Nutanix NCP-EUC Nutanix Certified Professional - End User Computing (NCP-EUC) v6 Exam Exam Practice Test

Shadow Clones are a unique feature of the AOS storage that enables distributed caching of virtual disks (vDisks) used by virtual machines1. Shadow Clones provide effective caching optimization in distributed multireader scenarios, such as large VDI and cloud deployments2.

The warning message you see indicates that Shadow Clones are disabled on your Nutanix cluster. This may affect the performance of your Instant Clone desktop pool, as it will not benefit from the caching optimization provided by Shadow Clones.

https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/solutions/details?targetId=TN-2100-Performance-Analysis-Nutanix-Shadow-Clones:TN-2100-Performance-Analysis-Nutanix-Shadow-Clones

One of them is Nutanix Frame, which is a cloud-based service that delivers virtual apps and desktops from any cloud provider or on-premises datacenter.

Nutanix Frame simplifies VDI deployment by providing automated cloud resource orchestration, user session brokering, and environment administration.

Another solution is Nutanix Citrix Cloud, which is a hybrid cloud solution that integrates Nutanix HCI with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service.

Nutanix Citrix Cloud enables VDI deployment by providing centralized management and delivery of virtual apps and desktops through Citrix Cloud Services.

According to Nutanix best practices2, one of the steps needed for deploying VDI with Nutanix Citrix Cloud is to configure the PE Citrix Connection.

This step involves creating a connection between the Nutanix Prism Element (PE) cluster and the Citrix Cloud account, which allows Nutanix to register as a resource location for Citrix Cloud Services.

This connection also enables Nutanix to provide performance metrics, alerts, and actions for the virtual apps and desktops running on Nutanix HCI.

Frame is a cloud-native desktop-as-a-service platform that delivers virtual apps and desktops from multiple public clouds1. Frame allows administrators to manage various components of their cloud accounts easily from the Frame console1.

A cloud account is a logical grouping of resources that are associated with a specific cloud provider (such as AWS, Azure, or Google) and region1. A cloud account can have multiple virtual networks, master images, and instance types that can be used to create and run virtual apps and desktops1.

To configure AWS, Azure, and Google accounts within Frame, an administrator needs to go to the Cloud Accounts section of the Frame console1. There, the administrator can add new cloud accounts or edit existing ones by providing the required credentials and settings for each cloud provider12.

https://docs.frame.nutanix.com/platform/infrastructure/byo/cloud-accounts/

The CPU usage percentage indicates how much of the allocated CPU resources the virtual desktop is consuming.

A high CPU usage percentage means that the virtual desktop is using a lot of CPU resources, which can affect the performance of other virtual desktops on the same host or cluster.

According to Nutanix best practices, the recommended CPU usage percentage for virtual desktops is less than 80%.

• VM-0001 (99%)
• VM-0002 (98%)
• VM-0003 (97%)
• VM-0004 (96%)
• VM-0005 (95%)
• VM-0010 (85%)
• VM-0016 (81%)

These virtual desktops are likely contributing to the performance issue by consuming too much CPU resources and starving other virtual desktops from performing adequately.

Sysprep is a Microsoft tool that prepares a Windows installation for cloning, auditing, and customer delivery23. The Frame Sysprep Helper Tool is designed to simplify the Microsoft Sysprep process by parsing errors reported by sysprep and immediately repairing them when possible1. Therefore, the tool that the administrator can use to prepare the Sysprep of the sandbox with error parsing is A (Frame Sysprep Helper Tool).

Shadow Clones are a feature of the AOS storage that enables distributed caching of virtual disks (vDisks) that are read by multiple VMs on different nodes. This can improve performance and reduce network traffic in scenarios such as VDI deployments.

Therefore, if Shadow Clones were disabled, it could cause delays in the deployments of VD’ desktops, as they would have to read the vDisk from a remote node instead of a local cache.

administrator can take to resolve the issue of performance for several full clone virtual desktops within Cluster01 by migrating them to Cluster02. 

a recovery plan is a set of steps that defines how to recover guest VMs from a disaster. A recovery plan can be used to migrate VMs between Nutanix clusters at the same or different availability zones1.

Frame is a cloud-based desktop-as-a-service platform that allows users to access Windows applications and desktops from any device1. A license server is a server that hosts a network licensing manager for software that requires licenses to run2. Frame supports using a utility server as a license server for Frame desktops1. A utility server is a stand-alone, general purpose Windows server that can be configured and managed from the Frame dashboard1.

https://docs.frame.nutanix.com/platform/admin/utility-servers/

Citrix Workspace includes several components that can replace or integrate with the traditional Citrix infrastructure components, such as:

• Citrix Cloud Services, which provide management and orchestration capabilities for Citrix Workspace, such as Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service, Citrix Gateway service, Citrix Endpoint Management service, etc.
• Citrix Workspace app, which is a client software that enables users to access their apps and desktops from any device.
• Citrix Cloud Connectors, which are software agents that establish a secure connection between Citrix Cloud Services and the on-premises or cloud-based resources, such as Active Directory, hypervisors, VDAs, etc.

According to Citrix documentation2, an administrator who chooses to move all of the backend Citrix infrastructure to be managed as a service by Citrix can use the following components:

• Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service, which replaces the Citrix Delivery Controllers and provides centralized management and delivery of virtual apps and desktops.
• Citrix Studio, which is still available as a web-based console for configuring and managing the virtual apps and desktops environment.
• Citrix Gateway service, which replaces the Citrix NetScaler and provides secure remote access to virtual apps and desktops through a single URL.
• Citrix StoreFront, which is still available as an optional component for providing users with self-service access to their apps and desktops through a web portal or native receiver.

Deduplication is a process that eliminates duplicate data blocks and reduces the amount of storage space required for virtual desktops. Deduplication can be enabled at both cluster level and container level on Nutanix.

Deduplication can also work with VCAI (View Composer Array Integration), which is a feature that uses Nutanix native NFS snapshot technology to clone VMs2. VCAI can improve performance and reduce storage consumption for linked-clone desktop pools.

Another feature that can help with capacity issue is Shadow Clones, which is a distributed caching mechanism that allows multiple VMs to read from a single vDisk copy stored locally on each node3. Shadow Clones can reduce network traffic and improve boot times for virtual desktops.

https://www.nutanix.com/support-services/training-certification/certifications/certification-details-nutanix-certified-professional-ncp-euc-v6

This is because having too many snapshots can cause serialization or deserialization errors when using the JSON serializer5

https://next.nutanix.com/product-updates/ahv-plug-in-for-citrix-director-1-1-4-0-released-39682

Nutanix AHV Plug-In for Citrix Director provides more information on Citrix generated desktops running on Nutanix AHV. Some of the metrics that are available in customized reports are:

• VM CPU Usage
• VM Memory Usage
• VM Disk IOPS
• VM Disk Bandwidth

Writable AppVolumes are a feature of VMware App Volumes that provides users with a dedicated virtual disk for storing user profile data and user-installed applications1. Writable AppVolumes are stored as VMDK files on a datastore2.

To protect Writable AppVolumes during a disaster in a Nutanix environment, one possible solution is to use asynchronous DR between two sites. Asynchronous DRallows you to replicate VMs and their associated data from one site to another at regular intervals using protection domains and remote sites3.

https://www.nutanix.com/blog/vmware-app-volumes-on-nutanix

alert policies are rules that define the conditions for generating alerts on Nutanix clusters1. You can create custom alert policies based on your specific needs and preferences2Playbooks are automated workflows that perform actions based on triggers such as alerts3. You can create playbooks using predefined alerts or alerts matching criteria3.

To ensure that the vice president of IT infrastructure has the best possible experience and to be notified if any CPU resource constraints on the virtual desktop, one possible solution is to create a new alert policy to alert if the CPU on the virtual desktop is over a certain threshold (for example, 80%) and configure a playbook to send a notification (forexample, via email or Slack) to the administrator23. This way, the administrator can monitor the performance of the virtual desktop and take appropriate actions if needed.

https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Prism-Central-Guide-vpc_2022_6:mul-alert-policies-customize-system-pc-t.html

https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-workspace/integrate.html

The Prism Citrix Cloud integration feature allows you to configure the Citrix Cloud settings in Prism Central and connect your Nutanix cluster as a resource location in Citrix Cloud4. This enables you to use Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service to deliver applications and desktops to your end users.

To use this feature, you need to meet some prerequisites, such as:

• The Prism Central version must be 2020.11 or later.
• The AOS version must be 5.15 LTSR or later.
• The hypervisor must be AHV or ESXi.
• You must have a valid Citrix Cloud account with access to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service4.

One of the steps for configuring the Prism Citrix Cloud integration is to establish the connection to Citrix Cloud. To do this, you need to provide three pieces of information:

• Customer ID: This is a unique identifier for your Citrix Cloud account that can be found in your profile settings2.
• Client ID: This is a unique identifier for an API client that can access your Citrix Cloud account. You can create an API client in your identity and access management settings2.
• Secret Key: This is a secret string that authenticates the API client. You can generate a secret key when you create an API client2.

https://next.nutanix.com/community-blog-154/new-x-play-actions-in-prism-central-2021-7-40005

The Prism Central Playbook Action is a tool that allows you to automate tasks based on triggers, such as events, alerts, or webhooks. You can define a series of actions (called a playbook) that perform operations on your infrastructure, such as adding or reducing resources on a VM2.

To use the Playbook Action for VMs, you need to meet some prerequisites, such as:

• The Prism Central version must be 2020.11 or later.
• The AOS version must be 5.15 LTSR or later.
• The hypervisor must be AHV or ESXi.
• The VMs must have Nutanix Guest Tools (NGT) installed and enabled3.

One of the possible reasons why the Playbook Action is no longer being triggered is that the virtual desktop CPU Usage alerts were not cleared. According to the Prism Central guide3, “If an alert has been triggered once and has not been cleared yet, then it will not trigger any action again until it has been cleared”. Therefore, if the CPU Usage alert remains active for a virtual desktop, it will prevent the Playbook Action from adding more vCPUs to it.

non-persistent VDI desktops are virtual desktops that do not save any changes made by the user after they log off or shut down12. They rely on a master image that contains the OS, configuration settings, and other customizations that replicate to multiple virtual desktops1.

one of the factors that affects end-user performance in a virtual desktop environment is network latency, which is the time it takes for data packets to travel between two points on a network.

Therefore, if the company wants to optimize end-user performance, they should choose a public cloud data center location that minimizes the network latency between the end user and the data center.

ECC (Error Correcting Code) mode is a feature of some NVIDIA GPUs that provides error detection and correction for memory errors. However, ECC mode can interfere with vGPU functionality and prevent vGPU-enabled VMs from being created or started1. Therefore, two correct steps to resolve this issue are B (Disable ECC by running nvdia-smi -e 0) and D (Check if ECC Mode is turned on by running nvdia-smi -q | grep “ECC Mode” -A2).

https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/kbs/details?targetId=kA00e000000LKjOCAW

VMware Horizon is a solution that delivers Windows and Linux virtual desktops and published applications to end users from centralized servers.

One of the best practices for delivering Microsoft Office 365 in VMware Horizon is to disable Cached Exchange Mode for Outlook3. This can improve performance and reduce storage requirements.

There are different profile management toolsets that can be used with Office 365 and VMware Horizon. One of them is Horizon Persona Management4, which is a feature that synchronizes user profiles with a remote repository and provides a personalized desktop experience.

Another option is FSLogix Profile Management5, which is a Microsoft solution that enhances Office 365 performance in non-persistent VDI environments by redirecting user profiles to virtual disks.

https://techzone.vmware.com/resource/best-practices-delivering-microsoft-office-365-vmware-horizon

According to Nutanix Support & Insights3, you need to install the Nutanix AHV plugin for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops on Delivery Controllers (also called the MCS plugin SDK) to create and manage Citrix-provisioned VMs in a Nutanix AHV infrastructure environment. 

AHV Xi PC plug-in is used for when Prism Central resides in Xi Cloud. Prism Central is a management plane that provides centralized control and visibility across multiple Nutanix clusters and clouds. Xi Cloud is a hybrid cloud platform that enables customers to run their applications and workloads on Nutanix infrastructure in public cloud environments such as AWS and Azure2. The AHV Xi PC plug-in allows customers to use Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops with Nutanix AHV clusters running on Xi Cloud3.

https://www.nutanix.com/content/dam/nutanix/resources/support/ebg-ncp-euc-6.pdf

https://www.nutanix.com/products/ahv