VMware has VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP) exams testing the ability of a person to deploy, administer, and design complex virtual environments. The exams for vSphere 6 come in two types: Design and Deployment. Passing both exams earns the designation VMware Certified Implementation Expert (VCIX). The VCIX is not a certification the same way that VCAPs are; rather it is a special designation that proves the earner has deep and wide expertise in designing and deploying complex vSphere 6 infrastructures.

VMware is constantly reviewing and updating their certification system. Recent changes to the vSphere 6.x advanced certifications included adding the VCAP6.5-Data Center Virtualization (DCV) Design exam and retiring the VCAP6-DCV Design exam. Overarching changes to the entire VMware certification program include the replacement of product versions in the certification title with the year in which the certification was earned. For example, the only current, advanced DCV Deployment exam is titled VCAP-DCV Deployment 2018. This change was made in an effort to show the timeliness of the certification simply by its name. Reading the certification page for this exam is the only way to understand which product version is tested within the exam.

The current, high-level VMware certification path is mapped out in the following flowchart:

The VCAP-DCV Design exam tests your ability to design enterprise virtualized environments. To be successful, you must have an in-depth understanding of VMware's core components and the relationship they share with other components of the data center, such as storage, networking, and application services, along with a mastery of VMware's data center design methodologies and principles. All the exam objectives, including study resources, can be found in the exam blueprint. VMware exam roadmaps and the VCAP exam blueprints can be found on the VMware Certification portal page at https://mylearn.vmware.com/portals/certification/.