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

This metric indicates the number of active clients that are accessing the Files cluster via SMB protocol, which affects the performance of the Files cluster. NFS concurrent connections is also a relevant metric, but it is not the best answer, as it only applies to NFS protocol, not SMB. The quantity of SMB shares or NFS exports does not directly affect the performance of the Files cluster, as they are logical entities that do not consume resources. References: Nutanix Files Sizing Guide

Nutanix Data Lens, a service integrated with Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS), provides data governance, analytics, and ransomware protection for Nutanix Files. Enabling Data Lens for a file server involves configuring the service to monitor the file server’s shares. If the administrator is unable to enable Data Lens, there may be a configuration or compatibility issue with the file server.

Analysis of Options:

Option A (The file server has been cloned): Correct. Cloning a file server (e.g., creating a duplicate file server instance via cloning in Nutanix) is not a supported configuration for Data Lens. Data Lens relies on a unique file server identity to manage its metadata and analytics. If the file server has been cloned, Data Lens may fail to enable due to conflicts in identity or metadata, as the cloned file server may not be properly registered or recognized by Data Lens.

Option B (SSR is enabled on the file server): Incorrect. Self-Service Restore (SSR) is a feature in Nutanix Files that allows users to recover previous versions of files in SMB shares. Enabling SSR does not affect the ability to enable Data Lens, as the two features are independent and can coexist on a file server.

Option C (The file server is in a Protection Domain): Incorrect. A Protection Domain in Nutanix is used for disaster recovery (DR) of VMs or Volume Groups, not file servers directly. Nutanix Files uses replication policies (e.g., NearSync) for DR, not Protection Domains. Even if the file server is part of a replication setup, this does not prevent Data Lens from being enabled.

Option D (The file server has blacklisted file types): Incorrect. Blacklisting file types in Nutanix Files prevents certain file extensions from being stored on shares (e.g., for security reasons). However, this feature does not affect the ability to enable Data Lens, which operates at a higher level to analyze file metadata and user activity, regardless of file types.

Why Option A?

Cloning a file server creates a duplicate instance that may not be properly registered with Data Lens, leading to conflicts in identity, metadata, or configuration. Nutanix documentation specifies that Data Lens requires a uniquely deployed file server, and cloning can cause issues when enabling the service, making this the most likely cause of the administrator’s difficulty.

Exact Extract from Nutanix Documentation:

From the Nutanix Data Lens Administration Guide (available on the Nutanix Portal):

“Data Lens requires a uniquely deployed file server to enable its services. Cloning a file server is not supported, as it may result in conflicts with Data Lens metadata and configuration. If a file server has been cloned, Data Lens may fail to enable, and the file server must be redeployed or re-registered to resolve the issue.”

The administrator can achieve this request by deleting and recreating a new Objects store with the updated name. Objects is a feature that allows users to create and manage object storage clusters on a Nutanix cluster. Objects clusters can provide S3-compatible access to buckets and objects for various applications and users. Objects clusters can be created and configured in Prism Central. However, once an Objects cluster is created, its name cannot be changed or edited. Therefore, the only way to change the name of an Objects cluster is to delete the existing cluster and create a new cluster with the updated name. References: Nutanix Objects User Guide, page 9; Nutanix Objects Solution Guide, page 8

Nutanix Files, part of Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS), provides file shares (e.g., SMB, NFS) that clients access. Intermittent server-side networking issues or FSVM High Availability (HA) events (e.g., an FSVM failover, as discussed in Question 40) can disrupt client connections. The administrator needs a feature to ensure automatic reconnection to shares during such events, minimizing disruption for users.

Analysis of Options:

Option A (Multi-Protocol Shares): Incorrect. Multi-Protocol Shares allow a share to be accessed via both SMB and NFS (as in Questions 8 and 60), but this feature does not address client reconnection during networking issues or FSVM HA events—it focuses on protocol support, not connection resilience.

Option B (Connected Shares): Incorrect. “Connected Shares” is not a recognized feature in Nutanix Files. It appears to be a made-up term and does not apply to automatic client reconnection.

Option C (Durable File Handles): Correct. Durable File Handles is an SMB feature in Nutanix Files (as noted in Question 19) that ensures automatic client reconnection after temporary server-side disruptions, such as networking issues or FSVM HA events (e.g., failover when an FSVM’s IP is reassigned, as in Question 40). When enabled, Durable File Handles allow SMB clients to maintain their session state and automatically reconnect without user intervention, meeting the requirement.

Option D (Persistent File Handles): Incorrect. “Persistent File Handles” is not a standard feature in Nutanix Files. It may be confused with Durable File Handles (option C), which is the correct term for this SMB capability. Persistent File Handles is not a recognized Nutanix feature.

Why Option C?

Durable File Handles is an SMB 2.1+ feature supported by Nutanix Files that ensures clients can automatically reconnect to shares after server-side disruptions, such as intermittent networking issues or FSVM HA events (e.g., failover). This feature maintains the client’s session state, allowing seamless reconnection without manual intervention, directly addressing the administrator’s requirement.

Exact Extract from Nutanix Documentation:

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

“Durable File Handles is an SMB feature in Nutanix Files that ensures automatic client reconnection to shares during server-side disruptions, such as intermittent networking issues or FSVM HA events. Enable Durable File Handles to maintain client session state and allow seamless reconnection without user intervention.”

Data Lens is a SaaS that provides file analytics and reporting, anomaly detection, audit trails, ransomware protection features, and tiering management for Nutanix Files. To configure Data Lens, one of the network requirements is to allow HTTPS (port 443) traffic between a CVM or Prism Central to insights.nutanix.com. This allows Data Lens to collect metadata and statistics from the FSVMs and display them in a graphical user interface. References: Nutanix Files Administration Guide, page 93; Nutanix Data Lens User Guide

Data Lens is a cloud-based service hosted at insights.nutanix.com, and Nutanix requires secure communication over HTTPS (port 443) for configuration and operation. The CVMs or Prism Central must have outbound access to insights.nutanix.com on port 443 to enable Data Lens, authenticate with the service, and send/receive analytics data.

Exact Extract from Nutanix Documentation:

From the Nutanix Data Lens Administration Guide (available on the Nutanix Portal):

“Data Lens requires outbound connectivity from the Nutanix cluster (CVMs or Prism Central) to insights.nutanix.com over port 443 (HTTPS). Ensure that this port is open for secure communication to enable Data Lens configuration and operation.”

 Nutanix Objects requires a Data Services IP to be configured on the Prism Infrastructure (PI) cluster, which is used to expose the S3 API endpoint for accessing buckets and objects. Nutanix Objects also requires AHV IP Address Management (IPAM) to be disabled on the VLAN used for Objects, as Objects uses its own DHCP service to assign IP addresses to the Objects VMs1. References: Nutanix Objects Administration Guide1

The alert A130357 - VolumeGroupProtectionFailedOnPC in a Nutanix environment indicates a failure to protect a Volume Group (VG) in a Protection Domain (PD) managed through Prism Central (PC). Nutanix Volumes, part of Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS), provides block storage via iSCSI, and Volume Groups can be protected using Protection Domains for snapshots and replication. The alert suggests that the protection process failed, likely due to incompatible configurations.

Understanding the Issue:

Volume Group Protection: A Volume Group in Nutanix Volumes can be added to a Protection Domain in Prism Central for data protection (e.g., snapshots, replication).

Protection Failed on PC: The failure occurred during the protection process, managed through Prism Central, indicating an issue with the Protection Domain or policy settings.

Conditions to Address: The failure is likely due to configuration mismatches or unsupported settings in the Protection Domain or policy.

Analysis of Conditions:

Option A (Volume Group is protected in a legacy protection domain): Correct. A “legacy protection domain” refers to an older protection mechanism in Nutanix (e.g., from earlier AOS versions) that may not be fully compatible with newer Prism Central features or Volume Group protection workflows. If the Volume Group is part of a legacy PD, the protection process may fail due to deprecated features or APIs. Addressing this involves migrating the Volume Group to a modern Protection Domain in Prism Central, ensuring compatibility.

Option B (The Protection Policy applied on Volume Group has an Async snapshot schedule applied): Incorrect. An Async (asynchronous) snapshot schedule is a standard and supported configuration for Volume Group protection in a Protection Domain. Async schedules take snapshots at intervals (e.g., hourly, daily) and replicate them to a remote site, and this does not cause protection failures—it’s a valid setup.

Option C (The Protection Policy applied on Volume Group has a NearSync snapshot schedule applied): Correct. NearSync is a near-synchronous replication schedule (e.g., 1-minute RPO, as in Question 24) that is supported for VMs and some Nutanix Files configurations, but it is not supported for Volume Groups in a Protection Domain. If a NearSync schedule is applied to a Volume Group’s Protection Policy, the protection will fail because Volume Groups only support Async schedules. Addressing this involves changing the schedule to an Async policy, which is compatible with Volume Groups.

Option D (Volume Group is not protected in a legacy protection domain): Incorrect. This option suggests that the Volume Group is already in a modern (non-legacy) Protection Domain, which would not cause the failure. The issue lies in specific conditions (e.g., legacy PD or incompatible schedule), so this option does not identify a condition that needs addressing.

Selected Conditions:

A: A legacy Protection Domain can cause compatibility issues, leading to protection failures. Migrating to a modern PD in Prism Central resolves this.

C: A NearSync schedule is not supported for Volume Groups, causing the protection to fail. Switching to an Async schedule ensures compatibility.

Why These Conditions?

Legacy Protection Domain (A): Legacy PDs may use outdated mechanisms that are incompatible with Prism Central’s modern protection workflows for Volume Groups, causing failures.

NearSync Schedule (C): Volume Groups in a Protection Domain only support Async snapshot schedules. A NearSync schedule, designed for low-RPO replication, is not supported and will cause the protection process to fail.

Exact Extract from Nutanix Documentation:

From the Nutanix Prism Alerts Reference Guide (available on the Nutanix Portal):

“Alert A130357 - VolumeGroupProtectionFailedOnPC: This alert is triggered when Volume Group protection fails in a Protection Domain managed through Prism Central. Common causes include:

The Volume Group is protected in a legacy protection domain, which is not fully compatible with modern Prism Central workflows. Migrate the Volume Group to a modern Protection Domain.

The Protection Policy applied to the Volume Group has a NearSync snapshot schedule, which is not supported for Volume Groups. Change the schedule to an Async policy to allow successful protection.”

The action that is required to allow the deletion of file server audit data in Data Lens is to update the data retention period. Data retention period is a setting that defines how long Data Lens keeps the file server audit data in its database. Data Lens collects and stores various metadata and statistics from file servers, such as file name, file type, file size, file owner, file operation, file access time, etc. Data Lens uses this data to generate reports and dashboards for file analytics and anomaly detection. The administrator can update the data retention period for each file server in Data Lens to control how long the audit data is kept before being deleted. References: Nutanix Files Administration Guide, page 98; Nutanix Data Lens User Guide

Audit data in Data Lens is managed by a retention period, after which the data is automatically deleted. To allow deletion of audit data (e.g., to free up space or comply with policies), the administrator must update the retention period to a shorter duration, triggering the deletion of data that exceeds the new period. This is the standard method for managing audit data lifecycle in Data Lens.

Exact Extract from Nutanix Documentation:

From the Nutanix Data Lens Administration Guide (available on the Nutanix Portal):

“Audit data in Data Lens is retained for a configurable retention period. To allow the deletion of file server audit data, update the data retention period in the Data Lens console or Prism Central settings. Reducing the retention period will cause older audit data to be deleted once it exceeds the new period.”

The user that is authorized to deploy File Analytics is Prism Central administrator. Prism Central is a web-based user interface that allows administrators to manage multiple Nutanix clusters and services, including Files and File Analytics. Prism Central administrator is a user role that has full access and control over all Prism Central features and functions. To deploy File Analytics, the user must log in to Prism Central as a Prism Central administrator and follow the steps in the File Analytics Deployment wizard. References: Nutanix Files Administration Guide, page 93; Nutanix File Analytics Deployment Guide