VCP Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield VCP facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. When you convert a running virtual machine to a template in vSphere, what is the result? → The VM is powered off, converted, and can no longer be powered on directly as a VM
2. Which vSphere component is responsible for abstracting physical network resources and providing logical switching capabilities for virtual machines? → vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS)
3. What does professional competency require of a VCP practitioner? → Maintaining current knowledge through continuing education within qualified areas
4. Why is documentation critical in VCP regulatory compliance? → It provides evidence of compliance and creates a defensible record of activities
5. What is the purpose of a risk matrix in VCP practice? → To evaluate risks by plotting likelihood against severity of potential impact
6. What vSphere feature helps to ensure that a shared datastore doesn't have just one virtual machine using up all the resources? → vSphere Storage I/O Control (SIOC)
7. What is the purpose of a communication plan in VCP project management? → To define what information is shared, with whom, when, and through which channels
8. What is multi-factor authentication (MFA) in VCP security? → A security method requiring two or more verification factors to gain access
9. Which cluster characteristic makes sure that the virtual machines in a cluster have access to the computational resources they need? → Distributed Resource Scheduler
10. What does data integrity mean in VCP practice? → The accuracy, consistency, and reliability of data throughout its entire lifecycle
11. Consolidation ratios can be raised with the aid of DRS and vMotion. → True
12. Which multipathing policy in vSphere sends I/O down a single active path and only switches to another if that path fails? → Most Recently Used (MRU)
13. In order to configure vCenter Server High Availability using the vSphere Client, which two actions would an administrator take? → Indicate that the Passive and Witness nodes have been manually created.
14. What is change management in VCP technology operations? → A structured process for evaluating, approving, and implementing changes to minimize risk
15. What is vMotion used for in a vSphere environment? → Live migration of a running virtual machine from one ESXi host to another with no downtime
16. What is the function of Storage vMotion in vSphere? → It live-migrates VM disk files from one datastore to another while the VM runs
17. What is the purpose of data analysis in VCP practice? → To transform raw data into meaningful insights that support informed decision-making
18. What file extension is used for VMware virtual disk files in vSphere? → .vmdk
19. In vSphere DRS, what does an 'aggressive' migration threshold mean? → DRS will apply even small performance improvements by migrating VMs frequently
20. Why is written communication important in VCP practice? → It creates a permanent record, ensures clarity, and provides reference for future actions
21. What is a root cause analysis in VCP quality assurance? → A systematic investigation to identify the fundamental underlying cause of a problem
22. What is a near-miss report in VCP safety management? → Documentation of an event that could have resulted in harm but did not
23. What is a dashboard in VCP data reporting? → A visual display of key metrics and data points for at-a-glance monitoring of performance
24. Which vSphere networking feature allows traffic from multiple VLANs to traverse a single physical network uplink? → VLAN trunking (802.1Q)
25. What should a VCP professional do when discovering unethical conduct by a colleague? → Report through appropriate organizational channels with documentation
26. What is the maximum size of a VMFS6 datastore volume in vSphere? → 64 TB
27. In a vSphere environment, what does the term 'overcommitment' refer to in the context of memory? → Allocating more memory to VMs than is physically available on the host
28. Which vSphere high availability feature can automatically migrate VMs away from a host that is experiencing performance degradation before it fails? → Proactive HA
29. In vSphere networking, what is the purpose of a VMkernel (vmk) adapter? → To handle host-level traffic such as vMotion, management, and storage
30. What is the default port group created on a vSphere Standard Switch when an ESXi host is first configured? → VM Network