Nutanix NCSE-Core - Nutanix Certified Systems Engineer-Core (NCSE-Core 6.8)

Understanding Customer Requirements:

The customer needs to run z/Virtual Machine (z/VM) for mission-critical workloads.

Nutanix Support:

z/OS and z/VM Support: Nutanix currently does not support IBM mainframe environments, including z/OS and z/VM.

When using the Sizer in Automatic mode, it can provide various configurations based on the specified workload and capacity requirements. The following configurations are possible:

6x NX-8055-G7:

Each node has 2 x 7.68TB SSDs and 10x 6TB HDDs.

This configuration balances high-performance SSDs with large-capacity HDDs, suitable for mixed workload environments.

4x NX-1075S-G7 + 4x NX-8035-G7:

NX-1075S-G7 nodes have 4x 3.85TB SSDs each.

NX-8035-G7 nodes have 6x 3.84TB SSDs each.

This combination provides high SSD storage capacity across different node types, optimized for performance-intensive workloads.

References:

Nutanix Sizer Documentation: Details on how the Sizer tool calculates and recommends configurations.

Nutanix Hardware Specifications: Specifications for different node models and their storage capabilities.

Concerns Addressed:

Product Supportability: Addressing the prospect's concerns about support and partnership is critical.

TSAnet:

TSAnet(Technical Support Alliance Network) is an industry cooperative that provides multi-vendor support. Nutanix's participation in TSAnet ensures coordinated support efforts across vendors, including HPE (Nutanix Support Resources)​​.

Nutanix Software Only HCL:

TheNutanix Software Only Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)provides a comprehensive list of supported hardware, ensuring that Nutanix software can be reliably deployed on HPE servers. This official documentation helps counter FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) by verifying compatibility (Nutanix HCL)​​.

Conclusion:

Leveraging TSAnet and the Nutanix Software Only HCL provides credible and verifiable evidence to overcome concerns about product supportability and partnership with HPE.

References:

Nutanix TSAnet information

Nutanix Software Only HCL

In a two-node ROBO cluster with a witness VM, if Node A goes down, Node B will send a leadership request to the Witness VM and then operate in single-node mode. This mechanism ensures that the cluster remains operational even when one of the nodes fails​​.

B. B (Manual Mode Selection):

In the exhibit, selecting "Manual" mode allows the SE to manually adjust the configuration to fit specific requirements, such as accommodating a specific number of physical host-based software licenses.

D. D (Limit Max Node Count Per Cluster):

Using the "Limit Max Node Count Per Cluster" option, the SE can specify the maximum number of nodes per cluster, ensuring that the configuration does not exceed the number of available licenses.

References:

The Nutanix Sizer tool provides various options to customize the sizing to meet specific requirements, including manual adjustments and limiting the number of nodes in a cluster.

Scenario Analysis:

The customer does not have access to vCenter or ESXi hosts on ACME Public Cloud.

ACME replicates copies of virtual disks to external storage.

Migration Feasibility:

Without access to vCenter or ESXi, tools like Xtract for VMs cannot directly access and migrate the VMs.

Nutanix Community Edition would not be feasible as it cannot replicate VMs directly without vCenter access.

Calm is used for automation and orchestration but not for direct VM migration from unsupported platforms.

Best Method:

Using the replicated VM copies on external storage provides a direct and viable migration path.

Import the VMs from external storage to the local Nutanix cluster, ensuring a smooth transition.

References:

Nutanix documentation on VM migration strategies.

Best practices for migrating VMs from external storage to Nutanix clusters.

Understanding FIPS 140-2 Level 2 Requirements:

FIPS 140-2 is a U.S. government standard that specifies security requirements for cryptographic modules. Level 2 adds requirements for tamper-evidence and role-based authentication.

Required Items for FIPS 140-2 Level 2 Compliance:

Self-Encrypting Drives (SEDs):

Explanation: SEDs automatically encrypt data at rest, meeting the encryption standards required by FIPS 140-2 Level 2.

C. What is your process for evaluating new methodologies and technologies?

This open-ended question helps initiate a broader discussion about the customer's approach to technology adoption and evaluation. It allows the SE to understand the customer's decision-making process and criteria for adopting new technologies beyond their current VDI workload.

By understanding the evaluation process, the SE can tailor the conversation to introduce Nutanix's capabilities in other areas such as cloud integration, database management, and application development, thus expanding the scope of Nutanix solutions within the customer’s infrastructure.

To verify if all network cards associated with BridgeO are being used by nodes in an AHV cluster, you need to examine the network configuration and the network interface cards (NICs) on the hosts. The following menus in the Prism interface will provide the necessary information:

Host NICs tab in Hardware menu:

This tab provides a detailed view of all NICs available on each host in the cluster.

It shows the status, speed, and configuration of each NIC, which helps determine if all network cards are active and properly associated with BridgeO.

Host view in Network menu:

The Network menu under the Host view provides insights into the network configuration for each host.

It includes information on how NICs are bridged, VLAN assignments, and overall network topology, confirming if all NICs are effectively used and contributing to the bridge.

These menus collectively ensure that the administrator can verify the network setup and utilization of all network interfaces.

References:

Nutanix Bible, Networking section detailing NIC and bridge configuration​​.

Nutanix-Community-Edition-Getting-Started, Sections on network management and host configuration​​.

In Sizer, when creating a multi-cluster scenario, the Summary Failover Capacity indicator (N+0, N+1) shows the worst resiliency level of any cluster in the scenario. This helps in identifying the weakest link in terms of failover capacity across multiple clusters. If any cluster within the scenario has a lower failover capacity, the indicator will reflect this to ensure that the overall solution can handle the identified worst-case scenario​​.