VMware Cloud on AWS Master Specialist 2019 Exam (5V0-33.19) Study Guide
I recently passed the Master Specialist exam for VMware Cloud on AWS and this guide contains all my study notes and resources I used during my preparation.
VMware Cloud on AWS Master Specialist Exam overview
The exam is a multiple choice exam with 34 questions which you need to finish in 60 minutes. The passing score is 300 points.
You need to attend the VMware Cloud on AWS: Deploy and Manage training and attend the VMC on AWS Master Specialist Workshop. After meeting these requirements, obtaining VCP-NV 2019, and of course passing this exam, you obtain the VMware Cloud on AWS Master Specialist badge. If your company is pursuing the VMware Cloud on AWS Master Services Competency, at least three individuals need to obtain this badge and you need a customer reference.
You can find the most up to date information at https://www.vmware.com/education-services/certification/vmware-cloud-on-aws-exam-2019.html
VMware Cloud on AWS Master Specialist Exam Guide
The exam guide or blueprint for the VMware Cloud on AWS Master Specialist exam can be found here. It’s pretty specific on which topics will be covered in the exam and it contains a list of study resources.
The main sections are:
- Hybrid Cloud Readiness Assessment Service
- Datacenter Migration Service with HCX
- Disaster Recovery Service with VMware Site Recovery Service
- Leveraging VMC on AWS API’s
- Native AWS Integration Service
- MSP Service (includes GTM models overview and Cloud Provider Hub knowledge)
- Data Protection Considerations for VMware Cloud on AWS (vendor agnostic)
As you can see by looking in the exam guide at the number of exam objectives per section, the exam puts a lot of emphasis on HCX and Site Recovery (hint, hint!).
VMware Cloud on AWS Master Specialist Study Guide
I put all the exam sections and objectives in a mindmap with my study notes, links and so on included:
Additionally, here you can find all the resources listed in the exam guide in a clean overview:
- https://cloud.vmware.com/cloud-provider-hub/images/pdf/FAQ%20-%20VMware%20Cloud%20Provider%20Hub.pdf
- https://cloud.vmware.com/community/2018/04/16/calculate-aws-egress-fees-proactively-vmware-cloud-aws/
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/Site-Recovery-Manager/8.1/srm-install-config-8-1.pdf
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-Foundation/3.8/vcf-37-siteprot-guide.pdf
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-on-AWS/services/vmc-aws-manage-data-center.pdf
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-on-AWS/services/vmc-aws-manage-vms.pdf
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-on-AWS/services/vmc-aws-operations.pdf
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-on-AWS/services/vmc-on-aws-getting-started.pdf
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-on-AWS/services/vmc-on-aws-networking-security.pdf
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-on-AWS/solutions/VMware-Cloud-on-AWS.c4d719788a38caf2d1599242f2b1b8cc/GUID-AA4C865C2D5F2009F4E21A0C40F85F35.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-on-AWS/solutions/VMware-Cloud-on-AWS.c4d719788a38caf2d1599242f2b1b8cc/GUID-E8D9AAB7697BD1E6B699949A9ED80F29.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-Provider-Hub/2.0/Getting-Started-Cloud-Provider-Hub.pdf
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-Provider-Hub/2.0/Getting-Started-Cloud-Provider-Hub/GUID-F59A8A5F-3C0D-4C7F-A930-0F75D3251524.html?hWord=N4IghgNiBcIKoGcCWA7A5gAgGoFkDuYATgKYYDCEA9gK4AmGACoZQG5K3GEYAS1ARiAC+QA
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-HCX/services/user-guide/GUID-517866F6-AF06-4EFC-8FAE-DA067418D584.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Site-Recovery/services/srmaas-admin.pdf
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/vSphere-Replication/8.1/vsphere-replication-81-admin.pdf
- https://hcx.vmware.com/content/docs/vmware-hcx-user-manual.pdf
- https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/53535
Thoughts on the Exam
I did not find this exam too challenging to be honest. I worked with the traditional Site Recovery Manager offering a lot in the past and that was very helpful during this exam (again: hint, hint).
My employer ITQ is involved with VMware Cloud on AWS since its inception so we’ve been working closely with VMware on VMC for quite a while now. Having my AWS SAA certification was also helpful because most of the native services integration questions were fairly straightforward and focussing on well-known services such as S3, EFS, EBS and so on. HCX was pretty new for me so I focussed most of my study time on HCX and I would advice anyone pursuing this certification to do the same (ok, I’ll stop now: hint, hint).