Up until last year I had been a long-time member of the VMUG community, but was only an Advantage member for maybe a year or two over the last 20 years. I have been a vExpert off and on for 13 of those years and in years past we were able to get licensing through that program if we wanted to test something out so I didn’t usually need additional licensing from the Advantage membership.
That all changed with the Broadcom acquisition of VMware as well as the major shift to VCF9 and tokens for downloading I will discuss those changes further in the article if you stick around. I will review the benefits of the program and then provide my input in the conclusion.
Let’s take a look at the difference between standard and advanced membership. I am going to specifically discuss the Advantage Advantages (see what I did there).
Certification Discounts:
When you take one of the VMware VCF exams you get $125 off one exam a year. IMO the way it is worded is a little misleading and should really read “$125 USD off VMware Certification” or “$125 USD off a single VMware exam”. To purchase the Advantage membership and not take an exam would be a waste.
Licensing (if passing test):
In the past when you upgraded to the Advantage membership ($210 Yearly) you would get access to a free Eval Experience licensing but that all ended at the end of 2024 and VMware rolled out their new licensing program that requires Advantage members to pass the VCP-VVF/VCF (admin/architect) exam before they get their licensing.
I think the feedback was mostly negative for the community around this change because it creates a chicken/egg situation where you have to pass your test before you learn VCF. VMware’s argument taken from here is that in the past most Advantage members would skip over learning about vSAN or NSX and by making this change Advantage members are forced to learn the full stack product which is what VCF is.
Having worked with VCF 9 over the last year, I understand this change more than most. VCF 9 is truly is a different beast and you are not going to understand it just with knowledge of the standard vSphere ESXi and vCenter.
Let’s take a look at the licensing options and then I will add some helpful information for preparing for the exams.
Licensing Options:
Option 1:
Have the basic VMUG membership and pass either:
- VCP-VVF (admin/architect)
- VCP-VCF (admin/architect)
Once you pass you would get:
- vSphere Standard Edition 32 Cores for 1 year.
Option 2:
Purchase the VMUG Advantage membership and then pass:
- VCP-VCF (admin/architect)
Once you pass you would get:
- VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) with 128 cores for 3 years.
- (Bonus) vDefend with 128 cores and Advanced Load Balancer (ALB) 12 tokens.
**If you are looking to go the route for the VCF licensing DO NOT take the exam before you sign up for VMUG Advantage.**
- Sign up for Advantage à Take VCP-VCF (admin/architect) with 50% off the exam fee à get 3 year VCF license.
Exam Prep:
- VCF HOL – https://www.labplatform.vmware.com/HOL/catalog
- “What’s New in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 – Platform” (HOL‑2610‑01‑VCF‑L)
- “What’s New in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 – Automation” (HOL‑2610‑02‑VCF‑L)
- “What’s New in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 – Operations” (HOL‑2610‑03‑VCF‑L)
- “Unifying VM and Kubernetes Management with vSphere Supervisor VCF 9.0”
- “What’s New with vSphere in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0” (HOL‑2630‑01‑VCF‑L)
- VMware Code on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/vmwarecode
Expert Led Training:
Sometimes self-paced training isn’t right for you, and that is where these vendors come in providing instructor led training.
- New Horizons: 15% off with standard membership and 25% off with the Advantage membership.
- Enterone: 15% off with standard membership and 25% off with the Advantage membership.
Explore Discount:
You get a discount of $100 when you register for Explore. I love the Explore conference because I use it to network with people and get face to face with experts both inside and outside of VMware. If you are already planning on taking a VMware exam, and you are planning on attending Explore, then it really doesn’t make sense not to purchase the Advantage membership first for a membership cost of $210 but a savings of $225. This sounds like my wife telling me she saved money by shopping at Khol’s because she ended up with a bunch of Khol’s Cash.
Access to Tiyaro Deep Query Tools:
This one took me down a little bit of a rabbit hole as there is not a lot of information around it. I found this on Tiyaro’s website and it gave me the link to get signed up for advantage members. Unfortunately, once I got signed up it just took me to a 404 error. This benefit sounded really interesting as it is supposed to use a trained LLM to help do things like troubleshoot issues.
RDM NFR License:
I have not used this benefit yet, but this Remote Desktop Manager (RDM) looks pretty nice. This will probably be next on my list to download and install as I need to organize my RDP sessions all in one location. The solution is called Devolutions and more information can be found here.
30% off of VMUG Connect:
It looks like they increased this from 25% to 30% off of the VMUG Connect conference. VMUG Connect is the new, larger local VMUG conferences. In the US if you live near Minneapolis, Toronto, Dallas, or Orlando then this might be a great savings for you. I was part of the first one last year in St. Louis and it was a great time to network with people within the VMUG community. This conference runs $450 for VMUG Advantage members, which is $200 off the regular pass.
Conclusion:
First, I would like to put a plug in for the vExpert program run by Corey Romero. Applications are currently open for the program until 1/16/26. There is usually a second half application that opens in June. Please take the time to apply for that program out here.
Let’s discuss the value of the Advantage program. If I didn’t get the Advantage membership through the vExpert program, I would pay for it each year. Yes, it is $210, but for myself I would be getting the value of a half price test as well as $100 off of Explore as I usually go to that every year. The $200 off of the VMUG connect conference would be a huge bonus if the conference was located in a city near me like it was last year.
I know there are a lot of people upset at the changes to the licensing an only being able to get the licensing after passing the VCF exam, but I understand why VMware made this change. VCF9 is truly something different. You need to know it all if you are going to be administering and architecting this product. VMware has done a great job with the hands-on labs (HOLs) that get you the training required to pass the exams.
Going back to the image for this post I truly believe that the Advantage membership can be the key to enhancing your career. First, there are not a lot of people that know and understand VCF9 yet and to be an expert around that product makes you a very valuable member of the community. Second, whether you agree or disagree, VMware has decided to get rid of most of their small customers and focus on the larger customers in the industry. This means that getting the VCF9 certification would allow for you to be an expert in what is going to become a niche market with the largest IT players.