NCA-6.10 Nutanix Certified Associate NCA v6.10 Questions and Answers

To create a VM-VM Anti-Affinity Policy ensuring VMs are not placed on the same hypervisor,Prism Centralis required. Anti-affinity policies are cluster-wide configurations managed through Prism Central’s policy-based interface, enabling placement rules to distribute workloads effectively.

Steps:

Navigate toPrism Central > Policies.

Create a new Anti-Affinity Policy.

Select the VMs and configure the policy to ensure separation.

Redundancy Factor 3 (RF3) requires a minimum of five nodes in the cluster to ensure that data can be distributed across enough nodes to tolerate the failure of two nodes. If the cluster has fewer than five nodes, RF3 cannot be enabled.

A. Check that the cluster has been properly licensed:Licensing is not directly related to enabling RF3.

B. Check that the cluster has five or more nodes:Correct, as RF3 requires at least five nodes.

C. Check hardware availability of the nodes:While hardware health is important, it does not determine RF3 eligibility.

D. Check AOS version and upgrade, if needed:RF3 requirements are not specific to an AOS version.

The correct answer isC. Mount and install the VirtIO drivers.

When installingWindows OSon aNutanix AHV VM, the default virtual disk controller uses theVirtIO interface, which isnot natively supported by Windows installation media. As a result, during the OS installation, the virtual disk will not appear unless theVirtIO drivers are manually provided.

Required Steps:

Attach theVirtIO ISOto the VM.

During the Windows installation, click“Load Driver”.

Browse to the mountedVirtIO ISOand select the appropriate storage driver.

Once loaded, the installer will detect the virtual disk.

Clarifications:

A (Add a second disk):Irrelevant; the issue is driver recognition, not disk quantity.

B (Enable Turbo Mode):Related to performance, not disk detection.

D (Install Nutanix Guest Tools):Doneafter OS installation, not before or during.

Prism UI Navigation Path:

VM > Edit > CD-ROM > Mount ISO → Select VirtIO ISO

Official Reference:

Nutanix AHV Administration Guide – Creating Windows VMs

Nutanix KB #5967 – AHV: Windows Installation on VirtIO

Excerpt: “If the disk is not detected during Windows installation, the VirtIO ISO must be mounted and the appropriate storage controller driver manually installed.”

The correct answer isB. Create an RF1 storage container.

In Nutanix architecture,Replication Factor (RF)is set at thestorage container levelto optimize redundancy and performance for specific workloads. When an application hasits own internal redundancy, such as database clustering or distributed file systems, the administrator may choose toreduce Nutanix’s redundancy to RF1, which stores onlyone copy of datain the cluster. This reduces overhead and maximizes usable capacity, but isnot fault-tolerantat the Nutanix level.

Key clarifications:

RF1 is not enabled by default.Nutanix clusters default toRF2 or RF3depending on the configuration and number of nodes.

RF1 must beexplicitly setwhen creating a storage container.

There isno separate "enable RF1"setting outside of selecting RF1 at container creation; once selected, it applies directly.

Prism UI Navigation Path:

Storage > Storage Containers > Create Storage Container > Data Redundancy Level → Select "RF1"

Official Reference:

Nutanix Bible – Storage Layer and RF Explanation

Nutanix Storage Administration Guide – "Creating Containers with Specific Replication Factor"

Excerpt: "RF1 is typically used for workloads with native redundancy. It must be selected explicitly during container creation."

Conclusion:Onlyoption Baccurately reflects this process.

Answer: B

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.

The default admin session logout time in Nutanix is15 minutes. If no activity is detected within this time, the session is automatically logged out for security reasons. This timeout can be adjusted in the system settings if needed, depending on organizational requirements.

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.

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.

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.

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.

When configuring dual encryption in Nutanix, anExternal Key Manager(EKM) is required. This allows the cluster to use an external hardware-based or software-based key management system to securely store and manage encryption keys. The combination of external and native encryption ensures compliance with high security standards.

A. Trusted Platform Module:Incorrect, as TPM is not used for managing dual encryption keys.

B. External Key Manager:Correct, as dual encryption relies on an external system to manage keys.

C. Native Key Manager:Incorrect, as native key management alone does not support dual encryption.

D. Lockdown Mode Enabled:Incorrect, as Lockdown Mode relates to cluster security, not encryption key management.

The correct answer isB. 1

Nutanix Prism Central provides the ability to create and manage support casesdirectly from the UI, but this functionality requiresat least one clusterto be registered to Prism Central. The Support option becomes active onceone or more clustersare managed.

Important distinctions:

Zero clusters(Option A): With no clusters registered, Prism Central is effectively disconnected from any environment and thus cannot associate logs or telemetry with a support case.

One cluster(Option B): Enables access to support features, including log bundle generation and direct case submission.

Options C and D (2 or 3 clusters) are incorrect; they arenot a requirementfor enabling support case functionality.

Prism Central UI Navigation Path:

Settings (gear icon) > Support > Create Support Case

Official Reference:

Nutanix Prism Central Guide – Support Integration Section

Excerpt: "To open a support case through Prism Central, ensure at least one cluster is registered. Support features become available once a cluster is connected."

Conclusion:Only one cluster is required to activate the support case workflow in Prism Central.

Answer: B

The correct answer isB. Disabled.

When creating a new storage container in Prism Element or Prism Central,compression is disabled by default. The administrator mustexplicitly enableone of the available compression options:

Inline Compression

Post-process Compression

If no compression type is selected, the container remains uncompressed.

UI Navigation Path:

Storage > Storage Containers > Create Container > Compression Settings

Clarifications:

A (60 mins)andC (15 mins): Not standard default post-process intervals.

D (Inline): Must be manually selected.

Official Reference:

Nutanix Storage Administration Guide – Creating and Configuring Containers

Excerpt: “Compression is disabled by default during container creation. Admins must select inline or post-process if desired.”

Answer: B

Deduplication is most effective withfull clone VMsbecause it reduces redundant data blocks stored on the cluster. Full clone VMs often contain identical OS and application files, making them ideal candidates for deduplication, which optimizes storage usage and improves efficiency.

Other options:

Server workloads: May benefit from deduplication but not as significantly as full clone VMs.

Linked Clone VMs: Already share base disk images, so deduplication offers limited benefits.

Cold data: Deduplication is less effective for data that isn’t accessed frequently.

Life Cycle Management (LCM) in Nutanix is a feature designed tosimplify software and firmware upgradesacross the entire cluster. LCM automates and orchestrates upgrades for components like BIOS, hypervisors, firmware, and Nutanix software, ensuring that the cluster remains up-to-date with minimal manual intervention.

A. To optimize server performance:Incorrect, as LCM focuses on updates, not performance optimization.

B. To manage network configurations:Incorrect, as LCM is unrelated to network configuration management.

C. To simplify software and firmware upgrades:Correct, as LCM is specifically designed for this purpose.

D. To automate application deployment:Incorrect, as LCM does not handle application deployment.

The correct answer isD. Software-only Encryption.

Nutanix supportsData-at-Rest Encryption (DARE)through bothhardware-basedandsoftware-basedmethods. Among the supported solutions,software-only encryptionis a widely used and officially supported method, especially whenSelf-Encrypting Drives (SEDs)are not in use.

Key facts about Nutanix DARE:

Enables encryption of data written to physical media.

Works at theCVM and controller layer, ensuring all I/O is encrypted before being persisted.

Software-based encryptioncan be enabled via Prism Central or command-line usingNative Key Management (NKM)orexternal KMIP-compliant key managers.

Hardware encryption (SED)is optional and not required for DARE.

Clarifications:

A. Storage Pool-only Encryption: Not valid; encryption applies at thecluster level, not only to storage pools.

B. Data-only Encryption: Ambiguous and not a Nutanix-supported term.

C. Cluster-only Encryption: Misleading; encryption is applied to data at rest, not to the "cluster" object.

Prism UI Navigation Path:

Settings > Security > Encryption

Official Reference:

Nutanix Security Guide – Data-at-Rest Encryption

Nutanix Bible – Encryption Section

Excerpt: “Nutanix supports software-only data-at-rest encryption using Native Key Management or external KMIP key managers, without requiring self-encrypting drives.”

Answer: D

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.

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.

By default, Nutanix Lifecycle Manager (LCM) auto-inventory runs at2:00 AMlocal cluster time. LCM performs a daily check to gather information about available updates for firmware, software, and other components to ensure the cluster remains up-to-date. This operation is non-disruptive and does not impact cluster performance.