NA-CLTM key terms

The cluster-local management interface of a Nutanix cluster, used to configure storage, virtual machines, alerts, and hardware health for that single cluster.

A centralized management console that registers and controls multiple Nutanix clusters, providing multi-cluster dashboards, categories, and policy-based operations.

The distributed software layer of the Nutanix platform that provides the storage fabric, cluster services, and virtualization management functions running on every node.

Nutanix's native hypervisor built on KVM, managed through Prism and Acropolis, hosting virtual machines without requiring an external hypervisor license.

A per-node virtual machine that owns the node's local storage devices and serves I/O for the distributed storage fabric across the cluster.

The Nutanix storage architecture that pools local disks from all nodes into a single logical datastore and distributes data and I/O across the cluster.

A logical grouping of physical disks on a Nutanix cluster from which containers are created and capacity is allocated to datastores.

A Nutanix storage construct, presented as an NFS datastore to hypervisors, that defines replication factor and other policies for the data it holds.

The number of copies of each data extent that the cluster maintains, commonly 2 or 3, trading usable capacity against fault tolerance.

A failure boundary such as a node or block that the storage fabric considers when placing replicas, so copies are not lost to a single failure.

The Nutanix storage service, running in the CVM, that handles read and write I/O for vDisks and coordinates replication with peers.

A virtual disk object managed by the distributed storage fabric, backing virtual machine disks and exposed to the hypervisor as a file.

A set of Nutanix nodes managed as one unit, sharing a distributed datastore and providing a single management and virtualization domain.

The management and orchestration component of AOS that handles VM lifecycle, scheduling, and cluster services for the AHV hypervisor.

A key-value label assigned to VMs, hosts, or other objects in Prism Central, used to group resources for policy application and search.

A rule in Prism Central that applies settings such as protection, placement, or alerts to all objects matching selected categories.

A Prism Central construct that groups VMs and their disks for consistent snapshot and replication scheduling to a remote site.

A data protection method that periodically ships snapshots to a remote cluster, allowing recovery with a defined recovery point objective rather than zero data loss.

The maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time, determining how frequently protection must capture and replicate state.

The target duration within which a service must be restored after disruption, guiding recovery design and testing.

The set of plans, replication, and runbooks that let workloads resume at another site or cluster after a major outage.

A point-in-time, space-efficient copy of a VM or volume used for rollback, cloning, or replication to another location.

The action of returning data or a VM to a prior state from a snapshot, backup, or replica, typically to the original or an alternate location.

A copy of workload data stored separately from the primary cluster, used to recover from deletion, corruption, or site loss.

A Prism framework that inventories platform components and applies validated firmware and software updates to keep clusters supported and consistent.

A health-check tool that inspects a cluster's configuration and logs, producing findings with severity and remediation guidance.

A notification generated when a monitored condition crosses a threshold or a fault occurs, carrying severity and often a suggested resolution.

An HTTP-based programmatic interface on Prism that lets clients create, read, update, and delete platform objects using JSON payloads.

The versioned path segment of Prism API requests, such as v2 or v3, that determines request and response schemas and available endpoints.

The use of scripts, APIs, or infrastructure-as-code tools to perform platform tasks repeatedly and consistently without manual steps.

Managing infrastructure through versioned definition files that tools apply to create or change resources in a repeatable, auditable way.

An access model that grants permissions to roles rather than individuals, with users assigned to roles scoped to directories or projects.

A named collection of permitted actions in Prism Central that can be assigned to users or groups to control what they may do.

A Prism Central scope that groups users, roles, and resources so teams can self-manage their VMs within defined boundaries.

An external identity source such as Active Directory or LDAP that Prism Central integrates with to authenticate users and resolve group membership.

Encryption of stored data on cluster disks, protecting contents if physical media are removed or accessed without authorization.

Adherence to required security and regulatory controls, demonstrated through configuration settings, audit evidence, and periodic review.

Moving a running VM between hosts with no significant downtime, used for maintenance and load balancing.

The cluster behavior that restarts or relocates VMs automatically when a host fails, keeping workloads available with minimal interruption.