I B M C E R T I F I C A T I O N
F1005200 IBM Certified Advanced Architect v2 PLUS IBM Power Virtual Server v1 Specialty Practice Exam
Exam Number: 4306 | Last updated April 17, 2026 | 358+ questions across 5 vendor-aligned objectives
Professionals pursuing the F1005200 bundle already hold — or aim to hold — both the IBM Certified Advanced Architect v2 and the IBM Power Virtual Server v1 Specialty credentials. This combined track validates architectural judgment across hybrid workloads, with strength in mapping IBM Power Systems estates to IBM Cloud. Candidates design cross-cloud architectures, weigh cost and compliance trade-offs, and guide delivery teams through a full solution lifecycle.
Leading the blueprint at 25%, Hybrid Architecture Design covers landing zones, reference topologies, and the division of workloads across on-premises Power Systems and IBM Cloud. A full 22% of the exam targets Migration and Modernization, covering assessment frameworks, wave planning, and replatforming AIX, IBM i, and Linux on Power applications. At 20%, Network and Security Design covers Direct Link, Transit Gateway, private endpoints, and IAM-based segmentation.
Balancing the exam, Resiliency and Continuity accounts for 18% and spans PowerHA SystemMirror, Global Replication Services, and cross-region DR design. The final 15% covers Economics and Governance, which spans TCO modeling, reserved-capacity purchasing, and FinOps practice on IBM Cloud. Scenario questions frequently force you to pick between patterns that each pass a single-objective test but differ on cost, risk, or delivery timeline.
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Question #1 - Hybrid Architecture Design
An architect at a multinational retailer is designing a hybrid landing zone. On-premises IBM Power hosts the POS core, and a new analytics workload will run on IBM Cloud. The architect must defend the placement of each component to the CFO (cost) and the CISO (risk).
Which decision structure best supports the defense?
A) Keep core-transactional POS on-premises near store endpoints, place analytics in cloud for elasticity, and document trade-offs against both cost and risk criteria
B) Place everything in cloud to minimize on-prem OPEX
C) Leave everything on-premises to avoid cloud risk entirely
D) Let each business unit pick independently
Show solution
Correct answers: A – Explanation:
A defensible hybrid design documents placement decisions against explicit cost and risk criteria, which is what the CFO and CISO need. All-in-cloud ignores latency to store endpoints and risk concerns. All-on-prem forgoes the elasticity benefit analytics workloads gain. Independent BU choices produce fragmented architectures that are hard to defend centrally. Source: Check Source
Question #2 - Migration and Modernization
During migration assessment, an architect finds 200 AIX LPARs. Roughly 60% are stable batch workloads, 30% are candidates for replatforming to containers, and 10% are end-of-life and scheduled for retirement.
Which wave plan is most defensible?
A) Migrate everything at once to minimize dual-run costs
B) Replatform first to force modernization of every workload
C) Retire first, lift-and-shift the stable batch next, replatform the remaining workloads last with modernization squads
D) Delay all migration pending a full replatform
Show solution
Correct answers: C – Explanation:
Retiring first removes dead weight, a lift-and-shift wave captures easy wins, and replatforming last lets modernization squads focus on workloads that benefit, which matches assessment-driven wave planning. Migrating everything at once overwhelms teams and maximizes risk. Forcing replatform on every workload wastes effort on stable batch jobs. Delaying all migration trades certainty for perpetual planning. Source: Check Source
Question #3 - Network and Security Design
A hybrid design connects on-premises IBM Power to IBM Cloud via Direct Link and requires zero-trust principles between microservices running in VPCs in different accounts.
Which pattern best enforces zero-trust east-west?
A) A flat VPC with no segmentation
B) All traffic routed through a single public load balancer
C) VPC segmentation with Transit Gateway for cross-account routing and security groups plus context-based restrictions enforcing identity-aware boundaries
D) A single shared account with no boundaries between services
Show solution
Correct answers: C – Explanation:
Segmented VPCs linked by Transit Gateway, with security groups and context-based restrictions, enforce network and identity-aware boundaries between services, which is the core of zero-trust. A flat VPC provides no segmentation. A public load balancer exposes internal traffic. A single shared account defeats blast-radius containment. Source: Check Source
Question #4 - Hybrid Architecture Design
A reference topology must accommodate three data residencies (US, EU, and APAC) with in-region data processing and cross-region analytics aggregation that excludes PII.
Which pattern is most appropriate?
A) A single global region for all processing
B) Keep all analytics on-premises in a single country and ship data there
C) Replicate PII to every region so each site has a complete copy
D) Regional production stacks per residency, with an aggregation tier that consumes de-identified data only
Show solution
Correct answers: D – Explanation:
Regional processing combined with de-identified aggregation respects residency while enabling global analytics, which is the framework-consistent pattern. A single global region violates in-region processing. Replicating PII everywhere amplifies breach impact and violates residency. Shipping all data to one country violates residency for the other jurisdictions. Source: Check Source
Question #5 - Resiliency and Continuity
A hybrid ERP stack needs a cross-region DR posture with RPO ≤ 1 minute and RTO ≤ 30 minutes. On-premises Power hosts the database, and application tiers run in IBM Cloud.
Which pattern meets the requirements?
A) Nightly full backups shipped to the DR site
B) Single-region deployment with daily snapshots only
C) Manual rebuild of the DR environment after a disaster declaration
D) PowerHA SystemMirror with Global Replication Services for the database, plus pre-provisioned application tiers in the DR region with automated failover
Show solution
Correct answers: D – Explanation:
PowerHA with Global Replication Services keeps the database RPO within seconds, and pre-provisioned app tiers enable a short RTO, meeting both targets. Nightly backups produce an RPO in hours. Manual rebuilds produce an RTO in days. Single-region plus daily snapshots fails both targets and does not provide cross-region protection. Source: Check Source
Question #6 - Economics and Governance
A CFO asks whether reserved-capacity purchasing or on-demand pricing is better for a steady, 24×7 workload expected to run for at least three years on IBM Cloud.
Which recommendation is strongest?
A) Reserved-capacity purchasing sized for the baseline, with on-demand headroom for peaks
B) On-demand for everything to preserve flexibility
C) Classic infrastructure monthly billing only
D) Spot-style preemptible instances for the core baseline
Show solution
Correct answers: A – Explanation:
Reserved capacity for predictable baseline workloads captures the largest discount, and on-demand headroom handles peaks, which minimizes long-run cost at a known baseline. All-on-demand forgoes the reserved-capacity discount for a workload with steady demand. Classic monthly billing lacks the reserved-capacity structure on VPC. Preemptible instances are inappropriate for steady core workloads because they can be reclaimed. Source: Check Source
Question #7 - Migration and Modernization
A migration wave includes an aging IBM i application with tight integration to on-premises batch print. The team must decide between a lift-and-shift to Power Virtual Server and a full refactor.
Which consideration most strongly favors lift-and-shift?
A) The business has committed to eliminating all legacy code within 12 months
B) The application is stable, the team has no IBM i refactor budget, and deadline pressure to exit the data center is high
C) The business wants a new user experience that the existing app cannot deliver
D) There is strong developer capacity to rewrite in a modern stack
Show solution
Correct answers: B – Explanation:
Lift-and-shift is the right call when the app is stable, refactor capacity is absent, and time pressure is acute, because it buys time without betting on a simultaneous modernization. A commitment to eliminate legacy code in 12 months argues for replatforming, not lift-and-shift. A required new user experience argues for refactor. Strong developer capacity weakens the lift-and-shift case and supports modernization. Source: Check Source
Question #8 - Hybrid Architecture Design
An architect is choosing between two candidate reference architectures: one uses a shared services VPC for DNS, logging, and identity; the other embeds these functions in each workload VPC.
Which choice is most defensible for enterprise scale?
A) Shared services VPC centralizes common functions and reduces duplication, with well-defined boundaries
B) Embedded services in every workload VPC are simpler
C) Neither; use on-premises services for cloud workloads
D) A single flat account with no VPC separation
Show solution
Correct answers: A – Explanation:
A shared services VPC avoids duplicated infrastructure, centralizes governance, and is the canonical enterprise pattern. Embedding services per VPC multiplies operational cost and configuration drift. Forcing cloud workloads through on-premises services introduces latency and a single point of failure. A flat single account loses all blast-radius containment. Source: Check Source
Question #9 - Resiliency and Continuity
A DR runbook is being rehearsed. The team discovers that after a simulated failure, the application starts in the DR region but cannot reach a licensing server in the primary region because routing was not planned.
Which design change addresses this?
A) Leave routing out of the runbook and fix it during the real event
B) Pre-provision DR-side network routes, including cross-region paths to dependencies, and validate them in each rehearsal
C) Move the licensing server to a public IP and skip routing entirely
D) Add a retry loop in the application to try the licensing server repeatedly
Show solution
Correct answers: B – Explanation:
Rehearsal-validated, pre-provisioned routes including paths to cross-region dependencies are essential for a usable DR posture. Deferring routing to a live event guarantees an outage. Public exposure of the licensing server creates security risk without solving the routing gap. Application retry loops do not create routes that do not exist. Source: Check Source
Question #10 - Network and Security Design
A security review of a hybrid design notes that operators reach cloud resources through a public bastion on the internet. The reviewer asks for a design that removes public attack surface while preserving operator access.
Which design best meets the need?
A) Disable operator access entirely
B) Private bastion reachable only via Direct Link and IAM-federated identity, with per-session logging
C) Expand bastion exposure to multiple public IPs for redundancy
D) Use a shared operator password to simplify login
Show solution
Correct answers: B – Explanation:
A private bastion reachable only over Direct Link, gated by federated identity with per-session logging, preserves operator access and removes internet attack surface. Disabling operator access is not a design; it is a workaround. More public IPs expand attack surface. Shared passwords break audit and identity. Source: Check Source
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Exam mode & learn mode · Score by objective · Updated April 17, 2026
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What the F1005200 architect v2 power server v1 exam measures
- Architect and defend landing zones, reference topologies, and workload-placement patterns to deliver hybrid designs that survive scrutiny from security, finance, and operations stakeholders
- Assess and sequence migration waves, replatforming plans, and modernization backlogs to move IBM Power estates to IBM Cloud with predictable timelines and minimal risk
- Segment and protect Direct Link, Transit Gateway, private endpoints, and IAM-based zones to enforce network and identity boundaries across multi-account, multi-region deployments
- Engineer and rehearse PowerHA SystemMirror, Global Replication Services, and cross-region DR runbooks to hit aggressive RTO and RPO targets for mission-critical hybrid workloads
- Model and govern TCO, reserved-capacity purchasing, and FinOps practice to keep cloud spend aligned with business value as estates scale into production
How to prepare for this exam
- Review the official exam guide to understand every objective and domain weight before you begin studying
- Work through the relevant IBM Training learning path — ibm certified advanced architect v2 plus ibm power virtual server v1 specialty F1005200 — to cover vendor-authored material end-to-end
- Get hands-on inside IBM TechZone or a comparable sandbox so you can practice the console tasks, CLI commands, and APIs the exam expects
- Tackle a real-world project at your workplace, a volunteer role, or an open-source repository where the technology under test is actually in use
- Drill one exam objective at a time, starting with the highest-weighted domain and only moving on once you can teach it to someone else
- Study by objective in PowerKram learn mode, where every explanation links back to authoritative IBM documentation
- Switch to PowerKram exam mode to rehearse under timed conditions and confirm you consistently score above the pass mark
Career paths and salary outlook
Advanced architects who can span Power and cloud sit at the top of the IBM certification track:
- IBM Cloud Advanced Architect — $155,000–$205,000 per year, leading hybrid-cloud design for enterprise Power workloads (Glassdoor salary data)
- Principal Solutions Architect — $165,000–$215,000 per year, owning multi-cloud architecture for Fortune 500 clients (Indeed salary data)
- Hybrid Cloud Consulting Partner — $180,000–$240,000 per year, advising C-suite sponsors on cloud transformation (Glassdoor salary data)
Official resources
Work through the official IBM Training learning path for this certification, which bundles videos, labs, and skill tasks aligned to every objective. The official exam page lists the full objective breakdown, prerequisite knowledge, and scheduling details.