Free Nutanix NCP-MCI-6.10 Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 3

Nutanix requires thatall cluster components synchronize time using an external NTP (Network Time Protocol) server.

Option A (Adding an external NTP server) is correctbecause Nutanix best practices recommend using anexternal time source to prevent clock drift between cluster nodes.

Option B (DNS server IP) is incorrect: ADNS server does not provide NTP services.

Option C (Server with DNS hostname) is incorrectunless the DNS hostnameresolves to an NTP server.

Option D (IP of the Domain Controller) is incorrectbecausenot all domain controllers provide NTP servicesunless explicitly configured.

RF3 (Replication Factor 3) clusters require sufficient reserved capacity to tolerate failures without data loss.

Option C (Set Reserve Capacity for Failure to Auto Detect) is correct:

Auto Detect dynamically calculates the necessary reserved spacebased on cluster size and RF settings.

It ensures thatenough storage remains available in case of a node failure.

Option A (Set Reserve Storage Capacity to 20%) is incorrect:

The required storage reservationdepends on the number of nodes and RF level, not a fixed percentage.

Option B (Set Reserve Capacity for Failure to None) is incorrect:

Without reserved capacity,a node failure could lead to data unavailability.

Option D (Set Reserve Memory Capacity to 20%) is incorrect:

This setting applies toRAM, notstorage resiliency.

During cluster expansion, Nutanix uses the Controller VM discovery service, which relies on multicast-based node advertisement. The internal architecture documentation states:

“Node discovery during cluster expansion requires IPv4 multicast to be enabled and permitted on the switching infrastructure.”

This allows new nodes to announce themselves to the existing cluster through standard Nutanix discovery packets.

IPv6 multicast is not used for node discovery. Matching AOS or hypervisor versions is recommended for compatibility but not required for discovery itself. These are post-discovery compatibility concerns, not prerequisites.

Thus, IPv4 multicast is required for automatic node discovery.

For cross-hypervisor DR failover (e.g., ESXi to AHV), Nutanix Guest Tools (NGT) must be installed on VMs to ensure proper configuration and recovery.

Option D (NGT must be installed on source guest VMs) is correct:

NGTensures correct reconfiguration of VM devices and networking settingsduring failover.

Ithandles disk and driver reassignmentsbetween ESXi and AHV.

Option A (Utilize delta disks) is incorrect:

Delta disks are used insnapshot optimization, not DR failover.

Option B (Deploy Legacy BIOS boot) is incorrect:

AHV prefers UEFI boot mode, and Legacy BIOS is not a requirement.

Option C (Use raw device mappings) is incorrect:

RDMs areVMware-specificand arenot used in AHV failover scenarios.

The Nutanix ECA course covers migration options for VMs in multi-cluster environments, particularly when minimizing downtime is critical, such as during scheduled maintenance. The scenario involves two identical clusters with guest VMs using pass-through GPUs, managed by separate Prism Central instances, requiring a migration method that ensures minimal disruption.

Extract from Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Administration (ECA) Course Documents:

Module: VM Management, Section: Cross-Cluster Live Migration"Cross-Cluster Live Migration allows administrators to migrate VMs between clusters managed by different Prism Central instances with minimal downtime. This feature supports live migration of VMs with pass-through GPUs, ensuring continuous operation during maintenance activities."

Module: Cluster Management, Section: Migration Strategies"For scenarios requiring minimal downtime, such as planned maintenance, Cross-Cluster Live Migration is the preferred method. It enables seamless VM migration across clusters, even those managed by separate Prism Central instances, while maintaining VM availability."

Explanation of Options:

A. Run a Recovery Plan planned failoverThis is incorrect. A Recovery Plan planned failover is part of Nutanix’s disaster recovery (DR) solution, used to execute failover for Protection Domains in scenarios like site failure. It is not designed for routine maintenance migrations and may involve downtime, especially for VMs with pass-through GPUs, as failover requires VM restart on the target cluster. The ECA course states:"Recovery Plans are used for DR failover, not for live migrations during maintenance, and may result in downtime."

B. Use Cross-Cluster Live MigrationThis is the correct answer. Cross-Cluster Live Migration, introduced in later AOS versions, allows VMs to be migrated between clusters, even those managed by different Prism Central instances, with minimal downtime. The ECA course confirms that this feature supports VMs with pass-through GPUs, as the migration process preserves VM state and connectivity. This method is ideal for planned maintenance, ensuring VMs remain operational.

Supporting Extract:"Cross-Cluster Live Migration minimizes downtime by transferring VM state and data live, supporting complex configurations like pass-through GPUs, making it suitable for maintenance scenarios."

C. Perform a Nutanix Move migration planThis is incorrect. Nutanix Move is a tool for migrating VMs from non-Nutanix environments (e.g., VMware or Hyper-V) to a Nutanix cluster, not for migrations between Nutanix clusters. It is not optimized for live migrations within a Nutanix environment and may involve downtime. The ECA course notes:"Nutanix Move is designed for external-to-Nutanix migrations, not for intra-Nutanix cluster migrations, and is not suitable for minimizing downtime."

D. Migrate Asynchronous Protection DomainsThis is incorrect. Migrating Asynchronous Protection Domains involves replicating snapshots to a remote cluster for DR purposes, not live VM migration. This process is asynchronous, involves downtime during failover, and is not suitable for maintenance scenarios requiring minimal disruption. The ECA course clarifies:"Asynchronous Protection Domains are used for DR replication, not for live VM migration, and require VM restart during failover."

Additional Context from ECA:

Cross-Cluster Live Migration: This feature leverages Nutanix’s hypervisor-agnostic migration capabilities, ensuring that VMs with pass-through GPUs are migrated seamlessly. The process involves copying VM memory and state while keeping the VM running, minimizing downtime to seconds or less.

Maintenance Scenario: For scheduled maintenance, Cross-Cluster Live Migration ensures that VMs remain available, which is critical for GPU-intensive workloads that cannot tolerate extended downtime.

Supporting Reference from Web Results:

The Nutanix Support Portal (https://portal.nutanix.com) aligns with the ECA documentation: "Cross-Cluster Live Migration supports live VM migration between clusters, including those with pass-through GPUs, ensuring minimal downtime for maintenance tasks."

The “nutanix” user is a system-level account required by the platform for internal operations, automation, cluster communication, and support access. It cannot be deleted or renamed. Nutanix security guidelines state:

“The correct method to prevent password-based SSH access for system accounts is to use Cluster Lockdown mode, which disables password authentication and enforces key-based access for all system-level CVM accounts.”

Cluster Lockdown modifies SSH configuration across all CVMs, ensuring:

password authentication is disabled

only key-based authentication is permitted

privileged system accounts such as ‘nutanix’ cannot log in interactively

Blocking port 22 is not appropriate because it would block SSH entirely, including legitimate administrative access. The “nutanix” user cannot be renamed or removed due to system dependency.

Thus, enabling Cluster Lockdown is the proper Nutanix-approved method to remove password-based SSH access for system accounts.

Dead VMs and Zombie VMs are different classifications of inactive VMs in Nutanix, and their deletion timelines depend on Playbook configuration.

Dead VMs→ Consideredinactive after 30 days, then must wait99 more daysbefore deletion.

Total time: 30 + 99 = 129 days.

(Option C is correct).

Zombie VMs→ Consideredinactive after 30 days, then must wait99 more daysbefore deletion.

Total time: 30 + 99 = 129 days.

(Option B is correct).