Virtualization and Workload Management
This domain tests day-two VM operations on AHV: creation, cloning, placement, mobility, and the workload services that sit alongside virtual machines.
VM mechanics
- VMs are created through Prism or
acli, and use virtIO drivers for best performance. - Nutanix Guest Tools (NGT) enables VSS-consistent snapshots, accurate IP reporting, and file-level restore. Without it, several protection features degrade to crash-consistent only.
- Fast clone is copy-on-write and near-instant; full clone creates independent storage. Templates standardize guest images.
- Live migration moves a running VM between hosts; it depends on CPU compatibility and host health.
Placement and scoping
- Affinity and anti-affinity policies keep VMs together or apart within a cluster.
- Categories label VMs and drive policy (protection, security, placement); projects scope who can deploy what.
- Networks are VLAN-backed virtual switches; storage containers provide the datastore abstraction.
Worked example
Two domain controllers must never run on the same host. An anti-affinity policy referencing both VMs achieves this. But reasoning matters: if the cluster has only two hosts and one enters maintenance, the policy cannot be satisfied, and the second VM may fail to power on. The fix is a third host or a documented policy exception - the rule is a constraint, not a suggestion.
Traps
Deploying VMs without NGT and then expecting application-consistent snapshots; assuming affinity rules span clusters; ignoring CPU compatibility before live migration; treating a fast clone as fully independent storage from day one.