Nutanix Multicloud Infrastructure (NCM-MCI) Certification Exam Syllabus

- Use prism analysis tools to identify performance issues
Knowledge

• Utilize performance graphs to look for anomalies
• Correlate events with issues observed with metric or entity charts
• Given a scenario, create analysis graphs to diagnose a problem
• Utilize prism central to identify resource constraints
• Given a scenario, review the MSSQL Instance Details to identify and resolve an issue.

- Perform health check and collect logs
Knowledge

• Utilize prism to collect system logs capturing an event
• Proceed with the log gathering using CLI
• Review audit logs and troubleshoot cluster configuration issues.
• Given a problem description, utilize the NCC CLI to run the appropriate check(s)
• Use CLI commands to extract cluster configuration information

- Interpret alerts and take appropriate actions for remediation
Knowledge

• Identify components impacted and conduct root cause analysis
• Given an issue, use the KB article to provide a resolution.

- Create reports and custom metrics to monitor the environment
Knowledge

• Given a scenario select the correct entity and metrics to add to a graph
• Given a scenario create a custom alert when a threshold is passed
• Given a scenario, create reports to monitor workload inefficiencies. e.g. Latency
• Evaluate cluster performance using reports.

- Utilize runway scenario to evaluate workload changes
Knowledge

• Review and analyze current and potential resource needs through the planning dashboard
• Given a scenario provide a cluster rightsizing for a greenfield deployment
• Given a scenario plan for a future cluster expansion

- Implement workload-based best practices
Knowledge

• Locate, read, and understand workload specific BPG and Technotes
• Identify the preferred values for a workload based upon a supplied BPG
• Configure appropriate settings for a given EUC workload (e.g. vGPU, container, etc.)
• Identify VM settings for optimal performance according to SQL Server BPG,
• Identify optimal settings for VM and Storage Container for a given scenario

- Utilize APIs to automate management tasks
Knowledge

• Manage cluster at scale conducting CRUD operations using APIs
• Conduct API-based information gathering and export\

- Utilize Playbook for making a call to a REST API endpoint
Knowledge

• Configure cluster policies and features to meet minimum requirements for availability and resiliency (U/A)
• Configure cluster resiliency to meet application requirements
• Use “Rebuild Capacity Reservation” to enhance the cluster's self-healing mechanism.
• Set Cluster Resiliency Preference for a failure event vs planned outage

- Create/Configure VMs based on the requirements of the workload they will be hosting Knowledge

• Given a scenario configure advanced VM settings
• Adjust VM configuration to meet high-intensity workload requirements
• Evaluate optimal storage configuration for a business-critical application
• Use X-Play to monitor and optimize VM performance

- Perform advanced cluster configuration incl. security and hardening
Knowledge

• Configure SCMA and AIDE as determined by security requirements
• Implement hardening mechanisms from the Nutanix security guide based upon customer scenario
• Given a scenario create an appropriate RBAC structure to meet requirements
• Configure cluster lockdown mode
• Given a scenario configure network segmentation for a cluster

- Implement Flow Virtual Networking and Flow Network Security based upon security requirements
Knowledge

• Implement VPC’s and gateways.
• Given a scenario, implement multi-tenancy and overlay networks.
• Protect a multi-tiered application using Flow Security Policies.
• Apply Security policies based on user group membership using a VDI Policy

- Configure SYSLOG for advanced log management
Knowledge

• Given a set of parameters, configure a remote SYSLOG server
• Given a scenario, export logs for a specific service at a desired severity to a SYSLOG server
• Identify why SYSLOG messages are not being sent to a configured server

- Implement authentication according to best practices
Knowledge

• Replace self-signed certificates with customer’s CA signed
• Given a scenario select the proper IAM authentication methods (AD, SAML, Local) and conduct
• configuration steps required
• Given a scenario create a custom role with required permissions
• Manage accounts and passwords according to provided requirements

- Implement encryption, including KMS
Knowledge

• Configure Data-at-Rest Encryption
• Configure Data-in-Transit Encryption
• Encrypt the storage of specific VMs within the environment

- Configure Nutanix products and features to meet business needs
Knowledge

• Identify the need for an RF1 container and apply the correct configuration
• Identify the need for Load-Balanced Volume Groups, configure them, and enable the feature for the VM/VG(s) required
• Given a workload, ensure that the appropriate storage efficiency settings are enabled

- Align cluster configuration to Nutanix Validated Design (NVD)
Knowledge

• Validate the CVM and Hypervisor VLAN configurations
• For a given workload type, validate CVM resource configurations
• For a given workload type, validate CPU oversubscription ratio
• For a given scenario, validate cluster high availability configuration.

- Create protection policies based on RPO and RTO requirements
Knowledge

• Given a scenario, configure an appropriate protection mechanism for a specific group of multi-tiered application respecting mission critical RPO/RTO requirement
• Given a scenario, troubleshoot a given Protection Policy/Protection Domain for specific multi-tiered application and update it respecting mission critical RPO/RTO requirements
• Troubleshoot protection policy with automatic assignment of target clusters

- Create recovery plans based upon application requirements
Knowledge

• Given a scenario create a recovery plan for a 3-tiered application
• Create a recovery plan which uses a custom script for application reconfiguration
• Create recovery plans and add/remove stages based on application requirements
• Create/modify recovery plans incl. network and IP mapping based on specific requirements
• Create/Update a RP Configuration from Async/NearSync to a Sync configuration
• Troubleshoot and resolve recovery plan issues.