Nutanix Nutanix Certified Associate NCA v6.10 NCA-6.10 Exam Dumps: Updated Questions & Answers (October 2025)

To prevent password access to the CVM for both thenutanixandadminuser accounts,Cluster Lockdownshould be enabled. Cluster Lockdown restricts SSH access to the Controller VM (CVM), effectively disabling password-based logins for enhanced security. Access is then managed through more secure means, such as console access or specific tools like Nutanix Support.

A. Cluster Lockdown:Correct, as this prevents SSH-based access to the CVM.

B. STIG:Incorrect, as STIG (Security Technical Implementation Guide) focuses on broader compliance measures.

C. RBAC Policy on PC:Incorrect, as RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) controls Prism Central permissions, not CVM access.

D. Data-at-Rest Encryption:Incorrect, as this secures stored data, not access credentials.

When using the LCM (Life Cycle Manager) Dark Site procedure, theLCM Frameworkshould be checked and upgraded first. The LCM Framework is the core component responsible for orchestrating updates for other Nutanix software components. Ensuring the framework is up to date guarantees compatibility and reliability during subsequent upgrades.

A. MSP:Incorrect, as MSP (Managed Service Provider) is not directly related to the LCM Dark Site procedure.

B. Foundation:Incorrect, as Foundation is used for initial cluster deployment, not for lifecycle management.

C. NCC:While NCC is critical for health checks, it does not need to be updated first in the LCM process.

D. LCM Framework:Correct, as it manages the update process and must be updated first.

Life Cycle Management (LCM) in Nutanix is a feature designed tosimplify software and firmware upgradesacross the entire cluster. LCM automates and orchestrates upgrades for components like BIOS, hypervisors, firmware, and Nutanix software, ensuring that the cluster remains up-to-date with minimal manual intervention.

A. To optimize server performance:Incorrect, as LCM focuses on updates, not performance optimization.

B. To manage network configurations:Incorrect, as LCM is unrelated to network configuration management.

C. To simplify software and firmware upgrades:Correct, as LCM is specifically designed for this purpose.

D. To automate application deployment:Incorrect, as LCM does not handle application deployment.

The correct answer isB. Run Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC).

Before performingany upgrade procedure(AOS, Foundation, LCM, etc.), it is strongly recommended torun the Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC). This tool performs acomprehensive health assessmentof the cluster and validates its readiness for the upgrade, including:

Disk integrity

Network configuration

CVM health

Cluster services status

Prism UI Navigation Path:

Health > Run NCC Check (via Actions menu)

Command Line Alternative:

bash

CopyEdit

ncc health_checks run_all

Clarifications:

A (Put hosts into maintenance mode): Not required before upgrades; LCM handles host management automatically.

C (Put CVMs into maintenance mode): Not correct. CVMs must be operational during upgrades.

D (Clear all alerts): Irrelevant unless the alerts indicate upgrade-blocking issues, which NCC identifies.

Official Reference:

Nutanix Upgrade Guide – Pre-upgrade Checklist Section

Excerpt: “It is strongly recommended to run NCC prior to starting the upgrade process to detect any cluster issues.”

Answer: B

The correct answer isA. br0.

InAHV (Acropolis Hypervisor),br0is thedefault native Linux bridgecreated on each hypervisor host. It is used for VM traffic and external communication. AHV leveragesOpen vSwitch (OVS)to manage virtual networking, but the bridge is exposed as br0 in the host's network configuration.

Key points:

br0connects VM virtual NICs (vNICs) to the physical network via the host's uplinks.

It is pre-configured during Foundation or cluster deployment.

virbr0is typical in KVM environments but isnot usedin AHV.

Official Reference:

Nutanix AHV Networking Guide

Nutanix KB #2027 – AHV Host Networking

Excerpt: “AHV uses br0 as the default bridge on the host, configured by Open vSwitch for guest VM networking.”

Answer: A

TheReserved Capacityoption in a storage container explicitly reserves a portion of cluster storage for that container. This reservation reduces the amount of storage available for other containers. Reserved Capacity ensures that specific workloads have guaranteed storage resources, preventing resource contention or overcommitment.

Other options:

Advertised Capacity: Defines the storage limit displayed to users but does not reserve storage.

Erasure Coding: Optimizes storage efficiency but does not reduce available capacity.

Capacity Deduplication: Reduces space consumption by eliminating duplicate data but does not affect other containers' storage.

The correct answer isB. Active/Backup.

Foredge environmentswith limited uplink capacity, such as1GbE, the recommended bond mode isActive/Backupdue to the following reasons:

Providesredundancywithout requiring link aggregation support from the upstream switch.

Avoids complexity and performance imbalance that can occur with hashing algorithms in other modes (e.g., Balance-SLB).

Round RobinandBalance-SLBcan causepacket reordering, performance issues, and are not ideal for low-throughput links.

Prism Element Configuration Path:

Network Configuration > Host NIC Bonding Mode

Official Reference:

Nutanix Network Best Practices Guide – Edge Deployment Section

Excerpt: “For clusters using 1GbE uplinks, Active/Backup bond mode is recommended for high availability without complexity.”

Answer: B

The correct answer isB. Acropolis Dynamic Scheduling (ADS).

Acropolis Dynamic Scheduling (ADS)is a core component in Nutanix AOS responsible for:

Monitoring real-time resource utilization.

Identifying hotspotssuch as CPU/memory/storage contention.

Automatically initiatingVM migration (live)tobalance workloadsacross hosts in the cluster.

Clarification of Other Options:

A. Cerebro:Responsible for replication, snapshots, and consistency.

C. Chronos:Manages scheduling of distributed tasks (not resource balancing).

D. CVM:Hosts the AOS services butdoes not perform workload balancing.

Official Reference:

Nutanix Bible – Acropolis Dynamic Scheduling

Nutanix AOS Architecture Guide

Excerpt: “ADS monitors resource utilization across the cluster and performs live VM migrations to mitigate hotspots and balance performance.”

Shared storage for Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) is a use case for NutanixVolumes. Nutanix Volumes provides block storage (via iSCSI) to external systems, such as WSFC nodes, allowing them to share storage for failover clustering. This configuration is essential for high availability in Windows environments.

Other options:

Files: Provides file-based storage (NFS/SMB), not suited for WSFC shared block storage.

FT1 and RF2: Refer to Fault Tolerance and Redundancy Factor, not storage solutions.

Deduplication is most effective withfull clone VMsbecause it reduces redundant data blocks stored on the cluster. Full clone VMs often contain identical OS and application files, making them ideal candidates for deduplication, which optimizes storage usage and improves efficiency.

Other options:

Server workloads: May benefit from deduplication but not as significantly as full clone VMs.

Linked Clone VMs: Already share base disk images, so deduplication offers limited benefits.

Cold data: Deduplication is less effective for data that isn’t accessed frequently.