This book focuses on one major goal: helping you prepare to pass the Professional VMware vSphere 7.0 (2V0-21.20) exam, which is a key requirement for earning the VCP-DCV 2021 certification. This book may be useful for secondary purposes, such as learning how to implement, configure, and manage a vSphere environment or preparing to take other VCP-DCV qualifying exams.
The rest of this introduction provides details on the VCP-DCV certification, the 2V0-21.20 exam, and this book.
The primary objective of the VCP-DCV 2021 certification is to demonstrate that you have mastered the skills to successfully install, configure, and manage VMware vSphere 7 environments. You can find the exam requirements, objectives, and other details on the certification web portal, at http://mylearn.vmware.com/portals/certification/. On the website, navigate to the Data Center Virtualization track and to the VCP-DCV certification. Examine the VCP-DCV 2021 requirements based on your qualifications. For example, if you select that you currently hold no VCP certifications, then the website indicates that your path to certification is to gain experience with vSphere 7.0, attend one of the following required training courses, and pass the Professional vSphere 7.0 (2V0-21.20) exam:
VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V7]
VMware vSphere: Optimize and Scale [V7]
VMware vSphere: Troubleshooting [V7]
VMware vSphere: Fast Track [V7]
If you select that you currently hold a VCP6-DCV certification, the website indicates that your path includes a recommendation, but not a requirement, to take a training course.
VMware updates the VCP-DCV certification requirements each year. So, the requirements for the VCP-DCV 2021 certification may differ slightly from VCP-DCV 2020 certification. Likewise, VMware updates the qualifying exams. Each year, as VMware updates the Professional VMware vSphere 7.x exam, the authors of this book will create an appendix to supplement the original book. To prepare for a future version of the exam, download the corresponding online appendix from the book’s companion website and use it to supplement the original book.
After you identify your path to certification, you can select the Professional VMware vSphere 7.x (2V0-21.20) exam to closely examine its details and to download the Exam Preparation Guide (also known as the exam blueprint).
The 2V0-21.20 exam blueprint provides details on exam delivery, minimum qualifications for candidates, exam objectives, recommended courses, and references to supporting VMware documentation. It also contains 10 sample exam questions. The 2V0-21.20 exam is a proctored exam delivered through Pearson VUE. See Chapter 15, “Final Preparation,” for details on registering and taking the exam.
A minimally qualified candidate (MQC) has 6 to 12 months of hands-on experience implementing, managing, and supporting a vSphere environment. The MQC has knowledge of storage, networking, hardware, security, business continuity, and disaster recovery concepts.
The exam characteristics are as follows:
Format: Proctored exam
Question type: Multiple choice
Number of questions: 70
Duration: 130 minutes
Passing score: 300
Cost: $250 (in the United States)
The 2V0-21.20 exam blueprint lists the exam objectives, which are summarized here:
Section 1: Architectures and Technologies
Objective 1.1: Identify the prerequisites and components for a vSphere implementation
Objective 1.2: Describe vCenter Server topology
Objective 1.3: Identify and differentiate storage access protocols for vSphere (NFS, iSCSI, SAN, etc.)
1.3.1: Describe storage datastore types for vSphere
1.3.2: Explain the importance of advanced storage configuration (vSphere Storage APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA), vSphere Storage APIs Array Integration (VAAI), etc.)
1.3.3: Describe storage policies
1.3.4: Describe basic storage concepts in K8s, vSAN and vSphere Virtual Volumes (vVols)
Objective 1.4: Differentiate between vSphere Network I/O Control (NIOC) and vSphere Storage I/O Control (SIOC)
Objective 1.5: Describe instant clone architecture and use cases
Objective 1.6: Describe ESXi cluster concepts
1.6.1: Describe Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS)
1.6.2: Describe vSphere Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC)
1.6.3: Describe how Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) scores virtual machines
1.6.4: Describe vSphere High Availability
1.6.5: Describe datastore clusters
Objective 1.7: Identify vSphere distributed switch and vSphere standard switch capabilities
1.7.1: Describe VMkernel networking
1.7.2: Manage networking on multiple hosts with vSphere distributed switch
1.7.3: Describe networking policies
1.7.4: Manage Network I/O Control (NIOC) on a vSphere distributed switch
Objective 1.8: Describe vSphere Lifecycle Manager concepts (baselines, cluster images, etc.)
Objective 1.9: Describe the basics of vSAN as primary storage
1.9.1: Identify basic vSAN requirements (networking, disk count + type)
Objective 1.10: Describe the vSphere Trust Authority architecture
Objective 1.11: Explain Software Guard Extensions (SGX)
Section 2: VMware Products and Solutions
Objective 2.1: Describe the role of vSphere in the software-defined data center (SDDC)
Objective 2.2: Identify use cases for vCloud Foundation
Objective 2.3: Identify migration options
Objective 2.4: Identify DR use cases
Objective 2.5: Describe vSphere integration with VMware Skyline
Section 3: Planning and Designing (There are no testable objectives for this section.)
Section 4: Installing, Configuring, and Setup
Objective 4.1: Describe single sign-on (SSO) deployment topology
4.1.1: Configure a single sign-on (SSO) domain
4.1.2: Join an existing single sign-on (SSO) domain
Objective 4.2: Configure VSS advanced virtual networking options
Objective 4.3: Set up identity sources
4.3.1: Configure Identity Federation
4.3.2: Configure Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) integration
4.3.3: Configure Active Directory integration
Objective 4.4: Deploy and configure vCenter Server Appliance
Objective 4.5: Create and configure VMware High Availability and advanced options (Admission Control, Proactive High Availability, etc.)
Objective 4.6: Deploy and configure vCenter Server High Availability
Objective 4.7: Set up content library
Objective 4.8: Configure vCenter Server file-based backup
Objective 4.9: Analyze basic log output from vSphere products
Objective 4.10: Configure vSphere Trust Authority
Objective 4.11: Configure vSphere certificates
4.11.1: Describe Enterprise PKIs role for SSL certificates
Objective 4.12: Configure vSphere Lifecycle Manager/VMware Update Manager (VUM)
Objective 4.13: Securely Boot ESXi hosts
Objective 4.14: Configure different network stacks
Objective 4.15: Configure Host Profiles
Objective 4.16: Identify boot options
4.16.1: Configure Quick Boot
Section 5: Performance-tuning, Optimization, Upgrades
Objective 5.1: Identify resource pools use cases
5.1.1: Explain shares, limits, and reservations (resource management)
Objective 5.2: Monitor resources of vCenter Server Appliance and vSphere environment
Objective 5.3: Identify and use tools for performance monitoring
Objective 5.4: Configure Network I/O Control (NIOC)
Objective 5.5: Configure Storage I/O Control (SIOC)
Objective 5.6: Explain the performance impact of maintaining virtual machine snapshots
Objective 5.7: Plan for upgrading various vSphere components
Section 6: Troubleshooting and Repairing (There are no testable objectives for this section.)
Section 7: Administrative and Operational Tasks
Objective 7.1: Create and manage virtual machine snapshots
Objective 7.2: Create virtual machines using different methods (Open Virtual Machine Format (OVF) templates, content library, etc.)
Objective 7.3: Manage virtual machines
Objective 7.4: Manage storage (datastores, storage policies, etc.)
7.4.1: Configure and modify datastores (expand/upgrade existing datastore, etc.)
7.4.2: Create virtual machine storage policies
7.4.3: Configure storage cluster options
Objective 7.5: Create Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) affinity and anti-affinity rules for common use cases
Objective 7.6: Configure and perform different types of migrations
Objective 7.7: Configure role-based user management
Objective 7.8: Configure and manage the options for securing a vSphere environment (certificates, virtual machine encryption, virtual Trusted Platform Module, lock-down mode, virtualization-based security, etc.)
Objective 7.9: Configure and manage host profiles
Objective 7.10: Utilize baselines to perform updates and upgrades
Objective 7.11: Utilize vSphere Lifecycle Manager
7.11.1: Describe Firmware upgrades for ESXi
7.11.2: Describe ESXi updates
7.11.3: Describe component and driver updates for ESXi
7.11.4: Describe hardware compatibility check
7.11.5: Describe ESXi cluster image export functionality
Objective 7.12: Configure alarms
Note
Sections 3 and 6 currently do not apply to the 2V0-21.20 exam, but they may be used for other exams.
Note
For future exams, download and examine the objectives in the updated exam blueprint. Be sure to use the future Pearson-provided online appendix specific to the updated exam.
The VCP-DCV certification is the most popular certification at VMware; more than 100,000 professionals around the world hold this certification. This book is intended for anyone who wants to prepare for the 2V0-21.20 exam, which is a required exam for VCP-DCV 2021 certification. The audience includes current and prospective IT professionals such as system administrators, infrastructure administrators, and virtualization engineers.
This book uses several key methodologies to help you discover the exam topics on which you need more review, to help you fully understand and remember those details, and to help you prove to yourself that you have retained your knowledge of those topics. This book does not try to help you pass the exam only by memorization but by truly learning and understanding the topics.
The book includes many features that provide different ways to study so you can be ready for the exam. If you understand a topic when you read it but do not study it any further, you probably will not be ready to pass the exam with confidence. The features included in this book give you tools that help you determine what you know, review what you know, better learn what you don’t know, and be well prepared for the exam. These tools include:
“Do I Know This Already?” Quizzes: Each chapter begins with a quiz that helps you determine the amount of time you need to spend studying that chapter.
Foundation Topics: These are the core sections of each chapter. They explain the protocols, concepts, and configuration for the topics in that chapter.
Exam Preparation Tasks: This section of each chapter lists a series of study activities that should be done after reading the “Foundation Topics” section. Each chapter includes the activities that make the most sense for studying the topics in that chapter. The activities include the following:
Key Topics Review: The Key Topics icon appears next to the most important items in the “Foundation Topics” section of the chapter. The “Key Topics Review” section lists the key topics from the chapter and their page numbers. Although the contents of the entire chapter could be on the exam, you should definitely know the information listed for each key topic. Review these topics carefully.
Memory Tables: To help you exercise your memory and memorize some important facts, memory tables are provided. The memory tables contain only portions of key tables provided previously in the chapter, enabling you to complete the table or list. Appendix B, “Memory Tables,” provides the incomplete tables, and Appendix C, “Memory Tables Answer Key,” includes the completed tables (answer keys). These appendixes are also provided on the companion website that is provided with your book.
Define Key Terms: The VCP-DCV exam requires you to learn and know a lot of related terminology. This section lists some of the most important terms from the chapter and asks you to write a short definition and compare your answer to the Glossary.
Practice Exams: The companion website contains an exam engine.
The chapters in this book are organized such that Chapters 1 through 7 provide in-depth material on vSphere concepts, and Chapters 8 through 14 describe procedures for the installation, configuration, and management of vSphere components and features. The authors recommend that you read the entire book from cover to cover at least once. As you read about any topic in Chapters 1 to 7, keep in mind that you can find corresponding “how to” steps in Chapters 8 to 14. As you read about any specific procedure in Chapters 8 to 14, keep in mind that you can find associated details (concepts) in Chapters 1 to 7.
Optionally, you can prepare for the exam by studying for the exam objectives in order, using Table I-1 as your guide. As you prepare for each exam objective, you can focus on the most appropriate chapter and section. You can also refer to related chapters and sections. For example, as you prepare for Objective 1.2 (Describe vCenter Server topology), you should focus on the “vCenter Server Topology” section in Chapter 1, but you may also want to review the “Deploying vCenter Server Components” section in Chapter 8 and the “vSphere Managed Inventory Objects” section in Chapter 5.
When preparing for a specific exam objective, you can use Table I-1 to identify the sections in the book that directly address the objective and the sections that provide related information.
Table I-1 Mapping of Exam Objectives to Book Chapters and Sections
Objective |
Description |
Chapter/Section |
Related (Supporting) Chapters/Sections |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Architectures and Technologies |
|
|
1.1 |
Identify the pre-requisites and components for a vSphere implementation |
1—vSphere Overview, Components, and Requirements
|
8—vSphere Installation
|
1.2 |
Describe vCenter Server topology |
1—vSphere Overview, Components, and Requirements
|
8—vSphere Installation Deploying vCenter Server Components 5—vCenter Server Features and Virtual Machines
|
1.3 |
Identify and differentiate storage access protocols for vSphere (NFS, iSCSI, SAN, etc.) |
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
|
1.3.1 |
Describe storage datastore types for vSphere |
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
11—Managing Storage
|
1.3.2 |
Explain the importance of advanced storage configuration (VAAI + VASA, multipathing) |
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
11—Managing Storage
|
1.3.3 |
Describe storage policies |
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
11—Managing Storage
|
1.3.4 |
Describe basic storage concepts in K8s, vSAN and vVOLs |
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
11—Managing Storage
|
1.3.5 |
Identify use cases for RDMs, PMEMs, VVOLs, and NVMe |
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
11—Managing Storage
|
1.4 |
Differentiate between NIOC and SIOC |
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
3—Network Infrastructure
9—Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks
11—Managing Storage
|
1.5 |
Describe instant clone architecture and use cases |
5—vCenter Server Features and Virtual Machines
|
|
1.6 |
Describe ESXi cluster concepts |
4—Clusters and High Availability
|
10—Managing and Monitoring Clusters and Resources
|
1.6.1 |
Describe VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) |
4—Clusters and High Availability
|
10—Managing and Monitoring Clusters and Resources
|
1.6.2 |
Describe Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) |
4—Clusters and High Availability
|
10— Managing and Monitoring Clusters and Resources
|
1.6.3 |
Describe how DRS scores VMs |
4—Clusters and High Availability
|
10—Managing and Monitoring Clusters and Resources
|
1.6.4 |
Describe vSphere HA |
4—Clusters and High Availability
|
10—Managing and Monitoring Clusters and Resources
|
1.6.4.1 |
Describe how vSphere HA calculates slot size |
4—Clusters and High Availability
|
10—Managing and Monitoring Clusters and Resources
|
1.6.5 |
Describe datastore clusters |
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
11—Managing Storage
|
1.7 |
Identify vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) and vSphere Standard Switch (VSS) capabilities |
3—Network Infrastructure
|
9—Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks
|
1.7.1 |
Describe VMkernel Networking |
3—Network Infrastructure
|
9—Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks
|
1.7.2 |
Managing Networking on multiple hosts with vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS) |
9—Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks
|
3—Network Infrastructure
|
1.7.3 |
Describe networking policies |
3—Network Infrastructure
|
9—Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks
|
1.7.4 |
Managing Network I/O Control (NIOC) on a Distributed Switch (vDS) |
9—Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks
|
3—Network Infrastructure
|
1.8 |
Describe vSphere Lifecycle Manager concepts (baselines, cluster images, etc) |
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
8—vSphere Installation
|
1.9 |
Describe the basics of vSAN as primary storage |
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
|
1.9.1 |
Identify basic vSAN requirements (networking, disk count + type) |
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
11—Managing Storage
|
1.10 |
Describe the vSphere Trust Authority architecture |
7—vSphere Security
|
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
1.11 |
Explain Virtual SGX—Software Guard Extensions |
7—vSphere Security
|
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
2 |
VMware Products and Solutions |
|
|
2.1 |
Describe the role of vSphere in the software-defined data center |
1—vSphere Overview, Components, and Requirements
|
|
2.2 |
Identify use cases for vCloud Foundation |
6—VMware Product Integration
|
|
2.3 |
Identify migration options |
6—VMware Product Integration
|
5—vCenter Server Features and Virtual Machine
|
2.4 |
Identify DR use cases |
6—VMware Product Integration
|
|
2.5 |
Describe vSphere integration with VMware Skyline |
6—VMware Product Integration
|
|
3 |
Planning and Designing |
|
|
4 |
Installing, Configuring, and Setup |
|
|
4.1 |
Plan SSO deployment topology |
1—vSphere Overview, Components, and Requirements
|
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
4.1.1 |
Configure an SSO domain |
8—vSphere Installation
|
1—vSphere Overview, Components, and Requirements
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
4.1.2 |
Join an existing SSO domain |
8—vSphere Installation
|
1—vSphere Overview, Components, and Requirements
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
4.2 |
Configure VSS advanced virtual networking options |
9—Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks
|
3—Network Infrastructure
|
4.3 |
Set up identity sources |
8—vSphere Installation
|
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
4.3.1 |
Configure Identity Federation |
8—vSphere Installation
|
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
4.3.2 |
Configure LDAP integration |
8—vSphere Installation
|
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
4.3.3 |
Configure Active Directory integration |
8—vSphere Installation
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
4.4 |
Deploy and configure vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) |
8—vSphere Installation
|
1—vSphere Overview, Components, and Requirements
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
4.5 |
Create and configure VMware HA and DRS advanced options (Admission Control, Proactive HA, etc.) |
10—Managing and Monitoring Clusters and Resources
|
4—Clusters and High Availability
|
4.6 |
Deploy and configure vCenter Server High Availability |
8—vSphere Installation
|
1—vSphere Overview, Components, and Requirements
4—Clusters and High Availability
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
4.7 |
Set up content library |
14—Managing Virtual Machines
|
5—vCenter Server Features and Virtual Machine
|
4.8 |
Configure vCenter Server file-based backup |
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
|
4.9 |
Analyze basic log output from vSphere products |
10—Managing and Monitoring Clusters and Resources
|
10—Monitoring and Managing Clusters and Resources
|
4.10 |
Configure vSphere Trust Authority |
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
7—vSphere Security
|
4.11 |
Configure vSphere certificates |
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
7—vSphere Security
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
4.11.1 |
Describe enterprise PKIs role for SSL certificates |
7—vSphere Security
|
12—Manage vSphere Security
|
4.12 |
Configure vSphere Lifecycle Manager/VMware Update Manager (VUM) |
8—vSphere Installation
|
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
4.13 |
Securely Boot ESXi hosts |
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
7—vSphere Security
|
4.14 |
Configure different network stacks |
9—Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks
|
3—Network Infrastructure
|
4.15 |
Configure Host Profiles |
8—vSphere Installation
|
|
4.16 |
Identify boot options |
8—vSphere Installation
|
|
4.16.1 |
Configure Quick Boot |
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
|
5 |
Performance-tuning and Optimization |
|
|
5.1 |
Identify resource pools use cases |
4—Clusters and High Availability
|
10—Monitoring and Managing Clusters and Resources
|
5.1.1 |
Explain shares, limits and reservations (resource management) |
4—Clusters and High Availability
|
10— Managing and Monitoring Clusters and Resources
|
5.2 |
Monitor resources of vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) and vSphere environment |
10—Managing and Monitoring Clusters and Resources
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
4—Clusters and High Availability
|
5.3 |
Identify and use tools for performance monitoring |
10—Managing and Monitoring Clusters and Resources
|
|
5.4 |
Configure Network I/O Control |
9—Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks
|
3—Network Infrastructure
|
5.5 |
Configure Storage I/O Control |
11—Managing Storage
|
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
5.6 |
Explain the performance impact of maintaining VM snapshots. |
5—vCenter Server Features and Virtual Machine
|
14—Managing Virtual Machines
|
5.7 |
Plan for upgrading various vSphere components |
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
|
6 |
Troubleshooting and Repairing |
|
|
7 |
Administrative and Operational Tasks |
|
|
7.1 |
Create and manage VM snapshot (consolidate, delete, etc.) |
14—Managing Virtual Machines
|
5—vCenter Server Features and Virtual Machine
|
7.2 |
Create VMs using different methods (OVF templates, content library, and so on) |
14—Managing Virtual Machines
|
5—vCenter Server Features and Virtual Machine
14—Managing Virtual Machines
|
7.3 |
Manage VMs (modifying VM settings, etc.) |
14—Managing Virtual Machines
|
5—vCenter Server Features and Virtual Machine
|
7.4 |
Manage storage (datastores, storage policies, etc.) |
11—Managing Storage
|
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
7.4.1 |
Configure and modify datastores (expand/upgrade existing datastore, etc) |
11—Managing Storage
|
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
7.4.2 |
Create VM storage policies |
11—Managing Storage
|
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
7.4.3 |
Configure storage cluster options |
11—Managing Storage
|
2—Storage Infrastructure
|
7.5 |
Create DRS affinity and anti-affinity rules for common use cases. |
10—Monitoring and Managing Clusters and Resources
|
4—Clusters and High Availability
|
7.6 |
Configure and perform different types of migrations (all types) |
14—Managing Virtual Machines
|
5—vCenter Server Features and Virtual Machine
|
7.7 |
Configure role-based user management (custom permissions, on datastores, clusters, vCenter Servers, and hosts etc) |
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
7—vSphere Security
8—vSphere Installation
|
7.8 |
Configure and manage the options for securing a vSphere environment (certificates, VM encryption, virtual TPM, lock-down mode, VBS, etc) |
12—Managing vSphere Security
|
7—vSphere Security
|
7.9 |
Configure and manage host profiles |
8—vSphere Installation
|
5—vCenter Server Features and Virtual Machine
|
7.10 |
Utilize VUM (create baselines, applying baselines, notifications, download, remediate) |
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
8—vSphere Installation
|
7.11 |
Describe vSphere Lifecycle Manager |
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
8—vSphere Installation
14—Managing Virtual Machines
|
7.11.1 |
Describe Firmware upgrades for ESXi |
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
8—vSphere Installation
|
7.11.2 |
Describe ESXi updates |
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
8—vSphere Installation
|
7.11.3 |
Describe component and driver updates for ESXi |
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
8—vSphere Installation
|
7.11.4 |
Describe hardware compatibility check |
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
8—vSphere Installation
14—Managing Virtual Machines
|
7.11.5 |
Describe ESXi cluster image export functionality |
13—Managing vSphere and vCenter Server
|
8—vSphere Installation
4—Clusters and High Availability
|
7.12 |
Configure alarms |
10—Monitoring and Managing Clusters and Resources
|
|
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Amazon eBook (Kindle) customers: It is easy to miss Amazon’s e-mail that lists your PTP access code. Soon after you purchase the Kindle eBook, Amazon should send an e-mail. However, the e-mail uses very generic text, and makes no specific mention of PTP or practice exams. To find your code, read every e-mail from Amazon after you purchase the book. Also do the usual checks for ensuring your e-mail arrives, like checking your spam folder.
Note
Other eBook customers: As of the time of publication, only the publisher and Amazon supply PTP access codes when you purchase their eBook editions of this book.
Once you are in the exam settings screen, you can choose to take exams in one of three modes:
Study mode: Enables you to fully customize your exams and review answers as you are taking the exam. This is typically the mode you would use first to assess your knowledge and identify information gaps.
Practice Exam mode: Locks certain customization options, as it is presenting a realistic exam experience. Use this mode when you are preparing to test your exam readiness.
Flash Card mode: Strips out the answers and presents you with only the question stem. This mode is great for late-stage preparation when you really want to challenge yourself to provide answers without the benefit of seeing multiple-choice options. This mode does not provide the detailed score reports that the other two modes do, so you should not use it if you are trying to identify knowledge gaps.
In addition to these three modes, you will be able to select the source of your questions. You can choose to take exams that cover all of the chapters or you can narrow your selection to just a single chapter or the chapters that make up specific parts in the book. All chapters are selected by default. If you want to narrow your focus to individual chapters, simply deselect all the chapters and then select only those on which you wish to focus in the Objectives area.
You can also select the exam banks on which to focus. Each exam bank comes complete with a full exam of questions that cover topics in every chapter. You can have the test engine serve up exams from all test banks or just from one individual bank by selecting the desired banks in the exam bank area. There are several other customizations you can make to your exam from the exam settings screen, such as the time of the exam, the number of questions served up, whether to randomize questions and answers, whether to show the number of correct answers for multiple-answer questions, and whether to serve up only specific types of questions. You can also create custom test banks by selecting only questions that you have marked or questions on which you have added notes.
If you are using the online version of the Pearson Test Prep software, you should always have access to the latest version of the software as well as the exam data. If you are using the Windows desktop version, every time you launch the software while connected to the Internet, it checks if there are any updates to your exam data and automatically downloads any changes that were made since the last time you used the software.
Sometimes, due to many factors, the exam data might not fully download when you activate your exam. If you find that figures or exhibits are missing, you might need to manually update your exams. To update a particular exam you have already activated and downloaded, simply click the Tools tab and click the Update Products button. Again, this is only an issue with the desktop Windows application. If you wish to check for updates to the Pearson Test Prep exam engine software, Windows desktop version, simply click the Tools tab and click the Update Application button. This ensures that you are running the latest version of the software engine.