NCP-CI-AWS Nutanix Certified Professional - Cloud Integration - AWS (NCP-CI-AWS6.7) Exam Questions and Answers

In Nutanix Cloud Integration with AWS, specifically version 6.7, the role that allows full access to clusters created within an organization is the Organization Administrator.

The Organization Administrator role has the highest level of privileges within an organization, enabling the user to manage all aspects of the clusters, including creation, modification, and deletion.

This role is designed to oversee and control the entire organization's resources, ensuring comprehensive management capabilities over all clusters and associated resources.

References:Refer to the Nutanix documentation on roles and permissions for NC2 on AWS for further details.

To resolve the IP conflict issue when an EC2 instance is powered on in a subnet also used by Nutanix NC2, the administrator should block or exclude the IP address used by the NC2 VM from being assigned to EC2 instances. This can be done by configuring the IP address management (IPAM) settings to ensure that the specific IP addresses allocated to the NC2 VMs are not used by EC2 instances, preventing IP conflicts and ensuring smooth operation of both environments.

References:

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Deployment Guide

Nutanix Support & Insights

To add an AWS account to the NC2 console, an AWS IAM user needs to be configured with the appropriate permissions to manage the EC2 resources. The required permission for the IAM user includes full access to manage EC2 instances, volumes, and related resources.

AmazonEC2FullAccess:

This permission grants full access to all EC2 resources, including the ability to create, modify, and delete instances, volumes, security groups, and more.

Essential for NC2 operations to manage the lifecycle of EC2 instances and associated components within the AWS environment.

Why Not Other Permissions:

IAMFullAccess: Grants full access to IAM resources but not specifically needed for EC2 operations.

IAMReadOnlyAccess: Only provides read access to IAM resources, insufficient for managing EC2 instances.

AmazonEC2ReadOnlyAccess: Provides read-only access to EC2 resources, insufficient for creating or modifying instances and other resources.

References:

AWS IAM Policies Documentation

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Administration Guide

Nutanix Best Practices for IAM User Permissions

When creating an NC2 cluster in AWS, the account used to run the CloudFormation script requires specific permissions to ensure the deployment is successful. The required permissions are:

IAMFullAccess: Provides full access to IAM resources.

AmazonEC2FullAccess: Allows full access to EC2 resources.

AWSCIoudFormationFullAccess: Grants full access to manage AWS CloudFormation stacks.

These permissions are necessary to create, manage, and deploy the required AWS resources for the NC2 cluster.

References:

Nutanix Support & Insights

AWS IAM Documentation

When creating a new NC2 cluster using an existing AWS VPC infrastructure, two private subnets are needed. These subnets are used as follows:

One private subnet for user VMs, which houses the virtual machines that users interact with.

Another private subnet for cluster management, which is used for internal cluster operations and management tasks, ensuring that management traffic is isolated from user traffic for security and performance reasons.

References:

Nutanix Support & Insights

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Administration

When deploying a new NC2 cluster, the AWS Directory Service must be able to resolve the addressgateway-external-api.cloud.nutanix.com.

This external API gateway is critical for the NC2 cluster to communicate with Nutanix services for operations such as management, updates, and licensing.

Ensuring that this address can be resolved allows the cluster to interact properly with the Nutanix cloud infrastructure and services.

References:Refer to the Nutanix documentation on network and DNS requirements for NC2 deployments, specifically the addresses that need to be resolvable for proper functionality.

To enable inbound internet access to Virtual Servers in an NC2 cluster on AWS for the HTTPS protocol, the administrator should use an AWS Network Load Balancer (NLB).

Configure the NLB listener to listen on TCP port 443, which is the standard port for HTTPS traffic.

Create a target group in AWS, and register the servers (Virtual Servers in the NC2 cluster) as targets within this group.

Ensure the NLB is properly configured with an Elastic IP (EIP) if required, to provide a static IP address for the load balancer.

Verify that the security groups and network ACLs associated with the load balancer and the target group allow inbound traffic on port 443.

References:Refer to AWS documentation on Network Load Balancers and Nutanix NC2 on AWS integration guides for step-by-step instructions on setting up and configuring the necessary components for enabling HTTPS access.

The exhibit shows two cloud accounts, one for Azure and one for AWS, with their statuses indicated. The AWS cloud account status is marked as "U" (which likely stands for "Unavailable" or "Unreachable"). This indicates that the AWS cloud account configuration is not properly connected or accessible.

Status Check:

The AWS cloud account is marked with an "U" status, meaning it is not active or accessible.

This status prevents the creation of an NC2 cluster because the necessary cloud resources cannot be allocated or managed without a proper connection.

Action:

The best course of action is to create a new cloud account in the organization. This involves setting up the cloud account details correctly and ensuring it is properly configured to communicate with Nutanix and AWS.

Steps to Create a New Cloud Account:

Log in to the Nutanix console.

Navigate to the "Organizations" section.

Select "Add Cloud Account" and provide the required AWS credentials and permissions.

Ensure the new cloud account is active and correctly configured.

References:

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Administration Guide

Nutanix Best Practices for Cloud Account Management

A valid CIDR range: A CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing) range is necessary for creating the subnets within the VPC. This range defines the IP address space for the cluster and its components.

A my.nutanix.com account: This account is required to access Nutanix services, including the NC2 console, manage licenses, and perform other administrative tasks.

AWS Direct Connect and an on-premises Prism Central environment are not prerequisites for deploying an NC2 on AWS cluster. While Direct Connect can be used for enhanced network performance and connectivity, it is not a requirement for deployment. Similarly, having an on-premises Prism Central environment is not mandatory for NC2 deployment on AWS.

References:Refer to the Nutanix documentation on NC2 prerequisites and setup guides, and AWS documentation on VPC and subnet creation.

In the NC2 console, an organization is used to segregate clusters based on specific requirements. This segregation allows administrators to manage clusters more effectively by grouping them according to business units, projects, or other criteria. This organizational structure helps in maintaining clear boundaries and applying specific policies or permissions to different clusters within the same NC2 environment.

References:

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Administration

Nutanix Certified Professional - Cloud Integration - AWS

For the NC2 cluster deployed in the North Virginia region (us-east-id), consuming IPs from the 10.78.2.0/24 range, the subnets configured within the same CIDR range of 10.78.0.0/16 will be recognized.

The subnetDR01 (10.78.2.0/24)is directly within the range of the deployed cluster.

The subnetL2stretch (10.19.101.0/24)is also configured in the NC2 AWS VPC, although not in the immediate range of the cluster, it may show up due to broader network configurations for stretched L2 operations.

SubnetsVDI (10.78.130.0/22)andDR02 (10.79.120.0/24), although part of the same VPC, are not directly within the immediate CIDR range or may not be recognized in this specific configuration scenario.

References:Refer to the Nutanix documentation on NC2 AWS VPC subnet configurations and Prism Element settings for detailed guidelines on network visibility and configuration.

Route tables for cloud subnets contain incorrect route entries:

If the route tables associated with the cloud subnets contain incorrect route entries, the NC2 cluster might not be able to reach the necessary AWS services or endpoints. Correct route entries are crucial for ensuring proper communication between the NC2 cluster and the underlying AWS infrastructure.

IAM roles and policies are incorrectly configured:

Incorrectly configured IAM roles and policies can prevent NC2 from making API calls to AWS services. These roles and policies must be properly set up to allow the necessary permissions for NC2 to interact with AWS resources and perform required operations.

References:Refer to the AWS documentation on route table configuration and IAM roles and policies, and Nutanix documentation on NC2 cloud connectivity and permissions.

To establish full connectivity between the company’s on-premises datacenter and the AWS cloud, the following AWS offerings will satisfy this requirement:

AWS VPN: This service allows you to create a secure connection between your on-premises network or other remote network and your AWS VPC using an IPsec VPN tunnel. It is suitable for low to moderate bandwidth requirements and provides secure, encrypted connections.

Direct Connect: AWS Direct Connect is a dedicated network connection from your premises to AWS. It provides a private, high-bandwidth, low-latency connection which is ideal for high-throughput applications and workloads that need consistent network performance.

References:

AWS VPN Documentation

AWS Direct Connect Documentation

When setting up a landing zone for Nutanix clusters on AWS, having only private subnets for cluster management and user VMs is not sufficient for full cluster functionality. Nutanix clusters often need to communicate with the internet for updates, patches, and other cloud services.

VPC Configuration:

The VPC already has two private subnets (one for cluster management and one for user VMs).

Additional Requirements:

To access public services like S3 or for the cluster nodes to reach Nutanix services for updates, a public subnet is essential.

Why Public Subnet for Internet Access?:

A public subnet allows resources within it to communicate directly with the internet, which is necessary for accessing Nutanix's update servers, applying patches, and other maintenance tasks.

This subnet typically includes an internet gateway, enabling instances in the public subnet to receive and send traffic directly to the internet.

References:

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Administration Guide

AWS Networking Best Practices

Nutanix Networking and Subnet Configuration Guidelines

To backup Prism Central configuration data to an Amazon S3 bucket, thepcdr-clicommand with theprotectparameter is used. This parameter is specifically designed for creating protection policies and backing up Prism Central data.

References:

Nutanix Prism Central Documentation

Nutanix pcdr-cli Command Reference

To support Nutanix's native Local Key Manager (LKM) for data encryption in a cost-effective manner, a minimum of three nodes is required. This ensures that there is enough redundancy and reliability for the encryption services to function properly, complying with best practices for distributed key management.

References:

Nutanix Support & Insights

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Administration

AHV (Answer A):

AHV (Acropolis Hypervisor) can be upgraded using Lifecycle Manager (LCM). LCM simplifies the upgrade process and ensures that all components are updated in a coordinated manner.

BIOS (Answer C):

BIOS upgrades can also be performed using LCM. This helps in maintaining hardware compatibility and performance by ensuring that the latest firmware is installed.

References:

Nutanix Lifecycle Manager (LCM) Documentation

Nutanix AHV Upgrade Guide

Nutanix BIOS Upgrade Documentation

When performing a migration from an NC2 environment to a Nutanix on-premises environment, the task should be performed using the NC2 Prism Central. This is because NC2 Prism Central provides a centralized management interface that allows administrators to manage and migrate workloads between cloud and on-premises environments seamlessly.

References:

Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) Documentation

Nutanix Community Guide

After the NC2 free trial expires, to continue using all features of NC2 on existing clusters, the administrator needs to switch to a paid subscription plan.

A paid subscription ensures uninterrupted access to the full range of features and support for NC2 clusters.

Without switching to a paid plan, the features might be limited, and support may not be available, impacting the cluster's operations and management.

References:Refer to the Nutanix billing and subscription documentation for details on switching from a trial to a paid plan and the benefits associated with paid subscriptions.