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VMware Certified Advanced Professional – Network Virtualization Design 2022 (VCAP-NV Design 3V0-42.20)

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In this first article of a two-part series, I cover a few of my thoughts and experiences which helped me to pass the VCAP-NV Design Exam. Back in 2022, I began the journey towards the VMware Certified Implementation Expert – Network Virtualization 2023 milestone, the prerequisites for which were the completion of both the VCAP-NV Design and VCAP-NV Deploy accreditations. Last month (July 2023), I passed the second prerequisite exam resulting in the VMware Certified Implementation Expert – Network Virtualization 2023 milestone.

I chose to sit the VCAP-NV Design first. As a Technical Architect, my daily activities focus primarily on discovery, design and architectural governance, but I’m still pretty close to the coal face when it comes to hands-on. There is no requirement here; you can sit whichever exam you want first.

The VCAP-NV Design requires a good understanding of VMware NSX, its configuration maximums and requirements, and a good grasp on the architecture elements (e.g., physical, conceptual and logical design, and requirements, constraints, assumptions and risks).

Continue reading → VMware Certified Advanced Professional – Network Virtualization Design 2022 (VCAP-NV Design 3V0-42.20)

Xtravirt | Cloud Consulting and Digtal Transformation Services
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The Next Chapter…

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After almost six years at the Royal College of Nursing (the last two and a half as Senior Infrastructure Architect) the time has come to move on to pastures new. I’ve loved working with such a talented team of professionals (David Collins, Wayne Shadrach, Richard Thompson, Mark Whalley, and Darren Latter), and the leadership of Geoff Lewis (Technical Operations Manager) and Huw Bevan (IT Operations Manager) has been an inspiration since day one.

I’ve been lucky enough to have led on a number of exciting projects over the years, and my sincerest thanks to all at the RCN for the opportunities, the friendships (which don’t end here), and the amazing memories.The RCN will always hold a special place in my heart.

Continue reading → The Next Chapter…

VMware NSX Presentation
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2017, The Final Quarter

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It’s been a busy few weeks (when does ‘busy’ stop being ‘busy’ and just become ‘BAU’?), and with the final quarter upon us, I’m working to complete the last of our projects and implementations, and there aren’t many on my list bigger than a major data centre migration.

One item from the list I’m excited about is our in-house training. Compared with other projects, technical designs, or R&D, internal training can sometimes be seen as a secondary concern, however, rather than simply handing over a solution to an operational support team, I’m a huge fan of getting every member of the team around a table to discuss, challenge, and question the solution, the designs, and the technology. Specifically, myself and colleagues within our Technical Operations team (made up of both Infrastructure and Network Architects) will regularly provide internal training and/or overview sessions to both business owners and technical teams, as well as deep dives into the technologies we either have in development or the designs and implementations we are transitioning into live service.

At this time of year, it’s nice to step back and try not to take things for granted. It’s a real privilege to be able to work with such great partners, technologies (VMware NSX, Horizon, Pure Storage), our colleagues, and being part of a team that’s so passionate about the solutions we design and deploy; ultimately enabling the business to support both our users and members. Thanks to such projects and technologies we have been able to enhance security and automation within the SDDC, provide micro segmentation of critical workloads, and deliver anything services and applications wherever the’re located.

VMware NSX Presentation