his first six years as a Consulting Architect and currently does so as a Principal Architect, VMware Ambassador, and vExpert. John regularly speaks at VMware conferences and related workshops and industry events, including VMworld, VMware Partner Exchange, VMware vForum, VMware User Groups (VMUG), and the USENIX LISA conference.

John has been the lead architect and chief product owner for the VMware vCloud Architecture Toolkit (vCAT) since 2011. The latest release of vCAT 3.1 will be released through VMware Press in printed format; the online electronic version is accessible for free at http://www.vmware.com/go/vcat.

John’s publications include three books in the USENIX Association Short Topics in System Administration series: Deploying the VMware Infrastructure, Foundation for Cloud Computing with VMware vSphere 4, and Cloud Computing with VMware vCloud Director.

During his past ten years at VMware, John has developed multiple consulting engagement materials and conference tutorials that focus on security, performance, and availability of virtualized and cloud infrastructures. John’s earlier work at VMware included development of free backup (vmsnap) and recovery (vmres) tools for VMs using snapshot technology.

John participated in the initial development of the VCDX program and continues his support with online and onsite workshops (VCDX Tips, VCDX Boot Camp, #vBrownbag Boot Camp Live Online) and this book.

John is a member of the USENIX Association (and LISA SIG), where he serves as vice president of the Board of Directors. He can be followed on Twitter as @vcdx001 and can be seen playing guitar and ukulele with the VMware Elastic Sky band and at The Strawberry Music Festival.

Ben Lin, VCDX-045, is currently a Global Cloud Specialist and has been with VMware since 2008. He holds VCDX3/4/5 certifications and actively participates in VCDX panels and development activities. Ben graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences.

Ben coauthored the book Cloud Computing with VMware vCloud Director and was closely involved with cloud designs and deployments since the inception of vCloud Director. He works with global customers in the Americas, providing thought leadership and expertise in designing cloud solutions.

Ben has been a lead architect for the VMware vCloud Architecture Toolkit (vCAT) and has created numerous reference architectures, service kits, and whitepapers used by field and partners worldwide. He regularly presents at conferences such as VMworld, VMworld Europe, Partner Exchange, LISA, HotCloud, and vForum. Follow him on Twitter at @blin23.

Mostafa Khalil, VCDX-002, is a Technical Support Director on the Global Support Services team. He has been with VMware since 1999, at the top of the escalation ladder in support.

Mostafa specializes in storage-related technologies and holds VCDX3/4/5 certifications. He has published the book Storage Implementation in vSphere 5.0, Technology Deep Dive.

Mostafa regularly speaks at VMware conferences and workshops (Vmworld and Partner Exchange) and other industry events. Follow him on Twitter at @mostafaVMW.

Introduction xvii

About the Authors xxi

About the Reviewers xxiii

Acknowledgments xxv

Chapter 1 Certifi cation Overview 1

    VMware Certifi cation Program Framework 3

    Certifi cation Tracks 5

        VCDX for Datacenter Virtualization (VCDX-DCV) 7

        VCDX for Desktop (VCDX-DT) 7

        VCDX for Cloud (VCDX-Cloud) 8

        The VCDX Process 9

        Value Proposition 10

    Review 11

Chapter 2 Preparation 13

    Experience 14

        What Demonstrates Design Expertise? 14

        What Demonstrates a Lack of Design Experience? 15

    The Application 16

        Application Submission Process 17

        VCDX Application 18

    Creating a VCDX Study Group 21

    Practice and Supporting Materials 21

    VCDX Panelist Restrictions 21

    Running a VCDX Panel Defense Boot Camp 22

    Practice 22

    Room Layout 23

    Running the Defense Within a Set Timeline 24

    Mock Defense Checklist 25

    Review 25

Chapter 3 The Design 27

    Assembling Your Design 28

        VCDX Design Defense Blueprint 28

        Method 32

        Traceability 33

        Resolving Confl icts 34

        Sizes Matters Not 35

        Design Artifacts 36

        What Makes for a Good Design? 36

        Conceptual Model 36

        Logical Design 38

        Physical Design 39

        Justifi cation 39

        Impact 39

        Localization 39

        Checklist: Design Selection and Content 40

    Summary 40

Chapter 4 Defense Overview 43

    The Interview Process 43

    Before the Defense 44

    Time Management 44

    Panel Defense Participants 45

    Environment 46

    Panelists’ Perspective 46

        Sitting in the Panelist Seat 46

        Panelist Qualifi cations 47

        Panelist Preparation 47

        Panelist Expectations 47

    Notifi cation of Results 47

Chapter 5 Design Defense 49

    Design Overview Presentation 50

        Example Presentation Slides 51

        Reference Material 53

    Know Your Design 54

    Defense Strategy 54

        Practice Leads to Success 55

        Preparation Checklists 56

    Review 58

Chapter 6 The Design Scenario 59

    Showcase Your Skills 59

    Panelist’s Perspective 61

    Design Scenario Examples 62

        Design Scenario 1 62

        Design Scenario 2 66

        Design Scenario 3 70

        The Art of Explanations 73

        Design Scenario 4 77

    Review 78

Chapter 7 The Troubleshooting Scenario 81

    Conducting the Troubleshooting Scenario 81

    Thinking Aloud 82

    Asking Questions 82

    Using a Whiteboard or Paper 82

    Troubleshooting Analysis 82

        Example: Confl icting Information 83

        Requirements Analysis 83

        The Panelist Perspective 83

    Example Scenarios 83

        Example Troubleshooting Scenario #1 84

        Example Troubleshooting Scenario #2 89

        Example Troubleshooting Scenario #3 93

        Example Troubleshooting Scenario #4 98

    Review 102

Conclusion 103

References 105

        Books and Links 105

        Training Courses 106

Glossary 107

TOC, 9780321910592, 4/18/2013

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