Part 4 - Architecting vSphere - Remember the Design Dimensions & Process - From My vForum Prezo!

This article is the Part 4 of the Series "Architecting vSphere Environments". Here are the other 3 parts which I would highly recommend to read:-

• Part 1 - Architecting vSphere Clusters - A scoop from my vForum Prezo!

• Part 2 - Architecting vCenter Single Sign On (SSO) - A Scoop from my vForum Prezo!

• Part 3 - Architecting Storage for vSphere Environments - A Scoop from my vForum Prezo!

I have a very strong feeling that this should actually be the Part 1 of this entire series. In this article we will have a quick look at the different facets of a vSphere Design and also throw some light on the processes and procedures one needs to follow to create a successful architecture for a vSphere or that matter any IT infrastructure.

While I write this, I realize that processes can be a little boring as compared to technical stuff. However in my experience, no matter how technical one is, unless and until you have a correct approach to an architecture, you will end up failing 9 times out of 10. This approach to architecture forms the Process.

Let us have a quick look on some of the dimensions or facets which are involved in designing and architecting a vSphere Environment and briefly discuss them before looking at the stages in  design process. This time around I would like to give the content credit to VMware vSphere Design Book authors - Forbes Guthrie, Scott Lowe & Maish Saidel-Keesing. The way they explain this topic in the mentioned book is absolutely fantastic. The slide below depicts the same:-

I have seen articles about this concept from this book before. I still wanted to include this in my presentation and this article since I experience these facets on a daily basis while doing projects of  small to large scale. 

If you take up any environment which you need to architect, you would need to consider the Technical Facet, Organizational Facet & the Operational Facet. With each facet you need to ask yourself and the project members, questions would help you to create a design which not only help meet the requirements but also helps you define the scope of the project.

• With Technical Dimension, you would go into your favorite questions which would usually be questions with "WHAT"?

• With Organizational Dimension, you start looking at Responsibility, Authority and Accountability related concerns, hence the questions begin with "WHO"

• &, With Operational Dimension, you look at the most important part of an Architecture which might impact the Operational Procedures and Processes.

Therefore, the above mentioned facets are very important and it is critical that we give them utmost importance in the entire process of Architecting a vSphere environment. With this, let's see what are the various stages in a design process:-

If you carefully walk through all the stages in the design process, you would end up with a successful Design and the right tools to implement and validate the design. With this I will close this article and I hope the recommendations in this article will help you adopt the right strategy when you architect a vSphere environment for any organization.

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Passed my VCAP5-DCD - The Experience Does Count!

Can't express how happy I was when I saw the message on the screen - "Congratulations- You have Passed the VCAP5-DCD.". I waited for an excruciating 225 minutes looking at the 26 inches monitor and going through 100 questions to finally get the result which I wanted and I am extremely happy. The happiness is actually forcing me to put down this experience into this blog and re-visit and read it every-time I need motivation in life.

94 questions with multiple choices, match the following and then the 6 confusing VISIO diagrams with possibly 20 different ways to create each diagram. The good thing was that I was able to finish in time, in fact I had 1 minute left on the clock when I answered my last question. 

Well, I would not talk about the study material and the resources available as you will find a number of excellent posts with detailed information on what to study, how to study and from where to study. I will just mentioned a few pointers which would help you whether you study or not :-)

Here are my tips:-

a) Time Management - This should be Priority Number 1. You have to finish those 100 questions and Pace yourself throughout the exam. If you miss the bus and are left too far behind, then chances are that you will not be able to get to the finish line (passing marks). Good part is that there are no options to review, flag, re-visit the answers which you have given once. So treat each question with care and spend appropriate amount of time on it. Both VMware and I recommend that you spend at-least 15 minutes on the Visio design type questions. Keeping that in mind let's see how much time you got:-

Total Time you have                = 225 mins

15 Mins for 6 Visio Questions =  90 mins

Remaing Time                          = 135 mins

Remaining Questions                =  94

Time you can spend per question = 135/94 = 1.5 minutes per question

Well this is tight, make sure you are good with fast reading and understanding. Make quick notes as that helps.

b) Gain Field Experience -  I would be lying if I say that I did not study for this exam. I did use a lot of resources which are available online. But I would say that the 75% of knowledge to crack this exam came from the work I have done in the field. The rest 25% can come from books/training etc. The design work which I have done for customers has helped me visualize what the test is asking and I could answer on the basis of the real time scenarios which I face in the field on a daily basis. Not to say that studying does not work, but it does not work for me. My recommendation would be not to prepare for this exam in a week or a month, but to prepare for it every day by looking at the vast ocean of vSphere concepts. 

I know some people who have not done design in the field and have passed the exam and I really appreciate what they have done. For me the experience is the number one thing which helped. 

Some other things would be:-

c) Create a vSphere Design - Do it if you can..

d) Cover everything on the Blueprint

e) Read Blogs they help a lot - Here is a list of top blogs - http://vsphere-land.com/

Well, I will sign off now and open that bottle of vBeer which I guess I completely deserve :-P Woooohooo....