VMWare : VCAP6-CMA Deploy Exam Experience (3V0-633)

Here my feedback about the VCAP6-CMA Deploy (3V0-633) Exam that I had the opportunity to pass last week. 

VMware Certified Advanced Professional 6 — Cloud Management and Automation Deployment

For this exam, as VCAP exam you have to do troubleshooting tasks in a limited time. 
To be more specific, the VCAP6-CMA Deploy exam consists of 32 questions, each one having some sub-questions in it.
About time, the official page indicates 160 minutes. Informations may not have been updated, because I got 3h30 (+30 min, yeah I’m from Paris).

Attention : Exam is based on version 6.x vRA (end of life nearly) and covers most of the Blueprint VCAP6-CMA Deploy – Exam Blueprint. 
If you’re working or have worked with vRA 7.x, you may have to train version 6.x specificities like Application Services, IaaS Blueprints, even the vRA UI. If you’re comfortable with vRA, are multitasking, know quickly where to find information and know what to do, you will probably pass.

During your exam, if you’re not comfortable with a question/task, skip it, you will come back later (or not haha).
From my point of view, I think it’s difficult to complete the entire exam in time, Perhaps it’s voluntary.
I thought I had time to complete the 32 questions but I turned out that no.. I even had to skip 2/3 questions.

Time Management : 4 hours for 32 questions = 7.5 minutes per question
You don’t have a lot of time to think, you must quickly read the question and know immediately what to do to answer it.
Some questions are very simple and some others are tougher and more important. And yes, some questions are completely independent and some others are linked.
I would say, the exam is not complicated, but you need to know everything, every possible option to avoid wasting time.

Environnement
VCAP Deploy version 6 (old DCA), are based on the same platforms as the VMware HOL.  
For those who had never launched a HOL session, I invite you to practice with: Here 
The conditions and environment for the VCAP6-CMA Deploy Exam is good.  I mean, there is still one or two freezing, some latency, but it’s manageable. Nothing compares to the horrible experience with the VCIX-NV.

Pay Attention
With this new HOL environment, some strokes/keys are blocked.

– No backspace
– No Crtl-C / Crtl-V (copy/paste)

Take a look at this link, to see the new VCAP environments, tips and tricks: Here
 
Advice for the Exam 

– Be Multitasking
– Open at least 2 browsers
– If you are not comfortable with a question/task, just skip it.  
– 7.5 minutes per question = you have to be quick
– be familiar with VMware HOL platforms 
– some keys/strokes don’t work (backpsace, Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V)

Resources 
For the VCAP6-CMA Deploy Exam, there is no Study-Guide, no Google Group, except some blogs online.
Here is a list of resources that will help you to prepare for the exam:

VCAP6-CMA Deploy – Exam Blueprint
www.open902.com 
www.theithollow.com
www.virtualizationteam.com 
https://vcdx133.com/2016/11/22/vrealize-suite-link-o-rama 
www.jonathanmedd.net 
www.grantorchard.com

To be well prepared for the Exam, i think the best is to have his personal Home-Lab, which gives opportunity to test all components of the blueprint.
To cover the entire blueprint, you will need more than 32 GB RAM.

– Active Directory + DNS
– vRA 
– SSO (Identity Appliance) 
– IaaS + SQL 
– vCenter (vcsa) 
– App Services 
– vRealize Business 
– Nested ESXi 
– Orchestrator 
– NSX Manager

For those who don’t have a personal Home-Lab, train yourself a maximum on the HOL VMware.

HOL-SDC-1621 
HOL-SDC-1632 
HOL-SDC-1421 (only PDF version)

Now, I’m waiting for the result.
Apparently, VCAP6-CMA Deploy is the only not scripted and scored by hand as there are different ways to solve. Take ten days according to VMware.