NCP-DB Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5 Questions and Answers

The NDB database agent is a service that runs on each database server VM and communicates with the NDB instance. It uses port 443 for HTTPS API calls and port 9440 for Nutanix cluster API calls. These ports are required to be open on the database server VMs for NDB to function properly. References: Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA), page 9; Ports and Protocols Reference Chart | Nutanix Community, section “Nutanix Database Service (NDB)”

The correct answer is C because a stretched VLAN is a VLAN that spans across multiple Nutanix clusters, which may cause network conflicts or latency issues when starting the database server. Option A is incorrect because a DHCP VLAN is a VLAN that uses dynamic IP address allocation, which does not affect the database server startup. Option B is incorrect because a static VLAN is a VLAN that uses fixed IP address allocation, which also does not affect the database server startup. Option D is incorrect because IPAM is not a type of VLAN, but a feature of NDB that allows managing IP addresses for database servers and databases.

References: The following sources provide more information about the VLAN and IPAM concepts and configuration in NDB:

• Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Module 2: Deploying and Configuring an NDB Solution, Lesson 2.4: Configuring NDB High Availability
• Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5, Knowledge Objectives, Section 2 - Deploy and Configure an NDB Solution
• Nutanix Database Service (NDB) User Guide, Chapter 2: Deploying and Configuring an NDB Solution, Section 2.4: Configuring NDB High Availability
• Nutanix Database Service (NDB) User Guide, Chapter 8: Administering an NDB Environment, Section 8.5: Managing Networks in NDB
• Nutanix Database Service (NDB) User Guide, Chapter 8: Administering an NDB Environment, Section 8.6: Managing IP Addresses in NDB

According to the Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) course, a Software Profile is a template that defines the configuration of the database engine, such as the version, edition, features, and parameters1. It also specifies the disk layout for the database installation, such as the size, type, and mount point of each disk1. However, the System Page File disk is omitted from the Software Profile, as it is automatically created by the NDB service based on the memory size of the database server VM1. The other options are included in the Software Profile, as they are essential for the database operation and performance1. References:

• 1: Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) course, Module 2: Database Provisioning, Lesson 2.3: Software Profiles, slide 5

The correct answer is B because the Time Machine feature of NDB collects logs and snapshots from databases and stores them in a distributed file system. The Time Machine enables the administrator to protect, clone, and restore databases using the SLA policies and the NDB UI or API. The Time Machine also manages the replication of database snapshots in an NDB multicluster environment. The other options are not correct because they describe different features or functions of NDB. Option A is not correct because Database Restore is an operation that uses the Time Machine to restore a source database or a clone to a previous point in time. Option C is not correct because SLA is a policy that defines the frequency and retention of database snapshots and logs. Option D is not correct because One-click Patching is a feature that allows the administrator to test, publish, and apply database patches using the NDB UI or API. References: Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) certification, Nutanix NCP-DB Certification Exam Syllabus and Study Guide, Nutanix Support & Insights

In the context of Nutanix Era, the term “Brownfield Database” is used to refer to an existing database that is registered with Era1. This process allows Era to bring Database as a Service (DBaaS) capabilities to your existing database2. It’s important to note that before you register a database with Era, certain prerequisites must be met3.

The Nutanix Era Time Machine provides various capabilities depending on the Service Level Agreement (SLA) selected during database registration1. For a database with a Bronze SLA, the Time Machine supports both “Log Catch up” and "Snapshots"2. “Log Catch up” allows the Time Machine to keep up with the latest changes in the database by capturing log data2. “Snapshots” are point-in-time copies of the database that can be used for recovery or cloning2.

In Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB), when an administrator logs into Era and sees a message “Update Available” on the Status of the Software Profile Version, it indicates that a newer version of the software profile is available1. The administrator should manually update the software profile to the latest version12. This process ensures that the database VM is running the most recent and compatible version of the software12.

When an Oracle database is upgraded using Era, the type of upgrade category is an “In-place upgrade”. This method involves upgrading the database software within the same Oracle home as the existing database. The AutoUpgrade utility is used to automate the upgrade process, both before starting upgrades, during upgrade deployments, and during post-upgrade checks and configuration migration1. This method is preferred due to its simplicity and efficiency1.

According to the Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) learning documents, Nutanix Era is a database management tool that automates and simplifies database operations, including provisioning, patching, upgrading, and more1. However, for a database to be managed by Era, it must be registered with Era1. This means that if a database is on a non-Nutanix platform, it cannot be directly upgraded using an Era workflow. It must first be migrated to a Nutanix platform and registered with Era before it can be managed and upgraded using Era1.

The error message in the exhibit indicates that the operation failed during the “Create and Register Database Server VMs” step because “Provisioning of all the observers simultaneously took more than two hours.” This type of error is associated with MySQL, as it involves observers which are a part of MySQL Group Replication, used for ensuring high availability1. The other options are not related to the error message, as they do not use observers or Group Replication for clustering. References:

• 1: Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) course, Module 5: Database High Availability, Lesson 5.2: MySQL Group Replication, slide 7

For enabling Multi-Cluster management on an Era installation, the hypervisor version must be supported and port 9440 must be open between the Era VM and clusters. This ensures that the Era VM can communicate with the clusters for management tasks1.

According to the Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) learning documents, the Schedule feature of the Time Machine allows developers to automate the data refresh for their clones1. This feature eliminates the time-consuming, complex process of database clone/refresh, allowing admins to create database clones/refresh to any point in time in just a few minutes1. Please refer to the official Nutanix documentation and training materials for more detailed information2.

Time Machine data access is a feature of Nutanix Database Service (NDB) that allows you to access a point-in-time snapshot of a database without restoring it. To use this feature, you need to create a Data Access Management (DAM) policy that defines the access mode, the source database, the destination cluster, and the storage container mapping. The storage container mapping is needed when the source database and the NDB Server containers are different, because NDB needs to know where to store the metadata and the clone of the source database. If the source database and the NDB Server containers are the same, then NDB will use the same container for both the metadata and the clone. References:

• Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB), Section 5 - Protect NDB-managed Databases Using Time Machine
• Database (NCP-DB) Exam Blueprint Guide - Nutanix, Page 9, Objective 5.6
• Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Module 4, Lesson 4.2 - Data Access Management

According to the Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) course, the Pre-Post Commands section allows the administrator to specify custom scripts that can be executed before or after the clone operation1. The masking script can be created on any of the VMs that have access to the source database, such as the source DB VM, the Dev VM, or the SW Profile VM2. The script should contain the commands to mask the sensitive data in the Finance database, such as replacing the real values with dummy values or encrypting the data2. The administrator can then create the clone from the Time Machine and define the post-clone option with the full path and name of the masking script1. This will ensure that the script is executed after the clone is created, and the data is masked before it is available for the development team1. The other options are not correct, as they either use the wrong field (pre-clone instead of post-clone), or do not specify where to create or store the masking script. References:

• 1: Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) course, Module 4: Database Cloning, Lesson 4.4: Pre-Post Commands, slide 5
• 2: Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) course, Module 4: Database Cloning, Lesson 4.4: Pre-Post Commands, slide 7

For restoring a database provisioned on Storage Spaces, especially when virtual disks are shared among multiple databases, the supported method is a copy-based restore via the NDB GUI. This method allows for a precise and controlled restoration process suitable for shared storage environments.References: Nutanix Database Automation documentation, specifically in the section on database restoration methods and storage spaces.

Page files are temporary files that Windows uses to store data that does not fit in the physical memory. Page files can interfere with the registration of a database server VM with NDB, as they can cause errors or performance issues. Therefore, page files should be located in a separate drive or partition from the C:\ drive, where the NDB agent and other files are installed. System, database, and backup files do not prevent the registration of a database server VM with NDB, as long as they are not corrupted or incompatible with the NDB requirements. References:

• Nutanix Database Management & Automation Training Course, Module 2: Deploying and Configuring an NDB Solution, Lesson 2: Configuring an NDB Instance, Slide 13: Registering Database Server VMs
• Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) 5 Exam, Section 4: Operate and Maintain an NDB Environment, Objective 4.1: Apply procedural concepts to register database server VMs and databases

According to the Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) learning documents, Nutanix Era supports x509 certificates in Base-64 encoded PEM format1. This format is used when an administrator needs to replace the default Nutanix self-signed certificates in Era1.

 The correct answer is A because NDB handles the database restore operation by copying the specific database files from the snapshot volume to the source volume, without affecting the other databases that share the same source volume. NDB uses a copy-on-write mechanism to create snapshots and clones, which means that only the changes made to the database files are stored in the snapshot or clone volume, while the original files are kept in the source volume. Therefore, when restoring a source database from a snapshot, NDB only needs to copy the specific database files that have been modified since the snapshot was taken, and overwrite them on the source volume. The other options are not correct because they either cause data loss or unnecessary data transfer. Option B is not correct because replacing the source volume with specific db disks would erase the other databases that share the same source volume, which is not desirable. Option C is not correct because replacing the source volume with the snapshot volume would also erase the other databases that share the same source volume, as well as any changes made to the source database after the snapshot was taken, which is not desirable. Option D is not correct because copying all database files to the source volume would be inefficient and unnecessary, as only the modified files need to be copied, and the other files are already present on the source volume. References: Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) certification, Nutanix NCP-DB Certification Exam Syllabus and Study Guide, [Nutanix Support & Insights]

NDB sends notifications when alerts are generated via email. The email notifications can be configured to send to one or more recipients, and can be customized to include the alert severity, category, description, and resolution steps. The email notifications help to inform the database administrator and other stakeholders about the status and issues of the NDB-managed databases and operations.

NDB does not send notifications via SNMP, APIs, or Pulse. SNMP is a protocol for collecting and organizing information about managed devices on a network. APIs are interfaces for communicating and exchanging data between different applications or systems. Pulse is a feature of the Nutanix cluster that collects and sends diagnostic and usage data to Nutanix for analysis and support.

References:

• Nutanix Database Management & Automation Training Course, Module 3: Nutanix Era Deployment, Lesson 3.2: Nutanix Era Deployment, slide 11.
• Nutanix Database Management & Automation Training Course, Module 5: Nutanix Era Operations, Lesson 5.1: Nutanix Era Operations, slide 6.
• Nutanix Database Management & Automation Training Course, Module 5: Nutanix Era Operations, Lesson 5.2: Nutanix Era Alerts and Notifications, slides 5-7.

This is because it allows the database to be refreshed at the exact time specified (9:30 PM) with the most recent data. The other options either perform the snapshot before the desired time or do not specify when the snapshot would occur. Please note that the exact answer might depend on the specific database system and its capabilities. Always refer to the database’s documentation for the most accurate information.

According to the Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) learning documents, to create a network profile in Era, the network must be added to Era1. This is because Era needs to have control over the network in order to manage the databases effectively1. Once the network is added to Era, it can be used for various operations such as provisioning new databases, managing existing databases, and more1.

 The optimal path to restore the table back with minimum data loss is to use the point in time restore feature of NDB, which allows the administrator to restore the database to a specific point in time based on the available snapshots and logs1. By restoring using point in time till 10:42pm, the administrator can recover the table just before it was dropped by the user, and minimize the data loss to the least possible amount1. The other options are not optimal, as they either involve restoring an older snapshot, which may result in more data loss, or restoring a non-existent snapshot, which is not possible. References:

• 1: Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) course, Module 6: Database Recovery, Lesson 6.2: Point in Time Restore, slide 5

A Time Machine frozen status indicates that the database that was associated with the Time Machine has been de-registered from NDB, but the Time Machine itself has not been deleted. This means that the Time Machine still contains the snapshots and logs of the de-registered database, but it cannot perform any further operations on it. To resume the normal functioning of the Time Machine, the administrator can either re-register the database with NDB, or delete the Time Machine and free up the storage space.

References: Nutanix Support & Insights, section “Resolving All Alerts for a Time Machine”

Time Machine is a feature of Nutanix Era that allows you to create and manage snapshots of your databases. You can use Time Machine to create clones from any snapshot, either manually or automatically. You can also configure Time Machine to create clones from snapshots based on a schedule, such as daily, weekly, or monthly. This way, you can ensure that your clones are always up to date with the latest data from your production databases. In this scenario, the most efficient way to meet the developer’s requirement is to configure Time Machine to create a clone from a daily snapshot at 7:00am. This will save the developer’s time and effort, as well as reduce the storage consumption by using the existing snapshots. References:

• Nutanix Database Management & Automation Training Course
• Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation datasheet
• Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) 5 Exam

According to the Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) Learning documents12, to clone a source production database to an existing development server, the following actions must be taken:

A. The development server must be registered by Era in order to receive the clone1. This is because Nutanix Era is a database management tool that manages the lifecycle of databases and their copies. Registering the development server with Era allows it to manage the database on that server.

D. The development server must have the IP and credentials provided during cloning2. This is necessary for Era to access the development server and perform the cloning operation. The IP address and credentials are used to establish a connection to the development server. Without these details, Era would not be able to access the server and perform the cloning operation.

 The correct answer is D because it matches the requirement of taking multiple snapshots per day and retaining them for one week. Option A is incorrect because it only takes one snapshot per day, which is not enough for the administrator’s need. Option B is incorrect because it only retains the snapshots for one week, which means the older snapshots will be deleted after seven days. Option C is incorrect because it only takes two snapshots per week, which is not frequent enough for the administrator’s need.

References: The following sources provide more information about the SLA retention policies and how to create and modify them in NDB:

• Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Module 4: Protecting Databases Using Time Machine, Lesson 4.1: Creating and Modifying SLA Retention Policies
• Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5, Knowledge Objectives, Section 5 - Protect NDB-managed Databases Using Time Machine
• Nutanix Database Service (NDB) User Guide, Chapter 6: Protecting Databases Using Time Machine, Section 6.1: Creating and Modifying SLA Retention Policies

There are two ways to upgrade an NDB Server: one-click upgrade and offline upgrade. One-click upgrade is the recommended method, as it automatically downloads and installs the latest NDB software version from the Nutanix portal. Offline upgrade is an alternative method, which requires you to manually download the NDB software bundle and upload it to the NDB Server VM. Both methods require you to have a valid Nutanix account and an internet connection. References:

• Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB), Section 6 - Administer an NDB Environment
• Database (NCP-DB) Exam Blueprint Guide - Nutanix, Page 10, Objective 6.2
• Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Module 6, Lesson 6.1 - NDB Software Upgrade

 In the Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) process, when a database administrator is tasked with creating a new clone of a running SQL database and there are no authorized servers available, the administrator should click the Action icon to authorize one or more database server VMs1. This is because the Nutanix Database Service (NDB) requires authorized servers to perform operations such as cloning1. The authorization process allows the NDB to manage and perform operations on the database server VMs1.

According to the NDB documentation, the NDB patching process for MongoDB Server Cluster follows these steps1:

• NDB identifies the primary member of the MongoDB Server Cluster and patches it first.
• NDB triggers a failover to elect a new primary member from the remaining secondary members.
• NDB patches the former primary member, which becomes a secondary member after the failover.
• NDB patches the remaining secondary members one by one.
• NDB verifies the patching status and the cluster health.

This process ensures that the MongoDB Server Cluster always has a primary member available to handle write operations, while minimizing the downtime and the impact on the cluster performance.

References: Nutanix Support & Insights, section “Patching a MongoDB Server Cluster”

A Time Machine is a core construct of the copy data management service in NDB that captures and manages the data of a database to deliver a recovery point objective (RPO) SLA. A Time Machine can enter a Frozen state for various reasons, such as database de-registration, snapshot or log catchup failures, or manual intervention. When a Time Machine is in a Frozen state, it stops taking new snapshots and log backups, and cannot perform any clone, refresh, or restore operations. To resume the normal operation of a Time Machine, it must be thawed by resolving the root cause of the freeze. One of the common causes of a Time Machine freeze is when the database is de-registered from NDB without removing the Time Machine. This can happen when the administrator wants to move the database to a different NDB instance or cluster, or when the database is accidentally de-registered. In this case, the Time Machine becomes orphaned and frozen, and cannot be used for any operations. To complete the request to refresh a database clone from a new manual snapshot, the administrator must first re-register the database in NDB using the same database name and ID as before. This will automatically thaw the Time Machine and resume its operation. The administrator can then create a new manual snapshot from the Time Machine and use it to refresh the database clone. The other options are not correct, as they either require unnecessary steps or do not address the root cause of the freeze. References:

• Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5, Section 5 - Protect NDB-managed Databases Using Time Machine, Objective 5.1: Create, delete, and modify SLA retention policies
• Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) Course, Module 4: Nutanix Database Service (NDB) Data Protection, Lesson 4.1: Data Protection Overview, Topic: Time Machine Concepts
• Nutanix Support & Insights, TN-2101: Nutanix Database Service Time Machine Under the Hood, Section: Time Machine States and Transitions

When provisioning a PostgreSQL HA Instance using NDB, the minimum and maximum number of DB server VMs that can be deployed in a cluster are 2 and 4, respectively. A PostgreSQL HA Instance is a database instance that provides high availability and fault tolerance for PostgreSQL databases using the Patroni framework. Patroni is a Python-based tool that manages PostgreSQL configuration and performs automatic failover and switchover operations. Patroni relies on a distributed consensus store, such as etcd, Consul, or ZooKeeper, to store and synchronize the cluster state and leader information. NDB supports etcd as the consensus store for PostgreSQL HA Instances. NDB allows the administrator to provision PostgreSQL HA Instances with different sizes and configurations, such as small, medium, large, or custom. The size of the PostgreSQL HA Instance determines the number of DB server VMs, the number of etcd nodes, the CPU, memory, and disk resources, and the replication factor of the database. The minimum number of DB server VMs for a PostgreSQL HA Instance is 2, which corresponds to a small size instance. This configuration provides one leader and one follower DB server VM, and one etcd node. The maximum number of DB server VMs for a PostgreSQL HA Instance is 4, which corresponds to a large size instance. This configuration provides one leader and three follower DB server VMs, and three etcd nodes. The other options are not valid for a PostgreSQL HA Instance, as they either do not provide enough redundancy or exceed the supported limit of DB server VMs. References:

• Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5, Section 2 - Deploy and Configure an NDB Solution, Objective 2.2: Configure an NDB Instance
• Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) Course, Module 3: Nutanix Database Service (NDB) Installation and Configuration, Lesson 3.2: Configuring NDB, Topic: Provisioning PostgreSQL HA Instances
• Nutanix Database Service (NDB) User Guide, Chapter 4: Provisioning Databases, Section: Provisioning PostgreSQL HA Instances
• [PostgreSQL High Availability: Under the Hood – Nutanix.dev], Section: PostgreSQL HA Architecture and Components

Ports 3205 and 3260 are important when working with Era because they must be open on the Era server and all Controller VMs (CVMs) to facilitate iSCSI connections1. Specifically, port 3205 is used for iSCSI redirection2. Please be careful of routing iSCSI traffic, as it could impact performance2.

According to the Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) learning documents, to configure Era to send alert notifications to email recipients, you need to go to the Administration section, select Era Service, then go to the configure notification widget. From there, you can update the SMTP server configuration1. This allows Era to use the SMTP server to send alert notifications to the specified email recipients1.

 Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) introduces the concept of MS SQL Server database groups, which allows multiple databases running in the same database instance to be grouped as one Time Machine entity1. This applies to both single DB Server VM setups, standalone databases, as well as to Availability Group databases1. However, it does not support Point In Time Recovery (PITR)-based Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for database groups containing mixed Recovery Models. This means that if the databases within the group have different recovery models, PITR-based SLAs cannot be applied to the group as a whole.

The Nutanix Era API documentation is available on the Nutanix.dev API Reference page12. This documentation outlines the operations that are possible with the Era APIs2. In addition to the API reference, the NutanixDev code samples repo provides working code that implements the practices shown in the documentation1. The Era API Explorer is another resource that provides a comprehensive view of the available APIs, allowing users to interactively explore and test the APIs. However, there is no mention of a specific “Era GitHub API Repository” or the “Nutanix Support Portal” being used as a reference resource for Nutanix Era APIs in the provided resources. Therefore, the correct answers are B. Nutanix.dev API Reference and C. Era API Explorer.

 Before patching a Linux OS on a database server VM provisioned using NDB, you must configure the repository for the OS updates. This can be done by creating a Repository Profile in NDB and specifying the URL, username, and password for the repository. The Repository Profile can be applied to one or more database server VMs during the provisioning process or later. By configuring the repository, you ensure that NDB can access and download the latest OS patches from a trusted source. References: Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) Course Details, Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) Certification Details, Nutanix Database Automation (NCP-DB) YouTube Playlist, Nutanix Database Automation User Guide.

For an NDB offline upgrade, you need to download the upgrade bundle from the Nutanix Support Portal and copy it to the NDB server. Then, you need to use the NDB CLI command upload upgrade_bundle with the path parameter to specify the location of the upgrade bundle file. This command will upload the upgrade bundle to the NDB server and verify its integrity. After uploading the upgrade bundle, you can use the upgrade command to perform the upgrade. References: Nutanix Support & Insights, Cisco Nexus Data Broker Deployment Guide, Release 3.10.x

 In Nutanix Era, a Volume Group is the recommended storage provisioning method for a large I/O-intensive database that doesn’t support a multi-disk layout1. A Volume Group in Nutanix Era is a collection of disks that can be managed as a single entity, providing a way to aggregate the storage capacity of multiple disks into a larger storage unit1. This allows for better performance optimization as it enables the database to leverage the combined I/O capabilities of all the disks in the group1. It’s important to note that while other options like Load Balancing, Storage Spaces, and vDisk based provisioning can also be used in certain scenarios, a Volume Group is specifically designed for situations where a single, high-performance storage unit is required1.

The minimum frequency configurable for the NDB Log Catch-up operation is 15 minutes. This setting determines how frequently the log catch-up process runs, which is crucial for maintaining data integrity and ensuring up-to-date database states.References: Nutanix Database Automation documentation, focusing on log management and catch-up operation settings.