between various types of design frameworks. The exam tests your ability to:

• Differentiate between business and technical requirements (Objective 1.1)
• Understand the differences between conceptual, logical, and physical designs (Objective 1.2)

I found several articles helpful in gaining a deeper understanding of these principles:

• Breaking Down the Conceptual Design: RCARs and AMPRS – VCDX Style by Jeffrey Kusters was invaluable in understanding the concept of RCARs (Requirements, Constraints, Assumptions, and Risks) and AMPRS (Availability, Manageability, Performance, Recoverability, and Security). These concepts are key to creating solid, reliable VMware Cloud Foundation solutions.
• Conceptual, Logical, and Physical Design was a great article for understanding how designs evolve from a broad vision to detailed physical infrastructure.

3. Mastering Availability and Recoverability

The exam tests your knowledge on the design of availability and disaster recovery strategies. Knowing when and how to apply business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) principles is critical.

• Availability and Recoverability by Jeffrey Kusters helped me solidify my understanding of how to design systems that maintain availability in the face of failures.
• I also reviewed materials on RPO (Recovery Point Objective) and RTO (Recovery Time Objective), as these metrics play a significant role in disaster recovery planning. The articles from Druva and Rubrik were especially helpful in making these concepts clear.

4. Planning and Design Considerations

One of the most crucial aspects of the exam is the ability to design and plan for VMware Cloud Foundation, taking into account business requirements, scalability, security, performance, and manageability.

For each scenario in the exam, I focused on understanding the logical and physical design decisions required for each domain of VCF, such as:

• Network Infrastructure Design
• VCF Management Domain and Workload Domain Design
• Edge Cluster and Cloud Automation Design

Articles like Functional vs Non-Functional Requirements were helpful in distinguishing between the different types of requirements I needed to consider during the design process.

Exam Strategy: Focused and Scenario-Based

The VCF Architect exam is scenario-based, meaning you’ll be given realistic design scenarios and asked to identify design decisions and potential issues. This is where having a deep understanding of the concepts and applying them to practical situations is key.

• For example, I practiced answering questions related to VMware Cloud Foundation’s scalability and lifecycle management (Objectives 3.6 and 3.7). Being able to apply design decisions regarding lifecycle management, performance, and capacity management within a VMware Cloud Foundation environment is critical.
• Another important area is security design (Objective 3.9). Security requirements, such as securing VCF management components and workloads, are a focus in the exam.

By familiarizing myself with these design principles through the recommended readings, I felt more confident in making quick, accurate decisions during the exam.

Thank You to the Authors

The articles I referenced played a significant role in my preparation, and I want to thank the authors for their invaluable insights. A special thanks to:

• Jeffrey Kusters for his articles on conceptual design, availability, and recoverability.
• Nolomokgosi for the in-depth explanation of conceptual, logical, and physical design.
• Druva and Rubrik for their clear breakdowns of RPO and RTO, which are essential to disaster recovery strategies.

Final Tips for Success

• Practice Scenario-Based Questions: VMware’s exam is all about applying concepts to real-world scenarios. Practice answering these types of questions to familiarize yourself with the format.
• Understand the Exam Objectives: Use the VMware VCF Architect Exam Preparation Guide as your roadmap. Ensure you cover all the objectives in the guide, as they form the core of the exam.
• Study Design and Documentation: You’ll need to know how to document your design decisions, validate them, and create a risk mitigation strategy (Objectives 1.5 and 1.6). These soft skills are often overlooked but are crucial in the exam.
• Time Management: The exam is lengthy, so practice time management. Aim to allocate appropriate time to each question and review your answers before submitting.

Conclusion

Passing the VMware Cloud Foundation Certified Architect exam was a challenging but immensely rewarding experience. With the right preparation, resources, and mindset, you can pass this exam and become a certified expert in VMware Cloud Foundation architecture. Be sure to dive deep into the study materials, understand the key concepts, and practice applying them in various scenarios. I hope my experience helps guide you on your own journey to certification.

Good luck, and thank you again to all the authors for their fantastic contributions!