First UK VMware User Group - This Week!

I'm a bit late to blog about this, but this week sees the first ever UK VMware User Group event, at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull, just off the M42 close to Birmingham Airport.

United Kingdom VMware User Group
Thursday 3rd November 2011, 8:30am-4:30pm

This event brings together all the VMware User Groups from around the UK, there are a mixture of vendor and community sessions on the day itself plus an excellent chance to network with your peers.

Key speakers from VMware:
- Joe Baguley
- Duncan Epping
- Frank Denneman
- Cormac Hogan

As always with a VMware User Group event, attendance is free. For the full agenda, location and hotel information, follow this link:
http://www.myvmug.org/e/in/eid=106

I'll be attending the event myself, if you don't recognise me from the picture I have on this blog, I'll be wearing a light-blue Global Knowledge shirt - come over and say hi if you see me!

Studying for the VCP5 exam

Even though the VCP5 exam is only 5 weeks old at the time of writing, there are some amazing resources already available to help with those preparing for the exam.

I've always been an advocate of trying to prepare yourself using the official resources that VMware make available - the exam blueprint tells you what aspects of vSphere 5 you will get tested on, the exam format, number of questions, time limit, and the scoring system. The exam blueprint makes references to the official vSphere 5 documentation, which VMware validate the exam items against, and the mock exam gives a decent indication of the exam format. The VCP community forum is an excellent way of asking VCP5-related questions and getting furter information.

VCP5 homepage
VCP5 exam blueprint
VCP5 mock exam
VCP community forum
vSphere 5 documentation

A project that I completed towards the end of 2011 was an exclusive 1-day VCP5 workshop designed to focus you on the VCP5 exam and give you the chance to attempt over 100 practice questions, complete with questions/discussions with a VCI and others preparing for the exam.

Global Knowledge VCP5 Exam Preparation Workshop

Something that VMware don't publish is an expanded exam blueprint that includes all the relevant study notes, however there are a number of sites where people have done exactly that - be careful when using these study notes in case they're not accurate in comparison to the official documentation.

Forbes Guthrie's vReference card for vSphere 5
Forbes Guthrie's vReference documentation notes for vSphere 5
Preetam Zare's Prep Guide for VCP5.0
Andre Mauro's vInfrastructure VCP5 notes
Mike Preston's VCP5 study notes - with practice questions
Jason Langer's VCP5 study guide

There are a number of people in the VMware community that write and publish their own practice questions, normally as part of their own preparations - it should be noted that these do not necessarily indicate the types and styles of questions you will get in the real exam, and the accuracy of these practice exams cannot be guaranteed either.

Robert Stothard's VCP5 practice questions
Simon Long's VCP5 practice exams
Paul McSharry's VCP5 practice questions
Mike Preston's VCP5 practice questions - with study notes

To finish, here are a couple of exam experience blog posts from people that have taken the exam themselves, including me!

My review of the VCP5 exam
Eric Sloof's VCP5 exam experience
Brian Tobia's VCP5 exam thoughts and experience

Best of luck to anyone taking their VCP5 exam, I hope the resources above will prove useful to you!

VCP5 information and preparation

This page contains a collection of links to some of the key VCP5-related posts on this blog.

General information
New certification: VCP5
Current paths to VCP5 - March 2012
Studying for the VCP5 exam
Review of the VCP5 exam
VCP - Common Questions

Preparation
New vSphere 5 training courses
New course - vSphere 5: Fast Track
Exam preparation workshop
Free webinar on vSphere 5 training and certification

Updating to VCP5
How does a VCP3 holder update to VCP5?
Update your VCP4 to VCP5
Gaining VCP4 and VCP5

VCP4 information and preparation

This post collects together a variety of VCP4-related posts from my blog since the launch of the exam back in 2009.

Core information
Studying for the VCP4 exam
Review of the VCP4 exam
Is the exam related to vSphere 4.0 or 4.1?
Gaining VCP4 and VCP5

Preparation
Building a home lab
Exam preparation workshop
Training paths for VCP4
vSphere course suitability for VCP4 exam

Updating your certification
Is it worth doing vSphere 4 certifications?
Update your VCP4 to VCP5