- D-CI-DS-23 is the Dell Technologies Proven Professional exam called Dell Cloud Infrastructure Design 2023, not any other credential sharing the code.
- The exam runs 90 minutes, is offered in English and French, and is delivered through Pearson VUE.
- Architecting a Do-It-Yourself Solution carries 25%, the heaviest of seven published domains.
- Dell's recommended preparation is the Cloud Infrastructure Planning and Design v2 on-demand course (ES732OCMCIPD2).
What D-CI-DS-23 Actually Is
D-CI-DS-23 is the exam code for Dell Cloud Infrastructure Design 2023. It is a design-focused exam: the questions test whether you can take requirements, constraints, and workload data and turn them into a sensible infrastructure architecture, rather than whether you can click through an installation wizard.
That distinction matters because the same string of characters is used by other, unrelated credentials in the wider certification world. On this site, and throughout this article, D-CI-DS-23 means one thing only: the Dell Technologies Proven Professional exam on cloud infrastructure design. If you have landed here from a search for a different credential, none of the exam details below will apply to it.
If you want other angles on the same question, the site also covers the D-CI-DS-23 meaning and a dedicated explainer on what D-CI-DS-23 stands for, which break down the naming convention in more detail.
Who Issues It and Where It Sits
The governing body is Dell Technologies, through its Dell Technologies Proven Professional program. Candidates qualify by having sufficient knowledge and skills, gained through hands-on experience and/or recommended training, and then passing this exact exam. There is no separate application gate described in the retrieved exam documentation beyond that expectation.
Two scope boundaries are worth stating clearly, because they are a common source of confusion:
- The predecessor exam DES-2T13 and its prerequisites are a different matter from D-CI-DS-23. Do not assume its logistics carry over.
- The separate Cloud Infrastructure and Services Foundations syllabus is also its own track. D-CI-DS-23 is the infrastructure design exam, and your preparation should be anchored to its own objectives.
Credential status is tracked in CertTracker, and Dell's recognition of a credential follows its current requirements, which can include moving to a revised exam when Dell requires it. For a fuller walkthrough of eligibility, see the D-CI-DS-23 requirements guide.
Exam Format and Delivery
The published facts about the exam are deliberately short. Here is what is confirmed and what is not.
| Item | What is published |
|---|---|
| Exam name | Dell Cloud Infrastructure Design 2023 |
| Exam code | D-CI-DS-23 |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Languages | English, French |
| Testing provider | Pearson VUE (test center or OnVUE online proctoring) |
| Question count | Not published in the retrieved exact-code sources |
| Passing score | Not published in the retrieved exact-code sources |
| Pass rate | Not published in the retrieved exact-code sources |
Be wary of any site that quotes a precise question count, cut score, or pass rate for this exam without citing Dell. Those figures are not in the official overview document, so treat unsourced numbers as noise. We discuss what can and cannot be said in the articles on the D-CI-DS-23 passing score and the D-CI-DS-23 pass rate.
Provisional results
Scoring is computer-based, but results are described as provisional pending Dell review. In practice that means you should read your on-screen outcome as preliminary until Dell finalizes it.
Online proctoring requirements
If you choose OnVUE rather than a physical test center, expect strict conditions: a passed system test, a government-issued photo ID that matches your registration name, and a private room with no books or notes. Run the system test well before exam day, not on the morning of the exam.
The Seven Exam Domains
Dell publishes seven objective areas with approximate question-distribution weights. These are the official domain names:
Domain 1: Introduction to Cloud Design and Design Parameters (10%)
The framing layer. Candidates need to understand what drives a cloud design: business goals, constraints, assumptions, and the parameters that shape every later decision.
- Distinguish requirements from constraints and assumptions
- Recognize how design parameters influence platform choice
Domain 2: Data Collection and Analysis (12%)
Design starts with evidence. This domain covers gathering information about the existing environment and workloads and analyzing it to inform sizing and placement.
- Identify what data to collect before proposing an architecture
- Interpret collected data to support design decisions
Domain 3: Architecting a Do-It-Yourself Solution (25%)
The largest domain. Here you design a solution built from separate compute, storage, and network components rather than a pre-integrated platform.
- Select and size building-block components against requirements
- Weigh flexibility against integration and operational effort
Domain 4: Architecting a CI / HCI Solution (18%)
Converged and hyperconverged designs. Expect to reason about when a pre-integrated approach is the better fit and how to size and lay it out.
- Contrast converged and hyperconverged approaches
- Match workload characteristics to the right integrated model
Domain 5: Cloud Management Platform (10%)
The management and orchestration layer that sits above the infrastructure, covering how services are requested, provisioned, and governed.
- Understand the role of a cloud management platform in a design
- Connect management capabilities to operational requirements
Domain 6: Hybrid Cloud and Multi Cloud (15%)
Designs that span on-premises and public environments, including the considerations that come with more than one cloud.
- Distinguish hybrid from multi-cloud strategies
- Account for placement, connectivity, and workload portability
Domain 7: Application Development and Deployment Platform (10%)
The platform layer for building and running applications, and how infrastructure design supports modern development and deployment practices.
- Relate infrastructure choices to application platform needs
For a deeper treatment of each area, the companion piece on all seven D-CI-DS-23 exam domains goes domain by domain.
What the Weights Tell You
The published weights are approximate, but they still reveal the exam's center of gravity. Three domains together account for 58% of the blueprint: Architecting a Do-It-Yourself Solution (25%), Architecting a CI / HCI Solution (18%), and Hybrid Cloud and Multi Cloud (15%).
The three smallest domains (Introduction to Cloud Design and Design Parameters, Cloud Management Platform, and Application Development and Deployment Platform) are 10% each. Do not ignore them: at 10% apiece they still total 30%, and each can easily decide a borderline result. They are also the most approachable domains, which makes them good places to bank reliable marks.
Concrete Topics to Master
Thinking in requirements, constraints, and assumptions
Design questions typically hand you a scenario and ask what to do next, or which option best satisfies a stated need. The skill being tested is separating what the customer needs from what is merely preferred, and noticing when a stated constraint rules out otherwise attractive options.
DIY versus integrated: the central trade-off
Because Domains 3 and 4 dominate, the central judgment call is when to assemble a solution from components and when to choose a converged or hyperconverged platform. Be ready to argue both sides: build-your-own offers flexibility and fine-grained control, while integrated platforms trade some of that for faster deployment and simpler operations.
Evidence before architecture
Data Collection and Analysis exists because poor sizing usually traces back to poor inputs. Know what categories of information a designer gathers about an existing environment and workloads, and why a design proposed without that data is risky.
Beyond a single data center
Hybrid and multi-cloud questions reward clear definitions. Know the difference between spanning on-premises and one public cloud versus using several clouds, and the design implications of each, such as where workloads live and how they connect.
Registration, Voucher, and Retakes
Registration runs through Pearson VUE, which handles both physical test centers and OnVUE online proctoring. The general Dell certification voucher is listed in the Pearson U.S. store at USD 230. The voucher expires 12 months after purchase, and that expiry is separate from the validity of any credential you earn: buying a voucher starts a 12-month clock for using it, nothing more.
Prices and store listings can change, and taxes or regional differences may apply, so confirm the current figure at checkout. For the full breakdown of what you might spend beyond the voucher, see the D-CI-DS-23 certification cost guide.
Retake policy
| Situation | Waiting period |
|---|---|
| After a first failed attempt | 7 days |
| After any later failed attempt | 14 days |
The short first-failure wait means a retake can happen quickly, but a quick retake is only useful if you have diagnosed what went wrong. If you do need to resit, use the gap to revisit your weakest domain rather than simply re-reading everything.
For scheduling specifics, see the notes on D-CI-DS-23 exam dates and scheduling.
Who Should Sit This Exam
This credential suits people whose work involves proposing or shaping infrastructure rather than only operating it. Typical fits include solution and infrastructure architects, pre-sales and systems engineers who size and position Dell solutions, and consultants who produce cloud infrastructure designs for customers. Administrators who want to move toward design work are also natural candidates.
We deliberately avoid quoting salary numbers or hiring statistics here, because none are published for this exam by Dell and invented figures help no one. If you are weighing the career case, the articles on whether the certification is worth it, the salary picture, and related job roles approach it qualitatively.
Key Takeaway
Hands-on experience and/or recommended training are the stated route in. If you have never designed or sized an environment, plan for the course plus practice with scenario-style questions, not memorization alone.
A Domain-Ordered Prep Sequence
Rather than a generic schedule, order your preparation around how the domains build on one another. Foundational framing first, then the heavy architecture domains while your energy is highest, then the broader platform topics.
Framing and evidence
- Domain 1: design parameters, requirements, constraints
- Domain 2: data collection and analysis, because every later design question assumes you know what inputs matter
The architecture core
- Domain 3 (25%): DIY solution architecture, the biggest single block
- Domain 4 (18%): CI / HCI, studied directly against Domain 3 so the trade-offs stay fresh
Beyond the data center
- Domain 6 (15%): hybrid and multi-cloud
- Domain 5: cloud management platform
- Domain 7: application development and deployment platform
Scenario practice
- Timed practice against the 90-minute window
- Review every miss by domain, then revisit the weakest one
Taking Domains 3 and 4 back to back is intentional: the exam repeatedly asks you to choose between build-your-own and integrated approaches, and studying them together makes the comparison automatic. Adapt the pace to your own experience; the sequence matters more than the exact number of weeks. A fuller plan is in the D-CI-DS-23 study guide, and the cheat sheet works well as a final-day refresher.
When you are ready to test yourself under realistic conditions, the D-CI-DS-23 practice tests let you rehearse scenario-style design questions against the 90-minute limit, and the difficulty guide helps you calibrate expectations. You can also review the full practice question bank to see which domains need more work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here it is the exam code for Dell Cloud Infrastructure Design 2023, a Dell Technologies Proven Professional exam. Other credentials elsewhere may reuse the same string, but this article and site refer only to the Dell exam.
The published duration is 90 minutes. The exam is offered in English and French, and it is delivered through Pearson VUE at a test center or via OnVUE online proctoring.
Architecting a Do-It-Yourself Solution is the largest at roughly 25%, followed by Architecting a CI / HCI Solution at 18% and Hybrid Cloud and Multi Cloud at 15%. The weights are approximate, as published by Dell.
Neither the question count nor the passing score is published in the retrieved exact-code sources, so we do not quote figures. Check Dell's exam page for any updates before you test.
The general Dell certification voucher is listed at USD 230 in the Pearson U.S. store and expires 12 months after purchase. Voucher expiry is separate from credential validity, and prices should be confirmed at checkout.
D-CI-DS-23 rewards candidates who can reason through a design scenario, not just recall definitions. Anchor your preparation to the seven published domains, weight your time toward the architecture and hybrid topics, and rely on Dell's own course and exam overview as the source of truth.