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

Nutanix File Analytics is a feature that provides insights into the usage and activity of file data stored on Nutanix Files. File Analytics consists of a File Analytics VM (FAVM) that runs on a Nutanix cluster and communicates with the File Server VMs (FSVMs) that host the file shares. The FAVM collects metadata and statistics from the FSVMs and displays them in a graphical user interface (GUI). The FAVM must be deployed on the same network as the FSVMs, which is the Client-side network. This network is used for communication between File Analytics and FSVMs, as well as for accessing the File Analytics UI from a web browser. The Client-side network must have DHCP enabled and must be routable from the external hosts that access the file shares and File Analytics UI. References: Nutanix Files Administration Guide, page 93; Nutanix File Analytics Deployment Guide

The error log that the administrator should review to determine why the relay service is down is Cerebro.ERROR. Cerebro is a service that runs on each FSVM and provides relay functionality for Data Lens. Relay service is responsible for collecting metadata and statistics from FSVMs and sending them to Data Lens via HTTPS. If Cerebro.ERROR log shows any errors or exceptions related to relay service, it can indicate that relay service is down or not functioning properly. References: Nutanix Files Administration Guide, page 23; Nutanix Data Lens User Guide

Nutanix Objects, part of Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS), is deployed and managed through Prism Central (PC), which provides a centralized interface for managing multiple Prism Element (PE) clusters. When deploying Objects or adding multi-cluster support to an Object Store, the administrator selects a PE cluster and associated subnets from drop-down lists in the Prism Central UI. If these drop-down lists are empty or show an error, it indicates an issue with visibility or access to the clusters or subnets.

Analysis of Options:

Option A (The logged-in user does not have access to any Prism Central): Correct. Prism Central is required to manage Nutanix Objects deployments and multi-cluster configurations. If the logged-in user does not have access to any Prism Central instance (e.g., due to RBAC restrictions or no PC being deployed), they cannot see any PE clusters or subnets in the UI, as Prism Central is the interface that aggregates this information. This would result in empty drop-down lists for clusters and subnets, as well as during multi-cluster addition for the Object Store.

Option B (The logged-in user does not have access to any subnets on the allowed Prism Central): Incorrect. While subnet access restrictions could prevent subnets from appearing in the Subnets drop-down, this does not explain why the Cluster drop-down is empty or why no clusters are listed during multi-cluster addition. The issue is broader—likely related to Prism Central access itself—rather than subnet-specific permissions.

Option C (The administrator has just created an access policy granting user access to Prism Element): Incorrect. Granting access to Prism Element directly does not affect visibility in Prism Central’s UI. Objects deployment and multi-cluster management are performed through Prism Central, not Prism Element. Even if the user has PE access, they need PC access to see clusters and subnets in the Objects deployment workflow.

Option D (The administrator has just created an access policy denying user access to a subnet in Prism Element): Incorrect. Denying access to a subnet in Prism Element might affect subnet visibility in the Subnets drop-down, but it does not explain the empty Cluster drop-down or the inability to see clusters during multi-cluster addition. Subnet access policies are secondary to the broader issue of Prism Central access.

Why Option A?

The core issue is that Prism Central is required to display PE clusters and subnets in the UI for Objects deployment and multi-cluster management. If the logged-in user does not have access to any Prism Central instance (e.g., they are not assigned the necessary role, such as Prism Central Admin, or no PC is registered), the UI cannot display any clusters or subnets, resulting in empty drop-down lists. This also explains why no clusters are listed during multi-cluster addition for the Object Store, as Prism Central is the central management point for such operations.

Exact Extract from Nutanix Documentation:

From the Nutanix Objects Deployment Guide (available on the Nutanix Portal):

“Nutanix Objects deployment and multi-cluster management are performed through Prism Central. The logged-in user must have access to Prism Central with appropriate permissions (e.g., Prism Central Admin role) to view Prism Element clusters and subnets in the deployment UI. If the user does not have access to Prism Central, the Cluster and Subnets drop-down lists will be empty, and multi-cluster addition will fail to list available clusters.”

The scenario that is causing the alert and needs to be addressed to allow the entities to be protected is that one or more VMs or Volume Groups belonging to the Consistency Group may have been deleted. A Consistency Group is a logical grouping of VMs or Volume Groups that are protected together by a Protection Policy. A Protection Policy is a set of rules that defines how often snapshots are taken, how long they are retained, and where they are replicated for disaster recovery purposes. If one or more VMs or Volume Groups belonging to the Consistency Group are deleted, the Protection Policy will fail to protect them and generate an alert with the code AI303551 – VolumeGroupProtectionFailed. References: Nutanix Volumes Administration Guide, page 29; Nutanix Volumes Troubleshooting Guide