NCP-CI-AWS Sample Questions Answers

For a new NC2 on AWS deployment where workload VMs have low storage and memory requirements but high CPU frequency (>3.0 GHz) requirements, and the goal is to minimize the number of CPU cores to reduce application licensing costs, thei3.metalinstance type is the most suitable.

i3.metal:

High CPU Frequency: i3.metal instances offer high-frequency Intel Xeon processors (up to 3.1 GHz) which meet the high CPU frequency requirement.

Low Storage and Memory: These instances come with a balanced amount of storage and memory, suitable for workloads with low requirements in these areas.

Minimized CPU Cores: i3.metal instances have fewer CPU cores compared to other high-frequency instances like i4i.metal, making them ideal for minimizing application licensing costs.

Other Instance Types:

z1d.metal: While also offering high CPU frequency, these instances typically come with a higher core count and more memory, which may not be optimal for minimizing licensing costs.

i4i.metal: Designed for I/O intensive applications with higher core counts.

m5d.metal: Balanced instance type but with more cores and not as high CPU frequency as required.

References:

AWS EC2 Instance Types Documentation

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Administration Guide

Nutanix Best Practices for Instance Selection

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.

The 192.168.5.0/24 range is often reserved for internal cluster communication within Nutanix deployments.

Using this CIDR range for other purposes could lead to network conflicts and connectivity issues, as it might interfere with the internal operations and communication channels of the Nutanix cluster.

Ensuring that the CIDR range is not overlapping with any reserved ranges is crucial for maintaining proper network connectivity and cluster functionality.

References:Refer to the Nutanix documentation on network configuration and best practices for NC2 deployments to confirm reserved IP ranges and their appropriate use.

Upon creation, each node within an AWS NC2 cluster has3 Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS)volumes attached.

These volumes are used for different purposes, such as operating system storage, Nutanix services, and user data storage.

The number of EBS volumes is designed to ensure adequate storage performance and capacity for the NC2 cluster's operations and workload demands.

References:Refer to the Nutanix documentation on NC2 cluster setup and AWS EBS volume configurations to confirm the details on the number and purpose of EBS volumes attached to each node.

Cluster Protect in an NC2 environment can protect and recover the following services and their associated metadata:

VM Templates: Ensures that templates used for creating virtual machines are backed up and recoverable.

Files: Protects data stored in Nutanix Files, ensuring that file services are backed up and can be restored as needed.

References:

Nutanix Support & Insights

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Administration

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

The NC2 Tile within the my.nutanix.com portal is the correct interface to deploy NC2. This portal provides an integrated and user-friendly interface specifically designed for deploying and managing Nutanix Clusters on AWS.

NC2 Deployment Interface:

NC2 Tile within the my.nutanix.com portal: This portal provides the necessary tools and options to deploy and manage NC2 clusters. It includes functionalities for setting up the clusters, configuring network settings, and managing resources.

Advantages:

User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies the deployment process with a guided setup.

Integrated Tools: Provides access to all necessary tools for managing the deployment and monitoring of NC2 clusters.

References:

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Administration Guide

Nutanix my.nutanix.com Portal Documentation

Nutanix Best Practices for Cluster Deployment

For AOS software support related to NC2, the appropriate entity to contact is Nutanix. Nutanix provides comprehensive support for their software, including the Acropolis Operating System (AOS) used in NC2 deployments.

Support Scope:

Nutanix offers support for the deployment, configuration, and management of NC2 clusters, including any issues related to AOS software.

This includes troubleshooting, updates, and technical assistance.

Why Not Other Options:

Internal IT Operations team: Typically handles internal issues but does not have the specialized knowledge or resources for AOS software support.

Partner: May provide support but would ultimately escalate issues to Nutanix for software-specific concerns.

Public Cloud Vendor: Manages infrastructure-related issues but does not provide support for Nutanix AOS software.

References:

Nutanix Support Documentation

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Administration Guide

Nutanix Best Practices for AOS Support

For a VM to be accessible over the internet through a load balancer, the VM itself must have a public IP address.

In this case, the health check for the VM target is failing and the DNS returns a "NOT Found" message because web-1 does not have a public IP assigned.

Without a public IP, the load balancer cannot route traffic to web-1 from the internet.

Assigning a public IP to web-1 ensures that the VM can be accessed via the load balancer, resolving the connectivity issue.

References:Refer to the AWS documentation on network load balancers and public IP assignments, and Nutanix documentation on VM network configurations.

Given the company's large spend commitments as part of an AWS Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) totaling $15 million, purchasing Nutanix licenses through the AWS Marketplace ensures that the costs contribute to the EDP commitment.

This approach integrates the Nutanix license costs into the overall AWS spend, thereby maximizing the benefits of the EDP.

Purchasing directly from Nutanix or leveraging existing licenses might not count towards the AWS EDP commitment, and trial licenses are typically for evaluation purposes and do not contribute to the committed spend.

References:Refer to the Nutanix and AWS documentation on licensing and marketplace purchases, and EDP program details.

To create a cluster in Nutanix Cloud Integration with AWS, the role needed is Cluster Super Admin.

The Cluster Super Admin role provides the highest level of privileges required to perform critical operations such as creating, managing, and deleting clusters.

This role is essential for overseeing the cluster setup and configuration processes, ensuring the user has full control over the cluster lifecycle.

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

For a VM deployed in an NC2 cluster on AWS to be accessed by resources within the on-premises datacenter, the security group associated with the User VM (UVM) subnet must allow inbound traffic on the specific ports required by the application.

If the security group rules do not permit inbound traffic on these ports, the communication will fail, even if other network configurations are correct.

The administrator should ensure that the UVM Security Group includes rules to allow inbound traffic for the application's required ports, facilitating proper communication between the VM and on-premises resources.

References:Refer to the AWS documentation on security group configurations and Nutanix NC2 documentation for details on configuring network access and security group rules.

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

Gateway Endpoint:

A Gateway Endpoint in AWS allows you to connect to supported AWS services privately without going through the public internet. This setup provides secure and efficient connectivity directly from the corporate VPC to the required AWS services.

Gateway Endpoints support services such as Amazon S3 and DynamoDB and are ideal for scenarios where private connectivity to these services is needed.

References:Refer to the AWS documentation on VPC endpoints, specifically Gateway Endpoints, and the Nutanix documentation on configuring private connectivity for NC2 deployments.

To ensure that alert emails are sent properly from Prism Central within an NC2 environment, configuring an SMTP server in the Prism Central settings is required. The SMTP server facilitates the sending of email notifications for alerts and other communications.

SMTP Configuration:

Prism Central requires an SMTP server to send email alerts. This involves specifying the SMTP server address, port, and authentication details if needed.

The configuration must include the email address from which the alerts will be sent and the recipient addresses.

Steps to Configure SMTP Server in Prism Central:

Log in to Prism Central.

Navigate to the "Settings" menu.

Select "Email Server" under the "Alerts" section.

Enter the SMTP server details, including the server address, port, and authentication credentials.

Test the configuration to ensure emails are sent correctly.

References:

Nutanix Prism Central Administration Guide

Nutanix Support Documentation on Email Alert Configuration

Best Practices for Configuring SMTP Servers in Cloud Environments

For issues related to cloud hardware support such as EC2 instances, VPC, etc., the public cloud vendor (AWS in this case) should be contacted. AWS provides support and documentation for their infrastructure and services, ensuring that users can get assistance for any hardware or cloud-specific queries.

References:

Nutanix Support & Insights

To SSH into a Controller VM (CVM) in an NC2 on AWS cluster without on-premises connectivity, the administrator needs to ensure that the security settings allow SSH access from the Jump Host. This involves editing the User Management Network Security Group to permit SSH traffic from the Jump Host IP.

Deploy Jump Host:

Ensure the Jump Host is deployed in a public subnet with an Elastic IP (EIP) assigned for external access.

Edit User Management Network Security Group:

Locate the security group associated with the user management network.

Modify the inbound rules to allow SSH (port 22) from the Jump Host's IP address. This ensures that the Jump Host can establish an SSH connection to the CVM.

Steps to Edit Security Group:

Navigate to the EC2 dashboard in the AWS Management Console.

Select "Security Groups" under the "Network & Security" section.

Find and select the appropriate security group.

Edit the inbound rules to add a new rule:

Type: SSH

Protocol: TCP

Port Range: 22

Source: Custom IP (enter the Jump Host's public IP address)

Additional Configuration:

Ensure that the CVM itself allows SSH connections and that no internal firewall rules block the traffic.

References:

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Administration Guide

AWS Security Group Documentation

Nutanix Best Practices for Secure Access

To ensure that NC2 VMs can access AWS resources without traversing the internet, the administrator can use AWS VPC Peering and Interface Endpoints. Both methods ensure that traffic stays within the AWS network, maintaining security and efficiency.

Interface Endpoint:

Interface Endpoints allow you to privately connect your VPC to supported AWS services. They use AWS PrivateLink to route traffic directly to services within the AWS network, bypassing the public internet.

Steps:

Create an interface endpoint for the required service in the AWS VPC console.

Ensure the security groups and route tables are configured to allow traffic to the interface endpoint.

VPC Peering:

VPC Peering allows the routing of traffic between VPCs using private IP addresses, without the need for internet gateways, NAT devices, or VPN connections.

Steps:

Create a VPC peering connection between the VPCs.

Update the route tables to direct traffic between the peered VPCs.

Ensure security group rules allow the necessary traffic between VPCs.

References:

AWS VPC Peering Documentation

AWS Interface Endpoint Documentation

Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS Administration Guide

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.