NCA-6.10 Practice Exam Questions with Answers Nutanix Certified Associate NCA v6.10 Certification

Non-migratable VMs in a Nutanix cluster typically include those with attached Volume Groups. This is because such VMs leverage direct-attached storage via iSCSI, which ties them to a specific host, preventing live migration to another host. Volume Groups provide block storage to applications, and the iSCSI protocol does not support live migration of such connections.

Here's a breakdown of the options:

A. VMs without NGT:Nutanix Guest Tools (NGT) are used for guest-level integration but do not affect VM migratability.

B. VMs marked as an Agent:This setting does not inherently make VMs non-migratable. It primarily affects roles and tasks within certain configurations.

C. Memory Overcommitted:While memory overcommitment can affect performance, it does not make VMs non-migratable. Nutanix AHV handles memory allocation dynamically.

D. VMs with attached Volume Groups:Correct answer, as the iSCSI connections used by Volume Groups are host-specific and cannot migrate seamlessly.

To prevent password access to the CVM for both thenutanixandadminuser accounts,Cluster Lockdownshould be enabled. Cluster Lockdown restricts SSH access to the Controller VM (CVM), effectively disabling password-based logins for enhanced security. Access is then managed through more secure means, such as console access or specific tools like Nutanix Support.

A. Cluster Lockdown:Correct, as this prevents SSH-based access to the CVM.

B. STIG:Incorrect, as STIG (Security Technical Implementation Guide) focuses on broader compliance measures.

C. RBAC Policy on PC:Incorrect, as RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) controls Prism Central permissions, not CVM access.

D. Data-at-Rest Encryption:Incorrect, as this secures stored data, not access credentials.

The correct answer isB. Acropolis Dynamic Scheduling (ADS).

Acropolis Dynamic Scheduling (ADS)is a core component in Nutanix AOS responsible for:

Monitoring real-time resource utilization.

Identifying hotspotssuch as CPU/memory/storage contention.

Automatically initiatingVM migration (live)tobalance workloadsacross hosts in the cluster.

Clarification of Other Options:

A. Cerebro:Responsible for replication, snapshots, and consistency.

C. Chronos:Manages scheduling of distributed tasks (not resource balancing).

D. CVM:Hosts the AOS services butdoes not perform workload balancing.

Official Reference:

Nutanix Bible – Acropolis Dynamic Scheduling

Nutanix AOS Architecture Guide

Excerpt: “ADS monitors resource utilization across the cluster and performs live VM migrations to mitigate hotspots and balance performance.”

To allow Nutanix Support to gather logs automatically without requiring manual intervention, the administrator should enablePulse. Pulse is a telemetry service that collects and sends system health, log, and usage data to Nutanix Support securely.

Steps:

Navigate toPrism Central > Settings > Pulse.

Enable the service and configure as required for your environment.

Other options:

Self-Service: Refers to role-based access for users, unrelated to log collection.

Proxy Server: Used for network communication, not log gathering.

NKP: Refers to Nutanix Cluster Protocol, unrelated to telemetry.

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.

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. 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

In Nutanix Prism Element, thered heart iconat the top-right of the UI indicates that there is acritical alertaffecting the cluster's health. This icon is part of theAlert Monitoring System, and clicking on it redirects the user to theAlerts dashboard, where all current active alerts—including their severity, source, and recommended remediation steps—are listed.

What to do:

Navigate to theAlertssection.

Review allcritical alertsfor further diagnosis.

Cross-reference with theHealth dashboardif deeper system component checks are needed.

Clarification of Other Options:

A. Health:Summarizes system component states but does not provide detailed alert causes.

B. Tasks:Tracks user-initiated jobs, unrelated to fault diagnosis.

D. Analysis:Used for performance metrics and trends, not fault alerts.

Prism UI Navigation Path:

Click the red heart icon ? Alerts Dashboard

Official Reference:

Nutanix Administration Guide – Alerts and Monitoring

Excerpt: “A red heart icon in Prism indicates a critical alert. Use the Alerts dashboard to identify and resolve the issue.”

Fordark site clusters, theNutanix Compatibility Bundlemust be downloaded prior to running LCM Inventory or updates. This bundle contains the necessary metadata and software binaries to perform inventory collection and upgrades in environments without internet connectivity.

A. Nutanix Foundation:Incorrect, as Foundation is used for initial deployments, not for LCM updates.

B. Nutanix Compatibility Bundle:Correct, as it contains the necessary files for offline LCM operations.

C. Nutanix Prism Central:Incorrect, as this does not pertain to offline updates.

D. Nutanix Foundation Platform:Incorrect, as this is not required for LCM Inventory or updates.

The correct answer isC. Perform an inventory.

To ensure theLCM Frameworkand its associated component metadata are updated, the administrator must perform afresh LCM inventory. This process:

Retrieves the latest metadata and framework version from the Nutanix support portal (if the cluster is connected).

Detects current component versions and identifies available updates.

Clarifications:

A (Upgrade AOS):LCM is independent of AOS version updates.

B (Restart genesis):Unnecessary and not relevant to LCM framework versioning.

D (NCC):Useful for cluster health, but does not affect LCM updates.

Prism Central UI Navigation Path:

Operations > LCM > Perform Inventory

Official Reference:

Nutanix LCM Guide – Updating the LCM Framework

Excerpt: “To receive the latest framework version and component metadata, perform an LCM inventory on a connected cluster.”

The correct answer isA. Select the Auto resolve alerts checkbox and click Save.

When an alert policy is configured based on astatic threshold, it will generate an alert each time the condition is met unless it has beenauto-resolvedor manually acknowledged. By enablingAuto resolve alerts, the system willautomatically clear the alertonce the metric falls back within the acceptable range. This preventsduplicate alertswhen the threshold is exceeded repeatedly within a short timeframe (e.g., multiple times over 48 hours).

Explanation of Incorrect Options:

B (Disable policy):Not scalable or operationally sound.

C (Ignore anomalies):Applies only to behavioral anomalies, not static thresholds.

D (Trigger duration):Increases delay before alerting but does not suppress repeated alerts.

UI Location in Image:

?“Auto resolve alerts” is visible just below "Impact Type."

Official Reference:

Nutanix Prism Central Guide – Alert Policies

Excerpt: “Enable ‘Auto resolve alerts’ to ensure alerts are cleared automatically once conditions normalize, avoiding duplicate alerts.”

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.

To rerun only the health checks that previously failed or issued warnings, the administrator can select theOnly Failed and Warning Checksoption in Prism Element. This targeted approach helps verify that resolved issues have been addressed without rerunning all checks unnecessarily.

Steps:

Navigate toPrism Element > Health > NCC Checks.

Filter forOnly Failed and Warning Checksand rerun them.

Other options:

A. Run LCM Pre-Upgrade: Runs pre-upgrade checks, not related to health check validation.

B. Runncc health_checks run_all: Executes all checks, not just failed ones.

C. Select Run Check for each check worked: Requires manual execution for each check.

To run a full health check in Prism Element, the administrator should first select theActionsmenu. From there, the administrator can choose to execute health checks for the entire cluster or specific components. This ensures a comprehensive evaluation of the cluster’s health.

Other options:

Scheduled: Refers to predefined or automated health checks.

Checks: Displays the list of checks but doesn’t initiate them.

Failed: Filters checks based on their status but doesn’t start a new check.

TheReserved Capacityoption in a storage container explicitly reserves a portion of cluster storage for that container. This reservation reduces the amount of storage available for other containers. Reserved Capacity ensures that specific workloads have guaranteed storage resources, preventing resource contention or overcommitment.

Other options:

Advertised Capacity: Defines the storage limit displayed to users but does not reserve storage.

Erasure Coding: Optimizes storage efficiency but does not reduce available capacity.

Capacity Deduplication: Reduces space consumption by eliminating duplicate data but does not affect other containers' storage.

In a cluster configured with Redundancy Factor 3 (RF3), the system ensures that data is replicated across at least three nodes to tolerate the failure of two nodes. During an AHV upgrade, Nutanix only placesone node at a timeinto maintenance mode, even in an RF3 configuration, to minimize the impact on data redundancy and cluster operations.

A. 1:Correct, as AHV upgrades proceed node by node in RF3.

B. 2, C. 3, D. 4:These options are incorrect, as only one node is upgraded at a time regardless of RF3.

The OpLog (Operational Log) in Nutanix serves as apersistent write bufferfor incoming I/O operations. It temporarily stores write requests to ensure fast acknowledgment to clients and better performance. The data is later coalesced and written to the Extent Store for long-term storage.

A. Persistent write buffer:Correct, as the OpLog optimizes write performance by buffering writes temporarily.

B. Persistent data storage:Incorrect, as this describes the Extent Store, not the OpLog.

C. Global metadata:Incorrect, as metadata operations are handled by the Metadata Store.

D. Dynamic read cache:Incorrect, as read caching is managed separately, often involving SSD-based caches.