Nutanix NCP-DB - Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB v6.10)

A database administrator wanting to be notified in advance before any database clones are removed using a removal schedule can configure this directly within the NDB interface. The "Update Removal Schedule" feature includes an option labeled "Create an Alert Before Removal," which is pre-selected as non-optional by default but can be customized. Selecting this option generates an alert (e.g., via email or the NDB dashboard) prior to the scheduled clone removal, allowing the administrator to take action if needed. This is the most efficient and built-in method, avoiding the complexity of custom scripts or reports.

Option A (Create a Playbook to create an alert based on the removal event) is incorrect because a Playbook is an advanced automation tool, not the simplest solution for this notification need.

Option B (Select the Create an Alert Before Removal option) is correct as it is a native NDB feature designed for this purpose.

Option C (Build a custom report in Prism to report on these events) is incorrect because Prism reports are for historical analysis, not real-time notifications.

Option D (Configure SMTP alerts for all actions in NDB) is incorrect because configuring SMTP for all actions is overly broad and less targeted than the specific alert option.

This ensures timely notifications with minimal configuration.

References

Nutanix Database Service (NDB) User Guide, Chapter 5: Configuring Time Machines, Section: Managing Clone Removal Schedules

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5 Blueprint, Section 5: Protect Databases Using Time Machine

The scenario describes a PostgreSQL HA deployment managed by NDB, where an NDB-managed VLAN (PGSQLVLAN40) restricts database communication to only within VLAN 40. This indicates a network isolation issue, likely due to VLAN segmentation or routing misconfiguration, preventing communication with external networks or other VLANs. Since NDB manages the VLAN and assigns it to the database VMs, the issue lies beyond NDB’s direct control and involves the underlying network infrastructure (e.g., switches, routers, or Prism Element network settings).

Here’s why the other options are insufficient:

A. Use VLAN 1: VLAN 1 is typically a default VLAN and not recommended for production use due to security and isolation concerns. Changing to VLAN 1 does not address the root cause and could introduce further issues.

B. Change the Default Gateway on the PostgreSQL servers and update NDB: While adjusting the default gateway might enable external communication, this is a workaround rather than a fix. NDB manages the network configuration, and manual changes could be overwritten or cause inconsistency. The root issue (VLAN routing) remains unaddressed.

D. Delete the database servers, VLAN name PGSQLVLAN40, and redeploy: This is overly disruptive and unnecessary, as recreating everything under a new VLAN name does not guarantee resolution unless the network configuration is corrected.

The best approach is to engage the networking team to investigate and resolve the issue, such as configuring inter-VLAN routing, updating firewall rules, or adjusting the default gateway at the network level. Going forward, the administrator should collaborate with the networking team during VLAN planning to ensure proper connectivity. Thus, the verified answer is C.

Official Nutanix Database Automation References

Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Module 4: Troubleshooting NDB, Lesson 4.1: Identifying and Resolving Network Issues.

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5 Knowledge Objectives, Section 4: Troubleshoot NDB Solutions, Objective 4.2: Resolve Network-Related Issues (applicable to v6.10).

Nutanix NDB Administration Guide: "Networking Considerations for HA Deployments" section.

When an administrator creates a new SQL Server software profile version to apply the latest cumulative update, they should update the software profile version and set the status to Published1. This makes the new profile version available to all users. NDB will show available updates for any database server using the software profile as soon as the new profile version is published1.

To enable multi-cluster setup for NDB High Availability (HA), the administrator must configure the NDB Agent with a Network Profile. A Network Profile defines the networking settings (e.g., VLANs, IP ranges) that the NDB Agent uses to communicate across clusters. This is critical for multi-cluster HA, as it ensures consistent network configuration for replication, failover, and data synchronization between clusters. The Network Profile must be properly configured to handle inter-cluster traffic and latency requirements (e.g., <25ms RTT).

Other options are irrelevant:

A. Name Prefix: Used for naming conventions, not network configuration.

C. Static VLAN: A component of a Network Profile, but not the full configuration needed.

D. Compute Profile: Defines VM resources (CPU, memory), not networking for HA.

Thus, the verified answer is B, aligning with multi-cluster HA networking needs.

Official Nutanix Database Automation References

Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Module 4: High Availability and Disaster Recovery, Lesson 4.2: Configuring Multi-Cluster HA.

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5 Knowledge Objectives, Section 4: Troubleshoot NDB Solutions, Objective 4.3: Configure HA Across Clusters (applicable to v6.10).

Nutanix NDB Administration Guide: "Configuring Network Profiles for Multi-Cluster HA" section.

When an administrator is creating a Windows Domain profile in Era, the SQL Service Startup Account is an optional field that can be skipped and provided during the provisioning process. This account is used to start the SQL Server service when the server starts up. If this field is not provided during the creation of the Windows Domain profile, it can be provided later during the provisioning process1.

The Alerts dashboard in Nutanix displays alert messages with three severity levels: Critical, Warning, and Info1. These severity levels help users understand the importance and urgency of each alert, allowing them to prioritize their responses accordingly1.

NDB supports high availability (HA) across multiple Nutanix clusters, including those in separate data centers, by replicating data and ensuring failover capabilities. However, NDB imposes strict network latency requirements for HA. The official documentation specifies that the round-trip time (RTT) latency between clusters should not exceed 25ms for HA to function effectively. If the latency between two clusters exceeds this threshold (e.g., due to geographic distance or network issues), HA cannot be enabled, as the synchronization and failover mechanisms rely on low-latency communication to maintain consistency and performance.

Impact of other options:

A. HA will operate with increased delay: While latency might cause delays, exceeding 25ms RTT prevents HA setup entirely, not just delays its operation.

C. The clusters will not synchronize: Synchronization issues may occur as a symptom, but the primary impact is HA enablement failure.

D. There will be no impact on HA functionality: This is incorrect, as latency beyond 25ms RTT violates HA prerequisites.

Thus, the verified answer is B, reflecting NDB’s latency constraints for HA across clusters.

Official Nutanix Database Automation References

Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Module 4: High Availability and Disaster Recovery, Lesson 4.2: Configuring Multi-Cluster HA.

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5 Knowledge Objectives, Section 4: Troubleshoot NDB Solutions, Objective 4.3: Configure HA Across Clusters (applicable to v6.10).

Nutanix NDB Administration Guide: "High Availability Configuration Requirements" section, specifying latency limits.

To register an Oracle Database Server VM to Era in Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB), certain dependencies must be met. One of these is that SUDO NOPASS access is required1. This allows the Era service to perform necessary operations on the Oracle Database Server VM. As for assigning a static IP address to the Era VM on ESXi, you can use the vSphere Client to configure static IP settings2. However, this is not directly related to the registration of an Oracle Database Server VM to Era. Please note that these answers are based on the information available as of my last update in 2021 and may need to be verified with the most recent Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) documentation or resources.

When running the Linux prerequisites script for NDB, the -t argument is a required parameter that specifies the timeout interval. This argument defines the maximum time (in seconds) the script will wait for certain operations (e.g., connectivity checks, package installations) to complete before timing out. This is critical during the preinstallation phase to ensure the environment is properly configured and responsive, avoiding indefinite hangs. Other options are not associated with -t:

A. Operating System type: This is not a typical argument for the prerequisites script.

C. NDB server IP: This would be specified separately (e.g., via -s or a similar flag).

D. Database engine: This is irrelevant to the prerequisites script, which focuses on system setup.

Thus, the verified answer is B, aligning with the script’s purpose of managing execution timeouts.

Official Nutanix Database Automation References

Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Module 2: Deploying and Configuring an NDB Solution, Lesson 2.1: Running Prerequisites Scripts.

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5 Knowledge Objectives, Section 2: Deploy and Configure an NDB Solution, Objective 2.1: Prepare Hosts (applicable to v6.10).

Nutanix NDB Installation Guide: "Running the Linux Prerequisites Script" section, detailing -t usage.