The following pages will detail my study guide for the VCP6-Cloud (VCPC610) exam.
The guide is based off the VMware VCP6-Cloud (VCPC610) Blueprint version 1.2
I have created a document package of all required documents listed in the blueprint. There are some duplications but for the most part common files per section can be found under the common files folder.
The Blueprint Docs folder contains some duplications but for the most part shared files for each objective can be found under the common files folder in that objective folder.
The Exam docs folder contains the missing documents that weren’t downloaded as part of the Blueprint Docs.
The file can be downloaded from here
Section 1 – Plan, Install, Configure and Upgrade vCenter Server and VMware ESXi
[EXPAND Objective 1.1 – Install and Configure vCenter Server ]
- Identify vCenter Server requirements
- Identify vCenter Server database requirements
- Identify vSphere® Client/Web Client requirements
- Identify available vCenter Server editions
- Identify Single Sign On requirements
- Deploy the vCenter Server Appliance
- Install vCenter Server
- Create an ODBC connection to a vCenter Server database
- Size the vCenter Server database
- Install additional vCenter Server components
- Install and configure vSphere Client/vSphere Web Client
- Install/Remove vSphere Client plug-ins
- Enable/Disable vSphere Client plug-ins
- License vCenter Server
- Determine availability requirements for a vCenter Server in a given vSphere implementation[/EXPAND]
[EXPAND Objective 1.2 – Install and Configure VMware ESXi ]
- Identify ESXi host requirements
- Perform an interactive installation of ESXi using media or PXE
- Configure NTP on an ESXi Host
- Configure DNS and Routing on an ESXi Host
- Enable/Configure/Disable hyper-threading
- Enable/Configure/Disable CPU power management
- License an ESXi host[/Expand]
[EXPAND Objective 1.3 – Plan and Perform Upgrades of vCenter Server and VMware ESXi ]
- Identify upgrade requirements for ESXi hosts
- Identify steps required to upgrade a vSphere implementation
- Upgrade a vSphere Distributed Switch
- Upgrade from VMFS3 to VMFS5
- Upgrade VMware Tools
- Upgrade Virtual Machine hardware
- Upgrade an ESXi Host using vCenter Update Manager
- Stage multiple ESXi Host upgrades
- Determine whether an in-place upgrade is appropriate in a given upgrade scenario[/Expand]
[EXPAND Objective 1.4 – Secure vCenter Server and VMware ESXi ]
- Identify common vCenter Server privileges and roles
- Describe how permissions are applied and inherited in vCenter Server
- Configure and administer the ESXi firewall
- Enable/Configure/Disable services in the ESXi firewall
- Enable/Disable Lockdown Mode
- Configure network security policies
- View/Sort/Export user and group lists
- Add/Modify/Remove permissions for users and groups on vCenter Server inventory objects
- Create/Clone/Edit vCenter Server user roles
- Apply permissions to ESXi Hosts using Host Profiles
- Configure and administer Single Sign On (SSO)
- Describe SSO architecture
- Differentiate SSO Deployment Scenarios
- Configure database for SSO installation
- Configure SSO identity source
- Install and configure SSO
- Manage SSO Users and Groups
- Install/Configure vCenter Inventory Services
- Configure and administer vCloud Automation Center integration with vCenter SSO
- Determine the appropriate set of privileges for common tasks in vCenter Server[/Expand]
Section 2 – Plan and Configure vSphere NetworkingImplement and Manage Networking
[EXPAND Objective 2.1 – Configure vSphere Standard Switches (vSS) ]
- Identify vSphere Standard Switch capabilities
- Create/Delete a vSphere Standard Switch
- Add/Configure/Remove vmnics on a vSphere Standard Switch
- Configure vmkernel ports for network services
- Add/Edit/Remove port groups on a vSphere Standard Switch
- Determine use case for a vSphere Standard Switch[/Expand]
[EXPAND Objective 2.2 – Configure vSphere Distributed Switches (vDS) ]
- Identify vSphere Distributed Switch capabilities
- Create/Delete a vSphere Distributed Switch
- Add/Remove ESXi hosts from a vSphere Distributed Switch
- Edit general vSphere Distributed Switch settings
- Add/Configure/Remove dvPort groups
- Configure dvPort settings
- Add/Remove uplink adapters to dvUplink groups
- Create/Configure/Remove virtual adapters
- Migrate virtual adapters to/from a vSphere Standard Switch
- Migrate virtual machines to/from a vSphere Distributed Switch
- Monitor dvPort state
- Backup/Restore vSphere Distributed Switch configuration
- Configure Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) on Uplink Port Groups[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 2.3 – Configure vSphere Standard and Distributed Switch Policies ]
- Identify common vSphere Standard and Distributed Switch policies
- Describe vSphere Distributed Switch security policies and settings
- IP Discovery
- IP Source Guard
- Dynamic ARP Inspection
- ARP Rate Limiting
- Autoscale
- Configure dvPort group blocking policies
- Configure load balancing and failover policies
- Configure VLAN/PVLAN settings
- Configure traffic shaping policies
- Enable TCP Segmentation Offload support for a virtual machine
- Enable jumbo frames support on appropriate components
- Determine appropriate VLAN configuration for a vSphere implementation[/expand]
Section 3 – Plan and Configure vSphere Storage
[EXPAND Objective 3.1 – Configure Shared Storage for vSphere ]
- Identify storage adapters and devices
- Identify storage naming conventions
- Identify hardware, dependent hardware, and software iSCSI initiator requirements
- Compare and contrast array thin provisioning and virtual disk thin provisioning
- Describe zoning and LUN masking practices
- Scan/Rescan storage
- Configure FC/iSCSI LUNs and ESXI boot LUNs
- Create/Connect an NFS share for use with vSphere
- Enable/Configure/Disable vCenter Server storage filters
- Configure/Edit hardware and dependent hardware initiators
- Enable/Disable software iSCSI initiator
- Configure/Edit software iSCSI initiator settings
- Configure iSCSI port binding
- Enable/Configure/Disable iSCSI CHAP
- Determine use case for hardware, dependent hardware, software iSCSI initiators
- Determine use case for and configure array thin/thick provisioning[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 3.2 – Create and Configure VMFS and NFS Datastores ]
- Identify VMFS and NFS Datastore properties
- Identify VMFS5 capabilities
- Describe 2TB+ VMFS capabilities
- Identify Storage Distributed Resource Scheduler (SDRS) capabilities
- Create/Rename/Delete/Unmount a VMFS Datastore
- Mount/Unmount an NFS Datastore
- Extend/Expand VMFS Datastores
- Upgrade a VMFS3 Datastore to VMFS5
- Place a VMFS Datastore in Maintenance Mode
- Select the Preferred Path for a VMFS Datastore
- Disable a path to a VMFS Datastore
- Create and assign capabilities to a storage profile
- Create/Modify/Delete a storage cluster
- Determine use case for multiple VMFS/NFS Datastores
- Determine appropriate Path Selection Policy for a given VMFS Datastore[/expand]
Section 4 – Deploy and Administer Virtual Machines, vCloud vApps, and vCenter vApps
[EXPAND Objective 4.1 – Create and Deploy Virtual Machines ]
- Identify capabilities of virtual machine hardware versions
- Identify methods to access and use a virtual machine console
- Identify VMware Tools device drivers
- Identify virtual machine storage resources
- Place virtual machines in selected ESXi hosts/clusters/resource pools
- Configure and deploy a Guest OS into a new virtual machine
- Configure/Modify disk controller for virtual disks
- Configure appropriate virtual disk type for a virtual machine
- Create/Convert thin/thick provisioned virtual disks
- Configure disk shares
- Install/Upgrade/Update VMware Tools
- Configure virtual machine time synchronization
- Configure/Modify virtual CPU and Memory resources according to OS and application requirements
- Configure/Modify virtual NIC adapter and connect virtual machines to appropriate network resources
- Determine appropriate datastore/storage profile for virtual machines based on application workloads[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 4.2 – Administer Virtual Machines ]
- Identify files used by virtual machines
- Identify locations for virtual machine configuration files and virtual disks
- Identify common practices for securing virtual machines
- Hot Extend a virtual disk
- Configure virtual machine options
- Configure virtual machine power settings
- Configure virtual machine boot options
- Assign a Storage Policy to a virtual machine
- Verify Storage Policy compliance for virtual machines
- Determine when an advanced virtual machine parameter is required
- Adjust virtual machine resources (shares, limits and reservations) based on virtual machine workloads[/expand]
Section 5 – Establish and Maintain Service Levels
[EXPAND Objective 5.1 – Create and Configure VMware Clusters ]
- Describe Distributed Resource Scheduler virtual machine entitlement
- Create/Delete a Distributed Resource Scheduler/High Availability Cluster
- Add/Remove ESXi Hosts from a Distributed Resource Scheduler/High Availability Cluster
- Add/Remove virtual machines from a Distributed Resource Scheduler/High Availability Cluster
- Configure Storage Distributed Resource Scheduler
- Configure Enhanced vMotion Compatibility
- Monitor a Distributed Resource Scheduler/High Availability Cluster
- Configure Distributed Resource Scheduler migration threshold
- Configure automation levels for Distributed Resource Scheduler and virtual machines
- Enable/Configure/Disable Host Power Management/Distributed Power Management
- Create VM-Host and VM-VM affinity rules
- Enable/Disable Host Monitoring
- Enable/Configure/Disable virtual machine and application monitoring
- Configure admission control for High Availability and virtual machines
- Determine appropriate failover methodology and required resources for an High Availability implementation
- Determine appropriate power threshold for a given implementation[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 5.2 – Create and Administer Resource Pools ]
- Describe the Resource Pool hierarchy
- Define the Expandable Reservation parameter
- Create/Remove a Resource Pool
- Configure Resource Pool attributes
- Add/Remove virtual machines from a Resource Pool
- Determine Resource Pool requirements for a given vSphere implementation
- Evaluate appropriate shares, reservations and limits for a Resource Pool based on virtual machine workloads/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 5.3 – Migrate Virtual Machines ]
- Identify ESXi host and virtual machine requirements for vMotion and Storage vMotion
- Identify Enhanced vMotion Compatibility CPU requirements
- Migrate virtual machines using vMotion/Storage vMotion [/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 5.4 – Patch and Update ESXi and Virtual Machines ]
- Identify patching requirements for ESXi hosts and virtual machines
- Create/Edit/Remove a Host Profile from an ESXi host
- Import/Export a Host Profile
- Attach/Apply a Host Profile to an ESXi host or cluster
- Perform compliance scanning and remediation of an ESXi host using Host Profiles
- Install and Configure vCenter Update Manager
- Configure patch download options
- Create/Edit/Delete an Update Manager baseline
- Attach an Update Manager baseline to an ESXi host or cluster
- Scan and remediate ESXi hosts and virtual machines using Update Manager
- Stage ESXi host updates [/expand]
Section 6 – Perform Basic Troubleshooting and Alarm Management
[EXPAND Objective 6.1 – Perform Basic Troubleshooting for ESXi Hosts ]
- Identify general ESXi host troubleshooting guidelines
- Troubleshoot common installation issues
- Monitor ESXi system health
- Export diagnostic information [/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 6.2 – Perform Troubleshooting for High Availability and Distributed Resource Scheduler Clusters and vMotion/Storage vMotion Migrations]
- Identify High Availability/Distributed Resource Scheduler and vMotion requirements
- Verify vMotion/Storage vMotion configuration
- Verify High Availability network configuration
- Verify High Availability/Distributed Resource Scheduler cluster configuration
- Troubleshoot High Availability capacity issues
- Troubleshoot High Availability redundancy issues
- Interpret the Distributed Resource Scheduler Resource Distribution Graph and Target/Current Host Load Deviation
- Troubleshoot Distributed Resource Scheduler load imbalance issues
- Troubleshoot vMotion/Storage vMotion migration issues
- Interpret vMotion Resource Maps
- Identify the root cause of a High Availability/Distributed Resource Scheduler cluster or migration issues based on troubleshooting information[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 6.2 – Perform Basic vCloud Automation Center Troubleshooting ]
- Troubleshoot login issues
- Troubleshoot installation and upgrade issues
- Identify log file locations[/expand]
Section 7 – Monitor vSphere and vCloud Implementations
[EXPAND Objective 7.1 – Monitor ESXi, vCenter Server and Virtual Machines ]
- Describe how Tasks and Events are viewed in vCenter Server
- Identify critical performance metrics
- Explain common memory metrics
- Explain common CPU metrics
- Explain common network metrics
- Explain common storage metrics
- Compare and contrast Overview and Advanced Charts
- Configure SNMP for vCenter Server
- Configure Active Directory and SMTP settings for vCenter Server
- Configure vCenter Server logging options
- Create a log bundle
- Create/Edit/Delete a Scheduled Task
- Configure/View/Print/Export resource maps
- Start/Stop/Verify vCenter Server service status
- Start/Stop/Verify ESXi host agent status
- Configure vCenter Server timeout settings
- Monitor/Administer vCenter Server connections
- Create an Advanced Chart
- Determine host performance using guest Perfmon
- Given performance data, identify the affected vSphere resource[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 7.2 – Create and Administer vCenter Server Alarms]
- List vCenter default utilization alarms
- List vCenter default connectivity alarms
- List possible actions for utilization and connectivity alarms
- Create a vCenter utilization alarm
- Create a vCenter connectivity alarm
- Configure alarm triggers
- Configure alarm actions
- For a given alarm, identify the affected resource in a vSphere implementation[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 7.3 – Install, Configure, and Manage vCenter Operations Manager]
- Differentiate Major/Minor vCenter Operations Manager badges
- Explain vCenter Operations Manager architecture
- Deploy and Configure vCenter Operations Manager appliance
- Upgrade vCenter Operations Manager
- Understand metrics used by Major/Minor vCenter Operations Manager badges
- Monitor vSphere environment
- For a given alarm, identify the affected resource in vSphere implementation [/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 7.4 – Audit vCloud Automation Center Resources and Events]
- Identify the location of events and tasks in the vCloud Automation Center interface
- Review and interpret tasks and events
- Identify the ways to export tasks and events
- Identify vCloud Automation Center Resource types[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 7.5 – Map vCloud Automation Center Resources to vSphere Resources]
- Identify and differentiate the components of the vCloud Automation Center and vSphere GUIs
- Identify and differentiate the components of vCloud Automation Center (vCAC) and vSphere GUIs
- Describe the relationship between vCloud storage resources/profiles and VMFS/NFS datastores
- Describe the relationship between vCloud network resources and vSphere standard/distributed switches
- Describe the relationship between compute resources and DRS/HA clusters
- Determine which vSwitch resource is being used by a given cloud network
- Determine on which datastore a virtual machine resides
- Determine on which host a virtual machine resides
- Describe the relationship between vCAC Business Groups and vSphere Resources
- Describe the relationship between vCAC Network Profiles and vSphere networks
- Describe the relationship between Fabric Groups and vSphere Resources [/expand]
Section 8 – Install and Configure vCloud Automation Center
[EXPAND Objective 8.1 – Explain vCloud Suite Components and Features ]
- Identify vCloud Air solutions
- Identify vCloud Automation Center/vCloud Air integration options
- Identify IT Business Management key capabilities
- Identify available vCloud Suite editions
- Explain Site Recovery Manager functionality
- Differentiate vCloud Hybrid Service offerings
- Explain vCenter Configuration Manager functionality
- Explain vCenter Infrastructure Navigator functionality
- Explain vFabric Hyperic functionality
- Explain vCloud Application Director functionality
- Determine the appropriate vCloud Suite edition based on customer requirements[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 8.2 – Install and upgrade vCloud Suite components ]
- Identify prerequisites for vCloud Automation Center upgrades
- Upgrade vCloud Automation Center
- Install vCloud Automation Center
- Identify the vCloud Suite components and prerequisites for installation
- Describe installation order of the components
- Describe upgrade order of the components
- Identify prerequisites and deployment steps necessary for vCloud Automation Center configuration
- Identify relationships between vCenter Server and vCloud Automation Center
- Create a SysPrep package
- Install vCloud Connector
- Troubleshoot basic installation issues
- Configure vCloud Automation Center endpoints
- Configure vCloud Automation Center database settings[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 8.3 – Configure and Administer vCloud Connector Advanced Edition]
- Identify the components of vCloud Connector
- Explain vApp copy process
- Identify the virtual machine state
- Identify the configuration(s) necessary for Data Center Extension
- Configure and Administer vCloud Connector
- Differentiate between functionality of components of vCloud Connector
- Implement required network and security settings
- Determine storage requirements and add storage for vCloud Connector node
- Register vCloud Connector UI with vCenter Server
- Register vCloud Networking and Security Manager with the vCloud Connector server
- Troubleshoot common vCloud Connector installation and operations issues
- Create a vCloud Connector Content Library
- Publish vSphere folders and vCloud catalogs to a vCloud Connector Content Library
- Subscribe/unsubscribe to a published folder or catalog
- Stretch deploy a VM or vApp using Data Center Extension[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 8.4 – Configure vCloud Automation Center settings]
- Configure vCloud Automation Center Load Balancer
- Configure Identity Appliance
- Configure Standalone PostgreSQL Database
- Configure Primary vCloud Automation Center Server Appliance
- Join vCloud Automation Center Appliance to a Cluster
- Identify vCloud Automation Center Enterprise Administrator UI
- Configure vCloud Automation Center System Settings
- Generate a Certificate Signing Request or self-signed certificates
- Import certificates
- Add vCenter Servers to a vCloud Automation Center server
- Configure vCloud Automation Center licensing [/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 8.5 – Integrate vCloud Automation Center with vCloud Air and Third Party Cloud Platforms]
- Bringing Resources Under vCloud Automation Center Management
- IaaS Configuration for All Platforms
- Store Users Credentials for Cloud Endpoints
- Create a vCloud Air Endpoint
- Create an Amazon SWS Endpoint
- Create a Red Hat OpenStack Endpoint[/expand]
Section 9 – Administer vCloud Automation Center Users, Role and Privileges
[EXPAND Objective 9.1 – Create Roles and Apply Privileges to Roles]
- Identify vCloud Automation Center predefined roles and their specific privilege levels
- Identify the operations that can be performed on predefined roles
- Given an end-user’s job description, determine the appropriate role to grant
- Validate specific access rights in a security role
- Troubleshoot common customized role access issues[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 9.2 – Configure Tenant-Specific Active Directory/LDAP Integration]
- Configure Active Directory/LDAP integration
- Test connectivity to external Active Directory/LDAP
- Identify Active Directory/LDAP integration options and where each can be used
- Configure Active Directory/LDAP search base DN’s[/expand]
Section 10 – Create and Administer Cloud Networking
[EXPAND Objective 10.1 – Manage Network Services]
- Identify the available NSX for vSphere Edge network services
- Manage network services from within vCloud Automation Center
- Configure DHCP/NAT/VPN/Load Balancer
- Sub-allocate IP Pools
- Add static IP addresses
- Configure syslog
- Use logs to troubleshoot common network service issues[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 10.2 – Create and Administer vCenter Server Alarms]
- Identify Multi-Machine Services
- Configure NSX Integration
- Identify the NSX Distributed Firewall components[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 10.3 – Configure and Manage vCloud Automation Center Networking]
- Identify vCloud Automation Center Network profile
- Identify Mult-machine Services
- Identify Network and Security Virtualization
- Create Multi-Machine Blueprints
- Manage IaaS for Network and Security Integration [/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 10.4 – Configure and Manage VXLAN]
- Identify NSX for vSphere Components
- Install and manage NSX for vSphere Logical Switches
- Identify and Define VXLAN use cases and purpose
- Configure VXLAN Transport parameters
- Create and configure VXLAN Tunnel Endpoints (VTEPs)
- Assign Segment ID Pool and Multicast address range to NSX Manager[/expand]
Section 11 – Configure and Administer Tenants and Business Groups
[EXPAND Objective 11.1 – Create and Manage Business Groups ]
- Identify Business Group roles and their specific privilege levels
- Identify and Manage Business Group Manager role
- Identify and Manage Support User role
- Identify and Manage User role
- Assign Active Directory Users and Groups to Business Group Roles
- Create and manage Machine Prefixes
- Identify and Configure Custom Properties[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 11.2 – Create and Manage Tenants]
Section 12 – Allocate and Manage vCloud Automation Center Resources
[EXPAND Objective 12.1 – Create and Manage Fabric Groups ]
- Adding and configuring vSphere Endpoints
- Adding and configuring vCloud Automation Center endpoints
- Map compute resources to endpoints
- Assign correct permissions to manage Fabric Groups
- Perform compute resource data collection
- Perform resource monitoring tasks[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 12.2 – Create and Manage Reservations]
- Create and Manage Reservations
- Specify Reservation Information
- Create and Manage a Cloud Reservation
- Select a Reservation for a Cloud machine
- Create an endpoint to reserve physical machine resources[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 12.3 – Create and Manage Reservation Policies]
- Create, Configure, and assign one or more Reservations to a Reservation Policy
- Create, Configure, and assign a Reservation Policy to one or more blueprints
- Create and assign a Storage Reservation Policy [/expand]
Section 13 – Create and Administer vCloud Automation Center Resources
[EXPAND Objective 13.1 – Create and Manage Machine/Multi-Machine Blueprints]
- Identify the different blueprint machine types (virtual, cloud, physical)
- Identify the different blueprint provisioning types (local and global)
- Identify different blueprint actions (create, clone, linked-clone)
- Explain run time property precedents
- Create single and/or multi-machine blueprints
- Create a build profile
- Configure appropriate blueprint security
- Configure approvals for a blueprint
- Given a scenario, determine the appropriate custom properties for the blueprint or build profile[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 13.2 – Create and Manage Service Catalog Entitlements]
- Add and remove Catalog items in a Service
- Identify, create, and prioritize Entitlements
- Create and update an Approval policy
- Identify Entitlement Status[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 13.3 – Create and manage Service Catalog Items]
- Identify and Create Services
- Identify and Configure Catalog Items
- Identify and configure Actions
- Identify and Create Entitlements
- Identify and create approval Policies[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 13.4 – Create and manage Service Blueprints]
- Create and edit Service Blueprints
- Add new Service Blueprint Forms to define the appearance of catalog item details
- Identify roles required to create and manage Service Blueprints
- Publish a Service Blueprint as a catalog item[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 13.5 – Create and manage a Property Dictionary]
- Identify Property Definitions and their functions
- Create and manage Property Layouts
- Create and manage Property Layouts
- Identify rights required to create and manage Property Definitions and Layouts
- Identify rights required to use Property Definitions and Layouts[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 13.6 – Create and Manage Build Profiles]
- Identify Build Profiles and property sets
- Create and modify a Build Profile
- Create and modify a property set
- Add property sets to a Build Profile[/expand]
Section 14 – Extend a vCloud Automation Center Implementation
[EXPAND Objective 14.1 – Create Custom Services Using Advanced Service Designer ]
- Identify vCloud Automation Center API extensibility options
- Create and manage custom services and service blueprints
- Identify tools and features for vCloud Automation Center Extension[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 14.2 – Create and Modify Basic Orchestrator Workflows]
- Identify Orchestrator workflows for converting virtual machines between Orchestrator and IaaS
- Identify different Orchestrator workflow types
- Create and manage Orchestrator endpoints to run workflows
- Call an Orchestrator workflow from an IaaS workflow
- Import Orchestrator workflows into vCloud Automation Center
- Configure the default workflow folder for a tenant
- Create and publish Orchestrator workflows as catalog items in a service blueprint[/expand]
[EXPAND Objective 14.3 – Create Basic Application Blueprints]
- Identify Application Services privilege prerequisites for creating Application Blueprints
- Create and modify Applications
- Create and modify Application Versions
- Identify Application and Application Version requirements for creating Application Blueprints
- Model and create Application Blueprints
- Modify and manage existing Application Blueprints[/expand][/expand]