Nutanix NCA-6.10 Nutanix Certified Associate NCA v6.10 Exam Practice Test

For a cluster withRedundancy Factor 2 (RF2), at least4 nodesare required to configure Erasure Coding. Erasure Coding (EC) distributes data and parity across nodes to improve storage efficiency while maintaining data protection. RF2 requires a minimum of 4 nodes to ensure sufficient space for data and parity distribution.

Other options:

3 nodes: Insufficient for EC with RF2.

5 and 6 nodes: Can support EC, but the minimum requirement is 4.

Nutanix Distributed Storage Fabric (DSF) provides storage access to an ESXi hypervisor using theNFS (Network File System)protocol. DSF abstracts the underlying storage hardware and exposes storage as an NFS datastore to ESXi hosts. This integration enables high performance, data protection, and scalability while simplifying storage management.

Other options:

LVM: Not used in Nutanix storage.

iSCSI: Used for specific use cases, not the default protocol for ESXi.

SMB: Not supported for ESXi environments.

For a Veeam Backup appliance using iSCSI to connect to an AHV-based Nutanix cluster, aData Services IP (DSIP)must be configured. The DSIP is a virtual IP that allows external systems to communicate with Nutanix storage using protocols such as iSCSI. This ensures seamless connectivity between Veeam and the Nutanix cluster.

A. Network Segmentation:While network segmentation is important for security, it is not specifically required for iSCSI connectivity.

B. Nutanix Objects:Nutanix Objects is used for object storage, not iSCSI connectivity.

C. Prism Central:Prism Central is used for multi-cluster management but is not involved in configuring iSCSI.

D. Data Services IP:Correct, as it enables external systems to connect via iSCSI.

The correct answer isB. From the My Nutanix Licensing Summary page, click Manage Licenses and follow the specified process.

WithNutanix Cloud Platform (NCP) Package Licensing, licensing is centrally managed through theMy Nutanix Portal, where customers can:

View license entitlements.

Allocate or assign licenses to clusters.

Download license files for upload via Prism Central or Prism Element.

The entry point for license assignment begins at theLicensing Summary page on the My Nutanix Portal.

Clarification of Other Options:

A and D:Prism Central and Prism Element are used touploadlicenses, not assign or generate them.

C:“Nutanix Portal” is a vague reference; the correct term is “My Nutanix”.

Official Reference:

Nutanix Licensing Guide – Cloud Platform Licensing

Excerpt: “Log in to My Nutanix > Licensing Summary > Manage Licenses to assign and manage licenses for your clusters.”

Answer: B

To enable Windows Defender Credential Guard, the VM must be configured withUEFI(Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) instead of Legacy BIOS. UEFI provides the necessary support for Secure Boot and Virtualization-Based Security (VBS), both of which are prerequisites for Credential Guard.

Steps:

When creating or editing the VM, selectUEFIas the firmware type.

Ensure Secure Boot and VBS are enabled in the OS configuration.

Shared storage for Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) is a use case for NutanixVolumes. Nutanix Volumes provides block storage (via iSCSI) to external systems, such as WSFC nodes, allowing them to share storage for failover clustering. This configuration is essential for high availability in Windows environments.

Other options:

Files: Provides file-based storage (NFS/SMB), not suited for WSFC shared block storage.

FT1 and RF2: Refer to Fault Tolerance and Redundancy Factor, not storage solutions.

The correct answer isB. Active/Backup.

Foredge environmentswith limited uplink capacity, such as1GbE, the recommended bond mode isActive/Backupdue to the following reasons:

Providesredundancywithout requiring link aggregation support from the upstream switch.

Avoids complexity and performance imbalance that can occur with hashing algorithms in other modes (e.g., Balance-SLB).

Round RobinandBalance-SLBcan causepacket reordering, performance issues, and are not ideal for low-throughput links.

Prism Element Configuration Path:

Network Configuration > Host NIC Bonding Mode

Official Reference:

Nutanix Network Best Practices Guide – Edge Deployment Section

Excerpt: “For clusters using 1GbE uplinks, Active/Backup bond mode is recommended for high availability without complexity.”

Answer: B

To remove old VM snapshots, the task should be completed from theVM dashboardin Prism Element. This dashboard allows administrators to manage virtual machine-related operations, including snapshot creation, deletion, and restoration. Steps include:

Navigate toPrism Element > VM.

Select the VM for which snapshots need to be deleted.

Click onSnapshots, then delete the selected snapshots.

Applying tags to licenses to streamline future renewals is a task that can be completed inPrism Central Licensing. Prism Central provides centralized license management for clusters, enabling administrators to apply and manage license tags, which simplifies tracking and renewal tasks across multiple clusters. Here's how it works:

Prism Central Licensing Overview:Prism Central includes a dedicated licensing interface that provides a consolidated view of all licenses associated with your clusters. From this interface, administrators can categorize licenses using tags such as "Renewal-2025" or "Production," making it easier to identify and manage renewals or assignments.

Steps to Apply Tags in Prism Central:

Navigate toPrism Central > Settings > Licensing.

Select the desired license(s) from the list.

Use the "Tags" option to create or apply predefined tags to categorize these licenses.

Why Not Other Options?:

A. Clusters in the Support Portal: The Support Portal is primarily used for support-related tasks, such as managing cases or accessing documentation, and does not include license tagging capabilities.

B. License Inventory in the Support Portal: While the Support Portal allows you to view license inventory, it does not support operational tasks like tagging.

D. Prism Element Licensing: Prism Element is focused on managing licensing for individual clusters and lacks the centralized management and tagging functionality available in Prism Central.

Nutanix Metro Availability provides the best Recovery Time Objective (RTO) because it enables synchronous replication between two sites. In the event of a failure at one site, VMs can be instantly restarted on the other site with minimal disruption. This setup ensures zero data loss and near-instantaneous recovery.

A. Async:Provides high RPO (Recovery Point Objective) but has a longer RTO compared to synchronous replication methods.

B. Availability Zone:This term refers to a general site setup, not specific to recovery objectives.

C. Metro Availability:Correct, as it uses synchronous replication for near-zero RTO.

D. NearSync:Provides better RPO than Async but does not match the RTO of Metro Availability.

Log files requested by Nutanix Support can be collected from theSettingsdashboard in Prism Element. Within Settings, administrators can access the "Export Logs" or "Support" section to collect and upload diagnostic data directly to Nutanix Support.

A. Settings:Correct, as logs are collected and uploaded via the Settings dashboard.

B. Alerts:Incorrect, as Alerts display system issues but do not provide log collection options.

C. Health:Incorrect, as the Health dashboard focuses on system checks and cluster status.

D. Analysis:Incorrect, as the Analysis dashboard provides performance monitoring, not log collection.

To license a new AOS-based cluster with no add-on packages, the appropriate license type isNutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI). The NCI license provides the fundamental capabilities required for Nutanix clusters, including:

Storage and data management.

Core virtualization features.

Compute resources for workloads.

NCI is designed for organizations that need the essential features of the Nutanix platform without additional add-ons such as database services (NDB) or advanced storage options (NUS).

Other options:

A. Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM):Focuses on management capabilities for multi-cloud and operational tasks, not core infrastructure licensing.

C. Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS):Specifically provides unified file and object storage capabilities, not relevant for a base AOS cluster.

D. Nutanix Database Service (NDB):A dedicated licensing tier for database management features.

TheData Protectionfeature in Prism Element provides built-in disaster recovery capabilities by enabling asynchronous replication between Nutanix clusters. With a latency of 30ms between the two sites, asynchronous replication can ensure that data is replicated efficiently while adhering to recovery point objectives (RPO). The administrator can configure Protection Domains and Replication Targets to set up DR between the clusters.

A. Recovery Plan:Incorrect, as Recovery Plans are part of Prism Central for orchestrated failover, not Prism Element.

B. Protection Policies:Incorrect, as these are defined under Prism Central.

C. Data Protection:Correct, as it enables disaster recovery via replication configurations in Prism Element.

D. Metro Cluster:Incorrect, as Metro Cluster requires low latency (<5ms) and is not suitable for a 30ms latency scenario.

When configuring a physical network switch in Prism Element,SNMP Configurationis required to enable monitoring and communication between the Nutanix cluster and the network switch. SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is used to gather metrics and detect issues such as link failures or performance bottlenecks, ensuring the cluster operates efficiently with the physical network infrastructure.

To verify if the cluster is currently protected from potential data loss due to a component failure, the administrator should check theData Resiliency Status widgeton the Prism Element Home dashboard. This widget provides real-time information about the cluster's resiliency status, including warnings or errors about data redundancy or protection.

Other options:

A. Select the gear icon and then select Pulse:Pulse is used for telemetry data, not data resiliency status.

B. Click on Home and then Alerts:Alerts show specific issues but do not directly indicate the overall resiliency status.

D. Navigate to the Health dashboard:The Health dashboard provides detailed health checks but does not display the current resiliency status.

The correct answer isB. Run Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC).

Before performingany upgrade procedure(AOS, Foundation, LCM, etc.), it is strongly recommended torun the Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC). This tool performs acomprehensive health assessmentof the cluster and validates its readiness for the upgrade, including:

Disk integrity

Network configuration

CVM health

Cluster services status

Prism UI Navigation Path:

Health > Run NCC Check (via Actions menu)

Command Line Alternative:

bash

CopyEdit

ncc health_checks run_all

Clarifications:

A (Put hosts into maintenance mode): Not required before upgrades; LCM handles host management automatically.

C (Put CVMs into maintenance mode): Not correct. CVMs must be operational during upgrades.

D (Clear all alerts): Irrelevant unless the alerts indicate upgrade-blocking issues, which NCC identifies.

Official Reference:

Nutanix Upgrade Guide – Pre-upgrade Checklist Section

Excerpt: “It is strongly recommended to run NCC prior to starting the upgrade process to detect any cluster issues.”

Answer: B

The correct answer isA. It customizes alert thresholds.

User-defined Alert PoliciesinPrism Centralallow administrators to definecustom alert conditionsandthresholdstailored to specific workload behaviors and operational requirements. This helps fine-tune monitoring by settingalert criteria for metrics such as CPU usage, memory utilization, IOPS, latency, etc., beyond the default system-generated alerts.

Key Capabilities Include:

Define conditions usingpredefined metrics.

Set thresholds andseverity levels.

Associate alerts withspecific entitieslike VMs, hosts, or clusters.

Integrate withemail, SNMP, or third-party tools.

Prism Central UI Navigation Path:

Alerts & Monitoring > Alert Policies > Create Alert Policy

Official Reference:

Nutanix Administration Guide – Alerts and Monitoring

Excerpt: “User-defined alert policies in Prism Central allow administrators to define custom thresholds for system metrics, enabling more granular and proactive monitoring.”

Nutanix Prism Central Guide – Alert Policies Section

Conclusion:Custom alert policies donotautomate VM migrations (C), limit access (B), or control update frequency (D). Only optionAreflects the actual function.

Answer: A

Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2)enables extending on-premises datacenters into public cloud environments, such as AWS or Azure. This solution allows administrators to seamlessly migrate workloads, scale operations, and manage resources across hybrid cloud environments using a unified control plane.

A. Nutanix Cloud Security:Incorrect, as this focuses on securing workloads in the cloud, not extending datacenters.

B. Nutanix Cloud Clusters:Correct, as NC2 enables hybrid cloud functionality by extending on-prem clusters into the public cloud.

C. Nutanix Kubernetes Engine:Incorrect, as this is used for container orchestration, not hybrid cloud extension.

D. Nutanix Data Services:Incorrect, as this refers to storage and data management capabilities.

The correct answer isD. Select Escalate within the existing ticket.

When working with Nutanix Support, the mosteffective and structuredway to request a callback or faster response is touse the "Escalate" functionavailable in the Support Portal for the specific support case. This formally flags the case forpriority handling, prompting action such as:

A direct call back from support.

Assignment of a higher-tier engineer.

Accelerated SLA response.

Clarifications:

A. Emailing the technicianmay go unnoticed or be delayed.

B. Opening a new ticketintroduces duplication and delays.

C. Replying within the casedoes not prompt immediate re-evaluation unless escalation is used.

Official Reference:

My Nutanix Support Portal Guide – Case Management

Excerpt: “Use the ‘Escalate’ option within an open case to notify Nutanix Support that a higher level of engagement is required.”

TheNutanix Moveutility is specifically designed for migrating VMs between hypervisors, including from ESXi to AHV. It automates the migration process while ensuring minimal downtime. Nutanix Move supports pre-migration assessments and automates data transfer and VM configuration for AHV.

A. Move:Correct, as it is the Nutanix tool for hypervisor migrations.

B. acli:Incorrect, as acli is used for command-line configuration and management within AHV, not migration.

C. Flow:Incorrect, as Nutanix Flow focuses on network security and micro-segmentation.

D. Ncli:Incorrect, as Ncli is a command-line utility for cluster management, not migration.

The correct answer isC. 4

Erasure Coding (EC-X)in Nutanix is a data efficiency feature that replaces multiple replicas with parity data to reduce storage overhead while still protecting against failures. Theminimum node requirementfor enabling Erasure Coding is4 nodes, due to the need to distribute data and parity across multiple failure domains.

Details:

RF2 with EC-Xrequires at least4 nodes.

RF3 with EC-Xrequiresat least 6 or 8 nodes, depending on configuration.

Prism UI Navigation Path:

Storage > Storage Containers > Enable EC-X

Official Reference:

Nutanix Bible – Erasure Coding Section

Nutanix Storage Admin Guide

Excerpt: “A minimum of 4 nodes is required in a Nutanix cluster to enable Erasure Coding (EC-X) with RF2.”

When using the LCM (Life Cycle Manager) Dark Site procedure, theLCM Frameworkshould be checked and upgraded first. The LCM Framework is the core component responsible for orchestrating updates for other Nutanix software components. Ensuring the framework is up to date guarantees compatibility and reliability during subsequent upgrades.

A. MSP:Incorrect, as MSP (Managed Service Provider) is not directly related to the LCM Dark Site procedure.

B. Foundation:Incorrect, as Foundation is used for initial cluster deployment, not for lifecycle management.

C. NCC:While NCC is critical for health checks, it does not need to be updated first in the LCM process.

D. LCM Framework:Correct, as it manages the update process and must be updated first.