Nutanix NCP-MCA Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA 6.10) Exam Exam Practice Test

When a Blueprint is designed to trigger external automation (like a Playbook via Webhook or API) or perform post-deployment actions (like applying categories via script), these actions must be explicitly defined asTaskswithin the Blueprint's lifecycle.

The Symptom:The VM provisioning (Substrate) succeeded, but the subsequent logic (Categories/Notifications) failed to happen.

The Cause:In Self-Service, simply creating a Blueprint does not automatically link it to an Intelligent Operations Playbook. The developer must add a specific task (e.g., an HTTP Request task targeting the Playbook trigger, or a specific "Execute Playbook" action) to theService Profile(specifically the Post-Create or Create phase).

If this task is missing, disabled, or misconfigured (e.g., wrong URL or payload), the VM will deploy, but the call to the Playbook will never occur, resulting in missing categories and notifications.

Option A is incorrect because deployment would not start at all without a Project. Option D is incorrect because Playbooks are not published to the Marketplace (Blueprints are).

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation

When configuring aSelf-Service Account for AWS, Prism Central must be able to:

Resolve AWS service endpoint URLs

Validate API calls via name-based resolution

Nutanix documentation specifies thatDNS is requiredfor all cloud-provider integrations, including AWS, Azure, and GCP.

Therefore,DNSis the required network element.

Correct answer:B

In Nutanix Self-Service (Calm), Macros are used to reference variables and properties dynamically using the syntax @@{Entity.Attribute}@@.

Servicesare a primary supported entity for macros. You can reference properties of other services within the same application blueprint. For example, a web server service might need the IP address of a database service. This can be achieved using a macro like @@{Database_Service.address}@@. This allows for dynamic orchestration where values are populated at runtime based on the actual deployment details of the Service entity.

When a Playbook fails to fire despite an Alert occurring, the most common and "likely" cause is a mismatch in theTriggerconfiguration logic.

Trigger Precision:X-Play Triggers are precise. If the administrator selected theAlerttrigger, they must select asingle specificAlert Policy (e.g., "Host High Memory"). If the high-severity alert that occurred was "VM High Memory" (a different policy), the Playbook will not trigger, even if both are "High Severity."

Alerts Matching Criteria:To coverallhigh-severity alerts, the administrator must use theAlerts Matching Criteriatrigger and filter by Severity == Critical. If they used the specific "Alert" trigger or configured the criteria incorrectly (e.g., wrong entity type), the system is "working as implemented" (ignoring non-matching events), but the logic does not match the user's intent.

Autopilot (Option C):While X-Play has an Autopilot feature for KPI optimization, it is not a mandatory requirement for standard alert-based remediation playbooks to function.

The image typically shows the distinction between the "Alert" trigger (Select one policy) and "Alerts Matching Criteria" trigger (Select filters like Severity/Entity), illustrating how a configuration error here leads to the issue described in Question 40.

The most efficient and scalable method for managing user access in Nutanix Self-Service Projects is leveraging existing Identity Providers (such as Active Directory).

Add an Active Directory group to a role:When adding users to a Project, the administrator can select an entireDirectory Group(AD Group) and assign a specific Project Role (e.g., Developer, Consumer, Operator) to that group.

Result:All users currently in that AD group, and any users added to that AD group in the future, automatically inherit the assigned Project Role. This eliminates the need to manually manage individual user accounts (Option D) or maintain separate local groups (Option A) within Prism Central.

To satisfy the requirement of acting on alerts based on specific properties (such as Severity levels: Info or Warning) rather than just the alert policy itself, the administrator must use the Alerts Matching Criteria trigger.

In Nutanix Intelligent Operations (X-Play), there are two primary alert triggers:

Alert Trigger:This triggers a playbook when aspecificAlert Policy is generated (e.g., "Host Down"). It applies to all instances of that policy regardless of severity, unless the policy itself is severity-specific.

Alerts Matching Criteria:This trigger allows the administrator to define a playbook that fires onany alert matching specified criteria. Configurable criteria includeSeverity(Critical, Warning, Info),Impact Type,Target Entity, andAlert Policy.

By creating a playbook with theAlerts Matching Criteriatrigger, the administrator can specifically selectSeverity: InfoandSeverity: Warningand filter for theNGT Alert Policy. The action "Acknowledge Alert" can then be added. This ensures that only non-critical NGT alerts are auto-acknowledged, while Critical NGT alerts (which do not match the criteria) continue to notify the administrator.

To provide users with access to Nutanix Self-Service (formerly Calm), an administrator must configure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) within the context of a Project.

Access to Self-Service is not global; it is defined at the Project level.1An administrator must:

Add the user (or their Active Directory group) to a Project.

Assign a Roleto that user within the project.

Project Admin:Full control over the project.2

Developer:Can create blueprints and applications.

Consumer:Can only launch blueprints available in the Marketplace.3

Operator:Can perform day-2 operations on existing applications.4

Without an assigned role in a project, a user cannot access the Self-Service portal features or view any blueprints.

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.

In Nutanix Self-Service Runbooks, tasks that execute scripts (such as Shell for Linux or PowerShell for Windows) require a target destination. This target is defined as an Endpoint.

AnEndpointconfigures the connection details (IP address, port, connection protocol, and credentials) required to communicate with the remote machine where the script will run. Without selecting a valid Endpoint, the Runbook engine does not know where to send the script for execution.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation

Blueprint tasks in Calm run at specificlifecycle stages:

Pre-create→ Tasks executedbeforeVM creation

Post-create→ Tasks executedafterVM creation butbefore power-on

Pre-delete→ Tasks executed before VM deletion

Post-delete→ Tasks executed after removal

Nutanix documentation states:

Actions that must occurbetween VM provisioning and first power-onshould be added to thePre-createorPost-createstage depending on their dependency.

AD OU assignment requires the VM to exist in inventory butbefore power-on, which aligns with:

✔Pre-create– This is used to configure environment-specific metadata, directory placement, and provisioning adjustmentsprior to initial VM startup.

Correct answer:B

In Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) Intelligent Operations (formerly Prism Pro/X-Play), the primary method for troubleshooting and validating Playbook behavior is through the Plays view in Prism Central.

When a Playbook is reported as not executing as expected, the administrator must examine thePlaystab (Execution History). This view provides a detailed log of all playbook activity, including:

Status:Whether the playbook succeeded, failed, or is in progress.

Trigger Details:Information regarding what specific event or alert triggered the playbook. If the playbook is not running at all, the administrator needs to verify if the "Idle VM" trigger conditions (e.g., CPU usage threshold, duration) are actually being met by the VMs in question.

Step-by-Step Execution:If the playbook triggered but failed during execution, the history details exactly which step failed and provides error messages (e.g., permission issues or API failures).

Options such as rebooting Prism Central or increasing quotas do not address the need to diagnose why specific automation logic failed to fire or complete. Modifying the execution context is a potential fix onlyafterthe execution history reveals a permission error, but checking the history is the mandatory first step to validate the configuration.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation

Nutanix Calm supports OS customization throughGuest Customization, which:

AppliesSysprepfor Windows

Injects configuration files

Sets hostnames, time zones, networking, and more

Runs scripts post-deployment

Sysprep is specifically executed duringWindows Guest Customization.

Therefore,Option C: Guest Customizationis correct.

To troubleshoot why a post-deployment automation workflow (Playbook) is not executing, the administrator should investigate the specific execution records and the trigger configuration:

Check Playbook Execution History (C):The Playbook "Plays" or execution history (found in the Intelligent Operations or Self-Service Audit tab depending on the specific type of playbook used) provides the definitive record of whether the system attempted to run the automation. If the playbook appears in the history with a "Failed" status, the logs will indicate which specific step (e.g., HTTP task or API call) failed. If it does not appear at all, the issue lies in the trigger.

Verify Invocation (D):If the playbook is intended to run "post-deployment," it must be explicitly triggered.

ForX-Play Playbooks, this involves verifying theTriggerlogic (e.g., ensuring the "VM Created" event filter matches the specific Project Categories assigned to the new VMs).

ForSelf-Service (Calm) Runbooks, this involves verifying that the blueprint's "Post-Create" or "Profile" actions are correctly configured to call the Runbook.

Confirming these settings ensures the automation is properly "hooked" into the deployment lifecycle.

Reviewing VM creation logs in Prism Element (Option B) only confirms the VM was built (which is already known), and reassigning the project (Option A) is a destructive test that does not isolate the automation logic.

TheeScript(embedded script) module in Nutanix Self-Service (Calm) utilizesPythonas its scripting engine.

Version Standard:As of recent versions (specifically post-3.8.0), support for Python 2 has been deprecated and revoked. The system exclusively supportsPython 3for all new eScript tasks in Blueprints and Runbooks.

Context:While eScripts run in a containerized environment that processes the script logic, Python 3 is the mandatory syntax and runtime environment for these tasks.

PowerShell (A):Supported as a separate task type ("PowerShell"), not as the language for the "eScript" task type.

The image typically shows the Task Editor window where "Type" is selected as "eScript" and the script editor pane clearly displays "Python 3" as the script type syntax highlighter.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation

Nutanix Calm documentation states:

TheBlueprint Editoris the graphical interface used to design, visualize, and modify a blueprint’s components, such as services, packages, substrates, dependencies, and tasks.

The editor provides avisual topologyof the multi-tier application.

Thus, the correct answer isC. Blueprint Editor.

In Nutanix Self-Service (formerly Calm),Macrosare used to reference variables within scripts, task definitions, and configurations. The documented syntax for all macros requires the variable name to be enclosed within double "at" symbols and curly braces.

Syntax:@@{variable_name}@@

Usage:This format is used for both user-defined variables (e.g., @@{db_password}@@) and built-in system macros (e.g., @@{address}@@, @@{calm_time}@@, @@{calm_project_name}@@).

Evaluation:When the Self-Service engine executes a task, it parses the string, identifies the pattern @@{...}@@, and substitutes it with the actual value of the variable from the current context before sending the script to the target machine.

In Nutanix Self-Service (Calm), the Marketplace Manager is the specific administrative view used to govern the publication of blueprints.

When a developer submits a blueprint for publication, it enters a "Pending Approval" state. An administrator must access theMarketplace Manager, navigate to theApproval Pendingtab, and explicitly approve the blueprint. Only after this approval does the blueprint become visible to end-users in the standard Marketplace.

"Approval Policies" (Option C) refer to runtime restrictions (e.g., requiring approval toprovisiona VM), not the pre-publication governance of the blueprint design itself.

AProjectin Nutanix Self-Service (formerly Calm) acts as a logical container that defines the scope of operations for a group of users.

Primary Capability:The core purpose of a Project, once Self-Service is enabled, is to allow the users assigned to that project (Consumers, Developers, Operators) todeploy Blueprints(launch applications) andmanage the lifecyclesof the resulting workloads (VMs/Applications).

Scope:The Project restricts these users to specific Infrastructure (Clusters/VPCs), Environments, and Quotas defined by the administrator.

Exclusions:

Changing cluster-wide networking (A) and modifying global user roles (D) arePrism Admintasks, not capabilities granted to a Self-Service Project.

Managing global image repositories (B) is a Prism Central infrastructure task; Projectsconsumeimages but do not manage the global repository itself.

In the Nutanix Cloud Platform,Categoriesare the fundamental metadata structure used to group and tag resources (such as VMs, Hosts, and Blueprints) for management purposes.

Functionality:Categories are key-value pairs (e.g., CostCenter:Marketing or Environment:Production) that provide a logical abstraction layer above the physical infrastructure.

Usage:

Cost Allocation:Nutanix Cost Governance (formerly Beam) uses categories to map resource consumption to specific business units or budgets.

Reporting:Prism Central uses categories to filter and group entities in reports.

Compliance/Security:Flow Network Security policies rely on categories to define traffic rules (e.g., "Allow traffic from App:Web to App:DB").

Protection:Disaster Recovery policies assign replication schedules based on categories.

Differentiation:"Labels" is a term often used in Kubernetes or public cloud (AWS/Azure tags), but "Categories" is the specific terminology and feature implementation within Nutanix Prism Central.

When configuring a Playbook in Intelligent Operations (X-Play), the "User Execution" settings allow the administrator to define a specific user context (impersonation) under which the playbook actions run.

However, for alocal user accountcreated in Prism Central to be available and valid for this impersonation, that usermust have logged into the Prism Central interface at least once. This login event creates the necessary user profile and mapping within the Prism Central database that X-Play requires to authenticate and execute actions on their behalf. If the user has been created but never logged in, they cannot be successfully used for playbook execution.

To scale out a Self-Service (formerly Calm) deployment from a single Self-Service VM (SSVM) to a multi-node cluster, the administrator must follow a migration-style procedure rather than an in-place expansion. According to the Self-Service Administration and Operations Guide section onSetting up Scale-Out Self-Service VM:

Backup:The process involves destructive cluster commands, so the administrator must first take a backup of the existing Self-Service data.

Deploy New VMs:The administrator must deploythree new Self-Service VMsusing the provided OVA/template. This ensures a clean, uniform environment for the new cluster. (Adding nodes to an existing, potentially drifted single node is not the standard procedure).

Restore and Cluster:The administrator must then run the specific cluster creation commands (such as cluster create with the IPs of the three new nodes) andrestorethe Self-Service data and configuration from the backup to the new cluster to retain all projects, blueprints, and users.

While the exact order of "Restore" and "Cluster Create" involves technical nuance (creating the service capabilities then populating the data), the key differentiator is that the administrator must deploythree new SSVMs(Migrate) rather than just adding two to the existing one, and must explicit perform arestoreoperation to migrate the data.

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.

Nutanix Self-Service governance supportsApproval Policiesthat enforce control over resource consumption and automation actions. Nutanix documentation states that approval policies:

Apply toblueprint deployments,runbook executions,day-2 actions, orresource scale-up requests.

Requireexplicit authorizationfrom a designated approver before the action proceeds.

Provide governance to ensure resource usage aligns with organizational policies.

Thus, Approval Policies existspecifically to require authorization before a user-triggered task is executed, makingOption C correct.

Options A, B, and D are unrelated to approval workflows.

When configuring aNutanix(AHV) provider account within Self-Service (formerly Calm) to deploy infrastructure, the fundamental artifact required for VM provisioning is anAHV Image.

AHV Image:Nutanix AHV uses theImage Serviceto manage disk images (typically in QCOW2 or ISO format) that serve as the base for virtual machines. Before a Blueprint can be designed or deployed on a Nutanix account, a validDisk Imagemust be uploaded to the Prism Central Image Service. This image is then referenced in the Blueprint's VM configuration (Substrate) as the "Disk Image" source.

Contrast with other Providers:

VMware Template (Option B):This is the required artifact for theVMware vSphereprovider.

VHD (Option A):Typically associated with Hyper-V or Azure.

OVA (Option C):An export format, not a direct provisioning source for the Nutanix provider within Self-Service.

Therefore, ensuring anAHV Imageexists and is available on the cluster is the specific pre-configuration requirement for the Nutanix provider.

When creating a Runbook that involves power cycling a VM (Restart), there is a gap in connectivity while the Guest OS reboots and network services initialize.

If the Runbook moves immediately from the "VM Restart" task to the "Add new credential" task (which likely uses SSH or PowerShell to connect to the VM), the connection will fail because the VM is not yet accessible.

To correct this, the administrator must insert a Delay task between the restart and the configuration step.

The sequence should be:

VM Restart:Initiates the reboot.

Delay:Pauses the runbook execution for a set duration (e.g., 60-120 seconds) to allow the OS to boot.

Add new credential:Executes the script once the VM is back online.

Nutanix Disaster Recovery usesProtection Policiesto automate replication. These policies are applied to VMs dynamically based onCategories. To protecteveryVM from both blueprints described, the administrator must select a category that iscommon to bothsets of VMs.

Blueprint 1 Categories:OSType: Windows, AppType:IIS

Blueprint 2 Categories:OSType: Windows, Environment:Dev

Commonality:The category OSType: Windows is assigned in both blueprints.

Configuration:By creating a Protection Policy that targets the category OSType: Windows, any VM deployed fromeitherblueprint will automatically inherit this tag. Consequently, the Disaster Recovery engine will immediately detect the new VM and begin replicating it according to the policy (Asynchronous, 1 hour) without manual intervention.

Options B and D would only protect a subset of the VMs (only IIS servers or only Dev workstations, respectively).

TheAccount(often referred to as theProvider Account) is the foundational prerequisite for any public cloud integration in Nutanix Self-Service.

Configuration Hierarchy:

Account (A):The administrator must first configure the Provider Account (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) in the Settings tab, providing the necessary API keys, Secret keys, or Service Principal credentials to establish the connection.

Project (B):Once the Account exists, it can be assigned to a Project.

Blueprint (D):Once the Project has access to the Account, Blueprints can be designed to target it.

Therefore, without theAccountconfigured first, the downstream components (Projects and Blueprints) cannot interface with the public cloud.

Among the options provided, calm_unique is the standard built-in macro provided by the Self-Service engine.

Purpose:The @@{calm_unique}@@ macro generates a unique, short alphanumeric string at runtime.

Use Case:It is widely used in Blueprints to ensure uniqueness for VM names, hostname prefixes, or other resources that cannot have duplicate identifiers within the infrastructure (e.g., naming a VM Web-@@{calm_unique}@@ to prevent naming collisions).

Other Options:calm_date, calm_generate_uuid, and calm_math are not standard built-in macro names in the Self-Service macro library (though calm_time and calm_now exist for time-based operations).

To "compile a list" of entities using Intelligent Operations (X-Play) without manually tracking them, the administrator should leverage theCategorizationfeature, which acts as a dynamic tagging system.

Trigger (Event):The restoration of a VM from a snapshot generates a systemEvent(e.g., "VM Restored" or "Clone from Snapshot"). The Playbook must be configured with theEvent Triggerto detect this specific action immediately when it occurs.

Action (Assign Category):The Playbook should then execute theAssign Categoryaction. The administrator can define a specific category, such as Recovery:Restored.

Result:As the administrator restores the VMs (either manually or via script), the Playbook automatically tags each one with the Recovery:Restored category. The administrator can then simply filter the Prism Central VM list by this category to see the compiled list of all recovered VMs.

Options B and D are incorrect because a successful snapshot restoration is anEvent, not anAlert(which indicates a fault or threshold breach). Option C is incorrect because a Time Trigger cannot react to the specific action of a restore operation.

Playbooks are a feature of Intelligent Operations (formerly Prism Pro or X-Play), not Nutanix Self-Service (formerly Calm). Therefore, the first step is always to access the Intelligent Operations console in Prism Central.

The logical flow for defining an automation routine in a Playbook isTrigger first, then Action.

Select Trigger:The administrator must first definewhenthe playbook runs (e.g., on an Alert, an Event, or Manually).

Add Actions:Once the trigger is established, the administrator defineswhathappens (e.g., Power off VM, Send Email, Slack Notification).

The correct order found in the Nutanix Intelligent Operations Guide is: Access Intelligent Operations > Create Playbook > Select Trigger > Add Actions > Save.