Support, Lifecycle, and Security Basics
What the domain tests
Support, Lifecycle, and Security Basics tests operational hygiene: health checks, upgrades, support workflows, access control, and encryption fundamentals.
Core rules
- NCC (Nutanix Cluster Check) validates cluster health and should be run before and after significant changes.
- Lifecycle Manager (LCM) performs one-click AOS, AHV, firmware, and Prism Central updates; it does not patch guest operating systems.
- AOS upgrades are rolling and designed to be non-disruptive; CVMs restart one at a time while data remains available.
- Pulse sends telemetry to Nutanix Support; it is not a backup or a monitoring-only tool.
- Security controls include RBAC, AD/LDAP authentication, two-factor authentication, cluster lockdown, and data-at-rest encryption using SEDs or software-based encryption.
- Flow microsegmentation enforces east-west policy; it is not a perimeter firewall replacement.
Worked example
Before an AOS upgrade, the administrator runs NCC, checks the compatibility matrix, confirms LCM has the target version, reviews free capacity for HA and rebuild, and takes a configuration backup. After the upgrade, they rerun NCC and check alerts. Reasoning: upgrades are safer when health, compatibility, and rollback information are known before the first CVM restarts.
Traps
Do not use LCM for guest OS patching. Do not treat Pulse as a backup. Do not assume cluster lockdown is the same as RBAC. Do not skip NCC because the upgrade is one-click. Do not assume encryption is enabled by default.