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

 The correct answer is B and D because they are the two restore options that can be used to restore an Oracle database to the prior day’s state using Nutanix Era. A snapshot is a point-in-time copy of a database that is stored in the Era Time Machine, which is a distributed file system that collects logs and snapshots from databases. A point in time is a specific moment in time within the retention period of the SLA policy that is applied to the database. By using either of these options, the administrator can select the snapshot or the point in time that corresponds to the prior day’s state and restore the database from it. The other options are not correct because they are not restore options that are available in Nutanix Era. Option A is not correct because Most Recent Time Available is not a restore option, but a clone option that creates a clone of the database from the most recent snapshot or log backup. Option C is not correct because Tail Logs Backup is not a restore option, but a backup option that captures the transaction logs of the database that have not been backed up by the SLA policy. References: Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) certification, Nutanix NCP-DB Certification Exam Syllabus and Study Guide, [Nutanix Database Services: Database modernization with Era - Now available]

Time Machine is a feature of Nutanix Era that allows you to create and manage snapshots of your databases. You can use Time Machine to create clones from any snapshot, either manually or automatically. You can also configure Time Machine to create clones from snapshots based on a schedule, such as daily, weekly, or monthly. This way, you can ensure that your clones are always up to date with the latest data from your production databases. In this scenario, the most efficient way to meet the developer’s requirement is to configure Time Machine to create a clone from a daily snapshot at 7:00am. This will save the developer’s time and effort, as well as reduce the storage consumption by using the existing snapshots. References:

Nutanix Database Management & Automation Training Course

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation datasheet

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) 5 Exam

When registering a new Nutanix Cluster with Era, the Era Agent is installed on the target Nutanix cluster via the Register Nutanix Cluster workflow1. This agent is crucial for the functioning of the Nutanix Database Service (NDB) as it helps in managing and optimizing database workloads2. It also enables the application of procedural concepts to add Nutanix clusters to NDB2.

Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) simplifies database provisioning using predefined profiles customized to your environment. Software profiles, which are templates of the OS and database engine, allow you to maintain consistent software versions1. You then use additional profiles to customize that deployment1.

 According to the Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) learning documents, when provisioning a new database, there are two options available for the target12:

Provision database to an existing registered: This option allows you to provision a database to an existing registered database server. This is useful when you want to add a database to a server that is already being managed by Nutanix Era1.

Provision databases to a new container: This option allows you to provision a database to a new container. This is useful when you want to create a new isolated environment for your database1.

In a high availability (HA) Nutanix Database Service (NDB) environment, custom SSL certificates are used to secure communication between clients (e.g., NDB GUI, API calls) and the NDB control plane. The HA Proxy VMs serve as the entry point for all external traffic, load balancing requests across the NDB API server VMs and providing secure SSL termination. When configuring custom SSL certificates, they must be updated on all HA Proxy VMs to ensure consistent and secure communication across the HA environment. Updating only a subset of servers or other components (like API or Repository VMs) would lead to inconsistencies or SSL handshake failures.

Option A (All API server VMs) is incorrect because the API servers do not directly handle external SSL termination; this is managed by the HA Proxy layer.

Option B (All HA Proxy VMs) is correct as these VMs are responsible for SSL termination and load balancing in an HA setup, requiring the custom certificates to be applied uniformly.

Option C (The API and Repository VMs running on the primary cluster) is incorrect because Repository VMs do not handle client-facing traffic, and the API servers rely on HA Proxy for SSL handling.

Option D (The primary API, Repository, and HA Proxy servers) is incorrect because it implies a single "primary" server focus, whereas in an HA setup, all HA Proxy VMs (not just a primary one) must be updated.

This aligns with NDB’s HA architecture, where HA Proxy VMs are the critical components for SSL certificate management.

References

Nutanix Database Service (NDB) User Guide, Chapter 3: Configuring an NDB Environment, Section: Configuring High Availability and SSL Certificates

Nutanix Support & Insights, Knowledge Base Article: "Configuring Custom SSL Certificates in NDB HA Environments"

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5 Blueprint, Section 3: Configure an NDB Environment

According to the Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) learning documents, Nutanix Era is a database management tool that automates and simplifies database operations, including provisioning, patching, upgrading, and more1. However, for a database to be managed by Era, it must be registered with Era1. This means that if a database is on a non-Nutanix platform, it cannot be directly upgraded using an Era workflow. It must first be migrated to a Nutanix platform and registered with Era before it can be managed and upgraded using Era1.

To apply the latest OS security patches on a Windows server managed by NDB, the user should create and apply a Maintenance Plan within the NDB interface. NDB provides a Maintenance Plan feature that allows administrators to schedule and automate OS patching for database server VMs, ensuring patches are applied in a controlled manner without disrupting database operations. This includes validating the patch process, rolling back if needed, and maintaining compliance with security standards. The plan can be configured to target the specific Windows server and include the latest security updates from Microsoft.

Other options are incorrect or insufficient:

A. Reboot the system: A reboot alone does not apply patches; it may only activate previously installed updates.

C. Update the database: This focuses on database software, not OS security patches.

D. Use update functionality directly on the VM: Manual updates bypass NDB’s control, risking inconsistency and potential downtime without proper validation.

Thus, the verified answer is B, leveraging NDB’s centralized maintenance capabilities.

Official Nutanix Database Automation References

Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Module 6: Maintenance and Patching, Lesson 6.3: Creating Maintenance Plans.

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5 Knowledge Objectives, Section 6: Optimize NDB Solutions, Objective 6.3: Manage Maintenance Plans (applicable to v6.10).

Nutanix NDB Administration Guide: "Maintenance Plans for OS Patching" section.

 NDB SLAs are service level agreements that define the data protection and recovery objectives for NDB-managed databases. NDB SLAs consist of data retention policies that specify how long the snapshots and log backups of a database are kept in the Time Machine. Data retention policies can be customized to meet different business and compliance requirements, such as daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly retention periods. NDB SLAs also determine the frequency and schedule of the snapshots and log backups, as well as the storage location and replication options. An administrator who is tasked with auditing NDB SLAs will be reviewing the data retention policies of each database and Time Machine, as well as the snapshot and log backup history and status. The administrator will also be able to monitor the storage usage and performance of the NDB SLAs, and modify or delete the SLAs as needed. The other options are not part of the NDB SLAs, but rather separate features or concepts of NDB. Snapshot schedules are the intervals at which NDB takes snapshots of the databases, which are determined by the SLAs. Clone management is the process of creating, refreshing, or deleting database clones from the Time Machine. Recovery time objective (RTO) is the maximum acceptable time for restoring a database after a failure, which is influenced by the SLAs, but not defined by them. References:

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5, Section 5 - Protect NDB-managed Databases Using Time Machine, Objective 5.1: Create, delete, and modify SLA retention policies

Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) Course, Module 4: Nutanix Database Service (NDB) Data Protection, Lesson 4.1: Data Protection Overview, Topic: SLA Concepts

Nutanix Database Service (NDB) User Guide, Chapter 6: SLAs, Section: SLA Overview