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

Nutanix Security: As part of security improvements (complying with California statute SB-327), Nutanix changed the default IPMI password policy.

Node-Specific Password: Each Nutanix NX hardware node now ships with a unique default IPMI password for the ADMIN user.expand_more This password is the node's serial number (using capital letters).expand_more

Finding the Serial Number: You can locate the node's serial number either on a physical sticker or by running the ipmitool fru print command on the node.

References:

Nutanix Support Portal - Knowledge Base Article 1091: https://portal.nutanix.com/kb/1091

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.

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.

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.

The log file output indicating a failure in downloading livefs files and problems finding the livecd files during node imaging suggests there is a problem connecting to the Foundation VM. The specific error "tar: short read livecd files not found" typically points to an interrupted or failed download process, which can be caused by connectivity issues between the nodes and the Foundation VM. Ensuring robust network connectivity or verifying network settings in the Foundation VM could resolve this issue.References: Nutanix Foundation Tool Error Messages, Nutanix Troubleshooting Documentation.

For high-performance iSCSI workloads, especially in a Nutanix environment using AHV nodes and a 10 GbE interface, enabling Jumbo Frames on both the Host and the Controller Virtual Machine (CVM) is recommended. Jumbo Frames allow for a larger payload per network packet, which reduces the overhead required to send large amounts of data. Enabling Jumbo Frames on both the host and the CVM ensures that both ends of the communication channel can handle larger packets, thereby optimizing throughput and reducing latency for high-performance workloads.

References:

Nutanix Bible: Networking Best Practices

Nutanix University: Nutanix Network Optimization

The error encountered during the LCM inventory process, which mentions "Could not find a module for entity with reference name nutanix.ncc.update," typically indicates that the cluster has not yet been licensed. The Life Cycle Management (LCM) functionality in Nutanix systems requires a valid license to perform operations such as inventory checks and updates. Without this license, LCM cannot retrieve or update the necessary software modules, leading to the stated error. Licensing the cluster would resolve this issue and allow the LCM processes to proceed normally.References: Nutanix LCM Documentation, Nutanix Licensing Guidelines.

To maximize the performance benefits of AHV Turbo, which is designed to optimize network and storage I/O operations for VMs, certain VM configurations are advantageous. The correct answers are:

Option A, "Workloads are multi-threaded." Multi-threaded applications can better utilize the improvements in I/O processing efficiency provided by AHV Turbo, leading to better overall performance.

Option D, "VMs have more than one vCPU." This configuration allows VMs to handle multiple processes or threads simultaneously, which is particularly beneficial when combined with AHV Turbo's enhanced I/O operations.

References:The benefits of configuring VMs with multiple vCPUs and supporting multi-threaded applications are discussed in Nutanix's documentation on AHV and performance optimization, where AHV Turbo is highlighted for its ability to accelerate VM operations in a Nutanix environment.

Given the reported RX errors on eth2 and the intermittent ping loss as observed from the CVM logs, the best initial troubleshooting step that avoids VM disruption is to inspect the switch port for errors. Option C, "Check the port on the switch side for any errors," is the most direct and non-invasive approach to determining if the issue lies with the network infrastructure rather than the server hardware itself or the configuration.

This action helps identify whether the problem is related to the physical connection (e.g., port issues, switch configuration errors) without altering the current active network setup on the Nutanix node. If errors are found on the switch port, adjustments or repairs can be made accordingly, potentially resolving the RX errors without impacting the running VMs.

References:This recommendation follows Nutanix's best practices for network troubleshooting, focusing first on external network components before altering host configurations.

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

In environments where IPv6 is not allowed for node discovery and the use of an external flat switch by the consultant is also restricted, the viable approach is to connect to the top of rack switch and discover the nodes using IPv4. This method aligns with the customer’s networking policies and leverages the existing network infrastructure to facilitate the discovery and configuration of the nodes within the Nutanix cluster.References: Nutanix Bible, Nutanix University NCS-Core 6.8 resources, and Nutanix official guidelines on node discovery using IPv4.

In the scenario where the Foundation VM on a laptop is used for a cluster deployment, and an error indicating a failure to connect to the IPMIs is shown, the first troubleshooting step should be to disable the local machine's firewall to ensure it is not blocking traffic necessary for the Foundation VM to communicate with the IPMIs. Firewalls can often block essential ports or IP addresses needed for deployment operations, hindering the Foundation process.References: Nutanix Foundation Tool Troubleshooting Guide, Nutanix Deployment Common Issues.

In a typical Nutanix deployment using a flat switch, the Foundation VM, the CVM, and the Hypervisor should all be on the same subnet to facilitate seamless communication and management operations during the initial setup and operation. The IPMI, being a management interface, can be on a different subnet as it serves a different purpose primarily for remote management at the hardware level and does not need to be on the same subnet as the other components for cluster functionality.References:

Nutanix University - NCS-Core 6.8 Learning Path

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

The Nutanix feature that involves creation as described in the Knowledge Transfer is "Calm Blueprints." Nutanix Calm provides application automation and lifecycle management capabilities that are reflected in Calm Blueprints. These blueprints define the application’s architecture, such as services, dependencies, and associated metadata, and are used to automate the provisioning and scaling of applications across multiple environments, making them a critical component in the Nutanix ecosystem for simplifying management and operations of applications.References: Nutanix University, Nutanix Calm User Guide.

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

The manage_ovs command requires specific interface names to be added or configured under a bridge or bond. In the provided scenario, the command failed because it generically referred to '1g' which is not a recognized interface or valid parameter syntax. For the command to work correctly, each individual interface name must be specified. In this case, the missing parameter was the specific interface name 'eth0' for one of the 1GbE NICs. The corrected command should explicitly include the NIC names, e.g., --interfaces eth0,eth1.References:

Nutanix Bible

Nutanix University NCS-Core Materials

The inability of CVMs and hypervisors to communicate after moving a cluster to the production network typically points to a VLAN configuration issue. The correct action is to confirm that the VLAN designated for hypervisor/CVM communication is set as the Native VLAN on the switch ports to which the nodes are connected. This setting ensures that traffic from these VLANs is properly prioritized and handled by the network, thereby restoring communication between CVMs and hypervisors and allowing the cluster to start.References: Nutanix Bible, NCS-Core 6.8 official documentation on networking configurations, and troubleshooting VLAN issues.

Ref: https://next.nutanix.com/installation-configuration-23/backplane-net work-in-aos-5-5-27291

For a customer to use NIC teaming with the "Route based on physical NIC load" load balancing option on an ESXi host using a vSphere Standard Switch, they need vCenter Server. This specific load balancing method is not available on a vSphere Standard Switch without vCenter management, as it requires vSphere Distributed Switch capabilities that are managed via vCenter Server. By installing a vCenter server, the customer can upgrade from vSphere Standard to Distributed Switches and access more advanced features including the desired NIC teaming option.References: VMware vSphere Documentation, Nutanix Bible.