NCA 7.5: Nutanix Certified Associate Practice Exam

What the NCA 7.5 exam covers

• Recognize Nutanix Solutions and Tools163 questions
• Describe Nutanix Platform Administration245 questions
• Describe Cluster Configuration and Maintenance178 questions
• Demonstrate Platform Health and Monitoring149 questions

Free NCA 7.5 practice test questions

A sample of 10 questions with answers and explanations. Sign up free to practice all 735.

1. Question 1Recognize Nutanix Solutions and Tools

   A company is replacing aging hardware that consists of separate rack-mounted servers, a Fibre Channel SAN, and dedicated SAN switches. They want a single solution that combines compute and storage into one appliance to reduce complexity. Which type of infrastructure does Nutanix provide to meet this goal?

   • ATraditional 3-tier infrastructure
   • BHyperconverged infrastructure (HCI)Correct
   • CConverged infrastructure with a dedicated SAN
   • DBare-metal infrastructure without virtualization
   ✓ Correct answer: B

   Nutanix hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) integrates compute, storage, and virtualization into software running on standard x86 nodes that cluster together, collapsing the separate server, SAN, and SAN-switch layers the company wants to retire. The Distributed Storage Fabric pools each node's local drives into one shared storage resource for the whole cluster, so no external array or Fibre Channel fabric is needed. That pooling is exactly what removes the complexity being replaced.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • ATraditional 3-tier infrastructure is what the company already has and wants to replace, not the solution.
   • CConverged infrastructure still keeps a dedicated external SAN instead of pooling storage inside the nodes.
   • DBare-metal infrastructure without virtualization skips the hypervisor layer that Nutanix HCI depends on.
2. Question 2Recognize Nutanix Solutions and Tools

   A new Nutanix cluster has just been deployed and its built-in management interface is reachable using the cluster virtual IP. An administrator can log in and manage that single cluster's VMs, storage, and hardware. Which interface is being described?

   • APrism Central
   • BPrism ElementCorrect
   • CInsights
   • DNCM Self-Service
   ✓ Correct answer: B

   Prism Element is the management interface that is built into every Nutanix cluster and runs on the cluster's Controller VMs, accessible through the cluster virtual IP. It is used to manage the resources of that single cluster, including its VMs, storage containers, and hardware. Prism Element is available immediately after a cluster is created and requires no additional deployment.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • APrism Central is a separate management appliance that must be deployed or downloaded and then has clusters registered to it; it is not built into each cluster by default.
   • CInsights is the analytics and entity database backend, not the primary single-cluster management interface an administrator logs into.
   • DNCM Self-Service, formerly Calm, is the application orchestration and self-service layer that runs on Prism Central, not the built-in single-cluster interface.
3. Question 3Describe Nutanix Platform Administration

   A Windows administrator boots a newly created VM on AHV from a Windows installation ISO, but the installer reports that no hard disk can be found. The VM was configured with a SCSI virtual disk. What is the MOST likely cause and remedy?

   • AThe installer lacks VirtIO SCSI drivers; load the Nutanix VirtIO driver ISOCorrect
   • BThe cluster has completely run out of storage capacity
   • CLive migration must first be enabled before the disk will appear
   • DNGT must finish installing before the disk becomes visible
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   Windows installation media does not include the Nutanix VirtIO paravirtualized SCSI driver, so the setup program cannot see a disk attached to the VirtIO SCSI controller. The fix is to attach the Nutanix VirtIO driver ISO and use Load driver in Windows setup to load the storage driver, after which the SCSI disk becomes visible and installation continues. A missing in-box driver, not a storage problem, causes this.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BRunning out of cluster storage would not appear as a missing disk during setup, since the virtual disk was already provisioned.
   • CLive migration only affects VM mobility between hosts and has no effect on disk detection during installation.
   • DNGT installs only after the OS is already running, so it cannot be the cause of an undetected disk during setup.
4. Question 4Describe Nutanix Platform Administration

   On an AHV host with multiple physical NICs, the administrator wants the host's uplink to use more than one NIC for redundancy within the default virtual switch. What aggregates these physical NICs into a single logical uplink for the OVS bridge?

   • AAn uplink bondCorrect
   • BA protection domain
   • CA storage container
   • DA VM category
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   Within an AHV virtual switch, the physical NICs that connect a host to the upstream switches are grouped into an uplink bond, which presents them as a single logical uplink to the OVS bridge. The bond provides redundancy so that if one NIC or upstream link fails, traffic continues on the remaining members. The bond's load-balancing mode, such as active-backup, balance-slb, or balance-tcp (LACP), determines how traffic is distributed across the member NICs.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BA protection domain is a data protection construct for snapshots and replication and has no role in uplink redundancy.
   • CA storage container is a logical storage pool subdivision and is unrelated to physical NIC aggregation.
   • DA VM category is a tag used for policy and grouping, not a mechanism for combining physical NICs.
5. Question 5Demonstrate Platform Health and Monitoring

   An administrator wants NCC health checks to execute automatically on a recurring basis without manual intervention. What capability supports this?

   • ANCC supports scheduling so checks run automatically at defined intervalsCorrect
   • BNCC can only ever be run manually from a CVM
   • CNCC checks run only during an AOS upgrade
   • DNCC requires a third-party automation tool to schedule any checks
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   NCC includes built-in scheduling so health checks execute automatically at regular intervals, with the cluster continuously evaluating health and raising alerts when checks fail. This automated, ongoing checking is what allows Prism to surface health status and alerts without an administrator manually launching run_all each time. Administrators can still run checks on demand, but scheduled execution provides continuous monitoring. Native scheduling is built into NCC and needs no external tooling.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BClaiming NCC can only ever be run manually from a CVM ignores its built-in scheduled and automated checking capability.
   • CClaiming NCC checks run only during an AOS upgrade is incorrect, since health checks run continuously and on demand independent of upgrades.
   • DClaiming NCC requires a third-party automation tool is wrong, because scheduling is native to the NCC framework.
6. Question 6Describe Nutanix Platform Administration

   An administrator wants to give a third-party monitoring tool programmatic read access to cluster metrics and entities without using the Prism web UI. Which Prism capability best supports this?

   • AThe Prism REST APICorrect
   • BThe Launch Console button
   • CThe Hardware Diagram tab
   • DThe Capacity Runway widget
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   Both Prism Element and Prism Central provide a documented REST API that returns JSON data for VMs, hosts, storage, alerts, and performance metrics. Monitoring and automation tools authenticate to this API to query data without using the graphical interface. The other options are UI features that require a human in the browser.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BLaunch Console opens an interactive VM console in the browser and is not a programmatic data interface.
   • CThe Hardware Diagram tab is a visual UI element for viewing node/disk layout, not an API.
   • DThe Capacity Runway widget displays a forecast in the dashboard and is not a programmatic interface.
7. Question 7Describe Nutanix Platform Administration

   An administrator wants to create a reusable golden image for deploying many identical Windows VMs on AHV. After preparing and generalizing the source VM, what should be uploaded to the Image Service for reuse?

   • AThe prepared VM's vDisk as a DISK imageCorrect
   • BThe VM's guest memory dump file
   • CA copy of the AHV host configuration
   • DThe cluster's Prism Central database
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   The Nutanix Image Service stores ISO and DISK images; a generalized golden vDisk uploaded as a DISK image can be cloned into new VMs, ensuring each deployment starts from the same prepared baseline. This speeds up provisioning of identical VMs.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BA memory dump is diagnostic data, not a deployable disk image.
   • CHost configuration cannot be used to provision guest VMs.
   • DThe Prism Central database is management metadata, not a VM template image.
8. Question 8Describe Cluster Configuration and Maintenance

   An administrator created a Protection Domain schedule that keeps 4 local snapshots and replicates to a remote site keeping 7 snapshots. After several days, how many snapshots will typically be retained at each location?

   • A4 locally and 7 remotely, since each site's retention is independentCorrect
   • B7 at both sites, because the higher retention always wins
   • C4 at both sites, because local retention overrides remote
   • DUnlimited at both sites until storage capacity fills
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   A Protection Domain schedule lets you specify retention separately for the local cluster and each remote site. This allows keeping fewer snapshots locally (for quick recovery) and more at the DR site (for longer-term recovery), so each location enforces its own count and prunes the oldest snapshots beyond it.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BRetention is per-location; the remote value does not override the local value.
   • CLocal retention does not override remote retention; each is independent.
   • DRetention policies actively prune old snapshots; they are not unlimited.
9. Question 9Demonstrate Platform Health and Monitoring

   An administrator wants Prism Central to automatically generate and email a periodic summary of cluster capacity and utilization to management. Which feature should be used?

   • AScheduled Reports in Prism CentralCorrect
   • BA Protection Domain schedule
   • CAn NCC health check
   • DAn LCM inventory
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   Prism Central can build reports from cluster and capacity data and schedule them to run and be emailed on a recurring basis, giving stakeholders regular summaries without manual effort. This is distinct from operational checks or data-protection schedules.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BA Protection Domain schedule automates snapshots/replication, not management reports.
   • CAn NCC health check validates cluster health; it does not produce scheduled capacity reports.
   • DAn LCM inventory discovers available updates and does not generate reports.
10. Question 10Describe Nutanix Platform AdministrationSelect all that apply

    Which TWO of the following VM actions can be performed on an AHV VM while it remains powered on? (Choose TWO)

    • AIncreasing an existing virtual disk's sizeCorrect
    • BLive migrating the VM to another AHV hostCorrect
    • CChanging the VM's boot firmware from Legacy BIOS to UEFI
    • DConverting an existing disk's bus type from IDE to SCSI
    • ERemoving the CVM role from the underlying host
    ✓ Correct answer: A, B

    Both increasing an existing disk's size and live migrating the VM to a different AHV host can be done while the VM stays powered on and running. Changing boot firmware type or an existing disk's bus type requires the VM to be powered off, and removing a CVM's role is a cluster-level maintenance action, not a routine VM operation.

    Why the other options are wrong

    • CChanging boot firmware type requires the VM to be powered off first.
    • DChanging an existing disk's bus type requires the VM to be powered off first.
    • ERemoving a CVM role is a disruptive cluster maintenance action, not something performed casually alongside VM management.

Who this NCA 7.5 practice exam is for

This practice set is for anyone preparing for the NCA 7.5: Nutanix Certified Associate exam at the foundational level - from first-time candidates building a foundation to experienced Nutanix practitioners doing a final review before test day. If you learn best by working through realistic questions and reading why each answer is right or wrong, it is built for you.

How to use this NCA 7.5 practice exam

1. Start with the free sample questions above to gauge your current baseline.
2. Read the full explanation on every question, including why each wrong option is wrong.
3. Track your weak domains and focus your study where you are losing the most marks.
4. Once you are scoring consistently well, take a timed, full-length mock exam.
5. Use your readiness score to decide when you are ready to book the real NCA 7.5 exam.

Related Nutanix resources

• NCA 7.5 study guideKey concepts
• Nutanix practice examsAll Nutanix
• Certification pathWhere this fits
• Certification exam guides & tipsBlog
• Plans & pricingFree & paid
• How these questions are written and reviewedMethodology
• Report a problem with a questionCorrections
• NCM-MCI 6.10 practice examRelated
• NCP-CN 6.10 practice examRelated
• NCP-MCI 7.5 practice examRelated

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