Satisfying Necessary Requirements
As a rule, Dell EMC Specialist designations are placed higher in the certification hierarchy and demand certain basic foundational understanding. Thus, the vendor suggests that an E20-526 aspirant earn one from the below-mentioned certifications related to ISM (Information Storage and Management):
- Associate - ISM V2.0;
- Associate - ISM V1.0;
- Associate - ISM V4.0.
- Associate - ISM V3.0;
It’s peculiar that the foundational conversance can be honed via these validations and the Dell EMC E20-526 exam journey will become easy-to-accomplish.
Certification Profile
Well, E20-526 exam is linked to the Specialist – Technology Architect, XtremIO Solutions Version 2.0 certification. This designation demonstrates specialist-level skills related to positioning, demonstrating, and architecting business-critical solutions using the XtremIO and X2 storage systems. In addition, the core certification curriculum describes the quintessential XtremIO and X2 storage systems components, best practices, and their features. In a nutshell, it is a role-based certificate assisting Technology Architects to become more viable at a job and helps them obtain the necessary work-related abilities.
EMC E20-526 Exam Overview:
| Certification Vendor: | Dell Technologies (formerly EMC) |
|---|---|
| Exam Name: | XtremIO Solutions and Design Specialist Exam for Technology Architects |
| Exam Number: | E20-526 |
| Certificate Validity Period: | 2 years |
| Exam Duration: | 90 minutes |
| Available Languages: | English |
| Real Exam Qty: | 60-67 |
| Exam Price: | $230 USD |
| Passing Score: | Not officially disclosed (approx. 60-70%) |
| Exam Format: | Multiple Response, Multiple Choice |
| Related Certifications: | Associate - Information Storage and Management Dell EMC Proven Professional Technology Architect |
| Recommended Training: | XtremIO Fundamentals XtremIO Solution Design |
| Exam Registration: | Pearson VUE Registration Dell Technologies Certification Portal |
| Sample Questions: | EMC E20-526 Sample Questions |
| Exam Way: | Online proctored or onsite at Pearson VUE test centers |
| Pre Condition: | Hold Associate - Information Storage and Management (v1.0 to v5.0) certification; recommended experience with enterprise storage systems |
| Official Syllabus URL: | https://learning.dell.com/content/dam/dell-emc/documents/en-us/E20_526_XtremIO_Solutions_and_Design_Specialist_Exam.pdf |
Training Courses to Be Completed for Actual Exam
For every professional test, a training course is the easiest way to gain mastery over exam content and ace the affiliated subject matter. Of course, the vendor does a commendable job in offering E20-526 specific training. Up next on the list are some high-end on-demand training courses. Any class from the below-mentioned options can be picked:
- RecoverPoint Fundamentals - Gain a quick introduction to the RecoverPoint and its entire product family in this training program. Notably, RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines is well covered here. Also, a quick overview of the architecture, features, and functionality of these two technologies can be gained easily by this class.
- XtremIO Fundamentals - A free training course designed to impart introductory knowledge about EMC XtremIO products. The overview of XtremIO architecture and management options are explained well in this class.
- XtremIO and X2 Integration with VDI Best Practices - Being another wonderful training program from the vendor, this one imparts in applicants the expertise needed for XtremIO and X2 storage arrays integration in a VDI environment.
- XtremIO and X2 Integration with Oracle Best Practices - This training, as all other options, is available via on-demand class format. Overall, it gives enough exposure to the best methods as well as procedures required at the time of XtremIO and X2 storage arrays integration in an Oracle environment.
- VPLEX Fundamentals - This free training course is here to help the test-taker to gain elementary expertise in VPLEX and all its core facets.
- XtremIO X2 Fundamentals - Again being a free training by the vendor, this course is here to explain XtremIO X2 product.
Other than these two, XtremIO Infrastructure Solutions and XtremIO Solutions Design classes are also viable alternatives for all aspiring candidates who want to nail the actual test. Note that both are on-demand training video sessions.
EMC E20-526 Exam Syllabus Topics:
| Section | Weight | Objectives |
|---|---|---|
| XtremIO Architecture and Overview | 20% | - Architecture differences between XtremIO and X2 - XtremIO and X2 hardware/software components - Performance characteristics and benchmarking tools - Support resources and documentation |
| Designing XtremIO X2 Solutions | 27% | - Integration with hypervisors and replication - Performance and capacity design considerations - Scalability and high availability design - Design for VDI, database, and mixed workloads |
| Operations and Host Configuration | 18% | - XMS management and multi-cluster management - Host best practices for Linux, Windows, VMware ESXi - Networking and storage protocol configuration |
| Positioning XtremIO and X2 Solutions | 12% | - Inline deduplication, compression, encryption, and XDP - XMS Simulator usage and demonstration - Benefits of all-flash arrays and XtremIO features |
| Data Gathering and Analysis | 13% | - Capture customer requirements and environment details - Workload analysis tools and methodologies - Translate requirements into solution specifications |
| Data Protection and Optimization | 10% | - Snapshot and replication implementation - Troubleshooting common issues - Monitoring, alerting, and performance tuning |
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By Cornelius

