Free Nutanix NCP-CN Practice Exam with Questions & Answers

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Both the Konvoy Image Builder (KIB) and the Nutanix Image Builder (NIB) are included tools used to create and manage custom OS images suitable for NKP deployments. KIB is responsible for building images that conform to the standards required by Konvoy-based environments, while NIB is designed for direct integration with the Nutanix AHV infrastructure. These tools support automated preparation, hardening, and upload of images to the appropriate repositories.

When attaching an Amazon EKS cluster to NKP for fleet management, persistent volume (PV) errors during application deployments often indicate issues with storage configuration. The NKPA course identifies a common cause:the absence of a default StorageClass. Kubernetes requires a default StorageClass to automatically provision PVs for PersistentVolumeClaims (PVCs) when none is specified. Without a default, applications fail to bind PVCs, resulting in deployment errors.

The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “For attached EKS clusters, ensure a default StorageClass is configured to support dynamic provisioning of persistent volumes. Review existing StorageClasses and set one as default using the storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class annotation.” The engineer should run kubectl get storageclass to list available StorageClasses, verify their configurations, and set one as default by patching it with kubectl patch storageclass -p '{"metadata": {"annotations":{"storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class":"true"}}}'. In EKS, the default StorageClass is typically backed by Amazon EBS (e.g., gp2 or gp3).

Incorrect Options:

A. The storage appliance is having issues: This assumes a hardware issue, which is not indicated by PV errors. The NKPA course suggests checking Kubernetes configurations first.

B. There is no compatible storage: EKS supports EBS and EFS, which are compatible with NKP. The issue is likely configuration, not compatibility.

D. There could be a misconfiguration in the ConfigMap: ConfigMaps are not directly related to PV provisioning. The NKPA course points to StorageClass issues for PV errors.

When an attached cluster (e.g., an external cluster like EKS) is stuck in a 'deleting' state in the NKP UI, it indicates an issue with the reconciliation process in the NKP management cluster. The NKPA course explains that attached clusters are represented in NKP as KommanderCluster custom resources in the management cluster. To resolve a stuck deletion, the engineer must manually delete the KommanderCluster resource using kubectl in the context of the NKP management cluster.

The correct command iskubectl delete kommandercluster, executed in the context of the NKP management cluster (not the attached cluster). For example: kubectl delete kommandercluster -n . The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “If an attached cluster is stuck in a ‘deleting’ state, delete the corresponding KommanderCluster resource in the NKP management cluster using kubectl delete kommandercluster to remove it from management.” This ensures the cluster is fully detached and removed from the UI.

Incorrect Options:

A. kubectl delete cluster: There is no cluster resource type in this context; the correct resource is kommandercluster.

B. nkp delete kommandercluster: The nkp CLI does not have a delete kommandercluster subcommand.

D. nkp delete cluster in the attached cluster: This command is for deleting NKP-managed clusters, not detaching external clusters, and it should be run from the management cluster context.

The documentation confirms that when a new license is activated to upgrade to a higher tier, users mustlog out and log back infor the license changes to take effect. This ensures that updated entitlements are loaded into the UI and CLI environment.

Exact extract from documentation:

“After applying a new license for a higher-tier product, log out and log back in to see and activate the newly available features.”

A bastion host in a dark site environment serves as a secure entry point for managing the NKP deployment, providing access to the cluster infrastructure without direct Internet connectivity. The NKPA course outlines the prerequisites for preparing a Linux VM as a bastion host, focusing on secure access and time synchronization, which are critical for air-gapped Kubernetes deployments.

Get or create SSH Keys (Option B):The bastion host requires SSH keys to enable secure, passwordless access to the NKP cluster nodes and other infrastructure components (e.g., Nutanix AHV hosts). The NKPA course specifies that SSH keys must be generated or obtained and configured on the bastion host to facilitate secure communication during deployment and management tasks. The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “For a bastion host in an NKP dark site deployment, ensure SSH keys are created or obtained to enable secure access to cluster nodes and infrastructure.” The engineer can generate SSH keys using ssh-keygen and distribute the public key to the target systems.

Enable NTP Service (Option D):Time synchronization is essential in Kubernetes clusters to ensure consistent logging, certificate management, and scheduling. In a dark site with no Internet access, the bastion host must be configured to synchronize time with an internal NTP (Network Time Protocol) server or act as an NTP server itself. The NKPA course emphasizes enabling the NTP service on the bastion host to maintain accurate time across the air-gapped environment. The NCP-CN 6.10 Study Guide notes: “Enable the NTP service on the bastion host to ensure time synchronization in a dark site NKP deployment, as Kubernetes requires accurate time for proper operation.” The engineer can enable NTP using commands like systemctl enable ntpd and configure it to use an internal time source.

Incorrect Options:

A. Install LDAP Server: LDAP is used for centralized authentication, but it is not a requirement for a bastion host in an NKP dark site deployment. The course focuses on SSH access instead.

C. Install Docker: While Docker is needed on Kubernetes nodes for container runtimes, the bastion host’s role is to provide secure access and management, not to run containers.

The primary benefit of aprivate registryis to ensuresecurity and privacyfor container images, especially when dealing with sensitive data and compliance requirements (such as financial or government use cases). While secure connections to public registries like DockerHub or GitHub container registries are possible, using a private registry ensures full control over image access and auditing.

Key reference:

“Private registries ensure images remain within the security and compliance boundaries of the enterprise, avoiding potential risks associated with public SaaS registries.”

The error message:

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failed to list clusters: command "docker ps -a --filter label=io.x-k8s.kind.cluster --format '{{.Label "io.x-k8s.kind.cluster"}}'" failed with error: exit status 1

indicates that the command failed while attempting to listdockercontainers with the given filter. The kind tool (used for creating a bootstrap cluster) depends on Docker as the container runtime.

Root cause:

If Docker is not running or a compatible container runtime is not available (such as containerd), the kind tool cannot list or interact with the required containers, resulting in this error.

Key Reference:

“When creating bootstrap clusters, the kind tool requires Docker to be installed and running. If Docker is not running, errors will be encountered listing or interacting with containers.”

The Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) is designed to simplify the deployment and management of Kubernetes clusters on Nutanix infrastructure, including on-premises AHV-based clusters in dark site environments with no Internet connectivity. The requirements specified in the question—dark site, Nutanix-provided Rocky Linux VM image, and AHV-based cluster—point to a deployment scenario where the environment must be self-contained and rely on Nutanix-specific tools and resources to meet the air-gapped constraints.

According to the Nutanix Kubernetes Platform Administration (NKPA) course, deploying NKP in a dark site environment requires specific prerequisites to ensure all necessary components, such as container images, dependencies, and configuration files, are available without Internet access. The course emphasizes the use of anAir-Gapped Bundleand anexisting local container registryas critical components for such deployments.

Air-Gapped Bundle (Option B):

The NKPA course explains that for dark site deployments, Nutanix provides anAir-Gapped Bundle, which is a comprehensive package containing all the software components, container images, and dependencies required to deploy and manage an NKP cluster without Internet connectivity. This bundle includes the Kubernetes binaries, NKP platform applications (e.g., Rook Ceph, monitoring tools), and other necessary artifacts.

The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide specifically states: “For air-gapped environments, the Nutanix Air-Gapped Bundle is required to provide all dependencies, including container images and installation files, to deploy NKP clusters.” This bundle is typically downloaded from the Nutanix Support Portal in an Internet-connected environment and then transferred to the dark site for deployment.

The bundle ensures that the Nutanix-provided Rocky Linux VM image, which serves as the base operating system for the Kubernetes nodes, can be provisioned with all required software components. The NKPA course further notes that the Air-Gapped Bundle is tailored for AHV-based clusters, ensuring compatibility with the Nutanix hypervisor.

Existing Local Container Registry (Option C):

In a dark site environment, a local container registry is a prerequisite to store and distribute container images required by the NKP cluster. The NKPA course highlights that NKP relies on container images for Kubernetes components, platform applications, and user workloads. In an air-gapped setup, these images cannot be pulled from public registries like Docker Hub or Quay.io.

The course instructs administrators to set up a local container registry (e.g., Harbor, Nexus, or a Nutanix-managed registry) and populate it with the container images included in the Air-Gapped Bundle. The Nutanix Cloud Bible reinforces this, stating: “In air-gapped deployments, a local container registry must be pre-configured to host all required images, which are provided as part of the Nutanix Air-Gapped Bundle.”

The local container registry ensures that the Kubernetes nodes, running on the Nutanix-provided Rocky Linux VM image, can access the necessary images during cluster bootstrapping and operation. The NKPA course provides guidance on configuring the registry and integrating it with the NKP deployment process.

Incorrect Options:

Konvoy Image Builder (Option A):

Konvoy Image Builder is a tool associated with D2iQ’s Konvoy platform, used to create custom machine images for Kubernetes deployments. While it can be used to build images for Kubernetes nodes, it is not a Nutanix-specific tool nor a prerequisite for NKP deployments. The NKPA course and NCP-CN 6.10 Study Guide do not mention Konvoy Image Builder, as NKP uses the Nutanix-provided Rocky Linux VM image, which is pre-configured for AHV-based clusters. This option is irrelevant to the Nutanix ecosystem.

Self-managed AWS cluster (Option D):

A self-managed AWS cluster is unrelated to the requirements of deploying NKP on an AHV-based cluster in a dark site. The question specifies an AHV-based cluster, which is Nutanix’s Acropolis Hypervisor running on-premises, not a cloud-based AWS environment. The NKPA course focuses on Nutanix infrastructure (AHV, Prism Central) for NKP deployments and does not include AWS as a supported platform for this scenario. This option is incorrect as it contradicts the deployment environment.

Deployment Context:

The Nutanix-provided Rocky Linux VM image is a pre-configured operating system image optimized for NKP deployments on AHV. The NKPA course notes that this image includes the necessary kernel settings, drivers, and configurations to run Kubernetes nodes efficiently on Nutanix infrastructure.

The AHV-based cluster requirement indicates that the deployment leverages Nutanix’s hypervisor, managed through Prism Central, to provision and manage the Kubernetes nodes. The Air-Gapped Bundle and local container registry ensure that all software components are available in the dark site, aligning with the NKPA course’s guidelines for air-gapped deployments.

The exhibit shows an NKP UI message stating “No insights identified,” indicating that NKP Insights, the platform’s predictive analytics and observability feature, is not active. The NKPA course explains that NKP Insights is a platform application that provides anomaly detection and alerting for Kubernetes clusters but requires deployment and configuration to generate insights.

The correct approach (Option C) involves two steps:

Create a persistent volume claim (PVC) and assign it to nkp-insights: NKP Insights requires persistent storage to save logs, metrics, and historical data for analysis. The course specifies that a PVC must be created to provide this storage, ensuring the application can retain data for generating insights.

Install nkp-insights with nkp create appdeployment nkp-insights --app nkp-insights-1.2.2 --workspace kommander-workspace: This command deploys the NKP Insights application across all clusters in the specified workspace (kommander-workspace). The --app flag specifies the application version, and the deployment ensures that insights are generated for all clusters in the workspace.

The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “To enable NKP Insights, create a PersistentVolumeClaim for storage and deploy the application using nkp create appdeployment nkp-insights --app --workspace to begin generating insights across clusters.” This aligns with the need to control alerts across all company clusters, as NKP Insights provides centralized observability.

Incorrect Options:

A. Acquire the NKP Insights Add-on license: NKP Insights is a platform application included in higher-tier licenses (e.g., NKP Ultimate), not a separate add-on. The course does not indicate a separate license requirement.

B. Install nkp-insights in every cluster with kubectl apply: This method is manual and inefficient. NKP’s appdeployment command automates deployment across all clusters in a workspace.

The NKPA course emphasizes that NKP’s fleet management capabilities allow administrators to manage multiple Kubernetes clusters, including lightweight clusters on edge devices, by attaching them to an NKP workspace. With the NKP Ultimate license tier, the administrator has access to advanced fleet management features, including GitOps-based application deployment across attached clusters.

The most efficient way to lifecycle manage application deployments across the 30 edge devices is tocreate a new workspace and attach the 30 edge devices to this workspace using the Attach Cluster functionality(Option D). Once attached, NKP can use GitOps (via Flux) to push applications to all clusters in the workspace simultaneously, ensuring consistent deployment and lifecycle management. The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “For managing edge devices with lightweight Kubernetes, attach the clusters to an NKP workspace using the Attach Cluster feature, enabling centralized application deployment and lifecycle management via GitOps.” The administrator can use the kubeconfig files to attach each cluster via the NKP UI or CLI (e.g., nkp attach cluster).

Incorrect Options:

A. Create a GitHub configuration for each device: This is manual and inefficient compared to NKP’s centralized GitOps management.

B. Create a script to automate deployment: Scripting is error-prone and lacks NKP’s built-in fleet management capabilities.

C. Delete lightweight Kubernetes and deploy new clusters: This is unnecessary, as NKP can manage existing clusters, including lightweight ones.