As most people reading this know, VMware recently announced its vSphere 5 product release.  Although certifications based on vSphere 4 retain their value, we must march onwards; for instance, VCP5 has already been announced.  To this end, today there is the announce of the final opportunity to attempt the VCDX certification based on vSphere 4 designs (this would mean that the VCDX5 certification could be near the corner? maybe in middle 2012?).

The city will be Frankfurt, Germany, and the dates will be February 6-10, 2012.  Applications for this session will open on November 14, 2011, and will close on December 5, 2011.

Sharp-eyed readers will notice that this schedule is somewhat compressed: if a candidate attempts VCDX4 in Singapore during the week of November 14, 2011, and is unsuccessful, he or she will not have a lot of time to build an improved VCDX4 application for Frankfurt.  This was a deliberate choice.  We need to balance the needs of VCDX4 candidates with those who are eager to embark on the vSphere 5 version of the program.  Candidates who defend in Singapore and feel strongly that they will want to reattempt in Frankfurt would be advised not to wait for their results before enhancing their applications.  Instead, they should use the feedback provided by their Singapore panel to begin improving their application right away.

As before, applications must be submitted in English, and the Frankfurt defenses, by default, will be conducted in English.  However, VMware would like to run a trial program under which Frankfurt candidates could choose to defend in German (in front of a panel of German-speaking VCDXes).  If you’d be interested in this, send a message to [email protected].