Pass the Nutanix Certified Professional (NCP) NCP-MCA Questions and answers with Dumpstech

To automate the provisioning of a VM and the subsequent application installation within a Nutanix Self-Service (Calm) Blueprint, the administrator must configure a Service.

The definition of a Service in a blueprint involves three distinct components to achieve this requirement:

VM Resource:Configuring the underlying infrastructure specifications (vCPUs, Memory, Disks).

Guest Customization:Configuring Cloud-init (Linux) or Sysprep (Windows) to handle the initial OS bootstrap (hostname, user creation).

Tasks (Package Install):Adding a script task (e.g., Shell or PowerShell) under the "Service Installation" action or a dedicated Package install step. This task executesafterthe VM is provisioned and running to install the web server application.

To automate a notification based on a specific change in the environment (such as a VM powering off), the administrator should leverageIntelligent Operations (X-Play)by creating an event-driven Playbook.

Event Trigger:The "VM Power Off" or "Power State Change" is a system-generatedEvent. X-Play allows administrators to select this specific event as aTrigger. This ensures the automation runs in real-time immediately when the state change occurs, rather than waiting for a schedule (as in Option A).

Action (Slack):X-Play includes a nativeSlackaction (or "Send to Slack"). The administrator configures this action with the Slack Webhook URL and the desired message content.

Why not others?

Option Ais reactive and delayed (polling every 6 hours).

Option Bonly runs once during the initial deployment of the blueprint, not continuously during the VM's lifecycle.

Option Csuggests a Webhook trigger, which requires anexternalsystem to invoke the Playbook. Here, the event originatesinternallywithin Nutanix, so an Event Trigger is the correct choice.

To create or configure aCustom Providerin Nutanix Self-Service (Calm), the administrator typically defines the provider's schema (endpoints, variables, and actions) using theSelf-Service DSL(Domain Specific Language) or by constructing a definition file.

YAML Definition:The standard workflow for creating complex custom providers involves defining the provider logic in Python (via the DSL) and compiling it into aYAMLfile, or writing the YAML definition directly.

Import/Update:This YAML file is then uploaded to the Self-Service interface to create or update the Provider definition. This allows the administrator to extend Self-Service capabilities to any infrastructure or service that has an API, beyond the native supported providers.

Note:While the question option phrasing ("Update the blueprint...") may be imprecise, the action of uploading aYAML fileis the specific mechanism associated with defining Custom Providers and DSL-based constructs in Nutanix Self-Service.

To automate a remediation action (like restarting a VM) based on a specific performance threshold (like CPU usage > 90%), the administrator must useIntelligent Operations (X-Play)with an event-driven trigger.

Alert-Based Trigger:The administrator first ensures there is an Alert Policy in Prism Central for "VM High CPU" configured with a threshold of 90%.

Playbook Configuration:The administrator then creates a Playbook and selects theAlerttrigger (orAlerts Matching Criteriatrigger). They link this trigger to the specific CPU alert policy.

Action:The administrator adds theVM Reboot(or Power Cycle) action to the Playbook.

Result:As soon as the system detects the CPU exceeding 90%, the Alert fires, which immediately triggers the Playbook to reboot the VM without human intervention.

Options A (Scheduled) and C (Manual) do not meet the requirement of "whenever it exceeds," which implies real-time reaction. Option B is incorrect because Project Quotas manage resource allocation limits, not runtime performance monitoring or remediation.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation

Self-Service platform sync allows Prism Central to periodically collect updates from external providers.

Nutanix documentation states that the providers supportingplatform sync with a 20-minute update windoware:

Nutanix (AHV)

VMware (vSphere)

AWS

These environments support the metadata collection necessary for tracking:

IP changes

Disk resizing

VM availability

Thus, the valid set isNutanix, VMware, and AWS, makingOption Ccorrect.

Nutanix Calm documentation states thatApplication Profiles (App Profiles)define:

Default variable values

Deployment targets (cluster, subnet, environment)

Runtime configuration differences across environments

App Profiles act aslogical deployment configurationswithin a blueprint, allowing the same blueprint to be deployed differently across staging, test, or production environments.

Thus, the correct answer isC. App Profiles.

In Nutanix Intelligent Operations (X-Play), a Playbook action can have a status of"Skipped"in the execution history. This status is specific and distinct from "Failed."

Conditional Execution:Administrators can configureConditionson individual Playbook actions (e.g., "Only run this step if the Alert Severity == Critical" or "Only if entity name contains 'Prod'").

The Cause:If the Playbook triggers successfully but the specific criteria for the notification step are not met during execution, X-Playskipsthat specific action while effectively completing the Playbook run.

If the service were down (Option B) or the configuration invalid (Option A), the step would typically report a"Failed"status, not "Skipped."

For users to successfully deploy Marketplace Blueprints to a specific infrastructure, the Project must have a configuredEnvironment.

The Gap:Merely adding the Account and whitelisting the Cluster in the Project settings (the "Infrastructure" tab) onlyauthorizesaccess. It does not tell the Self-Service enginehowto use that infrastructure (e.g., which Networks to attach, which Storage Containers to use, or what sizing policies to apply).

The Solution:The administrator must go to theEnvironmentstab within the Project andCreate a New Environmentmapped to the new Account and Cluster.

Marketplace Logic:Marketplace blueprints are typically "Environment Agnostic." When a user launches one, they are prompted to select a destination Environment. If no Environment exists for the new cluster, the user cannot select it as a target for deployment.

TheLibrary(specifically theTask Library) is the designated repository in Nutanix Self-Service for creating and managing reusable automation building blocks.

Task Library:This feature allows administrators to define discrete tasks (such as Shell scripts, PowerShell scripts, HTTP requests, or Python scripts) once and store them centrally.

Reusability:These tasks serve as fundamental "building blocks" because they can be imported into multiple Blueprints and Runbooks across different Projects.

Differentiation:

Tasks (Option C):While "Tasks" are the actual units of work, the question askswherethey are created for the purpose of establishing them as foundational, reusable blocks. They are createdin the Library.

Projects (Option B):Projects are logical containers for users, quotas, and environments, not the repository for reusable script definitions.

Thus, theLibraryis the correct location for creating shared automation assets.

Nutanix Data Protection (Leap) and Flow Security policies rely on Categories to dynamically assign policies to entities.6

In this scenario, the administrator likely set up the Protection Policy to target the Protection: Silver category (standard practice for tiered Service Level Agreements, e.g., Gold, Silver, Bronze). While Environment: Prod is used for the Security Policy (isolation), the Protection Policy specifically requires the protection category to function as intended in a tiered architecture.

If the blueprint (Marketplace item) only assigned Environment: Prod, the VM is missing the critical tag (Protection: Silver) required to associate it with the 1-hour snapshot schedule. To fix this, the blueprint must be updated to assignbothcategories (Environment: Prod AND Protection: Silver) to the VM during provisioning.