Netapp NS0-185 NetApp Storage Installation Engineer - ONTAP Professional Exam Exam Practice Test

Service Event Reports require standardized installation and configuration data.NetAppDocsgenerates structured output reports specifically designed for SER creation, including hardware, cabling, and configuration details. Other tools do not produce SER-formatted documentation.

Mixing DS4243 and DS4246 shelves in the same stack is unsupported. New shelves must be added as a separate stack.

The exhibit represents aMetroCluster IPconfiguration, which uses Ethernet switches to provide redundant connectivity between sites. In this architecture, the Ethernet switches are responsible for transportingNVRAM replication traffic using iWARP (RDMA over TCP/IP). This enables synchronous replication of write logs between HA partners across sites.

Additionally, the switches supportSyncMirror replication, which maintains mirrored aggregates across sites to provide continuous data availability in the event of a site failure.

SnapMirror Synchronous and cluster management traffic do not use these switches directly in this configuration. Therefore, the correct answers areC and D.

Installing and assigning new disk shelves in a production ONTAP cluster requires careful planning and validation. Three NetApp tools directly support this task.

TheHardware Universeprovides authoritative hardware compatibility and cabling guidance. It confirms which shelves, disk types, and cabling methods are supported for the specific controller platform and HA configuration.

TheSynergy applicationis used during installation to generate structured workflows, configuration guidance, and documentation that assist with shelf installation and disk assignment planning.

Config Advisoris essential after installation to validate shelf cabling, disk visibility, ownership, and HA pathing. It detects misconfigurations that could prevent proper disk assignment or create unsupported states.

My AutoSupport is used for telemetry and case management, not installation tasks. System Setup is used for initial cluster creation, not advanced shelf assignment planning.

Thus, the correct tools areA, B, and C.

Alternate Control Path (ACP) is a recommended butoptionalfeature in ONTAP installations. Config Advisor flags ACP-related warnings when ACP is partially cabled or not detected, but this does not automatically place the system in an unsupported state.

NetApp installation policy requires that when customers choose not to deploy ACP, the decision must beexplicitly acknowledged and documented. This ensures the customer understands the operational implications and accepts responsibility for reduced out-of-band shelf management visibility.

Additionally, installation best practices require that this decision becommunicated to the sales team or account team. This ensures alignment across NetApp stakeholders and prevents future support disputes.

The system does not become unsupported solely because ACP is not used, provided the customer acknowledgment process is followed. Therefore, options implying an unsupported or nonfunctional state are incorrect.

The correct answers areB and C.

Secure multitenancy in ONTAP requires complete separation of network traffic, routing tables, and IP addressing.IPspacesprovide this level of isolation by creating independent network stacks within a single ONTAP cluster.

Failover groups, VLANs, and broadcast domains organize network paths but do not isolate routing domains. Only IPspaces ensure tenants cannot access each other’s network traffic.

Thus,IPspacesenable secure multitenancy.

In ONTAP SAN concepts, SAN LIFs (used for iSCSI, FC, NVMe/FC) behave differently from NAS LIFs. SAN access relies on multipathing at the host level, not LIF failover within the storage system. Because of this architectural design, SAN LIFs are configured with a failover policy of disabled.

When a SAN LIF goes offline, ONTAP does not move the LIF to another port. Instead, the host multipathing software (such as ALUA for iSCSI or FC multipath drivers) redirects I/O to another available path. This design ensures predictable path behavior and avoids unexpected changes that could confuse host multipathing logic.

Failover policies such as broadcast-domain-wide or local-only are valid only for NAS or management LIFs. The system-defined option is not a valid failover policy value.

Therefore, the only valid failover policy for a SAN LIF is disabled, making A the correct answer.

iSCSI usesIQNs (iSCSI Qualified Names)to identify initiators. When mapping LUNs for iSCSI access, ONTAP requires the initiator IQNs to create igroups and establish access control. WWNNs and WWPNs are used for Fibre Channel, not iSCSI.

Therefore, IQNs are required.

AFF systems are all-flash platforms that rely heavily onsoftware-based efficiency technologiesbuilt into ONTAP. Two such technologies areFlexClone volumesandthin provisioning.

FlexCloneenables instant, space-efficient copies of volumes or files without duplicating data blocks. This is especially useful for testing, development, backups, and rapid provisioning scenarios. On AFF systems, FlexClone operations are nearly instantaneous and incur minimal overhead.

Thin provisioningallows logical storage to be allocated without immediately consuming physical capacity. This ensures maximum utilization of flash storage and prevents over-provisioning, which is critical in all-flash environments.

Flash Pool and FlashCache are hybrid-storage technologies and are not applicable to AFF A400 systems, which do not use HDDs or PCIe read-cache modules.

Therefore, the correct answers areB and D.

The Cluster Switch Health Monitor (CSHM) is a diagnostic feature used to monitor the health and configuration of cluster network switches. As part of ONTAP SAN implementation testing and troubleshooting, CSHM relies on secure, authenticated communication between the cluster and the switches.

NetApp installation and operational documentation clearly specifies thatSSHmust be used for bothCSHM monitoring and log collection. SSH provides encrypted communication, authentication, and command execution capabilities that are required to securely access switch operating systems and retrieve diagnostic information.

Protocols such asTelnetandHTTPare not acceptable because they transmit data in clear text and do not meet NetApp security standards.SSLis not used for switch CLI access or log retrieval in the context of CSHM.

Using SSH ensures compliance with security best practices while enabling ONTAP to collect switch logs, execute health checks, and validate switch configuration state. This requirement is consistently reinforced in NetApp installation objectives as part of secure cluster infrastructure design.

Therefore, the correct answer isD (SSH).

As part of the ONTAP SAN solution assessment domain, NetApp defines strict rules governingcluster composition and scalability. ONTAP clusters support a maximum of24 nodes, and within that limit, clusters can includedifferent controller models, provided they are supported by the same ONTAP release and meet hardware compatibility requirements.

BothFAS8060andFAS8080controllers are supported within ONTAP clusters and can coexist in a single cluster configuration. NetApp installation documentation explicitly allows mixed-controller clusters as long as the controllers are compatible and running the same ONTAP version.

In this scenario, there are six total controllers available: three FAS8060 and three FAS8080. Since ONTAP supports heterogeneous clusters and there is no architectural limitation preventing all six controllers from participating, thelargest possible clusteris achieved by includingall six nodes.

Smaller cluster sizes—two, four, or five nodes—are technically valid but do not meet the requirement of providing thelargest possible cluster. The assessment objective focuses on maximizing usable resources while staying within supported configuration guidelines.

Additionally, ONTAP automatically manages performance balancing and high availability across mixed-controller clusters. Each node pair forms an HA pair, and ONTAP ensures consistent data access across the entire cluster fabric.

Therefore, the correct answer isD, a cluster made up of six nodes.

NetApp SAS cabling rules define port sequencing. The second stack uses9c and 1a, makingBcorrect.

Explanation (250–350 words):

ONTAP clusters support amaximum of 24 nodesper cluster. In this scenario, the cluster already hassix nodesrunning mixed NAS (NFS) and SAN (FCP) workloads. When expanding an ONTAP cluster, NetApp best practices and installation rules strongly recommend adding nodesin HA pairsto maintain balanced high availability, performance symmetry, and consistent failover behavior.

Because nodes must be added in pairs, the cluster can scale from six nodes to eight, ten, twelve, and so on, up to the 24-node limit. However, the question is asking how many nodeswould be added, not the maximum supported. The standard NetApp expansion model for a six-node cluster is to addanother three HA pairs, which equalssix additional nodes, bringing the cluster to twelve nodes.

Adding only two or four nodes would result in uneven scaling and is not the standard recommended growth pattern for clusters of this size. Adding eighteen nodes would exceed practical expansion planning for a six-node system and approach the cluster maximum without justification.

Therefore, the correct answer is6.

AutoSupport verification requires checking history and generating a test message. The history command confirms delivery, and invoke sends a test AutoSupport. Therefore,A and Dare correct.

This scenario is about iSCSI SAN path visibility after cluster expansion. ONTAP usesSelective LUN Map (SLM)concepts so that hosts do not automatically see every LUN through every node, which would create unnecessary paths. ONTAP documentation explains that with SLM, when a LUN map is created, the LUN is accessible through paths on the node that owns the LUN and its HA partner, and this behavior is controlled through thereporting-nodeslist.

If you wantadditional paths(including non-optimized paths) from newly added nodes, you must ensure the new nodes can be included in the reporting scope for those LUN mappings. ONTAP provides an explicit mechanism for this: the lun mapping add-reporting-nodes command is used before or after data mobility events to add nodes to the reporting-nodes list for a LUN mapping. This directly matches optionC (reporting nodes).

However, even if reporting-nodes is expanded, hosts only gain usable iSCSI access if the target LIFs are reachable/allowed. ONTAP documentation describes thatportsetscan be used with SLM to further restrict access, and when using SLM with portsets, LUNs are accessible on the set of LIFs included in the portset (on the owning node and its HA partner). Therefore, to “allow non-optimized paths from the AFF A250 nodes,” you must verify whether portsets are being used and that the appropriate new iSCSI LIFs are included (or that no restrictive portset blocks them). That makes optionA (port sets)the second correct configuration item.

Option B (switch zoning) applies to FC fabrics, not iSCSI. Option D (failover groups) affects NAS/management LIF failover behavior and does not control SAN LUN reporting visibility in the way SLM/reporting-nodes and portsets do.

NetApp hardware installation documentation strictly definessupported cable types and distancesfor Ethernet connectivity. For 40GbE connections using QSFP+ interfaces, NetApp supports both copper and optical cabling, each with specific distance limitations.

The exhibit shows supported copper cable options, including10-meter NetApp-supported copper cables, which exceed the current seven-meter requirement. Installing these supported cables is a valid and compliant solution.

Alternatively, the customer can change the requirement tooptical cables, which support significantly longer distances and are fully supported for AFF A400 40GbE connectivity. Optical cables are commonly used when distance exceeds passive copper limitations.

Relocating equipment is not required when supported cabling options exist. Changing “Ethernet cable requirements” generically is not a valid technical action.

Therefore, the correct answers areB and D.

Within the ONTAP SAN implementation testing and troubleshooting domain, NetApp places strong emphasis onpost-installation validation tools. One of the primary tools used immediately after installation isActive IQ Config Advisor.

Active IQ Config Advisor is designed specifically to validatehardware configuration, cabling, HA connectivity, and SAS topology. During post-installation checks, Config Advisor scans the system for configuration errors, miswired cables, unsupported connections, and SAS HA path issues. These checks are a mandatory part of NetApp installation best practices.

SAS HA issues, such as incorrect shelf cabling, missing redundant paths, or improper HA connections, are precisely the types of errors Config Advisor is designed to detect. It performs rule-based validation against NetApp-supported configurations and flags deviations before they result in operational problems.

By contrast,ONTAP System Managerdisplays events and alerts after the system is already operational, but it is not a post-installation validation tool.Cloud Manageris used for cloud-based storage management and is not applicable to on-premises AFF hardware validation.Active IQ Unified Managerfocuses on long-term monitoring, performance analytics, and capacity planning rather than installation-time hardware verification.

Because the errors were related toSAS HA issuesthat could have been detected immediately after installation, the correct tool isActive IQ Config Advisor.

Therefore, the correct answer isC.

During cluster setup, nodes usecluster interconnect LIFs, which are automatically assignedlink-local IP addresses in the 169.254.x.x range. Management IP addresses (192.168.x.x) are not used for node join operations.

The address169.254.212.198corresponds to node02’s cluster LIF and would therefore be used to join the cluster.

The root aggregate hosts system volumes such as vol0. Adding data volumes can negatively impact system operations, causing performance and stability issues.

AFF A250 systems use25GbE ports with breakout cablingfor cluster and HA traffic. When adding these nodes to switches running a standard Cluster-HA RCF, the switches must be updated to aCluster-HA-Breakout RCFto support breakout ports. The nodes must then be cabled to the breakout ports. Therefore,B and Dare correct.

After cluster setup, NetApp best practices require validating hardware, cabling, HA configuration, and system settings.Active IQ Config Advisoris the primary tool used for post-installation validation. It checks cabling correctness, HA pathing, disk ownership, network configuration, firmware versions, and other critical installation parameters.

The other tools listed are used for planning, documentation, or upgrades, not configuration validation.

For safe cluster switch replacement, ONTAP requires verification thatboth TCP and UDP connectivity are fully redundant and operational. The output confirms no paths are down, which validates resilience.

Verifying interoperability between ONTAP versions, storage platforms, host operating systems, protocols, and host utilities is a mandatory step in NetApp solution assessment and installation planning. TheInteroperability Matrix Tool (IMT)is the authoritative NetApp resource used to confirm whether a specific combination of components is supported.

In this scenario, the customer needs to verify thatONTAP 9.8is supported withWindows Server 2016on an AFF ASA A700 system. IMT allows administrators to search by storage OS version, platform model, host OS, protocol (iSCSI, FC, NVMe), and host utilities to ensure the configuration is supported.

ONTAP System Manager is used for system administration, not supportability validation. Active IQ Unified Manager focuses on monitoring and performance. Active IQ OneCollect is used for data collection, not compatibility verification.

Therefore, the correct tool is theInteroperability Matrix Tool.

In ONTAP, LIF failover target selection is controlled byfailover groupsandfailover policies. A key installation and validation concept is that ONTAP uses broadcast domains to simplify and automate failover-group membership. Specifically, ONTAP documents that when you create a broadcast domain, ONTAP automatically creates a failover group with the same name and manages it so that as ports are added or removed from the broadcast domain, they are also added or removed from the associated failover group.

Because of this coupling, if a LIF “moves to a port that is not expected,” the most direct and common cause is that thebroadcast domain contains ports that do not belong there(or ports that should be in a different broadcast domain/IPspace). When the original port goes down (for example, because you disabled the connected switch), ONTAP looks for eligible failover targets in the LIF’s assigned failover group. If the broadcast domain was defined too broadly or incorrectly, the failover group will also be too broad, and ONTAP may pick a port that appears valid per configuration but is “unexpected” from the design intent.

Option C (“There are no online ports within the same failover group”) would more commonly result inno valid failover target(and therefore an outage) rather than a clean migration to an unexpected port; ONTAP even warns that without a valid target, an outage occurs during failover verification. Option A is too generic and does not specifically explain why adifferentport becomes a valid target. Option D is not a typical ONTAP networking root cause for LIF migration behavior.

Therefore, the behavior is best explained by an incorrectly configured broadcast domain.

When adding new nodes to an existing ONTAP cluster, proper cabling to the cluster interconnect switches is mandatory. The cluster interconnect network is a dedicated, private network used exclusively for internal cluster communication such as configuration synchronization, data movement, and quorum maintenance.

In AFF A400 systems, the cluster interconnect ports are fixed high-speed Ethernet ports that are clearly identified and reserved for cluster connectivity. These ports are typically 25GbE or 40GbE depending on configuration and are grouped together physically on the controller chassis.

Referring to the exhibit, the ports labeled with number 2 correspond to the cluster interconnect ports. These are the only ports that must be connected to the cluster interconnect switches when adding nodes to an existing cluster. ONTAP requires that each node have redundant connections to both cluster switches to maintain high availability and cluster quorum.

Ports labeled as other numbers in the exhibit represent different functions, such as management ports, data ports, or shelf connectivity ports, none of which are valid for cluster interconnect cabling.

NetApp installation procedures emphasize that incorrectly cabling non-cluster ports to cluster switches can prevent nodes from joining the cluster or cause cluster instability. Therefore, identifying and using the correct cluster interconnect ports is a critical installation step.

As shown in the exhibit, number 2 clearly identifies the correct ports used to cable the new AFF A400 nodes into the existing cluster interconnect infrastructure.

From a hardware installation perspective, NetApp SAS shelves are designed to function witha minimum of one installed disk. While performance, redundancy, and aggregate creation require additional disks, the physical shelf itself does not mandate a minimum disk count beyond one for detection and operation.

This flexibility allows administrators to stage hardware installations or expand capacity incrementally. However, ONTAP best practices strongly recommend populating shelves in ways that support RAID protection and performance requirements.

Therefore, the minimum number of disks required in a SAS shelf isone, making optionBcorrect.

AFF A250 systems use aconverged networking design, where the same physical ports are used for bothcluster interconnect traffic and HA interconnect traffic. This differs from older platforms that used dedicated HA interconnect ports.

The NetApp CN1610 switches only support10GbE, which is insufficient for AFF A250 systems. AFF A250 platforms require25GbE-capable cluster switchesto support both cluster and HA interconnect traffic.

Because the cluster ports are operational, the nodes can join the cluster. However, the HA interconnect traffic cannot be established due to insufficient switch capability, which explains why the NVRAM log cannot synchronize and the HA partner is unreachable.

Therefore:

The AFF A250requires switches with 25GbE port support

The AFF A250uses the same ports for cluster and HA interconnect

Statements involving 40GbE or separate HA ports are incorrect.

The correct answers areC and D.

During post-installation and handover, NetApp provides diagnostic and guidance tools through the support dashboard. Two critical widgets used to identify and resolve issues areGuide MeandActive IQ.

Guide Meprovides step-by-step workflows, recommended actions, and guided troubleshooting based on system state. It helps administrators follow NetApp best practices during deployment, validation, and issue resolution.

Active IQdelivers proactive analytics, risk detection, configuration validation, and health insights. It identifies potential issues before they impact operations and provides corrective recommendations.

Contracts and Warranties is administrative, and ASE Corner is informational, not operational.

Thus, the correct answers areA and B.

Active IQ Digital Advisor provides telemetry analysis, predictive risk detection, and best-practice recommendations based on AutoSupport data. It is specifically designed for proactive monitoring and risk mitigation.

In environments without outbound internet access, cloud-based monitoring and analytics tools cannot be used. The customer requires alocally deployed solutionthat can perform health monitoring, troubleshooting, and capacity reporting, including the ability to generatecustom Excel reports.

Active IQ Unified Manager (AIQUM)is designed specifically for this use case. It is installed on a local server within the customer’s environment and connects directly to ONTAP clusters. AIQUM provides performance monitoring, capacity analysis, event management, and historical reporting without requiring external connectivity. It also supports exporting reports in formats suitable for Excel-based analysis.

Active IQ Digital Advisor and Cloud Insights both rely on outbound connectivity to NetApp cloud services, which is not available in this isolated data center. ONTAP System Manager provides real-time management and basic monitoring but lacks the advanced reporting, historical trending, and Excel export capabilities required by the customer.

Therefore,Active IQ Unified Manageris the only tool that satisfies all stated requirements.