Nutanix NCP-US-6.5 - Nutanix Certified Professional - Unified Storage (NCP-US) v6.5

Smart Tiering in Nutanix Files, part of Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS), allows infrequently accessed (Cold) data to be tiered to external storage, such as a public cloud (e.g., AWS S3, Azure Blob), to free up space on the primary cluster (as noted in Question 34). Configuring Smart Tiering requires setting up a connection to the external storage target, which involves providing credentials and connectivity details.

Smart Tiering requires a connection to an external storage target, such as a cloud provider. The access key and secret key are mandatory to authenticate Nutanix Files with the target (e.g., an S3 bucket), enabling secure data tiering. Without these credentials, the tiering configuration cannot be completed, making them a mandatory criterion.

Exact Extract from Nutanix Documentation:

From the Nutanix Files Administration Guide (available on the Nutanix Portal):

“To configure Smart Tiering in Nutanix Files, you must provide the access key and secret key for the external storage target (e.g., AWS S3, Azure Blob). These credentials are mandatory to authenticate with the cloud provider and enable data tiering to the specified target.”

The error log that the administrator should review to determine why the relative service is down is arithmos.ERROR. Arithmos is a service that runs on each CVM and provides volume group protection functionality for Volumes. Volume group protection is a feature that allows administrators to create protection policies for volume groups, which define how often snapshots are taken, how long they are retained, and where they are replicated. If arithmos.ERROR log shows any errors or exceptions related to volume group protection, it can indicate that the relative service is down or not functioning properly. References: Nutanix Volumes Administration Guide, page 29; Nutanix Volumes Troubleshooting Guide

The Nutanix-enabled technology that meets these requirements is Objects – WORM with versioning. WORM (Write-Once Read-Many) is a feature that prevents anyone from modifying or deleting data in a bucket while the policy is active. WORM policies help comply with strict data retention regulations that mandate how long specific data must be stored. Versioning is a feature that keeps multiple versions of an object in a bucket whenever it is overwritten or deleted. Versioning policies help preserve previous versions of an object for backup or recovery purposes. By enabling WORM and versioning for an Objects bucket, the administrator can ensure that data is kept for two years without being deleted or overwritten. References: Nutanix Objects User Guide, page 17; Nutanix Objects Solution Guide, page 9

The service that the administrator should investigate for this issue is Minerva-nvm. Minerva-nvm is a service that runs on each CVM and provides communication between Prism Central and Files services. Minerva-nvm also monitors the health of Files services and reports any failures or alerts to Prism Central. If Minerva-nvm is down on any CVM, it can affect the availability and functionality of Files services on that cluster. References: Nutanix Files Administration Guide, page 23; Nutanix Files Troubleshooting Guide

The minerva_nvm service is the core service on FSVMs that manages Nutanix Files operations. If File server services are down, this service is the most likely culprit, as it handles all file system activities (e.g., share access, data I/O). Investigating minerva_nvm (e.g., checking its status, logs, or restarting it) is the first step to diagnose and resolve the issue.

Exact Extract from Nutanix Documentation:

From the Nutanix Files Administration Guide (available on the Nutanix Portal):

“The minerva_nvm service is a critical component of Nutanix Files, running on each FSVM. It manages file system operations, including share access and data management. If File server services are down on a cluster, investigate the minerva_nvm service on the FSVMs, as its failure will cause shares to become inaccessible.”

The primary criteria that should be considered for performance-sensitive application shares with sequential I/O is throughput. Throughput is a measure of how much data can be transferred or processed in a given time period. Throughput is usually expressed in megabytes per second (MB/s) or gigabytes per second (GB/s). Sequential I/O is a type of I/O pattern where data is read or written in a sequential order, such as streaming media, backup, or archive applications. Sequential I/O typically requires high throughput to transfer large amounts of data quickly and efficiently. References: Nutanix Files Administration Guide, page 25; Nutanix Files Solution Guide, page 10

Sequential I/O workloads are characterized by large, continuous data transfers, making throughput (data transfer rate) the primary performance criterion. For performance-sensitive application shares in Nutanix Files, ensuring high throughput (e.g., by optimizing network bandwidth, FSVM resources, or storage performance) is critical to meet the application’s requirements, such as fast streaming or efficient file transfers.

Exact Extract from Nutanix Documentation:

From the Nutanix Files Performance Guide (available on the Nutanix Portal):

“For performance-sensitive application shares with sequential I/O, the primary criterion to consider is throughput (MB/s or GB/s). Sequential I/O workloads, such as media streaming or large file transfers, prioritize the rate of data transfer. Optimize throughput by ensuring sufficient network bandwidth, FSVM resources, and storage performance.”

Nutanix Volumes, part of Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS), provides block storage services via iSCSI to external hosts, such as physical servers. The iSCSI traffic is managed by the Controller VMs (CVMs) in the Nutanix cluster, and a virtual IP address called the Data Services IP is used for iSCSI communication. To isolate iSCSI traffic on a dedicated network, the administrator must ensure that this traffic is routed over the isolated network.

Analysis of Options:

Option A (Create a new network interface on the CVMs via ncli): Incorrect. While it’s possible to create additional network interfaces on CVMs using the ncli command-line tool, this is not the recommended or standard method for isolating iSCSI traffic. The Data Services IP is the primary mechanism for managing iSCSI traffic, and it can be assigned to an isolated network without creating new interfaces on each CVM.

Option B (Configure the Data Services IP on an isolated network): Correct. The Data Services IP (also known as the iSCSI Data Services IP) is a cluster-wide virtual IP used for iSCSI traffic. By configuring the Data Services IP to use an IP address on the isolated network (e.g., a specific VLAN or subnet dedicated to iSCSI), the administrator ensures that all iSCSI traffic is routed over that network, meeting the requirement for isolation. This configuration is done in Prism Element under the cluster’s iSCSI settings.

Option C (Configure network segmentation for Volumes): Incorrect. Network segmentation in Nutanix typically refers to isolating traffic using VLANs or separate subnets, which is indirectly achieved by configuring the Data Services IP (option B). However, “network segmentation for Volumes” is not a specific feature or configuration step in Nutanix; the correct approach is to assign the Data Services IP to the isolated network, which inherently segments the traffic.

Option D (Create a Volumes network in Prism Central): Incorrect. Prism Central is used for centralized management of multiple clusters, but the configuration of iSCSI traffic (e.g., the Data Services IP) is performed at the cluster level in Prism Element, not Prism Central. There is no concept of a “Volumes network” in Prism Central for this purpose.

Why Option B?

The Data Services IP is the key configuration for iSCSI traffic in a Nutanix cluster. By assigning this IP to an isolated network (e.g., a dedicated VLAN or subnet), the administrator ensures that all iSCSI traffic is routed over that network, achieving the required isolation. This is a standard and recommended approach in Nutanix for isolating iSCSI traffic.

Exact Extract from Nutanix Documentation:

From the Nutanix Volumes Administration Guide (available on the Nutanix Portal):

“To isolate iSCSI traffic on a dedicated network, configure the Data Services IP with an IP address on the isolated network. This ensures that all iSCSI traffic between external hosts and the Nutanix cluster is routed over the specified network, providing network isolation as required.”

To scale out an existing Files instance, the administrator needs to add one Client IP and one Storage IP for each additional FSVM. Since the Files instance needs to expand from four FSVMs to six FSVMs, the administrator needs to add two Client IPs and two Storage IPs in total. The Client IPs are used for communication between the FSVMs and the clients, while the Storage IPs are used for communication between the FSVMs and the CVMs. References: Nutanix Files Administration Guide, page 28; Nutanix Files Solution Guide, page 7

The appropriate configuration to verify to allow successful Objects cluster deployment to this ESXi cluster is to ensure that vCenter in PE cluster is registered using FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) and that vCenter details in Objects UI are using FQDN. FQDN is a domain name that specifies the exact location of a host in the domain hierarchy. For example, esxi01.nutanix.com is an FQDN for an ESXi host. Using FQDN instead of IP addresses can avoid certificate validation errors when deploying Objects clusters to ESXi clusters. References: Nutanix Objects User Guide, page 9; Nutanix Objects Troubleshooting Guide, page 5

The exhibit illustrates a data protection setup involving Nutanix Files, a component of Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS). It shows two sites: a Primary Site and a Remote Site, each with a File Server (FILE SVR1 and FILE SVR2, respectively). The Primary Site has shares (Share1, Share2, Share3, Share4) with a replication policy applied. Share1 and Share2 are marked as RW (read-write) on the Primary Site and RO (read-only) on the Remote Site, while Share3 has a replication policy with RW on both sites. Share4 is RO on the Primary Site and RW on the Remote Site. Clients access the shares on both sites, and the replication policy governs the data protection mechanism between the sites.

Analysis of the Exhibit:

Two Sites (Primary and Remote): The setup involves replication between two sites, indicating a disaster recovery (DR) or high-availability scenario.

Replication Policy: The replication policy is applied to the shares, with specific shares being RW on one site and RO on the other (e.g., Share1 and Share2 are RW on Primary, RO on Remote). This suggests asynchronous replication, as synchronous replication would typically allow RW access on both sites with zero data loss.

Share3 (RW on Both Sites): This indicates a special configuration, possibly for load balancing or specific workload requirements, but the primary focus is on the replication policy for DR.

Share4 (RO on Primary, RW on Remote): This suggests a failover scenario where the Remote Site can take over as the primary for certain shares.

Analysis of Options:

Option A (Smart DR): Incorrect. Smart DR is a Nutanix feature that simplifies disaster recovery by automating snapshot-based replication and recovery plans. While Smart DR can use replication policies, the exhibit specifically shows a replication setup between File Servers with RW/RO configurations, which aligns more directly with a replication mechanism like NearSync. Smart DR is more about the orchestration of recovery, not the replication mechanism itself.

Option B (Metro Availability): Incorrect. Metro Availability provides synchronous replication between two sites with zero Recovery Point Objective (RPO), meaning no data loss. It typically allows RW access on both sites (with one site being primary) and requires low latency between sites (e.g., <5 ms). The exhibit shows RW/RO configurations, indicating asynchronous replication, and does not suggest zero RPO, making Metro Availability an incorrect fit.

Option C (Availability Zones): Incorrect. Availability Zones in Nutanix refer to distributing data across zones within a single cluster or cloud environment for high availability, not replication between two distinct sites. The exhibit clearly shows two separate sites with replication, not a single cluster with zones.

Option D (NearSync): Correct. NearSync is a Nutanix data protection mechanism that provides near-synchronous replication with low RPOs (e.g., 1–15 minutes). It is commonly used for Nutanix Files to replicate shares between sites for disaster recovery. The exhibit’s RW/RO configuration aligns with NearSync, where the Primary Site is RW, and the Remote Site is RO for replicated shares, allowing failover to the Remote Site if needed. The replication policy shown in the exhibit matches NearSync’s behavior of replicating data asynchronously with a configurable RPO.

Why Option D?

NearSync is designed for disaster recovery scenarios where data is replicated between two sites with a low RPO, ensuring minimal data loss. The exhibit’s depiction of replication between FILE SVR1 and FILE SVR2, with RW/RO configurations for shares, is a hallmark of NearSync for Nutanix Files. The presence of a replication policy further supports this, as NearSync uses such policies to define replication schedules and RPOs. Metro Availability (option B) would require synchronous replication with zero RPO, which is not indicated by the RW/RO setup, and the other options (Smart DR, Availability Zones) do not fit the replication scenario shown.

Exact Extract from Nutanix Documentation:

From the Nutanix Files Administration Guide (available on the Nutanix Portal):

“NearSync provides near-synchronous replication for Nutanix Files shares between two sites, enabling disaster recovery with low Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) ranging from 1 to 15 minutes. Shares on the primary site are typically read-write (RW), while the remote site is read-only (RO) for replicated shares. A replication policy defines the replication schedule and RPO, allowing failover to the remote site in case of a disaster.”

Additional Notes:

The exhibit’s depiction of Share3 (RW on both sites) is a less common configuration but can be achieved with NearSync by allowing specific shares to be writable on both sites for load balancing or specific use cases. However, the overall setup (replication between sites with RW/RO for most shares) aligns with NearSync.

Metro Availability would typically show zero RPO and RW access on both sites for the same shares, which is not the case here.

The configuration that is required for an Objects deployment is to configure NTP servers on both Prism Element and Prism Central. NTP (Network Time Protocol) is a protocol that synchronizes the clocks of devices on a network with a reliable time source. NTP servers are devices that provide accurate time information to other devices on a network. Configuring NTP servers on both Prism Element and Prism Central is required for an Objects deployment, because it ensures that the time settings are consistent and accurate across the Nutanix cluster and the Objects cluster, which can prevent any synchronization issues or errors. References: Nutanix Objects User Guide, page 9; Nutanix Objects Deployment Guide