VCP-DCV vSphere Lifecycle Management Practice Question
During a vLCM health check, an administrator sees that the health status for a cluster is 'Error' with the message: 'Unable to connect to the depot service at https://depot.vmware.com'. The cluster is configured to use the online depot. What is the most likely cause?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
A firewall is blocking outbound HTTPS access to the internet.
A firewall blocking outbound HTTPS traffic to the internet would prevent the vCenter from connecting to the online depot at https://depot.vmware.com. Option A is incorrect because DNS resolution failure would typically result in a 'Name or service not known' error, not an inability to connect. Option B is incorrect because an expired certificate would cause SSL verification errors, not a connection error. Option D is incorrect because the cluster image URL being invalid would cause an image-related error, not a depot connection error.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
DNS resolution is failing for the vCenter server.
Why it's wrong here
DNS failure for vCenter would affect other services; here it's specifically the depot.
- ✗
The vCenter server's certificate is expired.
Why it's wrong here
Certificate expiry would cause a different error, such as SSL handshake failure.
- ✓
A firewall is blocking outbound HTTPS access to the internet.
Why this is correct
vLCM needs internet access to the depot; firewall blocks cause connection timeouts.
- ✗
The cluster image has an invalid URL.
Why it's wrong here
The error says unable to connect, not invalid URL.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This VCP-DCV practice question is part of Courseiva's free VMware certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the VCP-DCV exam.