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Exam Information
Official specifications published by Dell
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Skills this practice test covers
- Take a cloud design from the first data collection to a finished architecture.
- Analyze performance and capacity data to size compute, storage and network.
- Select compute, network and storage technologies for a cloud built from separate parts.
- Decide when converged, hyper-converged or cloud in a box systems fit a project.
- Plan a cloud management platform, hybrid cloud connectivity and disaster recovery.
- Compare a self-built PaaS with a packaged PaaS for application teams.
Explore related topics
D-CI-DS-23 exam content
7 domains · 45 topics · 227 questions
Introduction to Cloud Design and Design Parameters24 questions
This domain sets the frame for a design project. Candidates describe the business drivers behind cloud projects, cloud concepts and design goals, the phases of a design project, and a cloud reference architecture with its design considerations.
Skills tested
- Describe the design approaches and goals that a cloud infrastructure design must meet.
- Walk through the phases of a cloud solutions design project lifecycle.
- Apply design considerations for compute, storage, network, CMP, hybrid cloud and PaaS to a reference architecture.
Questions by topic
- Cloud Solutions Design Project Lifecycle8
- Cloud Infrastructure Design Goals3
- Cloud Concepts4
- Cloud Infrastructure Design Approaches4
- Digital Business Imperatives4
- Designing Network Technologies1
Data Collection and Analysis28 questions
Good designs start from data about the current environment. Candidates describe how to collect metrics with assessment tools, then analyze them for sizing, business value and design best practices.
Skills tested
- Plan a data collection process with the right metrics, KPIs and assessment tools.
- Analyze the collected data to size a design and show its business value.
- Run a gap analysis between the current state and the future state design.
Questions by topic
- Data Collection Tools and Processes6
- Analysis Process and Design Best Practices12
- Data Collection Process5
- Business Value Analysis5
Architecting a Do-It-Yourself Solution51 questions
The largest domain covers building a cloud from separate parts. Candidates weigh the benefits, challenges and design choices for compute, network and storage technologies picked one by one.
Skills tested
- Compare bare metal and virtualized compute for different workloads, such as VDI or HPC.
- Design the network fabric and segmentation for east-west and north-south traffic.
- Choose block, file or object storage to meet IOPS and latency requirements.
- Weigh the challenges of building from separate parts, such as integrating products from many vendors.
Questions by topic
- Designing Network Technologies for High-Performance Workloads4
- Designing Storage Technologies4
- Designing Network Technologies for Security5
- Designing Compute Technologies5
- Designing Storage Technologies for Specific Workloads4
- Designing Network Technologies4
- Challenges of DIY Cloud Infrastructure7
- Designing Network Technologies for a Private Cloud3
- Designing Compute Technologies for VDI4
- Designing Storage Technologies for Data Protection6
- Designing Compute Technologies for HPC3
- Designing Network Technologies for HPC1
- Designing Compute Technologies for Specific Workloads1
Architecting a CI/HCI Solution39 questions
This domain covers prebuilt alternatives. Candidates explain the design decisions for converged infrastructure, hyper-converged infrastructure and cloud in a box systems, and when each one fits.
Skills tested
- Explain how converged infrastructure differs from a hyper-converged architecture.
- Make HCI design decisions about node-based scaling and unbalanced workloads.
- Decide when a cloud in a box solution suits a project.
Questions by topic
- Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Design Use Cases6
- HCI Design Decisions for Performance-Sensitive Workloads2
- HCI Design Decisions and Considerations5
- Comparing CI and HCI Architectures7
- HCI Design Considerations for Unbalanced Workloads5
- Hyper-Converged and Cloud in a Box Infrastructure5
- HCI Network Design Considerations5
- Converged Infrastructure Design4
Cloud Management Platform26 questions
This domain covers the software layer that runs the cloud. Candidates describe the key functions of a cloud management platform (CMP), its reference architecture and infrastructure, and the requirements for designing one.
Skills tested
- List the key functions of a CMP, such as orchestration, monitoring and governance.
- Design a CMP solution that meets governance and integration requirements.
Questions by topic
- Key Functions of a CMP9
- Designing CMP Solutions for Governance3
- Integrating CMP and Application Platforms5
- Designing CMP Solutions5
- CMP Infrastructure4
Hybrid Cloud and Multi Cloud33 questions
This domain takes the design beyond one data center. Candidates describe the design considerations for hybrid cloud and multicloud, and plan for disaster recovery.
Skills tested
- Design connectivity and data mobility between on-premises and public clouds.
- Account for data gravity and compliance when placing workloads across clouds.
- Plan disaster recovery with failover procedures, backup and replication.
Questions by topic
- Hybrid Cloud Design Considerations for Compliance4
- Hybrid Cloud Design Considerations6
- Disaster Recovery Considerations10
- Multicloud Design Considerations8
- Hybrid Cloud Design Use Cases5
Application Development and Deployment Platform26 questions
This domain covers the platform that developers build on. Candidates describe the development and deployment environment and compare a self-built PaaS with packaged PaaS solutions.
Skills tested
- Describe what an application development and deployment environment needs, such as CI/CD pipelines.
- Compare a self-built PaaS on Kubernetes with a packaged PaaS such as OpenShift or Cloud Foundry.
Questions by topic
- Packaged PaaS Design Considerations11
- Do-It-Yourself PaaS Design Considerations8
- Application Environment Requirements6
- Comparing DIY and Packaged PaaS1
Requirements
- No formal prerequisites: passing this exam earns the certification.
- Recommended: hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure, virtualization and data center operations.
- Recommended, though not enforced: a Dell foundations certification such as Cloud Infrastructure and Services Foundations.
About the D-CI-DS-23 exam
D-CI-DS-23 asks a cloud architect to design infrastructure that can deliver several types of cloud services. The topics follow a design project: set the design parameters, collect and analyze data, then decide whether to assemble the cloud from separate parts or buy a converged or hyper-converged system. The design then adds a cloud management platform, hybrid and multicloud links, disaster recovery and a platform for application teams. Passing the exam earns Dell Cloud Infrastructure Design 2023, and Dell sets no other formal requirement.
The domain on building a cloud from separate parts is the largest, and the PlanetCert practice test gives it the most questions, with workloads that range from VDI to HPC. The explanations show why one design choice fits a stated requirement better than another, such as object storage instead of block storage for a large archive. Study Mode suits the CI/HCI and hybrid cloud domains, where trade-offs are easy to confuse. Brainy AI Assistant can explain how data gravity affects where a workload runs, or when a packaged PaaS suits a team better than a self-built one.
How to earn the certification
- Earns
- Dell Cloud Infrastructure Design 2023Design
Dell sets no end date for this certification.
- Before
- D-CIS-FN-01 Cloud Infrastructure and Services Foundations
Optional. Dell's foundations exam on cloud concepts, services and infrastructure.
- D-ISM-FN-01 Dell Information Storage and Management Foundations v2
Optional. A foundations exam on storage and data management, which the storage design topics build on.
- D-CIS-FN-01 Cloud Infrastructure and Services Foundations
How to prepare for D-CI-DS-23
- 1
Order the design phases on one card
List the phases of a cloud solutions design project in order and note what each produces. Then place sample tasks, such as a discovery workshop or a sizing report, in the right phase.
- 2
Size a design from collected data
Collect CPU, memory, IOPS and capacity figures from a lab or home server over several days. Size compute and storage from them, then write the business case in two lines.
- 3
Design one workload two ways
The largest domain is about building from separate parts. Design one workload, such as VDI, from separate servers, switches and storage, then again as an HCI system, and list what changes in scaling, support and risk.
- 4
Sketch a hybrid cloud with failover
Draw an on-premises cloud linked to a public cloud, and mark where data lives, how it moves and where workloads fail over. Add the CMP that manages both sides.
- 5
Defend each answer, then time it
In Study Mode, say why each wrong option fails the requirement before reading the explanation. Then take the D-CI-DS-23 practice test in Timed Mode and ask Brainy AI Assistant about any trade-off that is still unclear.
Start a timed D-CI-DS-23run
Dell recommends its Cloud Infrastructure Planning and Design v2 on-demand course for this exam.
Who D-CI-DS-23 is for
- Cloud and solutions architects who design private and hybrid clouds for customers or their own company.
- Presales and technical consultants who size cloud infrastructure projects.
- Data center engineers with virtualization experience who are moving into design work.
Typical job titles: Cloud architect · Solutions architect · Infrastructure architect · Presales systems engineer · Technical consultant
D-CI-DS-23 glossary
16 terms from the exam objectives and the vendor's official material, each defined in a sentence.
- Business value analysis
- Showing a design's costs and benefits in business terms, such as savings or faster delivery, to support the decision.
- Cloud bursting
- Running extra work in a public cloud when on-premises capacity runs out, then scaling back when demand falls.
- Cloud in a box
- A preintegrated system that arrives with its hardware and cloud software installed, ready to run as a private cloud.
- Cloud Management Platform (CMP)
- Software that gives a cloud its self-service catalog, orchestration, metering and governance across the infrastructure.
- Cloud reference architecture
- A model design that shows the layers and parts a cloud needs and how they connect, used as a starting point.
- Converged infrastructure
- Compute, storage and networking that are tested together and delivered as one preconfigured system with a single point of support.
- Data gravity
- The pull that large data sets have on applications and services, because big data is slow and costly to move.
- Elasticity
- The ability to add and remove resources automatically as demand rises and falls.
- Gap analysis
- Comparing the current environment with the target design to list what has to change.
- Hybrid cloud
- A private cloud and one or more public clouds run as one environment, with workloads able to move between them.
- Hyper-converged architecture
- A design where software pools compute and storage on the same standard servers, so capacity grows by adding nodes.
- IOPS
- Input/output operations per second: how many reads and writes a storage system can handle.
- Multicloud
- Using services from more than one public cloud provider, often alongside a private cloud.
- North-south traffic
- Traffic that enters or leaves the data center, as opposed to east-west traffic between servers inside it.
- Packaged PaaS
- A commercial PaaS product, installed and supported as one platform, instead of one assembled from separate parts.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- A ready platform where developers deploy code without managing the servers or operating systems beneath it.