LoadCairn / EPI CDCE

Free EPI CDCE sample quiz

Try ten questions from the validated CDCE practice bank, with every option, correct answer, and explanation shown on the page.

This sampler practices Part A. It does not simulate Part B’s open-question format.

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Exam guide

About the EPI CDCE exam

EPI CDCE (Certified Data Centre Expert) is a two-part exam. Part A has 60 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, is closed-book, and requires 45 correct answers. Part B has 25 open questions in 90 minutes, is closed-book, and requires 75%. EXIN accredits the exam; a valid CDCS certificate is the prerequisite, and the CDCE certificate is valid for 3 years. This hub and sampler practice Part A and do not simulate Part B’s open-question format.

10 questions · one from each module

Sample questions and explanations

  1. Question 1 · Module 1: Data Centre Life Cycle

    What is the correct high-level order of the stages in the EPI data centre life cycle for a build project?

    1. A.Design preparation, design planning, design development, acquire, construct, fit-out, test and commissioning, hand-over, operation, retirement
    2. B.Design development, design preparation, acquire, hand-over, construct, retirement, operation
    3. C.Acquire, design preparation, construct, design planning, fit-out, retirement, test and commissioning
    4. D.Operation, design preparation, design development, construct, hand-over, acquire, retirement

    Correct answer: A — Design preparation, design planning, design development, acquire, construct, fit-out, test and commissioning, hand-over, operation, retirement

    Explanation: The life cycle runs preparation, planning, development, acquisition, construction, fit-out, testing and commissioning, hand-over, operation and finally retirement, in that order.

  2. Question 2 · Module 2: Design Preparation

    What is the Statement Of Need (SON)?

    1. A.The contractor's statement of works
    2. B.The detailed equipment specification
    3. C.The business's solution-free statement of why a data centre is needed, what capability gap it closes and what success looks like
    4. D.The project's risk register

    Correct answer: C — The business's solution-free statement of why a data centre is needed, what capability gap it closes and what success looks like

    Explanation: The SON is the founding document: business driver, required outcome, fixed constraints and assumptions to validate — written before solutions.

  3. Question 3 · Module 3: Design Planning

    What is the purpose of the OSRA?

    1. A.To select the UPS topology for the design
    2. B.To price the construction works
    3. C.To list the equipment the vendors will supply
    4. D.To define, measurably and in operational language, what the facility must do in operation across normal, maintenance, failure, emergency and change states

    Correct answer: D — To define, measurably and in operational language, what the facility must do in operation across normal, maintenance, failure, emergency and change states

    Explanation: The Operational Systems Requirement Analysis states operational requirements — behaviour, not products — so compliance can be traced and tested.

  4. Question 4 · Module 4: Design Development

    What is the governing principle of design development?

    1. A.Speed of drawing production
    2. B.Minimising review meetings
    3. C.Deferring checks to commissioning
    4. D.Errors are found on paper, in reviews, in the right order — because the same error costs orders of magnitude more in construction and can cost the service in operation

    Correct answer: D — Errors are found on paper, in reviews, in the right order — because the same error costs orders of magnitude more in construction and can cost the service in operation

    Explanation: Development exists to retire design risk while correction is still a pencil act: gates, checks and validation in sequence.

  5. Question 5 · Module 5: Acquire

    What is the purchase order's role in protecting the validated design?

    1. A.It is a payment instruction only
    2. B.It allows the supplier to choose equivalent products
    3. C.It carries the selection into contract: exact product identity from the controlled BOM, requirements and standards made contractual, documentation, FAT obligations and acceptance conditions
    4. D.It replaces the design documents

    Correct answer: C — It carries the selection into contract: exact product identity from the controlled BOM, requirements and standards made contractual, documentation, FAT obligations and acceptance conditions

    Explanation: The PO is the contract in miniature; every claim the selection relied on must be traceable into an order requirement or a factory test.

  6. Question 6 · Module 6: Construct

    What are temporary essential services in construction?

    1. A.The contractor's welfare cabins only
    2. B.Engineered services that support the works — and, beside live operations, keep the existing critical facility alive while its infrastructure is extended or replaced
    3. C.Temporary lighting for the site office
    4. D.Services installed after practical completion

    Correct answer: B — Engineered services that support the works — and, beside live operations, keep the existing critical facility alive while its infrastructure is extended or replaced

    Explanation: Temporary power, cooling and protections adjacent to a live load are mission-critical systems in their own right, planned with method statements and rollbacks.

  7. Question 7 · Module 7: Fit-Out

    What is the primary purpose of the fit-out stage?

    1. A.To complete the facility's working interior to the validated design so it is ready to be proven by testing
    2. B.To obtain planning consent for the building
    3. C.To run the integrated performance test
    4. D.To transfer the facility to the operator

    Correct answer: A — To complete the facility's working interior to the validated design so it is ready to be proven by testing

    Explanation: Fit-out installs floors, containment, racks, pathways, distribution, monitoring and labelling to the frozen design; testing follows it.

  8. Question 8 · Module 8: Test & Commissioning

    What does IET prove?

    1. A.That the integrated facility survives a utility failure
    2. B.That each item of equipment, installed on site, works individually to its scripted criteria — installation, configuration, function, alarms, interfaces and safety
    3. C.That the item performed at the factory
    4. D.That the operator is trained

    Correct answer: B — That each item of equipment, installed on site, works individually to its scripted criteria — installation, configuration, function, alarms, interfaces and safety

    Explanation: The Individual Equipment Test is item-level proof on site; integration is IPVT's claim, factory performance was FAT's.

  9. Question 9 · Module 9: Hand-Over

    What three things does a proper hand-over transfer together?

    1. A.The keys, the manuals and the final invoice
    2. B.A proven physical facility, a complete documentary record, and legal accountability moving at defined moments under defined certificates
    3. C.Possession, the snag list and the catering contract
    4. D.The building, the staff and the budget

    Correct answer: B — A proven physical facility, a complete documentary record, and legal accountability moving at defined moments under defined certificates

    Explanation: Facility, record and accountability move together — or the transfer is incomplete in the way that generates disputes.

  10. Question 10 · Module 10: Retirement

    Which is the correct definition of retirement?

    1. A.Switching off the IT load
    2. B.Selling the building
    3. C.The planned, controlled withdrawal of a facility from service and the disposition of its site, systems and obligations
    4. D.The last day of the DLP

    Correct answer: C — The planned, controlled withdrawal of a facility from service and the disposition of its site, systems and obligations

    Explanation: Retirement is the whole final stage — decommissioning plus disposition plus closure of obligations — managed as a project.

Your score

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Choose your response for each question, then check your score. The answer key and explanations remain visible above.

Study guidance

Use the sampler to find your next topic

  • Choose your own answer before reading the answer key, then explain why the other options do not fit.
  • Use the module table as a study distribution for the stored question bank, not as a prediction of exam weighting.
  • The licensed hub can run a timed Part A practice session and save your answers for server-side grading.
  • Part B uses open questions. This multiple-choice sampler does not reproduce that format.

CDCE syllabus modules

Question counts are shown for study distribution only.

Study distribution from the validated 500-question bank
Syllabus topicStudy questions
Module 1: Data Centre Life Cycle14
Module 2: Design Preparation129
Module 3: Design Planning36
Module 4: Design Development71
Module 5: Acquire43
Module 6: Construct43
Module 7: Fit-Out21
Module 8: Test & Commissioning36
Module 9: Hand-Over57
Module 10: Retirement50

Questions

EPI CDCE sample quiz FAQ

How is the EPI CDCE exam structured?
EPI CDCE (Certified Data Centre Expert) is a two-part exam. Part A has 60 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes and is closed-book. Part B has 25 open questions in 90 minutes and is also closed-book.
What is the Part A passing requirement?
Part A requires at least 45 correct answers out of 60.
What is the Part B passing requirement?
Part B requires a score of at least 75%.
Does this hub simulate Part B?
No. The CDCE hub and sampler practice Part A multiple-choice questions and do not simulate Part B’s open-question format.
Who accredits the EPI CDCE exam?
EXIN accredits the EPI CDCE exam.
What certificate is required before taking EPI CDCE?
A valid CDCS certificate is the prerequisite for EPI CDCE.
How long is the EPI CDCE certificate valid?
The EPI CDCE certificate is valid for 3 years.
What do the module counts on this page represent?
The module counts show the stored practice questions by syllabus module for study distribution only.
What is included in the licensed CDCE practice hub?
The hub includes a 60-question, 90-minute timed Part A session, module practice in requested sizes of 10, 25, or 50 questions (capped at each module’s available distinct questions), review of missed questions only, and a progress view with saved scores, attempt history, practice accuracy, and missed-question count.

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