Home labs & practical projects

Plan capacity and maintenance for a virtual cluster

A project to do with your own tools, with guidance on what to create and capture.

Design project Suggested time: 2–3 hoursNo hardware required for the design

What you could create

A virtual infrastructure team must take one host out of service while maintaining critical workloads. Current capacity reports do not include failure headroom.

Example evidence format

Project evidence map (example)

Cluster capacity worksheetScope and inputs

Maintenance readiness and rollback planDecisions and reasoning

Evidence record (example)

Evidence	What to capture
Cluster capacity worksheet	Show the inputs, scope and decisions behind this record. The plan does not count the maintenance host as available capacity.
Maintenance readiness and rollback plan	Include the evidence supporting your conclusion. Storage and network dependencies are considered alongside CPU and memory.

What you'll need

Document, spreadsheet or diagram tool

Create three fictional hosts and six VMs with memory, CPU and storage requirements. Mark workload criticality and one placement constraint.

Project record

Keep the working files for cluster capacity worksheet and record assumptions as you go.

Current reference material

Use the linked provider resources to verify the features, access terms and version relevant to your project.

Access & cost

No paid platform is needed for the written version. Use a document, spreadsheet or diagram tool you already have.

The organisation and records are fictional. Write down assumptions; do not substitute confidential employer information.

Suggested milestones

1
Plan and investigate
Calculate remaining capacity during maintenance and a concurrent host failure.
2
Develop your approach
Plan workload placement and identify unavailable capacity or licensing assumptions.
3
Verify and explain
Write prechecks, maintenance steps and rollback conditions using current platform guidance.

Evidence worth keeping

Keep clear, organised evidence of your design and any testing you carry out.

1
Cluster capacity worksheet
Show the inputs, scope and decisions behind this record. The plan does not count the maintenance host as available capacity.
2
Maintenance readiness and rollback plan
Include the evidence supporting your conclusion. Storage and network dependencies are considered alongside CPU and memory.

Label design proposals and observed results clearly.

Explain your work

Use these prompts to reflect on your decisions and what you learned.

Which part of your cluster capacity worksheet needed the most judgement?
What observation or assumption changed your approach?
What would you improve, and what have you not verified?

Describe this as a personal project in your portfolio.

Useful resources

Use these resources to deepen your understanding and check key details.

Official certification objectives

Review the current provider requirements and relevant subject areas.

VMware Hands-on Labs (free)

Check relevance, platform versions and current access terms.

Explore external learning resources

Find relevant providers and check features, access requirements and costs.

A useful starting point

Create three fictional hosts and six VMs with memory, CPU and storage requirements. Mark workload criticality and one placement constraint.

What a good result looks like

The plan does not count the maintenance host as available capacity.
Storage and network dependencies are considered alongside CPU and memory.

Finish the project

Keep the decision record and note unanswered questions. A written design is not evidence that a technical control has been tested.

Independent home-project guidance, not an official vendor lab or a claim of complete exam coverage. Use your own tools and label the work accurately.