3V0-22.25 vs 3V0-23.25: Which VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 VCAP Exam Should You Choose?
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- September 08th, 2026
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VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 introduces several advanced certification paths for professionals who want to validate deeper skills beyond general VCF administration. Two exams that are especially easy to confuse are 3V0-22.25 Advanced VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Operations and 3V0-23.25 Advanced VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Storage. Although both sit at the VMware Certified Advanced Professional level and share the same VCF 9.0 platform, they validate very different job responsibilities and technical skill sets. Broadcom currently lists them as separate, parallel VCAP specializations, rather than two exams that must be taken in sequence.
For candidates preparing for either path, Passcert provides updated 3V0-22.25 practice questions for VCF Operations and 3V0-23.25 practice questions for VCF Storage. Using the official exam guide together with hands-on VCF experience and scenario-based practice can help you determine where your knowledge gaps are before scheduling the exam.
Quick answer: Choose 3V0-22.25 if your work centers on operating, monitoring, optimizing, troubleshooting, and managing VCF environments. Choose 3V0-23.25 if your responsibilities are more focused on vSAN, storage architecture, storage policies, resiliency, encryption, data protection, and storage troubleshooting. You do not need to pass one before taking the other.
How Are 3V0-22.25 and 3V0-23.25 Related?
Both exams belong to VMware's current VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 VCAP portfolio, but each leads to a different advanced credential:
| Exam | Advanced Certification Path | Main Technical Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 3V0-22.25 | VMware Certified Advanced Professional – VMware Cloud Foundation Operations | Day-2 operations, monitoring, capacity, cost, optimization, troubleshooting, fleet management |
| 3V0-23.25 | VMware Certified Advanced Professional – VMware Cloud Foundation Storage | vSAN, storage architecture, storage design, configuration, resiliency and troubleshooting |
Broadcom's current VMware certification catalog also places Automation, VKS and Networking beside Operations and Storage as other VCF advanced specializations. This confirms that 3V0-22.25 and 3V0-23.25 are sibling paths, not prerequisite exams for each other.
VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 VCAP Specialization Map
| VCF Advanced Area | Exam |
|---|---|
| Automation | 3V0-21.25 |
| Operations | 3V0-22.25 |
| Storage | 3V0-23.25 |
| vSphere Kubernetes Service | 3V0-24.25 |
| Networking | 3V0-25.25 |
For this reason, the correct question is not “Do I need 3V0-22.25 before 3V0-23.25?” but rather:
“Which VCAP specialization best matches the work I actually perform?”
3V0-22.25 vs 3V0-23.25 Exam Comparison
Despite their different objectives, the two exams have almost identical testing formats.
| Exam Detail | 3V0-22.25 Operations | 3V0-23.25 Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Exam | Advanced VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Operations | Advanced VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Storage |
| Questions | 60 | 60 |
| Duration | 135 minutes | 135 minutes |
| Passing Score | 300 scaled | 300 scaled |
| Language | English | English |
| Delivery | Proctored | Proctored |
| Current Price | USD $250 | USD $250 |
| Platform | VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 | VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 |
| Recommended Experience Profile | 6–12 months managing VCF environments | 12–18 months working with VMware vSAN |
| Primary Role | VCF operations / cloud operations | VCF storage / vSAN specialist |
Both exams can include multiple-choice, multiple-selection, matching, drag-and-drop, build-list and other scenario-oriented item types.
One notable difference appears in the candidate profiles. Broadcom describes the minimally qualified 3V0-22.25 candidate as having around 6–12 months of hands-on VCF operations experience, while the 3V0-23.25 guide describes an experienced professional with approximately 12–18 months of VMware vSAN experience, including ESA. These are experience recommendations rather than mandatory prerequisites.
What Does the 3V0-22.25 Operations Exam Focus On?
The 3V0-22.25 exam is aimed at professionals responsible for keeping a VMware Cloud Foundation environment healthy, efficient and operational after deployment.
Broadcom describes the credential as validating skills required to monitor, manage and optimize VCF environments for performance, capacity and cost efficiency, together with compliance, security and lifecycle management.
The current exam guide places its testable objectives heavily around practical VCF Operations administration.
Major 3V0-22.25 Skill Areas
| Area | What You Should Be Able to Do |
|---|---|
| Day-2 Operations | Perform operational tasks, integrations, RBAC and scaling |
| Capacity Management | Reclaim resources, rightsize workloads and configure capacity models |
| Capacity Forecasting | Use What-If scenarios for workloads, hosts and cloud migration |
| Cost Management | Work with cost drivers, pricing, rate cards, billing and chargeback |
| Operations Policies | Create, update and apply policies |
| Workload Optimization | Apply business and operational intent |
| Application Monitoring | Use Service Discovery and monitoring agents |
| Management Packs | Install and configure integrations and management packs |
| Troubleshooting | Work with alerts, notifications, logs and Troubleshooting Workbench |
| Dashboards & Reports | Build dashboards, views and reports |
| Fleet Management | Manage lifecycle, certificates, passwords and identity |
| Security & Compliance | Monitor compliance, configuration drift and auditing |
The official blueprint includes 16 objectives within its testable administration section, covering everything from Day-2 tasks and capacity management through licensing, Fleet Management and compliance monitoring.
Who Should Choose 3V0-22.25?
3V0-22.25 is the stronger match if your day-to-day work includes:
● VMware Cloud Foundation administration
● Performance and health monitoring
● Capacity planning and rightsizing
● Infrastructure optimization
● Cost or chargeback analysis
● Dashboards, alerts and reporting
● Operational troubleshooting
● Fleet lifecycle management
● Compliance and configuration monitoring
In simple terms:
3V0-22.25 asks whether you can operate a VCF private cloud effectively after it has been deployed.
Candidates following this path can review the current VMware 3V0-22.25 exam preparation and practice questions before the exam.
What Does the 3V0-23.25 Storage Exam Focus On?
The 3V0-23.25 Advanced VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Storage exam goes much deeper into storage design and implementation.
According to Broadcom, the associated certification validates the ability to design, configure, manage and troubleshoot advanced storage capabilities in VCF environments. The intended audience includes storage specialists, virtualization professionals, architects and experienced systems administrators.
Unlike the Operations blueprint, Storage objectives span architecture, VCF products, design, configuration and troubleshooting.
Major 3V0-23.25 Skill Areas
| Area | What You Should Understand |
|---|---|
| Storage Architecture | HCI versus traditional storage architectures |
| Storage Technologies | iSCSI, vSAN, NFS, FC and NVMe |
| vSAN Architecture | OSA versus ESA and vSAN components |
| VCF Storage | Principal and supplemental storage |
| Solution Design | vSAN and supported non-vSAN designs |
| Storage Sizing | Design capacity based on requirements |
| vSAN Deployment | Standard, stretched and two-node clusters |
| Storage Services | File Services and iSCSI Target Service |
| Security | vSAN encryption and key-related considerations |
| Data Protection | Protection configuration and recovery planning |
| Storage Policies | Create and configure vSAN storage policies |
| Monitoring | Monitor vSAN and non-vSAN storage |
| Troubleshooting | Diagnose and resolve storage issues |
The official blueprint specifically includes advanced topics such as vSAN ESA and OSA, stretched clusters, cross-cluster capacity sharing, encryption, File Services, iSCSI Target Services, Data Protection, storage policies and both vSAN and non-vSAN troubleshooting.
Who Should Choose 3V0-23.25?
Consider 3V0-23.25 if your role involves:
● VMware vSAN administration
● VCF storage architecture
● Storage design and sizing
● vSAN ESA
● Stretched or two-node clusters
● Storage policies
● Encryption
● Data protection
● File and block storage services
● Storage performance and troubleshooting
In short:
3V0-23.25 asks whether you can design, implement and troubleshoot the storage layer supporting a VCF environment.
Candidates pursuing this specialization can use the 3V0-23.25 Advanced VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Storage practice questions as part of their preparation.
3V0-22.25 or 3V0-23.25: Which Should You Take?
For most candidates, the decision becomes much easier when mapped to job responsibilities.
| Your Experience or Goal | Better Choice |
|---|---|
| Manage VCF environments every day | 3V0-22.25 |
| Monitor performance, health and capacity | 3V0-22.25 |
| Work heavily with VCF Operations | 3V0-22.25 |
| Manage dashboards, alerts and reports | 3V0-22.25 |
| Focus on operational troubleshooting | 3V0-22.25 |
| Work primarily with VMware vSAN | 3V0-23.25 |
| Design storage architectures | 3V0-23.25 |
| Manage vSAN ESA or stretched clusters | 3V0-23.25 |
| Work with storage policies and encryption | 3V0-23.25 |
| Specialize in storage performance or resiliency | 3V0-23.25 |
Choose 3V0-22.25 if you are an operations generalist
A cloud operations engineer or VCF administrator often interacts with compute, network and storage resources at an operational level. Your concern is usually whether the overall platform is healthy, appropriately sized, compliant and efficiently utilized.
That aligns closely with VCAP Operations.
Choose 3V0-23.25 if storage is your specialty
If your work goes significantly deeper into vSAN architecture, storage policies, fault tolerance, stretched clusters, encryption, data protection and storage troubleshooting, VCAP Storage provides much better alignment.
Is 3V0-23.25 Harder Than 3V0-22.25?
There is no universal answer because difficulty depends heavily on your experience.
However, Broadcom's own candidate profiles provide useful context. The Operations blueprint describes a candidate with approximately 6–12 months of VCF management experience, whereas the Storage blueprint recommends 12–18 months of hands-on VMware vSAN experience.
This does not mean VMware officially rates 3V0-23.25 as harder. Instead, it indicates that Storage expects deeper specialization in technologies such as vSAN ESA, storage design and storage services.
A candidate who has spent years managing vSAN might actually find 3V0-23.25 easier, while a cloud operations engineer may be much more comfortable with 3V0-22.25.
What Is the VMware Certification Path for These Exams?
This is an important point because VMware's certification rules changed.
Since May 6, 2024, Broadcom has removed mandatory training and prior-certification prerequisites for VCP, VCAP and Specialist certifications. Therefore, you do not currently need to earn a VCP first simply to become eligible for one of these VCAP exams.
The practical paths therefore look like this:
Operations Path
VCF Operations Experience
↓
Study VCF Operations 9.0 Objectives
↓
Prepare with 3V0-22.25 practice and hands-on labs
↓
Pass 3V0-22.25
↓
VMware Certified Advanced Professional – VCF Operations
Storage Path
vSAN / VCF Storage Experience
↓
Study VCF Storage 9.0 Objectives
↓
Prepare with 3V0-23.25 practice and hands-on labs
↓
Pass 3V0-23.25
↓
VMware Certified Advanced Professional – VCF Storage
Broadcom's certification pages currently list 3V0-22.25 as the required exam for the Operations credential and 3V0-23.25 as the required exam for the Storage credential.
Can You Take Both 3V0-22.25 and 3V0-23.25?
Yes. Because they represent different advanced specializations, taking both can make sense for professionals whose responsibilities span VCF operations and storage.
There is also no requirement to take them in numerical order.
A practical progression could be:
Broad VCF Administrator → 3V0-22.25 Operations → deeper vSAN experience → 3V0-23.25 Storage
or:
Storage / vSAN Specialist → 3V0-23.25 Storage → broader cloud operations role → 3V0-22.25 Operations
The best first exam is therefore the one closest to your current experience.
How to Prepare for 3V0-22.25 or 3V0-23.25
Because both are advanced VCAP exams, preparation should go beyond learning isolated facts.
1. Start with the official exam guide
Map every official objective against your existing experience. Mark topics you can perform without documentation and those that require more study.
2. Prioritize hands-on scenarios
For 3V0-22.25, spend additional time working with capacity, policies, dashboards, troubleshooting, optimization and Fleet Management.
For 3V0-23.25, prioritize vSAN ESA, storage policies, stretched clusters, encryption, File Services, data protection and troubleshooting.
3. Use practice questions to identify weak areas
Passcert currently provides separate preparation resources for both paths:
● 3V0-22.25 Practice Questions – Advanced VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Operations
● 3V0-23.25 Practice Questions – Advanced VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Storage
The purpose of practice should be to understand why a particular action fits a scenario, rather than memorizing isolated answers.
4. Review the overlap without confusing the two exams
Operations professionals still need awareness of infrastructure resources, including storage. Storage specialists also perform administration and troubleshooting.
The difference lies in depth and responsibility:
● 3V0-22.25 evaluates the operation of the wider VCF environment.
● 3V0-23.25 evaluates advanced storage architecture and administration within that environment.
Final Decision: 3V0-22.25 vs 3V0-23.25
The two exams share the same VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 ecosystem, VCAP level, exam length and passing-score model, but they validate distinctly different expertise.
Choose 3V0-22.25 Operations when your focus is running and optimizing the private cloud—monitoring, capacity, performance, cost, policies, troubleshooting and lifecycle management.
Choose 3V0-23.25 Storage when your focus is designing and operating the storage platform behind that cloud—especially vSAN, ESA, storage architecture, policies, resiliency, protection and troubleshooting.
Neither exam is a prerequisite for the other. If your role spans both disciplines, earning both is a reasonable way to demonstrate broader advanced VMware Cloud Foundation expertise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between 3V0-22.25 and 3V0-23.25?
3V0-22.25 focuses on VMware Cloud Foundation Operations, including monitoring, capacity, optimization, cost management, dashboards, troubleshooting and Fleet Management. 3V0-23.25 focuses on VCF Storage, including vSAN, storage architectures, storage policies, encryption, data protection and storage troubleshooting.
Do I need to pass 3V0-22.25 before 3V0-23.25?
No. They are separate VCAP specialization paths. Neither exam is a prerequisite for the other.
Do I need a VCP certification before taking 3V0-22.25 or 3V0-23.25?
VMware by Broadcom removed mandatory certification and training prerequisites for VCAP certifications in May 2024. Strong practical VCF experience is still highly recommended.
Which exam is better for a VMware administrator?
If your responsibilities involve broad VCF monitoring, management and optimization, 3V0-22.25 will usually align better. Administrators specializing in vSAN and storage infrastructure should consider 3V0-23.25.
Can I earn both VCAP Operations and VCAP Storage?
Yes. They validate different advanced competencies within VMware Cloud Foundation and can complement each other.
