NCSE-Core Exam Dumps - Nutanix SE Academy Questions and Answers

C. When deploying an Oracle RAC database:

Shadow clones should be explicitly disabled when deploying an Oracle RAC database. Oracle RAC requires highly consistent and low-latency storage access, and enabling shadow clones can introduce additional latency and potential inconsistencies that are unsuitable for such databases.

Shadow clones are designed to enhance performance for read-heavy workloads by caching frequently accessed data locally. However, Oracle RAC’s stringent requirements for data consistency and latency make this feature inappropriate for its deployment.

To configure alerts to notify the administrator before VM CPU utilization hits 90%, follow these steps:

Open the Health dashboard in the Prism web console.

Locate the VM CPU Check alert configuration.

Adjust the alert threshold to a value below 90%, such as 80% or 85%.

Save the changes to ensure that the alert will trigger when VM CPU utilization reaches the newly set threshold.

By lowering the alert threshold, the administrator will receive notifications before CPU utilization becomes critical, allowing for proactive management and mitigation of potential performance issues.

References:

Nutanix Prism Web Console Guide

Nutanix Health Dashboard Documentation

To maintain optimal metadata balance and data availability, and to meet the requirements for storage capacity, memory, and CPU cores, the recommended configuration should align closely with the existing node configurations while providing the necessary resources.

A. 2x NX-3060-G5 - 2x E5-2620v4 processors, 128GB RAM, 2x 960GB SSDs, 4x 2TB HDDs:

Adding two additional NX-3060-G5 nodes with the same specifications as the existing nodes ensures uniformity and maintains metadata balance and data availability.

This configuration provides enough additional storage capacity, memory, and CPU cores to accommodate the new workloads.

References:

Nutanix documentation on cluster expansion and the importance of maintaining uniform node configurations for optimal performance and reliability.

Understanding the Need for a Centralized Gateway:

A centralized gateway provides a single point of access for all necessary resources, making it easier for customers and partners to manage their interactions with Nutanix.

Portal.nutanix.com:

Explanation: The portal.nutanix.com website is designed to be the single gateway for various Nutanix-related activities, including deal registrations, forums, software downloads, product documentation, product alerts, and support interactions.

Shadow Clones:

Shadow Clones are a Nutanix feature designed to enhance performance for read-heavy workloads like VDI during peak operations such as boot storms.

This feature ensures that frequently accessed data is available locally on all nodes, significantly reducing latency and improving read performance during boot operations​​​​.

Implementation Benefits:

Minimizes the boot time for linked clone desktops during shift changes.

Enhances overall user experience by reducing the I/O bottleneck during mass reboots

To address the performance concerns of a prospective customer evaluating a hybrid configuration versus an all-flash array, the following Nutanix features should be discussed:

Data Locality:

Nutanix ensures that data is kept local to the node where the VM is running. This reduces latency and increases performance by minimizing the distance data must travel over the network.

Automatic Data Tiering:

Nutanix can automatically move frequently accessed data to faster storage tiers (e.g., SSDs) and less frequently accessed data to slower storage tiers (e.g., HDDs). This ensures that critical data gets the performance benefits of faster storage without the need for an entirely all-flash array.

References:

Nutanix Bible​

A prospect is looking for a Nutanix solution for a mission-critical application that needs to sustain two simultaneous node outages and prefers the cluster to fully rebuild both data and metadata in the event of hardware issues. Here is the detailed explanation:

Requirement Analysis:

Sustain two simultaneous node outages.

Fully rebuild both data and metadata after hardware issues.

Feature Analysis:

Nutanix clusters use Replication Factor (RF) to ensure data protection and availability. For RF3 (Replication Factor 3), which protects against two simultaneous node failures, a minimum of 5 nodes is required.

To fully rebuild both data and metadata after failures, the system needs an additional node to ensure there is enough redundancy and performance.

Conclusion:To achieve RF3 and sustain two simultaneous node failures while allowing full rebuild of data and metadata, a minimum of 6 nodes is required.

References:

Nutanix documentation on cluster resiliency and RF configurations​

Understanding the Scenario:

The customer has mission-critical applications that need to be backed up to a remote location with a latency of 7 ms.

Nutanix Technology Options:

AsyncDR: Provides asynchronous replication with typically higher RPO (Recovery Point Objective) than NearSync.

NearSync: Offers near-synchronous replication with RPO as low as 1 minute, suitable for low-latency connections like the 7 ms latency mentioned.

Metro Availability: Provides synchronous replication with zero RPO but requires a higher bandwidth and lower latency connection (typically sub-millisecond).

Leap: A comprehensive DR orchestration solution that includes AsyncDR and NearSync but is not a standalone replication technology.

Evaluation of NearSync:

NearSync is designed to provide low RPO (as low as 1 minute) by taking frequent lightweight snapshots.

It is well-suited for environments with moderate latency (like 7 ms) and can handle the backup requirements efficiently without the need for extremely low latency and high bandwidth required by synchronous replication solutions like Metro Availability​​​​.

Conclusion:

Given the latency of 7 ms and the need for short RPO, NearSync is the most suitable Nutanix technology to provide the shortest RPO.

References: Nutanix Bible and Nutanix NDB User Guide details on NearSync and its operational parameters.

To ensure the solution does not exceed 80% CPU utilization when a node is placed in maintenance mode, the SE should:

Access Sizer: Open the Nutanix Sizer tool.

Create New Scenario: Start a new scenario for the project.

Define Workload: Enter the details of the current workload, specifying resource requirements.

Customize CPU Threshold:

In the sizing options, customize the CPU threshold to 80%. This setting ensures that the calculated resources account for keeping CPU utilization at or below 80% when a node is taken out of the pool for maintenance (N+0).

Review Configuration: Verify that the proposed configuration meets the 80% CPU utilization requirement under maintenance conditions.

This approach ensures that the solution is appropriately sized to handle the specified workload without exceeding the desired CPU utilization threshold.

References:

Nutanix Sizer documentation and guides.

Best practices for configuring CPU thresholds and resource allocation.

When providing a quote for a hybrid cluster to a customer with an existing vSAN ReadyNode quote, it is essential to avoid sizing solely based on the competitor's bill of materials for the following reasons:

Customer Requirements:

No Visibility to Actual Requirements: Sizing based on competitor's specifications without understanding the customer's specific requirements can lead to suboptimal solutions. The customer’s workload characteristics, performance expectations, and future growth plans must be considered.

Competitor Assumptions:

Unknown Assumptions: The assumptions made in the competitor's sizing, such as expected workload intensity, redundancy needs, and performance criteria, are not clear. These assumptions can vary significantly and may not align with the actual needs of the customer.

Customized Solution:

A tailored solution based on a thorough assessment using tools like Nutanix Sizer and Nutanix Collector ensures the configuration meets the specific performance, capacity, and resilience requirements of the customer.

References:

Nutanix Sizing Guidelines and Tools.

Best practices for creating customized infrastructure solutions based on customer needs.