NCS-Core Nutanix Certified Services Core Infrastructure Professional Question and Answers

Ref: https://next.nutanix.com/server-virtualization-27/iops-latency-issue-1 168

To address critical alerts about components using default passwords in the Prism Element Web Console:

• C. Check NCC results and review the associated KB: The Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC) tool can identify security vulnerabilities, including default password usage. Reviewing the results and associated knowledge base articles provides specific guidance on changing these passwords to secure the environment.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), specifically sections on cluster health checks and security practices.
• Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com), which includes instruction on using NCC for cluster validation and security enhancements.

If a VM deployed on the storage network cannot access a SMB standard share, the likely issue is that:

• Clients on the same subnet as the storage network cannot access the shares: This scenario typically occurs due to network segmentation policies or firewall rules that restrict access to the storage network from clients within the same subnet, intended to segregate traffic types for security and performance reasons.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), specifically sections on network segmentation and Nutanix Files configurations.
• Nutanix Technical Documentation on Nutanix Files, which covers network configuration and troubleshooting issues related to file access.

Ref: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Prism-Element-Data-Protection-Gu ide-v5_18:wc-dr-application-consistent-snapshots-wc-r.html

The administrator's goal is to maximize storage potential in a cluster already configured with post-process compression and capacity deduplication. Erasure Coding (EC-X) is an effective method to further increase space savings by reducing the amount of redundancy data required for fault tolerance. It splits data into multiple chunks, which are distributed across the cluster, and parity is calculated and stored. This method is more space-efficient compared to traditional RAID or mirroring techniques, especially in environments where large data volumes need efficient storage.

References:

• Nutanix Bible: Storage Efficiency
• Nutanix University: Storage Configuration and Optimization

According to Nutanix best practices for ESXi clusters, using a vSphere Standard Switch with "Route based on originating port ID" is recommended for load balancing. This method ensures that the same virtual port ID within a vSwitch uses the same uplink from the vSwitch. This load balancing policy provides an even distribution of traffic and redundancy by utilizing both NICs effectively without requiring any specific physical switch configurations, such as EtherChannel or LACP.References: The Nutanix Bible, NCS-Core 6.8 course content, and VMware’s documentation on vSphere Standard Switch load balancing methods.

When receiving a field advisory from Nutanix support regarding a rare problem that could destabilize the cluster, the recommended action is to update AOS. This can be done via Prism Element by selecting "Upgrade Software." This method ensures that any patches or updates that address the identified issue are applied directly to the AOS environment, mitigating any potential risks associated with the reported problem. Since the organization uses VMware vSphere, the update specifically targets the AOS to ensure the underlying infrastructure supporting vSphere remains stable.References: Nutanix Support Portal, Nutanix Field Advisories, Prism Element Guide.

Given the symptoms where two nodes correctly failover but lose communication with the third node after an SFP+ is removed, the first action should be to:

• Validate the SFP+ is fully plugged into the node and switch: This is critical because a loose or partially connected SFP+ can cause intermittent network issues, which seems to be the problem based on the scenario described.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), particularly the network troubleshooting sections.
• Nutanix Field Installation Guide, which provides detailed steps on how to ensure hardware components like SFPs are correctly installed.

Ref: https://portal.nutan ix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Prism-Central-Guide-Prism-v510:mul-security-authentication-pc-t.html

During the Knowledge Transfer phase, customers typically learn about Nutanix basics and their specific environment at a high level through "Technical Handoff Slides." This part of the training and handover process provides a broad overview of the installed solution, how it operates, and how it interacts with the existing infrastructure, making it essential for foundational understanding.References: Nutanix Bible, Nutanix University NCS-Core 6.8 learning materials

In a Nutanix cluster, I/O latency can be affected by several factors. Given the scenario where a 32-node hybrid cluster is experiencing I/O latency, one possible cause could be the Information Life Cycle Management (ILM) constantly moving data due to curator scans1.

In a Nutanix cluster, ILM is responsible for managing data placement across different storage tiers. It promotes frequently accessed data to higher-performance tiers (like SSDs) and demotes less frequently accessed data to lower-performance tiers (like HDDs)1. This process involves moving data around, which can cause I/O operations to take longer, leading to increased latency1.

If the working set size (WSS) exceeds the SSD tier capacity, ILM will have to constantly move data between the SSD and HDD tiers to accommodate new data. This constant data movement can lead to increased I/O latency1.

Therefore, if curator scans caused by ILM are constantly moving data, it could be the reason for the observed I/O latency in this scenario.

References:

• Disk I/O Latency on a Nutanix Cluster | Nutanix Community
• Nutanix Volumes - Recommendations And Best Practices
• Nutanix Support & Insights
• Expand Cluster with Nodes with Higher NIC SPEED (25 GBPS) | Nutanix …
• [Scaling Up VM Storage Performance on AHV – Volume Group … - Nutanix]
• [About support for Nutanix segmented iSCSI network | Managing AHV …]

The requirements specify the use of LACP with multiple VLANs and without the use of a native VLAN. Trunk ports must be configured to carry multiple VLANs, which is necessary for scenarios involving LACP across multiple switches (MLAG or vPC). Setting the native VLAN to default and not using it in traffic management while trunking the ports meets these needs effectively. References: Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com/ ), Nutanix Official YouTube Training Series

ref: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Web-Console-Guide-Prism-v55:wc-network-visualization-intro-c.html

To meet the customer requirements for automatic failover and resource balancing in a vSphere environment, two specific features need to be enabled: vSphere High Availability (HA) and Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS). vSphere HA ensures that VMs automatically restart on other hosts in the event of a host failure, providing high availability. vSphere DRS balances computing workloads with available resources in a vSphere environment, ensuring that resources are used efficiently and that new VMs are placed on hosts with the most available resources.

References:

• Nutanix Bible: vSphere Integration
• Nutanix University: Configuring vSphere Features

The CVM IP address is a hard requirement for deploying a Nutanix cluster. Each CVM must have a unique IP address assigned to it as this IP address is critical for cluster operations, including data replication, management activities, and communication between CVMs and hypervisors. The other options, while important for various functionalities, do not represent a hard requirement for initial deployment.References:

• Nutanix University - NCS-Core 6.8 Learning Path
• The Nutanix Bible, Cluster Configuration chapter (https://www.nutanixbible.com/)

Ref:

To satisfy the customer's request for additional performance and resiliency tests on a cluster, deploying Nutanix X-Ray is the best option. X-Ray is a performance testing and benchmarking tool specifically designed for hyper-converged infrastructures and provides a range of tests that simulate real-world scenarios, stress tests, and resiliency tests. This tool allows the consultant to comprehensively assess the performance, fault tolerance, and operational resilience of the Nutanix cluster, meeting the customer's testing requirements effectively.References: Nutanix X-Ray Documentation, Nutanix Performance Testing Best Practices.

Ref:

rx_crc_errors are caused either by faults in layer 1 (in the past, we have seen failed twinax cables and incorrect types of fibre being used), or issues with jumbo frames on the network. In an environment with 10 Gig switches that use cut-through forwarding (Cisco Nexus, Arista, Cisco devices using IOS default to Store and Forward switching), any packets that come into the switch will get forwarded out the destination interface once the switch has read the destination MAC address. If that packet has an MTU over what is configured on the interface, it will cut off the packet at the designated MTU, causing the server to receive a malformed packet, which will throw a CRC error.

If you have a layer 1 issue, you will see rx_crc_errors, not on all but one or two nodes.

Validating software compatibility for a Nutanix cluster installation necessitates the identification of the AOS version and the type of Hypervisor in use. AOS is central to the Nutanix infrastructure, governing storage, compute, and networking functions. The hypervisor layer is critical as it supports the virtual machines running on the cluster. Compatibility between these components ensures stable operation and support for all features. References: Nutanix Certified Services - Core (NCS-Core) Learning Documents

To safely and successfully unregister the customer's former cluster from Prism Central (PC), the consultant should take the following steps as outlined in option D:

• Login to the Prism Central Web UI, which provides a user-friendly interface for managing multiple clusters.
• Navigate to the "Cluster Registrations" section found under the "Settings" in the "Admin Center" of the Prism Central interface.
• Check the box next to the desired Prism Element (PE) cluster that needs to be unregistered.
• Click the "Remove" button to unregister the cluster.

This method allows the consultant to cleanly and directly manage the cluster registration without needing to interact with command-line tools or scripts, making it a straightforward process that minimizes the risk of errors and ensures that the operation can be tracked and audited through the UI.

References: Nutanix Prism Central Guide, Nutanix Administration Documentation.

When using the Foundation VM in a desktop virtualization environment and nodes are not being discovered, the first setting that the consultant should verify is the network adapter configuration, specifically ensuring it is set to a Bridged Adapter. This setting allows the virtual machine hosting the Foundation VM to connect directly to the physical network, making other network nodes visible and reachable during the discovery process. This direct network connection is critical for the Foundation tool to function correctly and discover other nodes.References: Nutanix Bible, Nutanix University

Ref: https://next.nutanix.com/how-it-works-22/rf2-rf3-requirements-37206#:~:text=Controller%20VMs%20must%20be%20configured,for%20the%20feature)%20of%20memory .

After confirming that all nodes (Hosts and CVMs) are operational and network accessible, the next step in troubleshooting a failed cluster creation process is to use one of the CVMs to manually initiate the cluster creation. This is done using the command cluster create from a CVM, which allows you to establish the cluster management and data services provided by Nutanix. This approach is recommended when the Foundation process has successfully imaged the nodes but the automatic cluster creation has failed.References:

• Nutanix University - NCS-Core 6.8 Learning Path
• The Nutanix Bible, Cluster Initialization chapter (https://www.nutanixbible.com/)

When encountering an error related to unsupported ISO media during the imaging process, and the ISO version is not listed in the whitelist file, the consultant should take several steps to resolve the issue. Replacing and saving the whitelist file in Foundation ensures that the latest compatibility data is used. Downloading the iso_whitelist.json from the Support portal provides the most recent and comprehensive list of supported ISO versions. Editing the whitelist file in Foundation allows the consultant to manually add or update entries to include the ISO in question, ensuring the imaging process can proceed.

References:

• Nutanix Bible: Foundation Imaging and Compatibility
• Nutanix University: Handling Foundation Errors

In scenarios where VMs have been migrated to a new cluster and they were previously on VLAN 10 but can no longer communicate, the most likely cause is that the VLAN ID setting on the virtual network interface cards (VNICs) of the VMs does not match the VLAN configuration of the new network. Ensuring that the VLAN IDs are correctly set to match the network configuration of the new cluster is essential for proper network communication.References:

• Nutanix University - NCS-Core 6.8 Learning Path
• The Nutanix Bible, Networking chapter (https://www.nutanixbible.com/)

For troubleshooting issues with Foundation Portable on Mac not locating new nodes, the consultant should check the ~/data/logs/foundation.out log. This log file contains detailed operational entries that describe the activities of the Foundation tool, including any errors encountered during the node discovery process. This can provide insights into why the nodes are not being detected and guide the consultant on the necessary corrective actions.

References:

• Nutanix Bible: Foundation Deployment and Troubleshooting
• Nutanix University: Foundation Tool Usage

The warning message about powering off VMs during an AOS upgrade in a two-node cluster is issued because, in smaller clusters such as two-node configurations, resource availability and redundancy are limited. To safely perform an upgrade without risking service disruption, the VMs need to be powered down to free up resources and ensure that there is sufficient capacity to handle the cluster operations during the upgrade process.References: Nutanix Bible, NCS-Core 6.8 course content, and Nutanix upgrade best practices.

Ref: https://www.vvlsystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/1 1/BP-2009_Metro_Availability.pdf

Given that the customer is using a Cisco Nexus 9k switch and wants to deploy ESXi with a vSphere Distributed Switch while using LACP, the consultant should ensure that the customer configures:

• D. no lacp suspend-individual: This command ensures that LACP doesn't suspend the individual port if it does not receive LACP PDUs from the other side, which is crucial in environments where continuous connectivity is required for all member links of the port-channel to maintain uninterrupted network services.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), where it discusses ESXi configurations and switch settings.
• Cisco Nexus configuration guides, referred through Nutanix’s training materials, which recommend settings for optimal integration with Nutanix environments.

If link aggregation is failing to pass traffic and is only showing a status of "configured," the most likely cause is a failed negotiation due to a misconfiguration on the Top-of-Rack (ToR) switches. This typically occurs when the aggregation protocols (like LACP) or the settings on the ToR switches do not match the configuration on the hosts. Ensuring that both ends of the aggregated links are configured identically and properly for the expected protocols is critical for successful link aggregation.References: Nutanix Network Configuration Guide, Best Practices for Network Aggregation.

For expanding a Nutanix cluster with software-less Dell PowerEdge servers, the consultant should: A. Image nodes using Foundation VM/App. This tool is designed for initial imaging and configuration of Nutanix nodes, including software installation, which is necessary since the nodes arrived without any software. B. Use the Expand cluster functionality within the existing Nutanix environment once the nodes are imaged. This feature will integrate the newly imaged nodes into the existing cluster, enhancing the cluster's capacity and performance. Options C and D are not applicable as returning nodes to the factory for imaging is unnecessary with the availability of the Foundation tool, and "Expand cluster to image the nodes" is not a correct procedure as imaging must be completed before expansion.References: Nutanix Foundation Tool Documentation, Nutanix Cluster Expansion Guide.

To increase the Redundancy Factor (RF) from 2 to 3, at least five nodes are required for the cluster to function correctly with RF3, as each data block needs to be replicated to three different nodes. However, the optimal solution that offers both the necessary node count and sufficient storage overhead is:

• Six Compute Nodes with 25% available disk space: This configuration ensures that there are enough nodes to support RF3 while maintaining adequate storage capacity for redundancy without overutilization.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), particularly the sections on redundancy factors and node requirements.
• Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com), focusing on cluster scaling and redundancy considerations.

Addressing the customer’s concern regarding the potential storage performance impact after a VM migration, it’s important to note that Nutanix AHV includes intelligent scheduling mechanisms. AHV’s built-in scheduler automatically works to restore data locality after VM migrations. Data locality refers to the placement of data close to the VM consuming it, which optimizes read and write operations by reducing latency. After migration, the scheduler actively moves data to ensure it is close to its consuming VM, thereby minimizing any adverse impacts on storage performance.

References:

• Nutanix AHV Administration Guide: Nutanix Documentation
• Nutanix Data Locality Explanation and Benefits: Nutanix Portal

During the closeout of a cluster imaging engagement, a key action to include in the Closeout Checklist is:

• Provide an overview of Nutanix Prism Central: This is crucial as Prism Central is the management and operations platform for Nutanix environments, providing visibility and control over clusters and workloads. Giving an overview of this tool is essential for the customer to manage their newly imaged clusters effectively.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), where management tools like Prism Central are discussed.
• Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com), which includes training on using Prism Central for cluster management.

The failure to discover nodes during installation can often be attributed to the lack of IPv6 support on the network, especially if the Foundation process relies on IPv6 for node discovery. If IPv6 is not enabled on the customer’s switch, the discovery packets may not be properly routed, resulting in the nodes not being discovered. Enabling IPv6 on the switch could resolve this discovery issue.

References:

• Nutanix Foundation Troubleshooting Guide: Nutanix Support Portal
• Network Configuration and Troubleshooting Documentation

The plan to deploy a small Prism Central (PC) instance will not work for the customer because the additional services required, especially Flow Microsegmentation and MS-SQL Server Monitoring, demand more substantial resources than a small PC instance can support. The correct approach: B. The additional services the customer needs, including Nutanix Disaster Recovery, MS-SQL Server Monitoring, and Flow Microsegmentation, require a larger resource pool for adequate performance and functionality, making a minimum of a large size PC deployment necessary. Options C and D point to specific requirements but are incorrect in stating the exact size or additional licensing for MS-SQL alone; rather, the overall resource demand across services necessitates a larger PC deployment.References: Nutanix Prism Central Deployment Guide, Nutanix Services Specifications.

For licensing reasons and to ensure compliance with software license terms, particularly for databases like SQL and Oracle RAC, VM-Host affinity policies are used. These policies help in pinning VMs to specific hosts. In this scenario, SQL Servers must be confined to specific hosts to manage licensing costs effectively, and similarly, Oracle RAC servers must be on separate hosts. The VM-Host affinity policy allows for such configuration by defining rules that keep VMs on specific hosts or separate them as needed.References:

• Nutanix Bible
• Nutanix University NCS-Core Materials

The Test Plan is the most appropriate resource for detailed information on network validation testing. This document typically outlines the specific tests to be conducted to ensure the network meets the required specifications and performance standards necessary for a stable and efficient Nutanix environment. The Test Plan provides a structured approach to validate each network component and interaction, ensuring all aspects are tested and meet design and operational requirements. References: Nutanix Installation and validation procedures as described in Nutanix official documentation and training modules from Nutanix University.

When installing Nutanix AOS on Cisco UCS hardware platforms, the recommended method is to use the Foundation VM. This approach allows for the deployment of Nutanix software onto bare metal hardware from a virtual machine that can manage the installation process across multiple nodes simultaneously. The Foundation VM simplifies the installation and initial configuration process, ensuring that all nodes are correctly configured and integrated into the Nutanix ecosystem.References: Nutanix Bible, Nutanix University

Erasure coding is a method of data protection in which data is broken into fragments, expanded and encoded with redundant data pieces, and stored across a set of different locations or storage media. The goal of erasure coding is to enable data that becomes corrupted at some point in the disk storage process to be reconstructed by using information about the data that’s stored elsewhere in the array1.

In the context of Nutanix, erasure coding increases the usable capacity on a cluster. Instead of replicating data, erasure coding uses parity information to rebuild data in the event of a disk failure1. The capacity savings of erasure coding is in addition to deduplication and compression savings1.

Given the characteristics of the VM in the question (large/sequential writes, data kept for years, data accessed only at the end of the year), Post-Process Compression would be the most suitable feature to utilize to save space. This is because Post-Process Compression, as the name suggests, compresses data after it has been written to the storage, which is suitable for data that is not accessed frequently2.

References:

• Erasure Coding | Nutanix Community
• Nutanix Support & Insights
• Introducing AOS 6.6: Enhanced data services and simplified … - Nutanix

To manually create a cluster after the nodes have been successfully imaged but the automated cluster creation fails, the correct command to use is:

cluster create -s IP_CVM_A, IP_CVM_B, IP_CVM_n

This command specifies the -s option to include the IP addresses of the Controller Virtual Machines (CVMs) on the nodes, initiating the manual cluster creation process.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), particularly the sections on manual cluster operations.
• Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com), with detailed instructions on manual cluster commands.

If after performing a failover operation the virtual machines have no network access despite the network administrator confirming the correct subnets at both sites, the likely issue is:

• A. Network mappings are not configured for the Remote Site: This configuration oversight means that although the VMs are online, they do not have appropriate network settings that correspond to the network environment at the failover site, resulting in connectivity issues.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), specifically the sections on disaster recovery and network configurations in failover scenarios.
• Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com), covering Data Protection and failover operations.

When Foundation reports an error indicating the ISO is not supported:

• Option B: Checking the MD5 checksum of the ISO file ensures that it matches the expected value listed by Nutanix, confirming the file's integrity and compatibility.
• Option D: Downloading and updating the iso whitelist.json from the Nutanix Support Portal ensures that Foundation has the latest information on supported ISO files, potentially resolving compatibility issues.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), especially sections on Foundation and ISO troubleshooting.
• Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com), which covers the setup and troubleshooting of Foundation.

When a consultant sees a message indicating that the MD5 sum for the hypervisor is not found in the Whitelist file after uploading it during the Foundation process, the appropriate step is to download the latest hypervisor ISO whitelist file from the Nutanix portal (Option C). This file contains the approved checksums for various ISO images, ensuring that the hypervisor ISO being used is verified for compatibility and integrity.References: Nutanix Foundation Guide, Nutanix Support Portal.

To resolve inconsistent network speeds from the VMs on an AHV host equipped with both 10G and 25G NICs, the consultant should configure all network interfaces with Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) on the same virtual switch. This configuration will allow for better load balancing and bandwidth aggregation across multiple network interfaces, improving overall network throughput and reducing bottlenecks.References:

• Nutanix University - NCS-Core 6.8 Learning Path
• The Nutanix Bible, Networking chapter (https://www.nutanixbible.com/)

If the Foundation applet's progress bar webpage does not load after a refresh during a cluster creation, the consultant should verify if the Foundation process has completed by attempting to connect to any CVM (Controller Virtual Machine) IP address using a web browser. Accessing the CVM will confirm whether the nodes are operational and part of the cluster, thus indicating whether the Foundation process has successfully completed or not.References: Nutanix Bible, NCS-Core 6.8 official documentation on the Foundation process.

To validate the installed version of an NVIDIA driver in a Nutanix environment with AHV or within the CVM, use the command:

This command checks for all RPM packages related to NVIDIA installed on the Controller Virtual Machine, providing details about the driver version.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), especially sections on AHV and CVM maintenance commands.
• Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com), which covers command-line tools and driver management.

Before going on-site to deploy a Nutanix cluster, the following prerequisites are crucial:

• A. Complete the kickoff call and validate the BOM (Bill of Materials): This ensures that all necessary components are accounted for and any discrepancies or missing items are addressed prior to installation.
• C. Validate whether the cluster questionnaire is complete and if the physical switch configurations are complete: Ensuring that all relevant customer and network information is obtained and validated is critical to avoid delays or issues during the physical installation and configuration of the cluster.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), particularly sections on pre-deployment planning and validation.
• Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com), covering the importance of thorough preparation and documentation before on-site engagements.

As the consultant concludes the project, to assist the customer with repeating the deployment process at a dark site, the best items to deliver would be:

• A trial license activation code for Prism Starter, which will allow the customer to begin using the Nutanix cluster immediately without initial extra costs.
• Creating an account for access to the Nutanix Support Portal, ensuring the customer can access support and documentation as needed for troubleshooting and learning.
• A guide for dark site deployments using Nutanix standards, which will provide step-by-step instructions tailored to the specific challenges of deploying in a location with no direct internet connectivity.These resources are critical for enabling the customer to independently deploy and manage Nutanix clusters under the unique constraints of a dark site.References: Nutanix Deployment Guide, Nutanix Support Portal Documentation.

When facing an error during the installation process that the IPMI IP address is unreachable:

• C. Check the service.log and the individual node log files for more detailed information: Reviewing these log files will provide insights into what might be causing the IPMI connectivity issue, offering specific error messages or network configuration problems that need resolution.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), where troubleshooting and log analysis are discussed.
• Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com), focusing on Foundation troubleshooting and the use of log files to diagnose installation issues.

To meet the customer's requirements for high availability and the ability to manage up to 12,500 VMs, the consultant should use Prism Central Scale-out deployment. This deployment mode allows Prism Central to be scaled out across multiple instances, significantly enhancing both performance and resilience, ensuring that the management and operations of a large number of VMs can be handled efficiently and without a single point of failure.References: Nutanix Bible, Nutanix University NCS-Core 6.8 learning materials

For a configuration where a single VM should not exceed the bandwidth of a single 10G uplink and both uplinks need to be utilized, the correct bonding mode is balance-slb (Source Load Balancing). This mode allows both uplinks to be utilized while ensuring that a single VM will not exceed the capacity of one uplink, as traffic from each VM or "source" is assigned to one of the links in the bond. The other_config: bond-rebalance-interval=30000 command is used to set the interval at which the bonding driver will rebalance the assignment of sources to links in the bond. This helps in maintaining optimal distribution of load across the links as network conditions change.

References:

• Nutanix Bible: Network Configuration
• Nutanix University: Advanced Network Configuration

For creating a Disaster Recovery Test plan for Nutanix environments, verifying that VMs receive the correct IP address after a failover is critical to validate VM availability across the network. This check is essential to ensure that network configurations and DHCP/Static IP settings are correctly applied post-failover, enabling proper network communications and access to services hosted on the VMs. Ensuring correct IP addressing is fundamental to the successful operation of DR strategies in virtualized environments.References: Nutanix Disaster Recovery Best Practices, Nutanix Network Configuration for DR environments.

When facing connectivity issues between the host workstation and the Foundation VM, ensuring proper network configuration is crucial. Removing and re-importing the Foundation VM can help reset any configuration issues, particularly ensuring that the virtual NIC is set to the correct mode, such as Host-Only, to facilitate direct communication with the host. Confirming the IP addresses and subnet masks ensures that both the host and the VM are on the same network segment, which is essential for successful communication. This step verifies that there are no IP configuration errors causing the connectivity issue.

References:

• Nutanix Bible: Foundation VM Setup and Configuration
• Nutanix University: Foundation VM Networking Configuration

Ref: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details/?targetId=Files-v3_6:Files-v3_6

For a newly deployed Nutanix system where the customer has specified VLAN 10 for management traffic, the consultant should recommend using VLAN 10 for both CVM and AHV host traffic. This VLAN designation ensures that all management, monitoring, and internal cluster communication are on a dedicated network, separate from production VM traffic (VLAN 20) and backup/replication traffic (VLAN 30), thereby enhancing network security and performance.References:

• Nutanix University - NCS-Core 6.8 Learning Path
• The Nutanix Bible, Network Configuration chapter (https://www.nutanixbible.com/)

To revert both clusters to their original state after testing DR by activating VMs on the remote cluster, the administrator needs to ensure that replications are suspended to prevent any further changes during the process. The steps include suspending the replications on the primary site to prevent any conflicts or data loss (Step 1), deactivating the Protection Domain on the remote site using ncli to stop the DR environment (Step 2), and then migrating the protection domain back to the primary site (Step 3). This sequence ensures that both clusters return to their original states with minimal disruption.References: Nutanix Disaster Recovery Guide, Nutanix Administration Guide.

When preparing the cluster offsite in a safe room, the consultant should ensure that the Foundation VM is correctly configured to handle IPMI networking. Implementing a virtual switch dedicated to the IPMI network within the Foundation VM environment ensures that there is a segregated and controlled network path for IPMI traffic, which is crucial for initial hardware configuration and management. This setup facilitates the secure and efficient foundation process before the cluster is moved to the data center.References: Nutanix Foundation Tool Guide, Nutanix Network Configuration Best Practices.

For enabling node discovery when using the Foundation VM, the network adapter of the Foundation VM must be set to a Bridged Adapter. This configuration allows the VM to appear as a separate device on the same physical network as the host machine, making it possible for the Foundation VM to communicate directly with the nodes that are also connected to the same network. This is essential for node discovery and subsequent imaging operations performed by the Foundation tool.References: Nutanix Foundation Guide, Nutanix Networking Best Practices.

For ensuring that Nutanix storage containers can be mounted on non-Nutanix hosts for data migration workflows, the consultant should validate the configuration under: A. Prism Element - Settings - Filesystem Whitelist. This setting allows specific non-Nutanix hosts to access the Nutanix storage containers, which is essential for environments where data must be accessible to systems outside the Nutanix cluster. By whitelisting the IP addresses or hostnames of these external systems, they are granted the necessary permissions to mount and interact with the Nutanix file systems.References: Nutanix Prism Element User Guide, Nutanix Storage and Filesystem Configuration Best Practices.

Based on the exhibit which shows an NX-3160 block with marked slots, the correct slot for installing a new node in the existing NX-3160 block is slot 2. This configuration is typically aligned with the chassis' design for orderly expansion and maintaining balanced power and cooling distribution among the nodes.References: Nutanix Bible, Nutanix University NCS-Core 6.8 learning materials

The failure of the vMotion operation indicated by the error message could most plausibly be caused by: A. The vmknic (VMkernel network interface card) configured with a conflicting IP address. This conflict can prevent the ESXi hosts from establishing a connection over the VMotion network, as each host must have a unique IP address on the VMotion network to facilitate proper migration communications. Option B, involving NIOC settings, and option D, involving vSS configuration, could influence performance but are less likely to cause a complete failure to connect. Option C, related to the Foundation service, is not relevant to vMotion networking issues directly. References: VMware vSphere Networking Documentation, Nutanix Integration with VMware Environments.

Given the critical message about the NIC being disconnected or the switchport failing, the consultant should first verify the bonding mode of the NICs, especially since only two out of four 10GbE NICs are connected. In an AHV cluster, the NICs can be configured in different bonding modes such as active-active or active-backup. Ensuring that the NICs are configured for active-backup can provide redundancy by allowing one NIC to take over if the other fails, which seems to be necessary given the critical error indicating a possible disconnection or switchport failure. References: Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com/ ), Nutanix University (https://university.nutanix.com/ )

When preparing the laptop and Foundation networking for the installation on customer-indicated HPE/OEM hardware, the consultant should set IP addresses in both the CVM/Host and IPMI subnets (Option C) This ensures that all necessary network interfaces are appropriately configured for management and operational traffic, facilitating seamless communication during the foundation process. Properly setting up IP addresses in both subnets is crucial for ensuring that the Foundation process can access both the CVMs/Hosts and the IPMI for management tasks.References: Nutanix Foundation Guide, Network Preparation for Nutanix Installations.

Ref: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Web-Console-Guide-Prism-v5_17:arc-configure-fault-tolerance-rack-prism-c.html

To meet the requirements of maximizing storage space savings while optimizing I/O performance for business-critical applications and general server workloads, enabling both compression and erasure coding on the storage containers is recommended. Compression reduces the data footprint on storage disks, while erasure coding provides data redundancy in an efficient manner, which not only saves space but also enhances data durability and I/O performance for read-intensive applications.References:

• Nutanix University - NCS-Core 6.8 Learning Path
• The Nutanix Bible, Storage Efficiency chapter (https://www.nutanixbible.com/)

The As-Built Guide is a comprehensive document typically prepared at the end of a Nutanix deployment project. It includes detailed information about the Nutanix environment, such as IP addresses, storage container settings, hardware and software configurations, and other deployment specifics. This document serves as a reference for the customer to understand their deployed infrastructure and for any future modifications or troubleshooting needs.

References:

• Nutanix Bible: Documentation and Reporting
• Nutanix University: Deployment Best Practices

For a configuration that aims to utilize all available 10G links, achieve maximum throughput per VM, and ensure redundancy with fast reconvergence during link failure, the optimal setting would be to configure Balance-TCP on bridge br0. This setting distributes the load across all available network paths based on the TCP session, maximizing the utilization of network interfaces and ensuring redundancy. This approach is particularly effective in environments with multiple network paths and ensures efficient network traffic management.References:

• Nutanix University - NCS-Core 6.8 Learning Path
• The Nutanix Bible, Network Configuration chapter (https://www.nutanixbible.com/)

For continuing the cluster deployment without an NTP server immediately available: A. An NTP server is not required for the initial foundation process of the cluster and can indeed be added later. This allows the deployment to proceed without delays, although it's critical to add NTP synchronization as soon as possible post-deployment to ensure proper cluster time management. B. If an NTP server is to be provided using an FQDN, then a DNS server must indeed be available. This is because the FQDN needs to be resolved to an IP address, which requires DNS resolution services. Options C and D are not strictly required as per Nutanix deployment standards; a single NTP server can suffice initially, and there's no requirement for it to be external or in a comma-separated list unless specifically dictated by network or organizational policies.References: Nutanix Installation and Configuration Guide, Nutanix Foundation Tool documentation.

Regarding the Reserved Capacity parameter in a storage container:

• C. Reserve capacity for a storage container only if the storage pool consists of a single storage container: This best practice ensures that dedicated space is guaranteed for the container, which is particularly important if the storage pool is not shared among multiple containers. This prevents space from being over-provisioned or unavailable when needed by critical applications.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), specifically sections on storage management and best practices for capacity planning.
• Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com), which includes detailed discussions on storage container configuration and management.

For the scenario with memory usage warnings and VDI performance issues, the best approach is to analyze and understand the memory usage patterns and demands on the system. Option D focuses on reviewing the Analysis page to monitor memory use trends and patterns, which is crucial for identifying peak usage times or processes consuming excessive memory. The mention of alerting with VDI workload demand implies the need to monitor and possibly adjust the VDI workload to better fit within available resources. Finally, analyzing current and future workload in the Capacity Runaway tab helps in understanding if the cluster resources are sufficient for the demand, which is critical in planning for capacity management and ensuring that such issues are mitigated moving forward.References: Nutanix Prism User Guide, Nutanix Community resources, VDI performance troubleshooting practices.

Ref: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1009465

Ref: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/kbs/details?targetId=kA 032000000bmjeCAA#Review_ntpq

https://next.nutanix.com/how-it-works-22/vm-capacity-and-prism-capacity-are-different-33134

To validate the peak performance of a deployed Nutanix cluster, the consultant can use:

• A. Nutanix X-Ray: X-Ray is a performance testing tool specifically designed for Nutanix environments, capable of simulating a variety of workloads and scenarios to measure and report on the cluster's performance capabilities.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), where X-Ray and its capabilities are detailed.
• Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com), which covers performance testing and validation using X-Ray.

In a Nutanix Files deployment within a 20-node AHV cluster, the consultant can deploy a maximum of 16 FSVMs (File Server Virtual Machines). This limitation is based on Nutanix's best practices and design considerations for scalability and performance. The number of FSVMs that can be effectively managed and maintained without degrading the performance of the file-serving operations or the underlying storage infrastructure dictates this maximum.

References:

• Nutanix Certified Services - Core (NCS-Core) Learning Documents
• Nutanix Bible: https://www.nutanixbible.com
• Nutanix University Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAHgaS9IrJecs_AcQT3Y7vSsKT2mjz3Iu

When addressing high cluster IOPS and Cluster Controller Latency where networking is suspected to be the issue, it is essential to check the network configuration settings that can directly impact data transfer and latency. The correct answer is to adjust the "Number of NICs connected" and "frame size." Increasing the number of Network Interface Cards (NICs) connected can improve the network throughput and distribute the load more evenly. Adjusting the frame size, particularly setting larger frames (Jumbo Frames), can reduce overhead and improve network efficiency by allowing more data to be transmitted with fewer packets.

References:

• Nutanix Bible: Networking Considerations
• Nutanix University: Network Performance Optimization

When a task to place an ESXi host into maintenance mode is stuck and the CVM (Controller Virtual Machine) is not shutting down automatically, the consultant should manually shut down the CVM. The command shutdown -h now is used to halt the system safely. Before executing this command, it is important to ensure that all virtual machines hosted on the CVM have been properly shut down or migrated to avoid any data loss or corruption.

References:

• Nutanix Community: CVM maintenance and Host maintenance1
• Nutanix Support & Insights documentation on Cluster Management Commands2
• Nutanix Support & Insights on AHV Host Maintenance Mode3

To separate management and production traffic within a Nutanix AHV cluster, VLAN Tagging is the appropriate feature to configure. VLAN Tagging allows different types of traffic to be segregated onto different network segments over the same physical infrastructure, effectively isolating management traffic from production traffic at the network level. This setup enhances security and performance by reducing the possibility of network congestion affecting critical management operations.

References:

• Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com), specifically the sections on networking and VLANs.
• Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com), which covers advanced network configurations including VLAN Tagging.

Within a Nutanix cluster, the subnet 192.168.5.0/24 is typically reserved for internal connectivity. This subnet is used for the internal communication between Nutanix Controller VMs (CVMs) and other cluster components. It ensures isolated and efficient network traffic management that is crucial for cluster operations.

References:

• Nutanix Network Configuration Guide: Nutanix Networking Guide
• Nutanix Best Practices for Network Configuration: Nutanix Community

Ref:

In a Nutanix AHV cluster configuration with multiple NICs and ToR switches, achieving high throughput and maintaining link redundancy are critical. The configuration provided in Option D utilizes LACP (Link Aggregation Control Protocol) with active mode, which allows for aggregating multiple network connections in parallel to increase throughput and provide redundancy. The balance-tcp mode of the bonding ensures optimal traffic distribution based on the TCP session, ensuring each session can utilize maximum available bandwidth across multiple links. This setting is crucial for environments requiring high network performance and reliability.References:

• Nutanix Bible
• Nutanix University NCS-Core Materials

For a customer with 12 Nutanix blocks distributed across three racks and an additional datacenter 400 kilometers away, achieving the highest level of resiliency involves ensuring both local and remote data protection.

Option B, "Async DR to a remote site," is essential for protecting against site failures by asynchronously replicating data to a branch office. This method is suitable for long-distance replication where latency and bandwidth are concerns.

Option C, "Rack awareness," is crucial in a multi-rack setup to ensure that data is distributed in such a way that a failure of a single rack does not lead to data loss or significant downtime. Rack awareness configures the placement of data replicas across different racks, improving fault tolerance within the primary datacenter.

References:Nutanix documentation on disaster recovery and data resilience strategies, such as those found in the Nutanix Bible and official Nutanix training materials, supports these recommendations, emphasizing the importance of both remote site replication and local redundancy configurations.

To ensure that alerts are automatically sent to Nutanix support, the Nutanix feature called Pulse must be enabled. Nutanix Pulse is an automated system intelligence service that collects health information and system alerts from Nutanix clusters and sends them to Nutanix support for proactive monitoring and troubleshooting. Enabling this feature is crucial for maintaining high availability and performance of the Nutanix environment, as it allows Nutanix support to quickly respond to and manage potential issues.References: Nutanix Pulse Documentation, Nutanix Support Services Information.