Pass DES-4421 Certification Exam Fast

DES-4421 Exam Has Been Retired

This exam has been replaced by Dell with new exam.

Dell DES-4421 Exam Details

The Dell DES-4421 exam qualifies candidates for the Specialist-Implementation Engineer, PowerEdge MX Modular certification. This test addresses the skills needed to install, configure, and manage products for the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX Server.

Certification & Exam Overview

This is a specialist-level certification that validates the candidates’ intermediate knowledge of the installation, configuration, maintenance, and troubleshooting of Dell EMC PowerEdge MX Server products. According to the official vendor, Dell Technologies, all candidates pursuing this certification must satisfy a few requirements including attaining one of the associate-level certificates listed below:

  • Associate-PowerEdge Version 1.0;
  • Associate-PowerEdge Version 2.0;
  • Dell Certified Associate-PowerEdge;
  • Dell Certified Professional-PowerEdge;
  • Specialist-Implementation Engineer, PowerEdge Version 1.0;
  • CompTIA Server+.

Remember, passing the above-mentioned DES-4421 exam is also part of the mandatory requirements associated with this designation. This test, in particular, will consist of two parts, where the initial one will hold 54 items to be accomplished within 90 minutes and where the second part will contain 6 simulation items that need to be completed within a 30-minute period. For both of these portions, the minimum passing score required is 66%. As for the products tested, among them, you’ll encounter PowerEdge MX Platform Server Components, OpenManage Enterprise Modular (OME-E), and finally, PowerEdge MX Platform Networking Elements.

DES-4421 Most Likely Topics

The DES-4421 exam will likely cover five major functional areas. It’s important to note that the percentage score against every test domain indicates the estimated weight that the specific topic will have in the actual exam. Also, Dell stresses the need to exhaust all the available study resources because this test may also focus on completely new topics that are previously not highlighted in the exam handbook. These domains include the following:

  • MX-Series Introduction (10%);
  • MX7000 Management (38%);
  • MX Installation and Configuration (18%);
  • MX Networking (20%);
  • MX Troubleshooting (14%),

Detailed Exam Description

Now we will be breaking down what every test domain focuses on, in more detail:

  • MX-Series Introduction

    Such a tested area will focus on your ability to describe a wide range of components including MX7000 numbering schemes and chassis components, the sled components for MX7000 storage alongside compute, and MX5016s configurations & storage sleds.

  • Management of MX7000

    MX7000 is the second topic that candidates need to master to easily cruise through the Dell DES-4421 exam. This chapter addresses what the learners need to know to successfully describe a wide range of concepts including infrastructure for MX Chassis Management, OME-M features, mapping drives, the management of storage sled, and Fabric C. In addition, this domain will cover the use of daisy chains, slot profiles, logs, consolidation, and simplification as well as a description of firmware updates, iDRAC features, the usage and advantages of the Lifecycle Controller, and finally, the nature, usage, and advantages of Redfish.

  • MX Configuration & Installation

    To excel in this topic, candidates should be willing to describe the process of power-on for sleds and the chassis, the preliminary installation of an MX7000, the concepts used in the opening chassis configuration with the Chassis Deployment Wizard, and the usage of sleds for compute such as supported and location OS.

  • Networking for MX

    This is the second largest exam domain after the topic of MX7000 Management. It covers what students need to know to effortlessly describe the major differences between SmartFabric Mode and Full Switch Mode, the supported fabrics as far as Ethernet switches are involved, and the basic networking requirements associated with specific MX7000 models. What’s more, this scope will confirm if you can explain the dominant administrative functions during the interconnection of two or more chassis, the switching features available on switches for MX, and the steps involved in performing an opening out-of-box setup utilizing OME-M and OS 10 CLI.

  • MX Troubleshooting

    This is the last topic that’s directly linked with the Dell DES-4421 exam. And for that reason, it will summarize what the learners should know to complete two broad tasks as listed below:

    • Describing the usage of OME-M when collecting logs, reviewing status & alerts, and checking system health.
    • Defining the popular troubleshooting procedures for resolving hardware issues.

Career Opportunities

You will probably have heard that passing the DES-4421 means much more than just getting intermediate-level skills. It is also the certification test of choice when you want to assume new roles in the field of network engineering. Acing this test alone comes with the huge benefit of becoming an implementation engineer, an exceptional role in modern IT departments. Let’s see what this role involves, in particular:

  • Implementation Engineer

    Implementation engineers are responsible for helping clients monitor the software implementation lifecycle and assisting with making the right customization that fits all software options for clients. These individuals take a ton of pride in training the technical staff on the common hardware and software issues and identifying underlying issues in processes as well as giving accurate solutions on the same. Given their job scope, it can be argued that implementation engineers are the go-to specialists when a technical company desires to gain work effectiveness and increase outputs by improving its internal specialties. On that note, the median annual salary that you can expect while working in this role is around $80k according to Glassdoor.

Your Career Path

The Specialist-Implementation Engineer, PowerEdge MX Modular certification is part of the Dell Servers certification path that includes two levels: Associate and Specialist certificates. The vendor has no provision for expert-level training in this path. So, after completing your DES-4421 exam, the most reasonable decision will be to either focus on a different certification at the same level or choose a completely different certification vendor. If you opt to stay within the Dell certification track, you will have one popular option here including the DCS-IE: Implementation Engineer, PowerEdge M1000e, FX, VRTX designation. Alternatively, you can opt to go with popular IT certification vendors with training geared towards your long-term career objectives. Some of the best options here include Google, AWS, and Cisco.