My experience with the VCP - VMware Cloud Foundation 5.2 Administrator (2V0-11.24) Exam

How to Prepare for the VMware Cloud Foundation Administrator 2024 Exam

The VMware Cloud Foundation Administrator (VCP-VCF) exam is a critical step for IT professionals who want to certify their skills in managing modern cloud infrastructures. This certification not only validates technical knowledge but also opens doors to higher-level roles in the IT field. Here is a practical guide to help you tackle this challenge effectively.

1. Understanding the Exam Structure

Before you begin your preparation, it’s essential to understand the exam content and the skills required. The exam focuses on the management of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), combining key components like vSphere, NSX-T, vSAN, and SDDC Manager.
You can expect both theoretical and practical questions, with scenarios designed to test your daily operational skills and troubleshooting abilities. Core topics include the VCF lifecycle, component upgrades, and infrastructure orchestration. One recurring theme across these accounts is the emphasis on understanding the exam blueprint. The 2V0-11.24 exam, based on VCF 5.2, tests your ability to work with VCF's key components: NSX-T, vSAN, vSphere, and SDDC Manager; but as well as on Aria Suite and Tanzu.

2. Building a Solid Study Plan

Strategic preparation is crucial. Here are some key steps to follow:

• Hands-On Lab Practice: Nothing beats real-world experience. Setting up a home lab or accessing a test environment is the best way to understand key operations such as workload domain creation, resource allocation, and common troubleshooting.
• Official Study Materials: Dive into VMware documentation and take official training courses. These resources provide the foundational theory you need for the exam.
  VMware Cloud Foundation: Deploy, Manage, Configure course is highly recommended.
• Mock Exams and Practice Tests: Test yourself with quizzes and simulated exams to gauge your preparedness. This helps you become familiar with the exam format and improve time management.

3. Focus on Technical Aspects

Some topics deserve special attention during your preparation:

• VCF Architecture: Understand how the key components (vSphere, vSAN, NSX-T) integrate within the framework.
• Lifecycle Management: Be capable of performing updates, patches, and troubleshooting using SDDC Manager.
• Security and Networking: Configure NSX-T for secure traffic across domains.
• Troubleshooting Skills: Tackle scenarios that require rapid diagnosis and corrective action.

4. Final Tips

Taking the VMware Cloud Foundation Administrator exam is a challenging yet rewarding journey. Here are some last-minute tips for exam day:

• Time Management: Don’t spend too much time on a single question. Answer the easier ones first and return to more complex questions later.
• Stay Calm: A composed approach is crucial for clear thinking and handling unexpected issues.
• Believe in Your Abilities: Deep preparation builds confidence, which is key to a successful exam experience.

A Step Toward the Future

The VCP-VCF certification is not just a technical achievement but an opportunity to distinguish yourself in the job market and contribute to modernizing cloud infrastructures. Prepare diligently and face this challenge with determination: success is within reach.

Good luck!

[NSX] Edge VM Present In NSX Inventory Not Present In vCenter

Issue

Today while I was deleting edge bridges from NSX Manager I got this error message:

Edge VM Present In NSX Inventory Not Present In vCenter

Description The VM edge-bridge-cluster1-B with moref id vm-1370430 corresponding to the Edge Transport node a060574d-4e93-4b7e-83b4-7eb8464a645d vSphere placement parameters is found in NSX inventory but is not present in vCenter. Please check if the VM has been removed in vCenter or is present with a different VM moref id.

Recommended Action The managed object reference moref id of a VM has the form vm-number, which is visible in the URL on selecting the Edge VM in vCenter UI. Example vm-12011 in https:///ui/app/vm;nav=h/urn:vmomi:VirtualMachine:vm-12011:164ff798-c4f1-495b-a0be-adfba337e5d2/summary Please find the VM edge-bridge-cluster1-B with moref id vm-1370430 in vCenter for this Edge Transport Node a060574d-4e93-4b7e-83b4-7eb8464a645d. If the Edge VM is present in vCenter with a different moref id, please follow the below action. Use NSX add or update placement API with JSON request payload properties vm_id and vm_deployment_config to update the new vm moref id and vSphere deployment parameters. POST https:///api/v1/transport-nodes/?action=addOrUpdatePlacementReferences. If the Edge VM with name edge-bridge-cluster1-B is not present in vCenter, use the NSX Redeploy API to deploy a new VM for the Edge node. POST https:///api/v1/transport-nodes/?action=redeploy.

Solution

Googling around I found various solutions, but no one was fitting exactly my situation.

For example I found these:
VMware NSX Edge VMs not present in both NSX and vCenter
Edge VM present in NSX inventory not present in vCenter alarm

As shown into the first link I tried without success the command described in Scenario 3:

So, I also tried to check if the Transport Nodes was still present into NSX, whit commands below:

No trace of them. It seems like, the deletion process has not finished. I waited 30 minutes, but the problem was still there.

I solved restarting one by one the NSX Manager appliances.
I started rebotting the first appliance, waited for the cluster to return to a "stable" state, and continued with the next appliance, until I had restarted them all. At the last reboot the error message changed from "Open" to "Resolved" and was no longer present

That's it.

[NSX] - API Authentication Using a Session Cookie on PowerShell

Issue

Recently I had to create a PowerShell script that grab some information from NSX via Rest API calls. To do so, I had to create a few lines of code to authenticate on the NSX.
To reduce the number of times that I have to enter username and password and/or they transit over the network, I used NSX session-based authentication method to generate a JSESSIONID cookie when using the API as described here.
The method describe how to create a new session cookie and how to use thex-xsrf-token for subsequent requests for cURL on linux environment. Below here I wrote few lines of code to use the same method in powershell environment.
Let's see below how does it works for powershell ....

Solution

The script must run on an Windows machine, so I decided to make a powershell script. Information regarding api call, can be found at the following link https://developer.vmware.com/apis
I thought was useful share with everyone how to do it, let's see the script:

#
# Create a Session Token 
#
# LM v. 0.2
#
# This script is an example on how to create a session token on NSX and reuse for subsequent requests.
# 


#Script accept in input the FQDN of the NSX Manager to connect on, or leave it blank to use the default "nsx-mgr.vcf.sddc.lab"
param(
    [string] $nsx_manager = 'nsx-mgr.vcf.sddc.lab'
)

#Used to manage/skip certificates
add-type @"
using System.Net;
using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates;
public class TrustAllCertsPolicy : ICertificatePolicy {
    public bool CheckValidationResult(
        ServicePoint srvPoint, X509Certificate certificate,
        WebRequest request, int certificateProblem) {
        return true;
    }
}
"@
$AllProtocols = [System.Net.SecurityProtocolType]'Ssl3,Tls,Tls11,Tls12'
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = $AllProtocols
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::CertificatePolicy = New-Object TrustAllCertsPolicy


function createSession {
    $script:session = New-Object Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.WebRequestSession
    $script:headers = @{}
    $script:nsx_uri = "https://" + $nsx_manager
    $uri = $nsx_uri + "/api/session/create"
    $private:body = "j_username=$($nsx_user)&j_password=$($nsx_pass)" 
    try {
        $response = invoke-webrequest -contentType "application/x-www-form-urlencoded" -WebSession $session -uri $uri -Method 'POST' -Body $body -usebasicparsing -Erroraction Stop
        $xsrftoken = $response.headers["X-XSRF-TOKEN"]
 
        #$response
        $script:loginSuccess = $true
        $script:headers.Add("X-XSRF-TOKEN", $xsrftoken)
        $script:headers.Add("Accept", "application/json")
        $script:headers.Add('Content-Type','"application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
    }
    catch {
        Write-Host "Failed" -ForegroundColor Red
        Write-Host "$($_.Exception)" -ForegroundColor Red
        write-host "Error Details:" $_.ErrorDetails.Message -ForegroundColor Magenta
        $script:loginSuccess = $false
    }
}

#If you want insert Credential on fly uncomment the three lines below here and comment the hardcoded credentials 
#$MyCredential = Get-Credential -Message "Insert $nsx_manager "
#$nsx_user = $MyCredential.UserName
#$nsx_pass = [Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::PtrToStringAuto([Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SecureStringToBSTR($MyCredential.Password))

#Harcoded credentials; uncomment if you don't want to insert them with Get-Credential function or comment otherwise
$nsx_user = 'admin'
$nsx_pass = 'VMware123!VMware123!'

#Create the cookie session 
createSession


#how looks like subsequent example requests
#List of segments
$response_q1 = Invoke-webrequest -WebSession $session -uri $($nsx_uri + "/policy/api/v1/infra/segments") -Method 'GET' -Headers $headers -usebasicparsing -Erroraction Stop

#List of tier-1s
$response_q2 = invoke-webrequest -WebSession $session -uri $($nsx_uri + "/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s") -Method 'GET' -Headers $headers -usebasicparsing -Erroraction Stop

write-host " ----- Segments ----- " -ForegroundColor Green
write-host $response_q1.Content
write-host 
write-host 
write-host " ----- Tier-1s ----- " -ForegroundColor Green
#write-host $response_q2.Content

# END #

That's it.