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NCA-GENL practice questions

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Question 1Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

In the Nutanix enterprise cloud architecture, which component runs directly on each node and provides the distributed storage layer that pools local disks across the cluster?

  1. The Acropolis hypervisor
  2. The Controller VM (CVM) Correct answer.
  3. Prism Central
  4. Nutanix Flow

Explanation

The Controller VM is a service VM on every node that owns the node's local disks and participates in the distributed storage fabric, so disks from all nodes appear as a single pool. Prism Central is a management plane, the hypervisor runs user VMs, and Flow provides microsegmentation.

Question 2Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

A cluster administrator wants a single pane of glass to manage several independent Nutanix clusters and to enable features such as categories and images across them. Which component should be deployed?

  1. The Foundation appliance
  2. Nutanix Move
  3. Prism Central Correct answer.
  4. Prism Element on each node

Explanation

Prism Central is a separate management VM (or set of VMs) that registers multiple Prism Element clusters and provides cross-cluster services such as categories, images, and RBAC. Prism Element manages only its own cluster, Foundation performs imaging and deployment, and Move handles VM migration.

Question 3Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

Which Nutanix hypervisor is native to the platform and is included with the software stack without requiring an additional third-party license?

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

Explanation

AHV is Nutanix's own enterprise-grade hypervisor built on the KVM-based Acropolis architecture and is bundled with the platform. ESXi and Hyper-V are third-party hypervisors that can be supported, while Karbon is a Kubernetes management service rather than a hypervisor.

Question 4Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

What is the primary purpose of the Nutanix distributed storage fabric's data locality feature?

  1. To encrypt data at rest across all nodes
  2. To compress data before writing it to remote nodes
  3. To serve read requests from the Controller VM on the node where the VM is running Correct answer.
  4. To replicate all data to every node in the cluster

Explanation

Data locality keeps a copy of a VM's data on the local node so reads are served locally, reducing network hops and latency. The DSF still maintains redundancy across nodes, but locality is about placing a usable copy near the consumer.

Question 5Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

Which Nutanix feature lets an administrator define a policy that automatically places and keeps VMs on hosts that satisfy a set of constraints such as host affinity or VM-VM anti-affinity?

  1. Nutanix Prism Central policies (for example, VM-host affinity) Correct answer.
  2. Nutanix Calm
  3. Nutanix Flow
  4. Nutanix Files

Explanation

Prism Central provides policy-based placement, including VM-host affinity and VM-VM anti-affinity rules, which guide the scheduler to keep workloads where the constraints require. Flow handles network security, Calm handles application automation, and Files provides scale-out file services.

Question 6Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

What does the redundancy factor setting in a Nutanix cluster control?

  1. The number of vCPUs assigned to each Controller VM
  2. The number of copies of data the distributed storage fabric maintains Correct answer.
  3. The number of Prism Central instances deployed
  4. The number of network uplinks bonded per host

Explanation

The redundancy factor (RF2 or RF3) determines how many copies of data the DSF keeps across failure domains so the cluster can tolerate node or disk failures. It does not govern management appliances, network bonding, or CVM sizing.

Question 7Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator needs to migrate running VMs from a legacy VMware environment to a Nutanix AHV cluster with minimal downtime. Which Nutanix tool is designed for this task?

  1. Nutanix Beam
  2. Nutanix Mine
  3. Nutanix Era
  4. Nutanix Move Correct answer.

Explanation

Nutanix Move is the migration utility that moves VMs from platforms such as VMware, Hyper-V, and cloud environments onto Nutanix with minimal disruption. Era manages database lifecycle, Mine handles backup integration, and Beam provided cost governance.

Question 8Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

Which statement best describes how Nutanix Prism Element differs from Prism Central?

  1. Prism Element only supports ESXi, while Prism Central only supports AHV
  2. Prism Element runs on user VMs, while Prism Central runs on the host kernel
  3. Prism Element manages one cluster, while Prism Central manages multiple registered clusters Correct answer.
  4. Prism Element is a hypervisor, while Prism Central is a storage controller

Explanation

Prism Element is the management interface embedded in each cluster, and Prism Central is a separate appliance that registers many clusters for unified management. Neither is a hypervisor or storage controller, and both support multiple hypervisors.

Question 9Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

A cluster with redundancy factor 2 loses one node. What is the expected behavior of the distributed storage fabric?

  1. The cluster requires a full restore from backup before any VM can run
  2. All VMs immediately power off to protect data
  3. The cluster continues serving data because a second copy exists on other nodes, and it begins rebuilding Correct answer.
  4. The redundancy factor automatically changes to 3

Explanation

With RF2, two copies of data exist across failure domains, so losing a single node leaves one copy available and the cluster keeps running while it rebuilds redundancy. VMs do not need to power off, and the redundancy factor is a configured setting, not an automatic upgrade.

Question 10Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator wants to apply a security policy that isolates web-tier VMs from database-tier VMs within the same subnet. Which Nutanix capability should be used?

  1. Nutanix Flow microsegmentation Correct answer.
  2. Nutanix Volumes
  3. Nutanix Prism Element alerts
  4. Nutanix Files

Explanation

Nutanix Flow provides distributed firewall and microsegmentation so policies can isolate traffic between VM groups even inside the same subnet. Files provides file shares, Volumes exposes block storage, and alerts are monitoring notifications.

Question 11Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

What is the role of a Nutanix storage container?

  1. It is the Kubernetes namespace used by Karbon
  2. It defines a logical set of storage policies such as compression, deduplication, and replication factor for VMs Correct answer.
  3. It is the network VLAN assigned to the Controller VM
  4. It is a physical disk shelf attached to a single node

Explanation

A storage container is a logical abstraction that bundles storage policies, including compression, deduplication, and redundancy, and VMs are placed into containers. It is not physical hardware, a Kubernetes namespace, or a network VLAN.

Question 12Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

Which Nutanix product provides a scale-out, distributed file system with SMB and NFS access for unstructured data?

  1. Nutanix Objects
  2. Nutanix Volumes
  3. Nutanix Calm
  4. Nutanix Files Correct answer.

Explanation

Nutanix Files delivers scale-out SMB and NFS file services for unstructured data on the Nutanix platform. Objects provides S3-compatible object storage, Volumes provides block storage, and Calm provides application automation.

Question 13Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

A VM's data needs to remain available if an entire disk fails on a node. Which Nutanix mechanism provides this protection?

  1. The distributed storage fabric replicates data across disks and nodes according to the redundancy factor Correct answer.
  2. Prism Central copies VM configuration to a USB device
  3. Nutanix Flow replicates packets to a standby node
  4. The hypervisor snapshots the VM to the local disk every minute

Explanation

The DSF maintains redundant copies of data across separate disks and nodes based on the configured redundancy factor, allowing the cluster to survive disk or node failure. Hypervisor snapshots are point-in-time recovery aids, not continuous disk redundancy.

Question 14Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

Which Nutanix capability allows an administrator to define and deploy multi-tier applications consistently across environments using blueprints?

  1. Nutanix Calm Correct answer.
  2. Nutanix Prism Element
  3. Nutanix Mine
  4. Nutanix Move

Explanation

Nutanix Calm uses blueprints to model, deploy, and manage multi-tier applications consistently across environments. Move migrates VMs, Mine integrates backup, and Prism Element is the cluster management interface.

Question 15Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator wants to categorize VMs by environment (for example, production or development) so that policies can be applied automatically. Which Prism Central construct should be used?

  1. Virtual switches
  2. Storage containers
  3. Categories Correct answer.
  4. Protection domains

Explanation

Prism Central categories are key-value labels assigned to VMs and other entities, enabling policy application such as protection, placement, and security based on category membership. Containers, protection domains, and virtual switches serve different purposes.

Question 16Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

What is the primary function of Nutanix Prism's health and alerts dashboard?

  1. To provide visibility into cluster component health and surface alerts for proactive remediation Correct answer.
  2. To encrypt all storage containers
  3. To replace the need for backups
  4. To automatically migrate VMs to another hypervisor

Explanation

The health and alerts dashboard surfaces the status of cluster components and raises alerts so administrators can remediate issues proactively. It does not perform hypervisor migration, encryption, or backup replacement.

Question 17Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

Which statement accurately describes how Nutanix handles a node failure in a cluster using RF2 for a VM's data?

  1. The cluster halts all I/O until the failed node returns
  2. The VM's data remains accessible from another node and the cluster rebuilds the lost copy Correct answer.
  3. The VM is permanently lost because only one copy existed
  4. The redundancy factor is reduced to 1 to save space

Explanation

RF2 keeps two copies across failure domains, so a single node failure leaves one accessible copy while the DSF rebuilds redundancy on surviving nodes. The VM is not lost, I/O does not halt, and the redundancy factor is not silently reduced.

Question 18Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator needs to present Nutanix storage as block devices to an external physical server that is not part of the cluster. Which Nutanix capability should be used?

  1. Nutanix Flow
  2. Nutanix Files
  3. Nutanix Objects
  4. Nutanix Volumes Correct answer.

Explanation

Nutanix Volumes exposes cluster storage as iSCSI block devices to external hosts that are not Nutanix VMs. Files provides SMB/NFS, Objects provides S3, and Flow provides network security.

Question 19Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

Which Nutanix component is responsible for the Acropolis hypervisor's management of VM lifecycle operations such as create, power, and delete?

  1. The Acropolis service running in the Controller VM Correct answer.
  2. The Prism Central database only
  3. The Nutanix Flow distributed firewall
  4. The Foundation service on the host BIOS

Explanation

The Acropolis service, running in the Controller VM, manages AHV VM lifecycle operations and coordinates with the DSF. Foundation handles deployment and imaging, Prism Central is a management plane, and Flow handles security policy.

Question 20Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

A cluster has three nodes and uses RF2. An administrator wants to tolerate the simultaneous loss of two nodes without data loss. What is the minimum change required?

  1. Increase the redundancy factor to RF3 and ensure enough nodes exist to place three copies Correct answer.
  2. Add a second Prism Central instance
  3. Convert all VMs to run on ESXi
  4. Enable deduplication on all containers

Explanation

Tolerating two simultaneous node failures requires three copies of data, which means RF3 and enough failure domains to place them. Additional Prism Central instances, deduplication, or a different hypervisor do not change the number of data copies.

Question 21Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator observes that a VM's read latency is higher than expected even though the cluster has spare capacity. Which Nutanix behavior most directly explains why data locality matters here?

  1. Prism Central intercepts all read I/O before it reaches storage
  2. The hypervisor throttles all reads when a VM has more than two vCPUs
  3. Nutanix Flow inspects read packets and delays them
  4. Without a local copy, reads must traverse the network to a remote Controller VM, adding latency Correct answer.

Explanation

Data locality keeps a copy of a VM's data on its local node so reads are served locally; when the local copy is absent, reads cross the network to a remote CVM, increasing latency. Hypervisor vCPU counts, Prism Central, and Flow do not intercept storage reads in this way.

Question 22Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

A company wants to run Kubernetes workloads on its Nutanix cluster while using Prism Central for lifecycle management. Which Nutanix service addresses this requirement?

  1. Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (formerly Karbon) Correct answer.
  2. Nutanix Move
  3. Nutanix Files
  4. Nutanix Volumes

Explanation

Nutanix Kubernetes Platform, previously known as Karbon, provisions and manages Kubernetes clusters on Nutanix infrastructure with integration into Prism Central. Files, Volumes, and Move serve file, block, and migration needs respectively.

Question 23Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

Which statement best explains why the Nutanix distributed storage fabric can tolerate a disk failure without data loss when the redundancy factor is 2?

  1. Each data extent has a second copy on a different disk or node, so the surviving copy serves I/O Correct answer.
  2. Prism Central restores the disk contents from its internal database
  3. The hypervisor caches all writes in RAM indefinitely
  4. The failed disk is automatically replaced by a spare disk in the same slot before any read occurs

Explanation

Under RF2, each extent is stored on two separate failure domains, so a disk failure leaves a valid copy that continues serving I/O while the DSF rebuilds. Automatic disk replacement, indefinite RAM caching, and Prism Central restoration are not how DSF redundancy works.

Question 24Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator plans to expand a cluster by adding a node. Which statement about the effect on the distributed storage fabric is correct?

  1. The cluster must be taken offline and rebuilt from backups
  2. The redundancy factor automatically doubles
  3. The new node's local disks join the storage pool and data is redistributed to use the added capacity Correct answer.
  4. All existing VMs must be recreated on the new node

Explanation

Adding a node extends the DSF because its local disks become part of the shared pool, and the cluster rebalances data across the new capacity. The cluster stays online, the redundancy factor is unchanged unless configured, and VMs do not need recreation.

Question 25Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

Which Nutanix capability provides S3-compatible object storage for applications that need bucket-based access?

  1. Nutanix Calm
  2. Nutanix Files
  3. Nutanix Volumes
  4. Nutanix Objects Correct answer.

Explanation

Nutanix Objects delivers S3-compatible object storage with buckets and object APIs. Files provides SMB/NFS, Volumes provides block storage, and Calm provides application automation.

Question 26Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

Which Nutanix component runs on every node in a cluster and is responsible for the local storage services, including the Curator, Stargate, and Cassandra roles?

  1. The Acropolis hypervisor kernel
  2. The Foundation appliance
  3. Prism Central
  4. The Controller VM (CVM) Correct answer.

Explanation

Each node hosts a Controller VM that runs the distributed storage fabric services such as Stargate for I/O, Curator for disk management, and Cassandra for cluster metadata. The hypervisor runs the guest VMs and forwards storage I/O to the local CVM rather than performing the storage logic itself. Prism Central is a separate management plane and Foundation is used for imaging and cluster creation.

Question 27Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

In a Nutanix cluster, what is the primary purpose of a storage pool?

  1. To isolate VM network traffic between tiers
  2. To define the replication factor applied to guest VM data
  3. To present NFS exports to external clients
  4. To group physical disks from cluster nodes into a single logical unit of capacity Correct answer.

Explanation

A storage pool aggregates physical disks across nodes into one logical pool from which storage containers are carved. Replication factor is configured at the container level, not the pool level, and network isolation is handled by VLANs and flow policies. NFS exports are a property of containers rather than pools.

Question 28Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator wants a single pane of glass to manage several Nutanix clusters, apply consistent policies, and view cross-cluster capacity trends. Which component should be deployed?

  1. Nutanix Files
  2. Prism Central Correct answer.
  3. Nutanix Volumes
  4. Prism Element on each cluster

Explanation

Prism Central provides centralized, multi-cluster management including policy enforcement, categories, and cross-cluster reporting. Prism Element is the per-cluster management interface and does not aggregate multiple clusters by itself. Files and Volumes are data services rather than management planes.

Question 29Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

Which Nutanix feature allows an administrator to take application-consistent snapshots of a multi-VM application by grouping its VMs together?

  1. Storage containers
  2. Categories
  3. Protection domains Correct answer.
  4. Volume groups

Explanation

Protection domains group related VMs so that snapshots and replication are coordinated across the whole application, which supports consistency. Containers define storage policies, categories are metadata labels used for policy targeting, and volume groups expose block storage to external hosts.

Question 30Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator wants VM data to survive the loss of an entire node while also minimizing capacity overhead in a four-node cluster. Which configuration best meets both goals?

  1. Erasure coding with a 4+2 stripe on the container
  2. No replication, relying on snapshots
  3. Replication factor 3 on the container
  4. Replication factor 2 on the container Correct answer.

Explanation

Replication factor 2 keeps two copies of data on separate nodes, so a single node loss is tolerated while using less capacity than RF3. RF3 tolerates two simultaneous failures but consumes more space, and erasure coding schemes such as 4+2 require at least six nodes to be effective. Snapshots are point-in-time copies and are not a substitute for live redundancy.

Question 31Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

A VM is configured with a vDisk and the administrator wants to know where the data physically resides. How does the Nutanix distributed storage fabric place the vDisk's data?

  1. On a single node chosen at VM creation and never moved
  2. On a dedicated external SAN LUN
  3. Entirely on the node running the VM
  4. As chunks distributed across multiple nodes with replicas placed on separate nodes Correct answer.

Explanation

The vDisk is split into extents and chunks that are spread across the cluster, with replicas placed on different nodes according to the container's replication factor. This distribution lets any node serve reads and allows the cluster to rebuild after a failure. There is no external SAN dependency and placement is not pinned permanently to one node.

Question 32Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator needs to ensure that a specific set of production VMs always run on hosts with the highest CPU capacity and never migrate to older hardware. Which combination should be used?

  1. Affinity policy plus host categories Correct answer.
  2. Storage container plus protection domain
  3. Prism Central plus Foundation
  4. Volume group plus snapshot schedule

Explanation

Affinity policies constrain which hosts a VM may run on, and categories applied to hosts let the policy target only the high-capacity nodes. Containers, protection domains, and volume groups address storage concerns rather than placement. Foundation is a deployment tool and does not influence runtime placement.

Question 33Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

A cluster is running low on capacity and the administrator enables compression and deduplication on a container. What is the expected effect?

  1. It moves VM data to an external array
  2. It disables snapshots for the container
  3. It increases the replication factor automatically
  4. It reduces the physical space consumed by stored data on that container Correct answer.

Explanation

Compression and deduplication are container-level space efficiency features that reduce the physical bytes stored for the data placed in that container. They do not alter replication factor, disable snapshots, or move data off-cluster. Capacity savings depend on data reducibility.

Question 34Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

After a node failure, an administrator notices the cluster is rebuilding data. Which statement describes what the distributed storage fabric is doing?

  1. It is compacting the Cassandra metadata store
  2. It is restoring replicas of affected data onto surviving nodes to regain the configured redundancy Correct answer.
  3. It is migrating running VMs to a standby site
  4. It is converting the container from RF2 to RF3 automatically

Explanation

When a node is lost, the cluster detects under-replicated extents and creates new replicas on surviving nodes to restore the container's replication factor. This rebuild is internal to the cluster and does not involve a remote site or an automatic change of replication factor. Metadata services continue running on the remaining nodes.

Question 35Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator wants to run a workload that requires block storage presented over iSCSI to a bare-metal server outside the Nutanix cluster. Which Nutanix capability should be used?

  1. Nutanix Files
  2. Nutanix Flow
  3. Nutanix Objects
  4. Nutanix Volumes Correct answer.

Explanation

Nutanix Volumes exposes cluster storage as iSCSI block devices to external hosts that are not part of the cluster. Files provides SMB and NFS file shares, Objects provides S3-compatible storage, and Flow delivers network security policy. Only Volumes addresses external block access over iSCSI.

Question 36Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator wants to automate VM provisioning so that a new VM is created, powered on, and joined to a protection domain without manual steps. Which approach fits the Nutanix platform?

  1. Use Prism Element's manual UI wizard each time
  2. Use Foundation to reimage the node
  3. Use the Nutanix API or Prism Central with scripts and playbooks Correct answer.
  4. Use a snapshot schedule on the container

Explanation

Nutanix exposes REST APIs and supports automation through Prism Central and tooling such as scripts or playbooks to perform repeatable provisioning tasks. Manual UI steps are not automation, Foundation builds nodes rather than VMs, and snapshot schedules protect data rather than create VMs.

Question 37Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

Which statement correctly describes how Nutanix AHV handles live migration of a running VM between hosts in the same cluster?

  1. It uses the distributed storage fabric so the VM's data is accessible from the target host during migration Correct answer.
  2. It requires shared storage presented over NFS from an external array
  3. It only works when the VM has no vDisks attached
  4. It powers off the VM before moving it

Explanation

Because VM data is distributed across the cluster through the DFS, any host can access it, allowing a running VM to be migrated without shared external storage. The VM remains powered on during a live migration and vDisks are not a barrier. External NFS arrays are not required for intra-cluster migration.

Question 38Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator is designing a cluster that must tolerate the simultaneous loss of two nodes while keeping capacity overhead reasonable. Which factor most directly determines whether this is achievable?

  1. The chosen replication or erasure coding scheme and the node count Correct answer.
  2. The size of the CVM's memory allocation
  3. The number of storage containers configured
  4. The number of Prism Central instances

Explanation

Tolerance for multiple failures depends on the data protection scheme and whether the cluster has enough fault domains to place the required copies or stripes. RF3 tolerates two node failures, and erasure coding schemes require a minimum node count to be effective. Container count, Prism Central instances, and CVM memory do not determine failure tolerance.

Question 39Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

A Nutanix cluster shows healthy status but a specific VM reports elevated storage latency. Which troubleshooting step best isolates whether the issue is VM-specific or cluster-wide?

  1. Rebuild the Cassandra metadata store
  2. Immediately add a new node to the cluster
  3. Compare the VM's latency metrics with cluster-wide and other-VM metrics in Prism Correct answer.
  4. Disable deduplication on all containers

Explanation

Comparing per-VM latency against cluster-wide and peer-VM metrics in Prism shows whether the problem is isolated to one workload or affects the whole storage fabric. Adding a node, disabling deduplication, or rebuilding metadata are disruptive actions that should follow diagnosis, not precede it. Metrics-driven comparison is the least invasive first step.

Question 40Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Fundamentals

An administrator wants to protect a VM with a recovery point objective of about one hour and the ability to recover to a remote Nutanix cluster. Which Nutanix capability directly addresses this?

  1. Local snapshots stored only on the same cluster
  2. Protection domains with replication to a remote cluster and a snapshot schedule Correct answer.
  3. Affinity policies on the source cluster
  4. Erasure coding on the source container

Explanation

Protection domains combined with scheduled snapshots and replication send recovery points to a remote cluster, supporting an RPO measured in the snapshot interval. Local-only snapshots do not survive loss of the source site, and erasure coding and affinity policies address capacity and placement rather than remote recovery.

Question 41Hyperconverged Infrastructure and AOS Architecture

In a Nutanix AOS cluster, which component is responsible for storing and serving the actual VM data on each node?

  1. The Controller VM (CVM) Correct answer.
  2. The IPMI/BMC interface
  3. Prism Central
  4. The Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV)

Explanation

Each node runs a Controller VM that owns the local disks and exposes them as a distributed storage fabric, so all reads and writes to VM data pass through the CVM. AHV runs the guest VMs, Prism Central provides multi-cluster management, and IPMI is out-of-band hardware management.

Question 42Hyperconverged Infrastructure and AOS Architecture

What is the primary function of the Nutanix Distributed Storage Fabric (DSF)?

  1. It aggregates local disks across nodes into a single pooled datastore Correct answer.
  2. It schedules guest VMs onto the node with the most free CPU
  3. It encrypts all inter-node traffic with IPsec by default
  4. It replaces the hypervisor's virtual switch with a hardware bridge

Explanation

DSF pools the local disks of every node into one logical datastore that all CVMs serve, so VMs can run anywhere while data is distributed and replicated. It is a storage layer, not a network bridge, encryption service, or VM scheduler.

Question 43Hyperconverged Infrastructure and AOS Architecture

Which Nutanix management component is required to use features such as centralized multi-cluster dashboards, categories, and self-service blueprints?

  1. The CVM's Stargate service
  2. Prism Central Correct answer.
  3. The AHV host agent
  4. Prism Element

Explanation

Prism Central is the multi-cluster management plane that delivers categories, blueprints, and centralized visibility across many clusters. Prism Element manages a single cluster, while Stargate and the host agent are internal data-path services.

Question 44Hyperconverged Infrastructure and AOS Architecture

A Nutanix cluster is configured with replication factor 2 (RF2). How many copies of each VM's data does the cluster maintain?

  1. One
  2. Two Correct answer.
  3. It depends on the number of nodes
  4. Three

Explanation

RF2 means the cluster keeps two copies of every data extent, typically on two different nodes, so a single node or disk failure does not lose data. The factor directly names the number of copies maintained, not a value derived from cluster size.

Question 45Hyperconverged Infrastructure and AOS Architecture

What does the Nutanix term 'extent' refer to in the distributed storage fabric?

  1. A network path between two CVMs
  2. A logical grouping of clusters managed by one Prism Central
  3. A fixed-size chunk of data stored on a physical disk Correct answer.
  4. A snapshot of an entire storage container

Explanation

DSF breaks VM data into fixed-size extents that are distributed across nodes and protected by replication or erasure coding. Extents are the storage unit of placement and protection, distinct from management groupings, network paths, or snapshots.

Question 46Hyperconverged Infrastructure and AOS Architecture

Which hypervisor is Nutanix's native, built-in virtualization solution that runs directly on the node without a third-party hypervisor?

  1. Nutanix KVM Legacy Edition
  2. Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) Correct answer.
  3. VMware ESXi
  4. Microsoft Hyper-V

Explanation

AHV is Nutanix's native hypervisor based on KVM, tightly integrated with AOS and managed through Prism. ESXi and Hyper-V are supported third-party hypervisors, but they are not Nutanix's native solution.

Question 47Hyperconverged Infrastructure and AOS Architecture

In AOS, what is the role of the Curator service running on the CVM?

  1. It serves the Prism Element web UI
  2. It handles synchronous read and write I/O for guest VMs
  3. It performs background disk balancing, scanning, and cleanup tasks Correct answer.
  4. It manages the AHV virtual network configuration

Explanation

Curator runs background maintenance such as disk balancing, scrubbing, and cleanup so the data path stays fast. Synchronous I/O is handled by Stargate, the UI by Prism, and networking by the hypervisor.

Question 48Hyperconverged Infrastructure and AOS Architecture

Which statement best describes a Nutanix storage container?

  1. A physical disk shelf attached to a single node
  2. A logical storage construct with its own policies such as compression and replication settings Correct answer.
  3. A dedicated VLAN used only for CVM heartbeat traffic
  4. A per-VM virtual disk presented directly to the guest OS

Explanation

A storage container is a logical namespace on the distributed storage fabric that carries policies like compression, deduplication, and replication factor. It is not a physical shelf, a network VLAN, or a single VM disk.

Question 49Hyperconverged Infrastructure and AOS Architecture

An administrator wants a VM's data to survive the loss of any single node in an RF2 cluster. Which condition must hold for that protection to be effective?

  1. The VM must be pinned to a single host with affinity rules
  2. The cluster must contain at least one Prism Central instance
  3. Replicas of each extent must be placed on different nodes Correct answer.
  4. All replicas of an extent must reside on the same node

Explanation

RF2 protects against node loss only when the two copies of an extent live on separate nodes, which DSF placement enforces. Co-locating replicas or pinning the VM to one host would defeat the redundancy, and Prism Central is unrelated to data placement.

Question 50Hyperconverged Infrastructure and AOS Architecture

A cluster uses erasure coding (EC-X) on a container. What is the main benefit compared with replication?

  1. Elimination of the need for any parity data
  2. Lower storage overhead for the same fault tolerance Correct answer.
  3. Guaranteed lower read latency than RF2
  4. Automatic migration of VMs between clusters

Explanation

Erasure coding stores parity stripes instead of full copies, so it needs less raw capacity than replication to survive the same number of failures. It still requires parity data, does not guarantee better latency, and has nothing to do with cross-cluster VM migration.