NCS-Core Nutanix Certified Services Core Infrastructure Professional (NCS-Core 6.8) Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

After deploying a Nutanix cluster with AOS and ESXi managed by a vCenter server, the consultant should ensure that both CVM eth0 and eth2 interfaces are connected to the assigned portgroups on the standard or distributed switch. This setup allows for network segmentation and proper traffic isolation, which is crucial for maintaining network security and efficiency in a virtualized environment.References: Nutanix Bible, Nutanix University NCS-Core 6.8 learning materials

To meet the requirement of having two weeks of daily snapshots and application-consistent snapshots on specific days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), the best approach is to use two separate protection domains. This setup allows for greater flexibility in managing retention policies and ensuring application consistency. One protection domain will handle daily snapshots without application consistency for regular backups, and the other will handle application-consistent snapshots for critical times when databases and applications are updated, ensuring data integrity during these operations.

References:

Nutanix Bible: Data Protection and DR

Nutanix University: Creating and Managing Protection Domains

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.

Increasing the number of vCPUs from 2 to 4 can indeed reduce login times by providing more processing power to handle the login requests. However, this action will have two main impacts on the cluster:

A. Increase CPU utilization%: By increasing the number of vCPUs, you are effectively increasing the demand for CPU resources. This will result in a higher percentage of the CPU being utilized.

B. Increase CPU ready%: CPU Ready is a measure of the amount of time a virtual machine is ready to run against the pCPU, but is waiting to be scheduled on the physical CPU. By increasing the number of vCPUs, you are increasing the number of virtual machines that are ready to run, which can increase the CPU Ready percentage.

Increasing the vCPU count does not directly affect memory utilization, so options C and D are not correct.

References:

The conclusions above are based on general virtualization principles covered in resources like the Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com/ ) and the Nutanix University training materials for NCS-Core certification (https://university.nutanix.com/ ). These sources explain the impact of CPU allocation and utilization in detail, particularly in the context of cluster performance and virtual desktop infrastructure.

Additionally, practical insights into these dynamics are discussed in various video tutorials from the Nutanix official YouTube playlist for NCS-Core learning (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAHgaS9IrJecs_AcQT3Y7vSsKT2mjz3Iu ), which provide visual and step-by-step breakdowns of how CPU resources are managed in a Nutanix environment.

Ref: https://portal.nu tanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Files-v3_6:fil-files-high-availability-c.html

For adding a new cluster to an existing set of production clusters using AHV and wanting to manage the setup remotely via Prism Central, the most appropriate and efficient method is to use Foundation Central. Foundation Central allows for the remote deployment and configuration of Nutanix clusters through Prism Central, facilitating the foundation process without needing physical access or separate foundational utilities like the Foundation VM or Applet. It uses the factory image on the nodes and is designed to streamline cluster expansions and deployments in enterprise environments.References: Nutanix Foundation Central User Guide, Nutanix Prism Central documentation.

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The As-Built Document contains all final cluster configuration details, including initial passwords.

Ref: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Web-Console-Guide-Prism-v510:wc-protection-domain-failover-wc-t.html

The consultant should be aware that the subnet 192.168.5.0/24 is reserved for internal connectivity within a Nutanix cluster. This subnet is typically used for the internal operations of the Nutanix cluster, including CVM backplane communications. It is critical to ensure that this subnet does not overlap with any external network configurations to avoid networking conflicts that can affect cluster operations and communications.References: Nutanix Networking Best Practices, Nutanix Cluster Configuration Guide.

For a multi-tier application where traffic must be limited to specific services and ports across web, application, and database VMs, the optimal approach is to use microsegmentation features provided by Nutanix. Option D, "Categorize the VMs in Prism Central and utilize Flow to set a security policy," is the correct choice.

Nutanix Flow allows for detailed security policies that control VM-to-VM traffic within the same cluster, effectively managing access and communication based on specified criteria like VM category, service, or application type. This solution enables precise control over traffic flows, enhancing security without requiring additional physical or virtual network segmentation.

References:Nutanix Flow capabilities are detailed in Nutanix Prism Central's documentation, which explains how to implement microsegmentation and security policies for application-specific traffic management.

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

If a consultant is unable to ping the CVM from the hypervisor using the external interface in a network without VLAN tagging, and both are using the same subnet, the issue might be related to an incorrect default gateway configuration. The default gateway must be correctly set to ensure proper routing of packets between the CVM and the hypervisor. An incorrect gateway can prevent successful communication even if both devices are on the same subnet.References:

Nutanix University - NCS-Core 6.8 Learning Path

The Nutanix Bible, Networking chapter (https://www.nutanixbible.com/ )

https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Web-Console-Guide-Prism-v5_10:wc-protection-domain-failback-disaster.html

The command ncli pd deactivate_and__destroy_vms name=<protection_domain_name> is a critical operation in managing Nutanix environments, particularly in scenarios involving disaster recovery and replication.

This command deactivates the protection domain and deletes all VMs associated with that protection domain from the source site (Site A in this case). This operation is generally part of a planned migration or failover process where the VMs are intended to be run from the remote site (Site B).

After this operation, the protection domain at Site A is no longer active, meaning it has been effectively removed along with its associated VMs, thus clearing the way for Site B to take over operations without conflict from the original site.

References:This action and its implications are covered under Nutanix disaster recovery and high availability strategies, detailed in both the Nutanix Bible and official Nutanix NCS-Core training materials, which discuss the management of protection domains and replication processes.

To execute the command manage_ovs --bridge_name br0 show_uplinks in a Nutanix cluster, the appropriate prompt is:

A. nutanix@CVM-$: This command is intended for execution within the Controller Virtual Machine (CVM) environment, and "nutanix@CVM-$" is the standard user prompt in the CVM where such network commands are run.

References:

Nutanix Bible (https://www.nutanixbible.com ), especially sections on managing virtual bridges and networking commands.

Nutanix University: NCS-Core 6.8 Training (https://university.nutanix.com ), which includes details on command-line operations within the CVM.

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.

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/ )

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 …]

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.