Having previously held VMware Certified Professional (VCP) data center certifications for previous versions of the product, I decided to pursue the newer VMware Cloud Foundation Administration Certification. Having deployed, managed, and upgraded an VMware Cloud Foundation environment, I felt very confident in my ability to pass this certification. However, obtaining the certification was not as easy as I thought.
There seemed to be a push at the beginning of 2025 for administrators to obtain their Cloud Foundation Administrator Certification. There was a group in the community holding live study sessions online, producing study guides, and offering assistance to those looking to pass and obtain their certification. As a VCF customer, there was entitlement to the official training provided by Broadcom via the education portal. This is a great benefit as it avoids organizations having to pay for additional training classes for their associates.
Having worked several years earlier to deploy and convert two existing vSphere 6.5 blade center environments to VCF, and then manage and upgrade it for about three years, I took part in these study sessions as well as the training class on the education site. Thinking the combination of some training, review and administration would make the exam easy to pass. There started being post on the various VMware message boards, sites like LinkedIn, and the study groups of people passing. So, I decided to sit for the exam thinking that with the study review and experience passing would be easy. This was my undoing.
When the exam started, one of the first questions I had was in regards to Aria for Operations, now VCF Operations. This was a platform we had not deployed or worked with in the environment. The only Aria feature I had any experience with was with Aria for Networks. As I progressed through the exam, more and more questions were for Aria Operations. I went in expecting questions mostly around vSphere, vSAN, and NSX. What I received seemed more like an exam for Aria. In the end, I failed on my first attempt. I had made an assumption, so lesson learned. I posted to the vExpert group about my experience and found some others had been in the same situation. They had never deployed Aria and had a lot of questions regarding it. From what some other vExperts said, there was apparently a large pool of questions, maybe 300 – 400. So, it seemed to really be a luck of the draw.
So, determined to pass, this meant time for more studying. While the VCF Administration class on the Broadcom site does have some Aria for Operations components, it was not very in depth. However, there was a separate Aria for Operations Training course. I registered for this self-paced training course to get a better understanding of the product. It was also going to be helpful as I was looking at now deploying it within the environment I help manage. Total training time of the course was 48 hours. Once I completed the Aria training, I moved to the Hands-on-Labs for Aria. During this time, Broadcom released the administration certification for version 9.0. What I was preparing for was for the 5.2 version. Rather than change direction, I decided to complete the certification on the 5.2 version since that is what I had been preparing for and currently had in production. So, I decided to continue preparing for the 5.2 version of the exam and complete it before its retirement.
Knowing the exam retirement was coming up, I went ahead and scheduled my exam through the portal. I selected a date a few weeks out that suited my schedule and continued to study. I routinely walked through the HOL’s for Aria as well as taking time to review my notes. Since I run a home lab, I worked through some of the tasks and processes in my own lab. This did not put me in the time constraints that the HOL’s do and I could leave and come back at will (home labs are a great way to study and prepare for exams). As exam day approached, I was feeling more confident this time in the knowledge I have of the overall platform.
On exam day, the location I selected is a community college about a mile from the office. I walked to the location as I thought this would allow me more time to think through what I had learned as well as making me feel more relaxed for the exam after a nice walk. I checked in, locked away my jacket and electronic devices, and was escorted to my seat. The exam started and I walked through each question and selected what I felt was the appropriate answer(s). Ironically, there were no where near the same number of Aria questions on the exam this time as in my previous attempt, but I did feel confident in answering the ones that were presented. In the end, I did pass the exam on my second attempt, obtaining my VMware Cloud Foundation 5.2 Administrator certification.
What this taught me was to be wary of over confidence. I took for granted the fact that I had been administering the platform for a few years as having the knowledge to pass the exam, while ignoring the fact that all features were not being used in the environment. If the entire stack had been in production, then maybe I would have passed on the first attempt. However, there is no replacement for being properly prepared. Another advantage in having completed my certification is that by being a VMUG Advantage member, I get VCF licenses for my home lab to continue learning and experimenting with the platform to improve my skills on the job.
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