I see that many people are interested in taking the Nutanix Certified Associate 6.10 exam, so I decided to revamp my previous guide based on version 6.5.
This guide describes the methodology I am using in preparing for certification exams, and it could be used for other Nutanix exams as well.
Nutanix Certified Associate is the first step in the Nutanix certification track. This is an entry-level exam that tests knowledge of general Nutanix theory, basic cluster management skills, and an understanding of the Prism interface.
Below, I will share my experience of passing the Nutanix Certified Associate exam version 6.10 and also leave some tips for self-preparation.
Briefly about the exam and the passing procedure:
The exam consists of 50 multiple-choice and multiple-response questions. 90 minutes are given for answers. The maximum number of points that can be scored in the exam is 6000. The passing score is 3000. Questions have different weights, which means that simply answering half of them may not be enough.
The cost of the exam is $99, but very often you can get a promo code for a 50% or even 100% discount, so you should stay tuned for news on next.nutanix.com, as well as follow the Nutanix University X (twitter) account. Usually, you can see a 100% discount on Pi-Day, on Halloween, you may see that Nutanix Technology Champions are sharing vouchers during the year. So stay tuned!
You can take the exam either at the PSI test center or online. Since I took the exam online, I will briefly describe the requirements:
- You must have a document confirming your identity. The first and last name must be in Latin;
- Having a computer/laptop with a webcam and microphone is mandatory;
- Stable Internet connection;
- There should be nothing unnecessary in the room, especially behind the workplace where the exam is being taken. Preferably, a completely free table with only a keyboard and mouse. Additional displays, TVs, etc. will need to be turned off;
- Of course, there should be no one in the room and it should be quiet.
Let’s move on to preparation:
Nutanix recommends taking this exam to specialists with at least 6 months of experience in maintaining IT infrastructure and, in particular, Nutanix solutions. The candidate must be able to perform basic operations on Nutanix clusters and navigate the Prism interface.
To put it differently, you need to understand what Nutanix is, what it consists of, and how it works, and be able to perform basic cluster management operations: create machines,and networks, update the cluster, troubleshoot problems, monitor performance, and navigate the interface.
When preparing for any exam, you should begin by studying the official document that lists the topics that will be covered in the exam.
The Blueprint Guide for the NCA 6.10 exam can be found here.
The exam is based on the AOS 6.10 and Prism Central pc2024.2.
Let’s look at the sections from Blueprint:
- Describe Lifecycle Management – How to update software and firmware in Nutanix clusters using LCM;
- Describe Nutanix Basic Administration – This section includes VM management, cluster management, and licensing;
- Maintain the Environmental Health of a Nutanix cluster environment – Where to look at statistics and errors and how to check the status of the cluster? How to react to errors? How Nutanix behaves during certain emergency events. Also included are questions regarding the Pulse engine and support portal;
- Describe Cluster Configuration Options – Storage components, Replication Factor and Redundancy Factor; Storage optimization; Supportet hypervisors and NC2; Networking; Use cases for Nutanix products and services.
Above I described the main, but not all topics from the Blueprint, so be sure to check it out.
In my opinion, this exam is a bit harder than its previous version, and today it looks like a lite version of the NCP-MCI exam.
Having understood the list of topics, we can build a preparation plan for the exam.
Online courses:
Since this is an entry-level exam, I assume that we need to prepare almost from scratch.
A good place to start is by taking the Nutanix Hybrid Cloud Fundamentals (NHCF) Online course. This course is available for self-study absolutely free online on the Nutanix University portal.
This course covers most parts of the exam objectives, and it’s right where you need to start preparing.
If you have the time and desire, I would also recommend jumping ahead a little and taking the Enterprise Cloud Administration (ECA) Online course. This course is recommended in preparation for the Nutanix Certified Professional certification, but it will be useful to study in this case.
The course is also available online absolutely free of charge at Nutanix University.
Video:
For those who like to learn through video, I can recommend visiting the Nutanix University YouTube channel, where you can find many videos on all sorts of topics. There are also thematic playlists here.
One of these playlists was compiled specifically for preparing for the Nutanix Certified Associate exam and is called NCA Certification Prep.
Literature:
It’s worth starting with the most important book – The Nutanix Cloud Bible. The book has been translated into several languages, but the most relevant information always appears first in the English version and it is recommended to read it.
This book is recommended reading for everyone involved in Nutanix, regardless of whether they are currently passing the exam or not.
When preparing for the exam, you should definitely read The Basics: Compute, Storage and Networking and Hybrid Multicloud sections.
If there are still gaps in knowledge, you should refer to the official documentation.
Reading all the documentation in a row takes a long time and is not always necessary, but if you understand that there are problems with a certain topic, deciding what to read is quite simple – in each section of the Blueprint Guide there is a link to recommended literature on the topic.
For example, in the blueprint “Objective 4.3: Identify storage optimization”, you are not sure what Replication Factor 1 is and how to configure it. Below, you will find reference literature used when developing exam questions, and you can see a link to the documentation with an overview of Replication Factor 1.
Practice:
In addition to theoretical knowledge of how Nutanix works, you need to be familiar with the Prism and Prism Central interface, and know how to perform basic operations:
- Managing virtual machines;
- Cluster update;
- Monitoring and reporting;
- Reaction to faults and their elimination.
The best recommendation to practice without damaging a productive cluster is Nutanix Community Edition (Nutanix CE). You can even deploy Nutanix CE on a virtual machine; it’s not difficult and free. This year, CE was updated to version 2.1, which corresponds to Nutanix AOS 6.8 and includes the same feature set as AOS 6.10.
With one or even multiple Nutanix CE clusters, you can practice virtually every aspect of cluster management, including Prism Central, data protection, replication, and backup.
Let me remind you that I have an article on my website on how to deploy Nutanix Community Edition 2.0 in a VMware vSphere environment. I also have two guides on how to deploy Prism Central on Nutanix Community Edition 2.0 using the 1-Click Internet Method and how to deploy Prism Central on Nutanix Community Edition 2.1 using offline bundle.
In addition to getting hands-on experience with Nutanix, I want to mention the Nutanix Test Drive. Nutanix Test Drive is a series of realistic simulations that demonstrate the specific functionality of various products from the ecosystem.
Check of knowledge:
A great way to test your knowledge and understand the gaps is to take the NCA 6.10 practice exam on the Nutanix University portal.
The questions in the exam are as close as possible to the real ones and will help you understand your weaknesses before the exam, and you will have time to master those areas.
In a conclusion:
With the proper level of preparation, passing the exam will not be too difficult. The amount of material for independent study can be mastered in a month, by studying for a couple of hours a day.
When studying, I strongly recommend writing down what you didn’t know before in a special cheat sheet. This will help you quickly repeat what you need the day before the exam and refresh your memory.
I wish everyone good luck. I hope someone may find this material useful in their preparation.
