Initially i started studying for the ESXi 4 exam by purchasing the Mastering vSphere 4 book by Scott Lowe. Once vSphere 5 came out i was able to get my employer to send me to the class and i shifted my focus to vSphere 5. I attended the Global Knowledge Install, Configure, & Manage class to get started. This class alone will not help you pass the exam, i felt the class was more of a this is what vSphere is type of class. After that class i purchased Scotte Lowe's Mastering vSphere 5 and began studying. This book was very thorough and quickly became a reference for me when i was unsure about something i read from other sources. Next i purchased the Sybex VCP5 book to get more focus on what to expect on the exam. This book was pretty good in testing different concepts and i would recommend. In addition to this book i received a free copy of vSphere 5.1 Clustering Deep Dive at VMWorld in San Francisco so i started using this to learn more about HA. The only other sources i used were VMWare official Documentation and i found completed VCP Blueprints in PDF format that i was browse through from time to time. I believe one of the biggest things that helped me was the fact that i was able to setup a complete lab environment with old equipment at work. Having a test environment to practice was critical in my success. Overall i spent Approximately 3 months studying for this exam. I think i was as prepared as i could have been to take the exam so i went ahead and signed up.
For obvious reason i can't go into details about the exam, but i will try to describe what i can. Overall i think the exam was fair, however there were a few questions that i felt had multiple options. I passed the exam but i think i could have done much better if there weren't so many pick 2, pick 3 type questions. I hate those questions because even if i get 2 of the 3 correct the whole question is marked wrong. Once i got to the last questions i was pretty confident i passed and was relieved when i say CONGRATULATIONS on the screen. Hopefully in another 3-4 months i will be able to post a "My path to passing the VCAP-DCA exam".
