HPE7-J02 Advanced HPE Storage Integrator Solutions Written Exam Questions and Answers

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

Option A is correct because Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) is designed for large enterprise environments that already have Fibre Channel (FC) infrastructures but want to simplify cabling and reduce hardware by converging LAN and SAN traffic over a single Ethernet fabric. FCoE retains the efficiency, low latency, and reliability of Fibre Channel while leveraging Ethernet to minimize physical infrastructure costs. This aligns with HPE’s best practices for environments using HPE Alletra 9000/Primera or HPE Nimble arrays connected to converged networks where cost reduction and high performance are equally important.

Analysis of Incorrect Options (Distractors):

B: Real-time replication across WANs requires protocols like HPE 3PAR/Alletra Remote Copy, asynchronous/synchronous replication, or HPE Peer Persistence. FCoE is not suited for high-latency WANs because it is a LAN protocol designed for short distances within a data center.

C: For inter-data center SAN unification, FCIP (Fibre Channel over IP) or iSCSI are more suitable. FCoE does not handle long-distance high-latency links effectively.

D: A startup building AI applications with cloud workloads typically benefits from object storage (HPE Scality RING, HPE GreenLake for File and Object) or direct cloud-native APIs (S3/Blob). FCoE is irrelevant in this use case since it is on-prem and infrastructure-focused.

Key Concept:

The question is testing knowledge of FCoE and its appropriate deployment scenarios — specifically, its role in consolidating storage and network traffic inside enterprise data centers while preserving Fibre Channel protocol advantages.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

The exhibit shows a system delivering ~2.3 GB/s sequential read. For large-block sequential workloads, aggregate host link bandwidth (number × speed of front-end ports) is the primary limiter. Increasing the count of 10/25 Gb iSCSI NICs adds parallel lanes, raising sustained read GB/s to the hosts. This is a recommended first step in HPE sizing before changing protocols.

Analysis of Incorrect Options (Distractors):

A: Adding an expansion shelf increases capacity, not front-end bandwidth.

C: Moving to 32 Gb FC can help, but simply adding more existing 10/25 Gb ports achieves the same goal without a protocol/adapter change and is the straightforward, supported scale-out path.

D: SCM (Storage Class Memory) targets latency/IOPS; it doesn’t materially lift sequential GB/s if the link budget is the bottleneck.

Key Concept: Scale front-end connectivity to increase sequential throughput; capacity or media class changes won’t fix a link-limited system.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

HPE SimpliVity RapidDR simplifies and automates DR failover processes, but execution requires an authorized operator to trigger a pre-configured recovery plan. This balances automation with compliance and security requirements (important for healthcare). It does not guarantee zero RTO, but it does minimize RTO through automation.

Distractors:

A: RTO of 0 is not possible; RapidDR reduces but does not eliminate recovery time.

B: Domain admin credentials for re-IP are not required; automation handles reconfiguration.

C: Auto-commit/rollback require administrator validation; no “silent” automation is allowed for compliance.

Key Concept: RapidDR = automation of failover/failback but requires authorized trigger.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

HPE GreenLake for File Storage, powered by VAST Data software, natively supports cross-protocol access (NFS, SMB, and S3) to the same dataset. This means a file written via NFS can be accessed via SMB or S3 without replication. For cross-protocol access, both protocols must be enabled at the share/bucket level. This is a core differentiator of HPE’s GreenLake for File Storage solution.

Distractors:

A: Wrong, because GreenLake for File Storage already has native multi-protocol support — no need for 3rd party SDS.

C: Incorrect, as replication between separate shares is not required; it is a native capability.

D: Misleading — IP pools are used for load balancing and client connectivity, but not required to enable cross-protocol access.

Key Concept: Multi-protocol access in HPE GreenLake for File Storage (NFS/SMB/S3).

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

FC-FC routing (also known as Fibre Channel Routing / LSANs on B-Series switches) allows replication between separate SAN fabrics without merging them. This supports disaster recovery scenarios while preserving fabric isolation, exactly matching the bank’s requirement.

Distractors:

A: FCIP tunnels extend Fibre Channel over IP networks, but this typically merges SAN domains.

C: NPIV (N_Port ID Virtualization) allows multiple virtual WWNs per port, not cross-fabric replication.

D: Fabric partitioning is zoning and segmentation within a single fabric, not between independent fabrics.

Key Concept: FC-FC routing on Brocade (B-Series) for SAN isolation with replication.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

HPE Alletra with InfoSight provides end-to-end visibility from infrastructure through to virtual machines and applications. It offers prescriptive, AI-driven recommendations to simplify management — a key differentiator for startups with small IT staff. Pure arrays do not offer the same level of integrated, cross-stack predictive analytics.

Distractors:

B: “ActiveWorkload” is not an HPE feature — HPE uses Peer Persistence for stretch clusters.

C: Garbage collection is managed automatically in HPE arrays; disabling it is not supported.

D: Data tiering is not natively provided as “software-only” — HPE uses GreenLake and Alletra services.

Key Concept: InfoSight = predictive analytics and app-to-infra visibility differentiator.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

Option C is correct because HPE StoreOnce Virtual Lock technology provides immutability at the Catalyst store level, preventing backup data from being deleted or modified for a defined retention period. This ensures ransomware or malicious actors cannot encrypt, alter, or delete the protected backups, aligning with modern data protection requirements for immutability and compliance. In integration with Veeam v12, backups stored on StoreOnce Catalyst stores can be locked, creating an additional immutability layer beyond application-consistent snapshots.

Analysis of Incorrect Options (Distractors):

A: Virtual Lock is not a Veeam feature. While Veeam v12 supports immutability on certain storage backends (object lock-enabled S3, hardened Linux repositories), HPE Virtual Lock is specific to StoreOnce Catalyst stores, not Veeam job settings.

B: VMware vCenter datastores do not have a native immutability feature. Snapshots in vCenter can be deleted or corrupted during ransomware events, making this option incorrect.

D: HPE Alletra arrays support application-consistent snapshots and replication, but they do not provide the immutability guarantee that StoreOnce Virtual Lock enforces. Array-level snapshots can still be deleted if admin credentials are compromised.

Key Concept:

This question targets knowledge of HPE StoreOnce Virtual Lock — a feature designed to enforce immutability on Catalyst backup stores, making backup data resistant to deletion or alteration during ransomware or insider attacks.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

The exhibit shows the use of 32Gb FC HBAs and 100GbE switches (Aruba 100G). However, the customer specifically requires 25GbE top-of-rack switches. Therefore, the configuration needs to be corrected to 25GbE networking. The HPE Alletra MP B10000 guarantees 100% data availability SLA, so the primary correction is networking alignment, not drives or financial model.

Distractors:

B: Reducing drives reduces raw capacity below 80TB requirement.

C: GreenLake is a consumption model but not the technical correction required.

D: Aruba 8325 is a core switch option; customer only asked for ToR 25GbE.

Key Concept: Networking alignment with requirements.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

For HPC and AI/ML workloads, NFS over RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) provides significantly lower latency and reduced CPU overhead compared to standard NFS over TCP. This allows direct memory-to-memory data transfers between storage and compute nodes, bypassing the kernel network stack. In VAST Data (underpinning GreenLake for File Storage), NFS over RDMA is explicitly supported to accelerate shared dataset access in HPC and AI environments.

Distractors:

A: Standard NFS introduces more latency due to kernel TCP/IP stack overhead.

C: RoCE (RDMA over Converged Ethernet) is a transport layer technology — useful, but the protocol chosen for the file system must be NFS over RDMA, not just RoCE.

D: iSER (iSCSI Extensions for RDMA) enhances iSCSI block storage, not NFS file workloads.

Key Concept: NFS over RDMA for HPC/AI shared datasets.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

Zerto Extended Journal allows retention up to one year by integrating with secondary storage like HPE StoreOnce. Short-term journals (seconds to days) reside on primary replication storage, while long-term copies (weeks/months/years) are offloaded to StoreOnce for cost-efficient retention.

Distractors:

A: No separate license is required — it is a standard Zerto feature when integrated.

C: Extended Journals can be sourced from production or target, depending on setup; not “always” target.

D: Incorrect — Zerto supports >30 days retention with Extended Journal.

Key Concept: Zerto + HPE StoreOnce for long-term DR retention.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

Changing HA from Drive Level to Enclosure Level means the system must reserve additional capacity to tolerate the loss of an entire disk enclosure. This decreases usable capacity, as more parity/spare space is required. Performance remains similar, but capacity overhead increases.

Distractors:

A: Multiple enclosures exist in the config; option is valid.

B: Switched vs direct-connect is unrelated to HA settings.

C: Performance estimates are not directly reduced by HA level change; capacity is.

Key Concept: Enclosure HA = more reserve overhead → less usable capacity.