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NPS practice questions

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Question 1Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

What is the primary role of the Controller VM (CVM) on a Nutanix node?

  1. It provides out-of-band power and hardware control for the chassis.
  2. It runs the Nutanix storage and cluster services for its node. Correct answer.
  3. It hosts production virtual machines when the hypervisor is busy.
  4. It stores the hypervisor installation media for the cluster.

Explanation

Every node runs exactly one CVM, which consumes CPU and memory on that host and runs the Nutanix software stack such as Stargate, Curator and Genesis. The hypervisor's storage traffic is served through the local CVM, which is why the CVM is the core building block of the distributed storage fabric.

Question 2Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

AHV, the native Nutanix hypervisor, is based on which underlying technology?

  1. Microsoft Hyper-V
  2. KVM Correct answer.
  3. Xen
  4. VMware ESXi

Explanation

AHV is a hardened, enterprise-grade hypervisor built on the KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) stack that ships with Linux. Nutanix integrates it into AOS so that VM management, storage and clustering are exposed through Prism.

Question 3Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Which statement about Prism Element is correct?

  1. It runs on the CVM and manages the local cluster. Correct answer.
  2. It is a standalone VM that can manage many clusters at once.
  3. It is required only for clusters that run AHV.
  4. It replaces the CVM on nodes that host no workloads.

Explanation

Prism Element is the management interface embedded in the cluster and served from the CVMs, so it manages a single cluster. Multi-cluster management is the job of Prism Central, which is a separate deployment.

Question 4Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Which tool is used to image a bare-metal node with a hypervisor and AOS?

  1. NCC
  2. Prism Central
  3. Life Cycle Manager
  4. Foundation Correct answer.

Explanation

Foundation is the deployment utility that discovers bare-metal nodes over the network and installs the chosen hypervisor plus AOS to bring them up as cluster members. Life Cycle Manager handles in-place software and firmware updates after the cluster exists.

Question 5Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC) is used to do what?

  1. apply firmware updates to BMC controllers
  2. migrate VMs from other hypervisor platforms
  3. run automated health checks on cluster components Correct answer.
  4. deploy Prism Central across multiple sites

Explanation

NCC is a framework that executes a large set of automated checks against cluster services, configuration and best practices, and it can produce a bundle for support analysis. It is a diagnostic tool, not a deployment or upgrade mechanism.

Question 6Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Nutanix Pulse is best described as which of the following?

  1. a licensing service that validates AOS entitlements
  2. the heartbeat between the CVM and the hypervisor
  3. the replication channel used by protection domains
  4. a service that sends cluster health telemetry to Nutanix support Correct answer.

Explanation

Pulse periodically collects health, configuration and capacity information and transmits it to Nutanix so support can proactively assist and so the cluster can receive recommendations. It is a call-home telemetry service and does not carry guest data.

Question 7Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Which statement is true about hypervisors within a single Nutanix cluster?

  1. All nodes in a cluster must run the same hypervisor. Correct answer.
  2. Hypervisor choice is made per VM at power-on time.
  3. Any mix of AHV and ESXi nodes is supported in one cluster.
  4. Nodes may run different hypervisors if Prism Central manages them.

Explanation

A Nutanix cluster is homogeneous with respect to the hypervisor: every node runs AHV, or every node runs ESXi, or every node runs Hyper-V. Prism Central can, however, manage multiple clusters that use different hypervisors.

Question 8Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

How is Prism Central deployed?

  1. as a dedicated physical appliance installed per site
  2. as a service embedded in the AOS installer
  3. as a role that floats between the CVMs in a cluster
  4. as one or more VMs running on a Nutanix cluster Correct answer.

Explanation

Prism Central is deployed as a virtual appliance (a single VM in small deployments, or a multi-VM scale-out deployment) onto a Nutanix cluster that is registered to it. It then manages that cluster and any others registered to it.

Question 9Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

With redundancy factor 2 and node-level fault tolerance, what is the minimum number of nodes required?

  1. 5
  2. 4
  3. 2
  4. 3 Correct answer.

Explanation

RF2 keeps two copies of data on two different nodes, so the cluster needs at least three nodes: two hold the replicas and the third provides a rebuild target if one replica-holding node fails. Two nodes alone would leave a single copy after a failure.

Question 10Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

To configure redundancy factor 3 with node-level fault tolerance, a cluster needs at least how many nodes?

  1. 5 nodes Correct answer.
  2. 3 nodes
  3. 7 nodes
  4. 6 nodes

Explanation

RF3 stores three copies of data on three distinct nodes, so at least five nodes are needed: three hold the replicas and two provide rebuild capacity when a node fails. RF2 requires only three nodes.

Question 11Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Which service on the CVM handles the read and write I/O path for the storage fabric?

  1. Curator
  2. Stargate Correct answer.
  3. Chronos
  4. Genesis

Explanation

Stargate is the data-path service that presents storage to the hypervisor and manages the oplog, extent store and vDisk I/O on each node. Background scanning and task scheduling are handled by other services.

Question 12Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Which component performs background scanning and disk balancing across the storage fabric?

  1. Curator Correct answer.
  2. Prism Element
  3. Zeus
  4. Stargate

Explanation

Curator is a map-reduce style framework that runs scans over the metadata to detect and correct imbalances, scrub data and trigger rebalancing. It runs in the background and does not sit in the guest I/O path.

Question 13Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Genesis is responsible for which of the following?

  1. starting and monitoring the other cluster services Correct answer.
  2. replicating vDisk data to a remote site
  3. presenting iSCSI and NFS targets to the hypervisor
  4. scheduling and tracking long-running cluster tasks

Explanation

Genesis is the cluster manager: it starts, stops and monitors the other Nutanix services on the CVM and participates in holding cluster configuration and leader election. Other services handle data I/O, task scheduling and replication.

Question 14Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

By default, the fault tolerance domain of a Nutanix cluster is which of the following?

  1. the node Correct answer.
  2. the block
  3. the rack
  4. the disk

Explanation

By default AOS protects against the failure of a single node, placing the replicas of a vDisk on different nodes. Block awareness can be enabled where hardware is arranged in blocks, and rack awareness is not a standard AOS domain.

Question 15Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Acropolis Dynamic Scheduler (ADS) performs which function on AHV?

  1. rebalancing storage extents between nodes
  2. restoring redundancy factor after a node failure
  3. placing and live-migrating VMs based on host resource usage Correct answer.
  4. scheduling snapshots for protection domains

Explanation

ADS monitors host CPU and memory pressure and uses that data to place VMs at power-on and to recommend or perform live migrations away from hot hosts. Storage balancing and redundancy restoration are functions of the storage fabric.

Question 16Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Nutanix Volumes allows external hosts to consume cluster storage through which protocol?

  1. iSCSI Correct answer.
  2. NVMe-oF
  3. SMB3
  4. NFSv3

Explanation

Nutanix Volumes exposes block storage from the cluster as iSCSI targets, so hosts that are not part of the cluster (physical servers or VMs on other platforms) can attach volumes. File protocols such as NFS and SMB are used by other Nutanix services.

Question 17Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

After a new node is imaged and added to an existing Nutanix cluster, what happens next?

  1. Curator redistributes stored data so the new node's disks are used. Correct answer.
  2. The node keeps an isolated storage pool until it is manually joined.
  3. The cluster must be rebuilt from the Prism Central image.
  4. VMs are automatically moved off the original nodes permanently.

Explanation

Adding a node extends the single distributed storage pool, and the background scanning framework rebalances extents onto the new disks over time. The cluster remains online and serving I/O throughout the expansion.

Question 18Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

If the CVM on a node stops while its VMs are running, what is the immediate effect?

  1. The VMs continue unaffected because the hypervisor serves storage itself.
  2. The node's disks are taken over instantly and local I/O continues uninterrupted.
  3. The whole cluster halts all I/O until the CVM is restarted.
  4. The VMs on that host lose storage access until the CVM recovers or HA restarts them elsewhere. Correct answer.

Explanation

The hypervisor has no native path to the cluster disks; its storage traffic goes through the local CVM. If that CVM is unavailable, VMs on that host stall, and recovery comes from the CVM restarting or from hypervisor HA restarting the VMs on another host.

Question 19Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Nutanix Files provides SMB and NFS shares by using which mechanism?

  1. a kernel module loaded on each hypervisor host
  2. File Server VMs deployed on the cluster Correct answer.
  3. an external Windows file server cluster
  4. a Prism Central container embedded in AOS

Explanation

Nutanix Files is a software-defined scale-out file service implemented by File Server VMs that run on the cluster and store their data on the distributed storage fabric. Client access is through standard SMB and NFS protocols.

Question 20Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

What is the role of the oplog in the Nutanix storage fabric?

  1. It permanently archives snapshots for compliance.
  2. It buffers and coalesces writes before they reach the extent store. Correct answer.
  3. It stores the metadata ring used for cluster membership.
  4. It holds the AOS software image used during upgrades.

Explanation

The oplog is a persistent, low-latency write buffer that absorbs guest writes, allows them to be acknowledged quickly, and coalesces sequential writes before they are persisted to the extent store. It is a data-path structure, not a metadata or upgrade store.

Question 21Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Which statement best describes Medusa in a Nutanix cluster?

  1. It is the distributed Cassandra-based metadata store. Correct answer.
  2. It is the load balancer that fronts Prism Element.
  3. It is the service that images nodes during deployment.
  4. It is the framework that runs on-demand health checks.

Explanation

Medusa is the distributed metadata service, built on a Cassandra-style ring, that persists cluster storage metadata such as vDisk mapping and extent ownership. Losing quorum of this metadata store would prevent the cluster from operating correctly.

Question 22Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Zeus in a Nutanix cluster provides which capability?

  1. the SMB namespace used for file shares
  2. coordination and leader election for cluster services Correct answer.
  3. the mapping of vDisks to extent groups
  4. the iSCSI redirection layer used by Volumes

Explanation

Zeus is the ZooKeeper-based coordination service that provides distributed locking, configuration storage and leader election for cluster services. It underpins decisions such as which CVM holds a leadership role at a given time.

Question 23Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Which service handles replication and disaster recovery operations such as protection domains?

  1. Chronos
  2. Cerebro Correct answer.
  3. Curator
  4. Prism Element

Explanation

Cerebro is the data protection service responsible for replication, protection domains and disaster recovery workflows between clusters and remote sites. It works with snapshots and the storage fabric but is not the I/O or scanning path.

Question 24Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Chronos is responsible for which of the following?

  1. maintaining the replicated cluster configuration
  2. balancing extents across disks during scans
  3. scheduling and tracking distributed cluster tasks Correct answer.
  4. serving NFS and SMB exports to the hypervisor

Explanation

Chronos is the distributed job scheduler that queues, schedules and tracks tasks across the cluster, and Prism displays the resulting task list. It coordinates work but does not perform the storage, coordination or balancing functions themselves.

Question 25Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

In a two-way replication configuration, a guest write is acknowledged back to the VM only after which condition is met?

  1. The local CVM has written it to its oplog and flushed it to its extent store on disk.
  2. The coordination service has committed the write to the metadata ring.
  3. The local CVM and one remote CVM have written it to their oplogs. Correct answer.
  4. Every CVM in the cluster has written it to its oplog.

Explanation

With RF2 the write must exist on two independent nodes before it is acknowledged, so the local CVM persists it to its oplog and a remote CVM persists it to its oplog. This guarantees the data survives the loss of either node without waiting for a disk flush to the extent store.

Question 26Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Which hypervisor is developed by Nutanix and included natively with AOS?

  1. Microsoft Hyper-V
  2. VMware ESXi
  3. Citrix Hypervisor
  4. Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) Correct answer.

Explanation

AHV is Nutanix's native hypervisor, based on KVM, and is included with AOS. ESXi, Hyper-V, and Citrix Hypervisor are third-party hypervisors that can also be used in a Nutanix cluster.

Question 27Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

In Nutanix storage, what is a container?

  1. A network segment dedicated to storage traffic.
  2. A logical storage pool segment with its own policies. Correct answer.
  3. A physical disk bay within a node.
  4. A snapshot of a single virtual machine.

Explanation

A container is a logical segmentation of a storage pool with its own policies, including replication factor and compression. Physical disks belong to storage pools, not containers.

Question 28Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

What is a storage pool in a Nutanix cluster?

  1. A reserved VLAN that carries only replication traffic between sites.
  2. A logical grouping of virtual machines that share the same resource policy.
  3. A set of Controller VMs that must maintain quorum for the cluster to run.
  4. A pool of physical disks that backs the storage fabric. Correct answer.

Explanation

A storage pool aggregates the physical disks on the nodes and provides capacity to the distributed storage fabric. Containers are logical partitions created within a storage pool.

Question 29Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

How do Prism Element and Prism Central differ?

  1. Prism Element manages a single cluster; Prism Central manages many. Correct answer.
  2. Prism Element runs only on ESXi; Prism Central runs only on AHV.
  3. Prism Element is a command-line tool; Prism Central is the graphical interface.
  4. Prism Element manages many clusters; Prism Central manages only a single cluster.

Explanation

Prism Element is the management interface for a single cluster, while Prism Central provides centralized management across multiple clusters. Both are GUI/API interfaces, and neither is tied to a specific hypervisor.

Question 30Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

What is the purpose of Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC)?

  1. It migrates virtual machines between clusters during maintenance.
  2. It encrypts data at rest across the storage fabric.
  3. It enforces role-based access control for Prism users.
  4. It runs health checks and flags configuration or component issues. Correct answer.

Explanation

NCC is a diagnostic framework that runs a suite of health checks on the cluster and reports configuration or component problems. It does not handle access control, VM migration, or encryption.

Question 31Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

What role does Zookeeper serve in a Nutanix cluster?

  1. It provides cluster membership and leader election. Correct answer.
  2. It schedules background disk balancing tasks across nodes.
  3. It presents NFS and SMB shares to external clients.
  4. It stores virtual machine disk data in a replicated database.

Explanation

Zookeeper is the distributed coordination service used for cluster membership, configuration, and leader election. Disk I/O, file shares, and background tasks are handled by other services.

Question 32Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

A VM is running on node A and its data has a local replica on node A. What is this condition called?

  1. Thin provisioning
  2. Shadow cloning
  3. Data locality Correct answer.
  4. Erasure coding

Explanation

Data locality means the VM's data has a replica on the same node, so reads can be served locally by that node's CVM. Erasure coding, shadow cloning, and thin provisioning are different storage features.

Question 33Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

What is a vDisk in Nutanix?

  1. A logical disk presented to a VM and spread across the cluster. Correct answer.
  2. A backup copy of a virtual disk stored only on the Prism Central VM.
  3. A physical disk that is assigned exclusively to one Controller VM.
  4. A virtual network interface used for storage traffic between nodes.

Explanation

A vDisk is a logical block device presented to a guest VM; its extents are distributed and replicated across CVMs in the cluster. It is not tied to a single physical disk or to Prism Central.

Question 34Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

What does Nutanix Guest Tools (NGT) enable?

  1. It replaces the Controller VM that runs on each node in the cluster.
  2. It enables guest-level features such as application-consistent snapshots. Correct answer.
  3. It performs cluster-wide firmware and software updates from Prism.
  4. It provides the distributed storage fabric that spans all cluster nodes.

Explanation

Nutanix Guest Tools is installed inside the guest OS and enables features such as application-consistent snapshots, self-service restore, and file-level restore. It does not replace the CVM or provide the storage fabric.

Question 35Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

What is erasure coding in Nutanix?

  1. A scheduling algorithm that places VMs on the least-loaded node.
  2. A technique for encrypting replication traffic between sites.
  3. A method of compressing cold data stored on solid-state drives.
  4. A scheme that uses parity instead of full replicas to save space. Correct answer.

Explanation

Erasure coding stripes data and parity across nodes so that capacity overhead is lower than with full replicas. It is a data protection method, not a compression, encryption, or placement algorithm.

Question 36Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

Which Nutanix service stores cluster configuration and metadata in a distributed database?

  1. Curator
  2. Cassandra Correct answer.
  3. Chronos
  4. Stargate

Explanation

Cassandra is the distributed metadata store that holds cluster configuration and vDisk mapping information. Stargate handles I/O, Curator runs background tasks, and Chronos schedules jobs.

Question 37Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

What is a shadow clone in a Nutanix cluster?

  1. A full copy of a virtual machine stored on a remote node for disaster recovery.
  2. A local read-only copy used to serve reads without remote fetches. Correct answer.
  3. A snapshot that is automatically deleted after a fixed retention period.
  4. A duplicate Controller VM used to provide high availability for storage.

Explanation

A shadow clone is a local read-only copy of data that resides on another node, allowing reads to be served locally. It is a performance optimization, not a disaster recovery copy or a CVM duplicate.

Question 38Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

In NDFS, a vDisk is divided into fixed-size units that are individually replicated. What are these units called?

  1. Volumes
  2. Extents Correct answer.
  3. Containers
  4. Sectors

Explanation

vDisks are divided into extents, and each extent is placed and replicated independently across CVMs. Sectors are lower-level disk units, and containers are logical storage pools.

Question 39Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

What is the function of Life Cycle Manager (LCM) in Prism?

  1. It manages user accounts and authentication for all Prism interfaces.
  2. It automates software and firmware updates for cluster components. Correct answer.
  3. It replicates data to a remote site for disaster recovery purposes.
  4. It balances virtual machine workloads across the nodes in a cluster.

Explanation

Life Cycle Manager inventories cluster components and automates software and firmware updates. User management, workload balancing, and replication are handled by other services.

Question 40Nutanix Core Architecture and Cluster Components

On a Nutanix node, which Controller VM (CVM) service owns the storage I/O path, exposing vDisks as iSCSI/NFS/SMB targets and managing their extents?

  1. Stargate Correct answer.
  2. Prism Element
  3. Genesis
  4. Curator

Explanation

Stargate is the CVM service that sits directly in the data I/O path: it advertises storage to hypervisors and clients over iSCSI, NFS and SMB, tracks vDisks and their extents in the extent store, and forwards writes for replication to the oplog before acknowledging them. Background maintenance such as scanning and disk reclamation belongs to Curator, while Genesis handles process lifecycle.

Question 41Distributed Storage Fabric and Data Protection

Which CVM service handles storage I/O requests from the hypervisor in the DSF?

  1. Stargate Correct answer.
  2. Curator
  3. Prism Central
  4. Genesis

Explanation

Stargate is the data-path service on each CVM that presents storage to the hypervisor and services read and write I/O. Other CVM services run background or management functions rather than the foreground I/O path.

Question 42Distributed Storage Fabric and Data Protection

With a replication factor of 2, how many copies of guest data does the cluster maintain?

  1. Four
  2. Two Correct answer.
  3. One
  4. Three

Explanation

RF2 stores two replicas of each extent on separate nodes or failure domains, so the cluster can tolerate one node failure. Each additional replication factor adds another full copy.

Question 43Distributed Storage Fabric and Data Protection

What is the primary role of a storage container in the DSF?

  1. It defines the physical disk geometry that each node uses
  2. It groups vDisks under a shared set of data policies Correct answer.
  3. It encrypts all traffic between the CVMs
  4. It maps iSCSI LUNs directly to hypervisor datastores

Explanation

Containers are logical groupings of vDisks that apply policies such as replication factor, deduplication, compression, and erasure coding. Multiple containers can coexist on one cluster with different policies.

Question 44Distributed Storage Fabric and Data Protection

How does Nutanix create a VM snapshot?

  1. It records metadata that preserves the current vDisk state Correct answer.
  2. It pauses the VM until a full clone completes
  3. It copies every allocated block of the vDisk to a new location
  4. It writes the snapshot to the remote site before returning

Explanation

Snapshots are metadata operations that use redirect-on-write, so existing data is not copied at snapshot time. Space is consumed only as the active vDisk diverges from the snapshot.

Question 45Distributed Storage Fabric and Data Protection

Which service performs background tasks such as disk balancing and snapshot space reclamation?

  1. Stargate
  2. Medusa
  3. Curator Correct answer.
  4. Acropolis

Explanation

Curator runs background jobs including disk balancing, snapshot deletion, and space reclamation. These tasks run asynchronously rather than on the I/O path.

Question 46Distributed Storage Fabric and Data Protection

What does a protection domain define?

  1. A group of VMs and volume groups protected together Correct answer.
  2. A network segment used for replication traffic
  3. A list of users authorized to manage snapshots
  4. A pool of physical disks reserved for snapshots

Explanation

A protection domain groups workloads so their snapshots and replication are taken as a consistent unit. Members can include both VMs and volume groups.

Question 47Distributed Storage Fabric and Data Protection

A snapshot schedule primarily specifies which two parameters?

  1. Node count and cluster fault tolerance
  2. Replication factor and erasure coding mode
  3. Snapshot frequency and retention duration Correct answer.
  4. Compression level and deduplication mode

Explanation

A schedule defines how often snapshots are taken and the retention policy that determines when they expire. Placement and capacity policies such as RF and dedup are container settings.

Question 48Distributed Storage Fabric and Data Protection

In asynchronous DR, what determines the recovery point objective (RPO)?

  1. The number of nodes in the remote cluster
  2. The size of the container's extent store
  3. The replication schedule interval Correct answer.
  4. The hypervisor's backup agent frequency

Explanation

In async DR, snapshots are replicated on a schedule, so the maximum data loss is bounded by the interval between replications. Shorter intervals reduce RPO but increase replication frequency.

Question 49Distributed Storage Fabric and Data Protection

Erasure coding in AOS requires a cluster with at least how many nodes?

  1. Six
  2. Three
  3. Two
  4. Four Correct answer.

Explanation

Erasure coding needs at least four nodes so data and parity fragments can be spread across nodes while still tolerating a failure. It reduces capacity overhead below RF2, typically to about 1.5x.

Question 50Distributed Storage Fabric and Data Protection

Where is deduplication enabled and applied in the DSF?

  1. On individual storage containers, with inline or post-process modes Correct answer.
  2. Only on containers that use RF3
  3. At the cluster level only, and it applies to all containers automatically
  4. Per vDisk, configured by the guest operating system

Explanation

Deduplication is a container-level setting and can run inline on the write path or as a post-process Curator job. It affects capacity savings but does not change the replication factor.