Nutanix NCP-MCA Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA v6.5) Exam Exam Practice Test

A variable can be updated during a Runbook execution only if it is marked as runtime editable. This setting allows the variable to be modified during the execution of the Runbook, providing flexibility and dynamic behavior based on runtime conditions.

References:

Nutanix Calm documentation on Runtime Editable Variables.

Nutanix Best Practices for Runbook Variables.

Showback is a feature in Calm that allows administrators to track and report the costs of running applications and projects on different cloud platforms. Showback can be enabled in the Setting menu of Calm, under the Showback tab. There, the administrator can configure the cost models, cloud accounts, and currency for Showback. Showback can also be accessed from the Dashboard menu, where the administrator can view the cost reports and charts for different applications and projects. References: 

https://www.nutanix.com/support-services/training-certification/certifications/certification-details-nutanix-certified-professional-multicloud-automation-v6-5\

https://www.nutanix.com/content/dam/nutanix/resources/support/ebg-ncp-mca-6.pdf

A post-create task is a task that runs after a blueprint or runbook deployment is completed. A post-create task can be used to perform additional configuration or automation on the deployed resources. An HTTP task is a task that executes an HTTP request to a specified URL, with optional headers, body, and authentication. An HTTP task can be used to trigger an API call to another system or service, such as creating a front end application. A predefined task is a task that uses a predefined script or command to perform a common operation, such as installing a package or running a service. A predefined task cannot be used to trigger an API call to another system or service. An eScript task is a task that executes a custom script written in JavaScript or Python. An eScript task can be used to perform complex logic or operations that are not available in predefined tasks. However, an eScript task requires more coding skills and testing than an HTTP task. A simple task is a task that executes a simple command or script on the target VM or host. A simple task cannot be used to trigger an API call to another system or service. References: 

https://www.nutanix.com/content/dam/nutanix/resources/support/ebg-ncp-mca-6.pdf

https://www.nutanix.com/support-services/training-certification/certifications/certification-details-nutanix-certified-professional-multicloud-automation-v6-5

Calm Runbooks are a way to automate workflows that span across multiple applications, services, or platforms. They can be used to perform actions such as provisioning, scaling, backup, restore, etc. Calm Runbooks can be added to the Library and reused in different Blueprints or Projects. A Post VM Delete Task is a special type of Task that is executed after a VM is deleted from a Blueprint. By creating Calm Runbooks for each of the manual steps required to decommission a VM, and adding them to the Library, the administrator can simplify the VM Decommission Process by consuming them inside of a Post VM Delete Task. This way, the application owners only need to delete the application from the Calm project, and the rest of the steps will be automated by the Runbooks. References:

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide, page 16, section 4.3.1

Nutanix Calm Runbooks

Nutanix Calm Library

Nutanix Calm Tasks

The error message "A specified logon session does not exist. It may already have been terminated" is often caused by the lack of CredSSP (Credential Security Support Provider) being enabled on the Windows Operating System. CredSSP is necessary for certain remote operations, including executing PowerShell scripts remotely.

References:

Microsoft documentation on Enabling CredSSP.

Nutanix documentation on Troubleshooting PowerShell Scripts.

 A variable is a placeholder for a value that can be used in a blueprint or a script. A variable can be defined at the global, project, or blueprint level. A global variable is available to all projects and blueprints, while a project variable is available to all blueprints within a project, and a blueprint variable is available only to the blueprint where it is defined. To make a variable visible to a blueprint, the developer needs to share the variable with the project that contains the blueprint. This can be done by going to the Variables page in the Calm UI and clicking on the Share button next to the variable name. Then, the developer needs to select the project from the drop-down list and click on Save. References: Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide, page 14; Nutanix Calm User Guide, section 3.2.

You can upgrade Nutanix Calm or Epsilon (the orchestration engine used by Nutanix Calm) by using the Life Cycle Manager (LCM) from the Prism Central. LCM allows you to upgrade Calm or Epsilon independently or simultaneously. You can also select the version that you want to upgrade to and perform the update from the Options list. For more information, see the Nutanix Calm Upgrades section in the Nutanix Calm Admin and Operations Guide1 and the Performing Inventory and Upgrading Calm with Life Cycle Manager article2. References:

Nutanix Calm Admin and Operations Guide1

Performing Inventory and Upgrading Calm with Life Cycle Manager2

The error message “INTERNAL_ERROR: ErrorCode: 9” typically indicates an issue with the SSH service on the VMs. In this context, where a playbook is being executed to shut down Linux VMs, it’s essential that the SSH service is running to allow for remote management and execution of commands. If the SSH service isn’t running, the playbook won’t be able to execute commands on the VMs, leading to an internal error.

References:

Nutanix Multicloud Automation Administration (NMCAA) Course, Module 3: X-Play, Lesson 3.3: Creating and Managing Playbooks, Slide 19: Action Settings

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide, Section 3: Validate Blueprints, Playbooks, and Automation Settings, Objective 3.3: Determine the correct method to validate required Playbook configurations

UESTION NO: 80

An administrator is unable to launch a Calm blueprint (new and old). Launching an existing blueprint under this condition fails with the error message:

The project for this blueprint does not have any associated Nutanix account.

Downloading and uploading the new blueprint also fails with

Launch with Variables' Profile expected to fall as Windows Server VWs attached with deleted Account.

Please modify them to use different account and try again.

Why is the administrator seeing this issue?

A. The account is in a failed state.

B. The has not been created.

C. The account is not verified.

D. The account been deleted.

Answer: D

The error messages indicate that the blueprint is trying to use a Nutanix account that no longer exists. This could happen if the account was deleted by another administrator or by a playbook action. The administrator should check the project settings and verify that the Nutanix account is still available and associated with the project. If not, the administrator should create a new account or use an existing one and update the blueprint accordingly. References: Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) 6.5 Exam Blueprint Guide, page 9; Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA), section 3; Nutanix NCP-MCA Certification Exam Sample Questions, question 80.

A Playbook action has a default memory limit of 256 MB, which can be increased up to 1024 MB in the advanced settings of the action. If the action requires more memory than the limit, it will fail with the error message “Internal Error, Maximum Memory size limit reached”. To resolve this issue, the administrator can edit the action and increase the memory limit to a suitable value, depending on the complexity and requirements of the action.

References:

Nutanix Multicloud Automation Administration (NMCAA) Course, Module 3: X-Play, Lesson 3.3: Creating and Managing Playbooks, Slide 19: Action Settings

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide, Section 3: Validate Blueprints, Playbooks, and Automation Settings, Objective 3.3: Determine the correct method to validate required Playbook configurations

The options for adding pre-create tasks and installing packages in the VM are grayed out because there are no credentials added yet. Nutanix Calm requires VM credentials to perform package installations and pre/post tasks, as these actions need access to the VM to execute the necessary commands and scripts.

References:

Nutanix Calm documentation on Managing VM Credentials.

Nutanix Best Practices for Blueprint Configuration.

In the context of deploying an application with Calm, if a customer receives an error for a Linux VM, it could be due to the absence of network adapters selected for the Address box in the Connection section within the blueprint. This means that there is no specified network connection for the VM, leading to a failure in script execution. 

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide: This is the official exam blueprint guide that covers the objectives, topics, and skills required for the certification. It also provides some sample questions and answers. The question you asked is similar to the one in section 3.1.1.

Nutanix Multicloud Automation Administration (NMCAA): This is a training course that teaches you the skills needed to install, configure, operate, and manage Nutanix X-Play and Nutanix Calm. It includes topics such as blueprint creation, connection configuration, and script execution.

Nutanix Calm User Guide: This is a user guide that explains how to use Nutanix Calm to automate the deployment and management of applications across different environments. It includes topics such as connection settings, blueprint validation, and error handling.

A Category in Nutanix is a grouping of entities (such as VMs, hosts, clusters, etc.) into a key-value pair. Categories are used to organize and manage resources more effectively by tagging them with meaningful identifiers.

References:

Nutanix documentation on Categories.

Nutanix Best Practices for Using Categories.

 A macro is a placeholder for a value that is resolved at runtime. Macros can be used to reference various Calm objects, such as variables, secrets, credentials, tasks, and services. The correct syntax for using a macro within a Calm blueprint is @@{calm.object}(@@, where calm.object is the name of the object to be referenced. For example, @@{username}(@@ would resolve to the value of the username variable at runtime. The other options are incorrect syntaxes for macros and would not be resolved by Calm. References: Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) v6.5, Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) 6 Exam, Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation

The warnings in the exhibit indicate that certain variables are missing or incorrectly defined. To resolve these warnings, the administrator should:

Create the variable under the action: Ensure that the necessary variables are defined in the scope of the action where they are required.

Create an add_worker_node_count variable: Specifically, the blueprint requires a variable named add_worker_node_count. This variable should be defined and given an appropriate value to ensure the action can execute properly.

References:

Nutanix Calm documentation on Blueprint Variables.

Nutanix Best Practices for Blueprint Development.

The default connection timeout value for an HTTP endpoint in Nutanix Calm is 60 seconds. This timeout defines how long the system will wait for a connection to be established before timing out.

References:

Nutanix Calm documentation on HTTP Endpoints.

Nutanix Best Practices for Configuring Endpoints.

 If a Blueprint deployment fails, the administrator can use the Continue option in the Self-Service Portal to resume the deployment from the point of failure. This option will retry the failed task and continue with the remaining tasks in the Blueprint. The administrator does not need to delete the application or launch a new one, as this would waste time and resources. Saving the Blueprint will not automatically retry the task, as the Blueprint is only a template for the deployment.

References:

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) v6.5, Section 3, Objective 3.1: Determine the causes of a Blueprint or Runbook deployment failure.

Nutanix NCP-MCA Certification Exam Sample Questions, Question 17.

 In order to add users to a Project, the Prism Central administrator must first configure an Authentication Directory. This is a service that provides user authentication and authorization for Prism Central, such as Active Directory or OpenLDAP. By configuring an Authentication Directory, the administrator can enable users to log in to Prism Central using their existing credentials and assign them roles and permissions based on their group membership. The administrator can also create local user accounts for users who do not belong to any Authentication Directory.

References:

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide, Section 2, Objective 2.5

Nutanix Multicloud Automation Administration (NMCAA) Course, Module 2, Lesson 2.2

Configuring Authentication | Nutanix Community

Calm can be deployed as a VM on ESXi or AHV hypervisors and leverage calm functionality without the Nutanix infrastructure. Calm can also be enabled inside of Prism Central, which is a VM that can run on any Nutanix supported hypervisor, including ESXi and AHV. However, Calm cannot be enabled inside of Prism Element, which is the management interface for each Nutanix cluster. Calm also cannot be deployed as a VM on Hyper-V, as this is not a supported hypervisor for Calm. References: Nutanix Calm Configuration and Training, Calm on ESXi Deployment | Nutanix Community, Nutanix Support & Insights

Runbooks are a feature of Calm that allows for the creation of task-based automation against dynamic lists of Windows or Linux VMs. A runbook is a collection of tasks that can be executed on one or more VMs or services. A task is a unit of automation that can perform actions such as executing commands, running scripts, invoking APIs, or sending notifications. A runbook can be triggered manually, on a schedule, or based on an event. Runbooks can be used to automate common operations such as backup, restore, patching, scaling, or troubleshooting. References: Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide, page 16; Nutanix Calm User Guide, section 3.4.

Nutanix provides a documented process to seed Github based scripts into the Calm Task Library, which allows users to import and use custom tasks from the Nutanix public Github repository or any other Github repository. This process is described in the Nutanix Calm DSL User Guide and the Nutanix Calm DSL Tutorial.

Nutanix also publishes official vetted blueprints and tasks to Nutanix’s public Github Calm repository, which is located at https://github.com/nutanix/blueprints . These blueprints and tasks are created and maintained by Nutanix engineers and can be used as reference or templates for building Calm applications. Some examples of these blueprints and tasks are:

Kubernetes Cluster: A blueprint that deploys a Kubernetes cluster on Nutanix AHV using Calm.

MySQL HA: A blueprint that deploys a MySQL cluster with high availability on Nutanix AHV using Calm.

Windows Server: A blueprint that deploys a Windows Server 2019 VM on Nutanix AHV using Calm.

[Install Python]: A task that installs Python on a Linux VM using Calm.

Calm’s public repository does not contain Nutanix-vetted custom scripts created and published by community members. These scripts are hosted in a separate repository called [Automation], which is a centralized repo for community driven Nutanix automation. These scripts are not officially supported or endorsed by Nutanix and may not be compatible with the latest versions of Calm or Nutanix products.

Nutanix does not provide documented processes to seed scripts from any source repository. Users can only import scripts from Github repositories using the Calm Task Library. Other source repositories are not supported by Calm.

References:

Nutanix Calm DSL User Guide

Nutanix Calm DSL Tutorial

Nutanix Calm Blueprints

Kubernetes Cluster

MySQL HA

Windows Server

[Install Python]

[Automation]

The error message indicates that the project for the blueprint does not have any associated Nutanix account. This typically means that the new account added in Self-Service (formerly Calm) has not been verified. Account verification is required to ensure the account is properly configured and has the necessary permissions to be used within a Self-Service project.

References:

Nutanix Calm documentation on Account Management.

Nutanix Best Practices for Verifying Accounts.

Self-Service (formerly Calm) automatically cleans up the database every 3 months. This regular maintenance task helps manage database size and performance by removing old and unnecessary data.

References:

Nutanix Calm documentation on Database Cleanup.

Nutanix Best Practices for Calm Maintenance.

The image shows a failed status for an SSH_VM_Task, which is manually triggered. Since the task involves SSH, it’s likely that the IP Address SSH action has a timeout of 5 minutes, causing the playbook to fail if it cannot complete within this time frame. The IP Address SSH action is used to execute commands on a remote VM using SSH. It requires the IP address, username, password, and command to run as inputs. The timeout parameter specifies how long the action will wait for the command to finish before aborting. If the timeout is too short, the action may fail due to network latency, slow execution, or other factors. References:

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) 6.5 Exam, page 16, section 1.3.2.2: “Playbooks”

[Nutanix University: NCP-MCA 6.5 Exam Prep - Playbooks], video 4: “Playbooks”

Scaling VM replica settings allow you to specify the minimum, maximum, and default number of VMs that can be created from a blueprint service. The minimum and default values must be equal to or greater than the number of VMs needed at any time and at time of deployment, which is 2 in this case. The maximum value must be equal to or less than the project quota divided by the VM resources, which is 100/12 = 8 for vCPUs and 300/24 = 12 for memory. The lowest of these two values is the limit for the maximum value, which is 8. Therefore, the only option that meets all the requirements is B. MIN: 2, MAX: 7, Default: 2.

References:

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide, page 10, Objective 3.1: Given a scenario, create a blueprint to deploy infrastructure and applications using Self-Service

Nutanix Multicloud Automation Administration (NMCAA), Module 5: Self-Service, Lesson 5.2: Blueprint Design, slide 23: Scaling VM Replica Settings

Nutanix Certified Professional Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) 6 Exam, page 10, Objective 3.1: Given a scenario, create a blueprint to deploy infrastructure and applications using Self-Service

To run a resource-intensive script on separate test environments at different times, the administrator should publish a Runbook. Runbooks allow for the automation of tasks across multiple environments and can be scheduled to run at specific times. Additionally, they can be modified by the development team as needed to adapt to changes in the script.

References:

Nutanix Calm documentation on Runbook Publishing.

Nutanix Best Practices for Automation and Scheduling.

An administrator can look to view a list of executed playbooks in two locations: Executions and Plays. The Executions page shows the status and details of all the playbooks that have been executed across all the projects. The Plays page shows the status and details of all the playbooks that have been executed within a specific project. The Lists page shows the predefined and custom lists that can be used as inputs for playbooks. The Dashboard page shows the overview and statistics of the X-Play service. References:

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) v6.5, Section 3 - Validate Blueprints, Runbooks, Playbooks, and Automation Settings, page 4

Nutanix Multicloud Automation Administration (NMCAA), Module 5 - X-Play, Lesson 5.3 - Playbook Management, page 2

Nutanix Calm User Guide, X-Play, Executions

According to the Nutanix Prism Central Guide1, categories are key-value pairs that can be assigned to entities such as VMs, images, blueprints, etc. Categories can be used to filter, group, and manage entities based on their attributes. To review and clean up all existing categories within the Nutanix environment, the administrator should filter on the name, value, entities, and policies of the categories. The name and value of the categories identify the category type and the category value respectively. The entities show how many and which entities are assigned to the category. The policies show how many and which policies are associated with the category. By filtering on these information, the administrator can organize the findings and eliminate unused categories. References:

1 Nutanix Prism Central Guide: Categories2

The administrator should use a trigger based on an event when creating a playbook to automate the scaling of the VDI solution. An event trigger is a type of trigger that executes a playbook when a specific event occurs in the Nutanix environment or in a third-party system. An event trigger can be configured to listen to events from various sources, such as Prism alerts, Calm actions, or external webhooks. In this scenario, the administrator can use an event trigger to listen to the webhook from the third-party monitoring tool and execute a playbook that creates additional resources and adds them to the VDI solution.

A trigger based on a REST API is not the best option, because it requires the administrator to manually invoke the playbook using an API call. This is not as efficient or reliable as using an event trigger that automatically executes the playbook when the capacity threshold is reached.

A trigger based on an email is also not the best option, because it requires the administrator to configure an email server and a mailbox to receive the notification from the third-party tool. This adds complexity and overhead to the automation process and may not be as secure or timely as using an event trigger.

A trigger based on an alert is a valid option, but it depends on the availability and compatibility of the Prism alert system with the third-party tool. If the third-party tool can send alerts to Prism, then the administrator can use an alert trigger to execute the playbook. However, if the third-party tool does not integrate with Prism, then the administrator cannot use an alert trigger and has to use an event trigger instead.

References:

Nutanix Calm User Guide: Chapter 8: X-Play

Nutanix Calm DSL User Guide: Chapter 5: Playbooks

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide: Section 1: Describe and Differentiate Automation Concepts and Principles

 A Playbook is a collection of tasks that can be executed based on a trigger, such as a time, a webhook, or a manual action. A Playbook can be used to automate workflows across different systems and services, such as Nutanix Prism, VMs, hosts, and external APIs. A Playbook can also use variables, conditions, and loops to customize the execution logic and data.

In this scenario, the administrator wants to automate the batch processing application on the Linux VM, which can only be controlled by a command on the VM console. The application should run only outside of business hours, and the VM should send REST API calls to Prism to report its status.

The best way to configure a Playbook for this process is to use a Time Trigger, which allows the administrator to specify a schedule for the Playbook execution, such as daily, weekly, or monthly. The Time Trigger can also be configured to run only on certain days or hours, such as weekdays or nights. This way, the administrator can ensure that the Playbook runs only outside of business hours, without requiring any manual intervention.

The Playbook should then have two VM SSH tasks, one to initiate the batch processing application, and one to terminate it. A VM SSH task is a task that executes a command or script on a target VM using SSH. A VM SSH task can be used to control applications or services that do not have a programmatic interface, such as the batch processing application in this scenario. The VM SSH task can also use variables to pass data to or from the command or script, such as the VM name, IP address, or output.

The Playbook should also have a Wait for Some Time task, which is a task that pauses the Playbook execution for a specified duration or until a condition is met. A Wait for Some Time task can be used to ensure that the batch processing application has enough time to complete its work, or to wait for a certain event or state to occur, such as a file creation, a service status, or a VM power state.

The Playbook should also have two REST API tasks, one before and one after the Wait for Some Time task. A REST API task is a task that executes an HTTP request to a specified URL, with optional headers, body, and authentication. A REST API task can be used to interact with external systems or services that expose an API, such as Nutanix Prism in this scenario. The REST API task can also use variables to pass data to or from the HTTP request, such as the VM name, IP address, or response.

The REST API tasks should be configured to send the VM status to Prism, such as the start and end time of the batch processing, the CPU and memory usage, or the output of the application. This way, the administrator can monitor and manage the VM and the application from Prism, without having to connect to the VM console.

The Playbook configuration should look something like this:

Time Trigger: Set the schedule to run daily, only on weekdays, and only at night (e.g., 10 PM to 6 AM).

VM SSH: Set the target VM to the Linux VM, and set the command or script to initiate the batch processing application (e.g., ./batch.sh start).

REST API: Set the URL to the Prism API endpoint, and set the HTTP method, headers, body, and authentication as required. Use variables to pass the VM name, IP address, and start time of the batch processing to the HTTP request (e.g., {"vm_name": "{{vm_name}}", "vm_ip": "{{vm_ip}}", "start_time": "{{start_time}}"}).

Wait for Some Time: Set the duration to the expected time for the batch processing to finish, or set a condition to wait until a certain event or state occurs (e.g., wait until file /tmp/batch.done exists).

REST API: Set the URL to the Prism API endpoint, and set the HTTP method, headers, body, and authentication as required. Use variables to pass the VM name, IP address, end time, and output of the batch processing to the HTTP request (e.g., {"vm_name": "{{vm_name}}", "vm_ip": "{{vm_ip}}", "end_time": "{{end_time}}", "output": "{{output}}"}).

VM SSH: Set the target VM to the Linux VM, and set the command or script to terminate the batch processing application (e.g., ./batch.sh stop).

References: 

https://www.nutanix.com/content/dam/nutanix/resources/datasheets/ds-ncp-mca-6-5.pdf

https://www.nutanix.com/content/dam/nutanix/resources/support/ds-ncp-mca.pdf

To trigger a series of actions (taking a snapshot, expanding the vDisk, and sending a Slack message) from a pipeline CI/CD, the appropriate trigger to use is "Webhook." Webhooks allow external systems, such as CI/CD pipelines, to trigger playbooks in Nutanix Calm via HTTP requests, making them suitable for integrating with CI/CD tools.

References:

Nutanix documentation on Webhook Triggers.

Nutanix Best Practices for CI/CD Integration.

When creating a Runbook in Nutanix Calm, the "Default Endpoint" field is optional. Essential fields such as Name, Project, and Task Name are required to define the Runbook's structure and execution parameters. The Default Endpoint can be specified if there is a preferred initial endpoint for executing tasks, but it is not mandatory.

References:

Nutanix Calm documentation on Runbook Creation.

Nutanix Best Practices for Runbook Management.

A provider is a configuration that allows Nutanix Calm to interact with a public cloud platform, such as AWS, Azure, or GCP. A provider contains the credentials, settings, and policies required to deploy and manage VMs on the public cloud. Before creating a blueprint for a new public cloud environment, the administrator should create a new provider for AWS and specify the region, access key, secret key, and other parameters. This will enable the administrator to select the AWS provider as the deployment location for the blueprint and configure the VM attributes accordingly. References: Nutanix Multicloud Automation Administration (NMCAA), page 15; Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA), section 2.

 To view the last two actions taken by a single VM blueprint, the administrator should go to the History Tab. This tab shows the history of all the actions performed on the blueprint, such as launch, update, delete, etc. The administrator can filter the history by date, action, status, and user. The history tab also provides details of each action, such as the start time, end time, duration, and logs.

The other three options are not correct because:

The AMIS tab shows the list of Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) that are available for the blueprint. The administrator can use this tab to select an AMI for the blueprint or create a custom AMI.

The service tab shows the list of services that are part of the blueprint. The administrator can use this tab to add, edit, or delete services, as well as configure the dependencies, tasks, and variables for each service.

The Metrics tab shows the performance metrics of the blueprint, such as CPU, memory, disk, and network usage. The administrator can use this tab to monitor the health and performance of the blueprint and its services. References:

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) 6.5 Exam, page 18

Nutanix Calm User Guide, section “Blueprint History”

An X-Play Trigger is a condition that initiates a Playbook. There are four types of X-Play Triggers: Alert, Audit, Event, and Time1. An Alert Trigger is based on a Prism alert, such as a VM power state change or a disk failure. An Audit Trigger is based on a Prism audit entry, such as a user login or a cluster operation. An Event Trigger is based on a Prism event, such as a VM creation or deletion. A Time Trigger is based on a schedule, such as daily, weekly, or monthly2. In this scenario, the administrator needs to create a Playbook to be notified when VMs are deleted. Therefore, the appropriate X-Play Trigger would be an Event Trigger, since VM deletion is a Prism event. References: 1: Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide, page 42: Getting Started with Nutanix X-Play – Nutanix.dev

A playbook REST API action allows the administrator to send an HTTP request to a specified endpoint, such as the Prism Central API, to perform an operation, such as deleting a VM. A playbook webhook action allows the administrator to send a payload to a specified URL, such as a ServiceNow webhook, to trigger an event, such as an approval flow. Both of these actions can be used to automate the deletion of VMs from a ServiceNow approval flow, where the developers can request and confirm the removal of their environments. A playbook webhook trigger and a playbook REST API trigger are not valid options, as they are used to initiate a playbook based on an external event, not to perform an action within a playbook. References: Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) 6.5 Exam Blueprint Guide, page 10; Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA), section 4; NCP-MCA Exam Dumps - Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud …, question 70.

A Self-Service (formerly Calm) developer can find detailed and downloadable logs for analyzing a Blueprint deployment failure in the specific Application Audit tab. This tab provides insights and logs related to the deployment, helping to diagnose and resolve issues.

References:

Nutanix Calm documentation on Application Audit.

Nutanix Best Practices for Troubleshooting Deployments.

Scaling VM replica settings allow you to specify the minimum, maximum, and default number of VMs that can be created from a blueprint service. The minimum and default values must be equal to or greater than the number of VMs needed at any time and at time of deployment, which is 2 in this case. The maximum value must be equal to or less than the project quota divided by the VM resources, which is 100/12 = 8 for vCPUs and 300/24 = 12 for memory. The lowest of these two values is the limit for the maximum value, which is 8. Therefore, the only option that meets all the requirements is B. MIN: 2, MAX: 7, Default: 2.

References:

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide, page 10, Objective 3.1: Given a scenario, create a blueprint to deploy infrastructure and applications using Self-Service

Nutanix Multicloud Automation Administration (NMCAA), Module 5: Self-Service, Lesson 5.2: Blueprint Design, slide 23: Scaling VM Replica Settings

Nutanix Certified Professional Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) 6 Exam, page 10, Objective 3.1: Given a scenario, create a blueprint to deploy infrastructure and applications using Self-Service

The error message in the exhibit indicates a mismatch between the number of network settings and the number of NICs on the VM. This is a common validation error when saving Calm Blueprints for VMware, where it is essential to ensure that these configurations match to avoid issues with VM deployment and operation1. References: 1: Nutanix NCP-MCA Certification Exam Sample Questions2

After upgrading Self-Service (formerly Calm) from version 3.3 to 3.6, the administrator noticed that Policy Engine scheduled jobs were failing and an alert was being presented in Prism Central. This issue is likely due to a version mismatch between the upgraded components. The recommended solution is to use Lifecycle Manager (LCM) to upgrade the Policy Engine to ensure compatibility with the new version of Self-Service.

References:

Nutanix documentation on Upgrading Components with LCM.

Nutanix Best Practices for Managing Upgrades.

When scripts are not specified under the Stop service-level actions, the system does not generate orchestration edges automatically. To prevent this issue, the administrator should manually update all system-defined actions. This involves defining the necessary scripts or actions to ensure proper orchestration and dependencies are in place.

References:

Nutanix documentation on Service-Level Actions.

Nutanix Best Practices for Orchestration Management.

One prerequisite for deploying Self-Service (formerly Calm) is that a unique Virtual IP address (VIP) must be configured in the Prism web console cluster that is running on Prism Central. This VIP is necessary for high availability and to ensure that Self-Service can be accessed reliably.

References:

Nutanix Calm documentation on Deployment Requirements.

Nutanix Best Practices for Configuring VIP.

 The best way to automate the entire database and application deployments is to use a combination of Nutanix Calm and Nutanix Era. Nutanix Calm is a multicloud automation platform that allows you to create blueprints to deploy and manage infrastructure and applications across different cloud environments. Nutanix Era is a database management platform that allows you to provision, clone, patch, refresh, and restore databases in a simplified and automated way. By creating a Calm blueprint that deploys applications and calls Era APIs to automate database deployments, you can achieve faster and consistent releases, as well as reduce the manual effort and complexity involved in the process. You can also leverage the features of Calm and Era, such as self-service, governance, showback, backup, and recovery, to enhance the efficiency and security of your deployments. References: 

https://www.nutanix.com/support-services/training-certification/certifications/certification-details-nutanix-certified-professional-multicloud-automation-v6-5

https://www.nutanix.com/content/dam/nutanix/resources/support/ds-ncp-mca.pdf

The Consumer can ensure all underlying VMs are deleted with the removal of the application by going to the Manage tab of the application and selecting the Hard Delete action. This option will delete the application and all its associated resources from the Nutanix platform, without leaving any traces or backups. This option is useful when the application is no longer needed or has to be removed for compliance reasons.

From the Applications page, selecting the checkbox next to the application and selecting Delete from the action’s menu will not delete all underlying VMs. This option will only delete the application from the Calm UI, but not from the Nutanix platform. The application and its resources will still be available in the Nutanix cluster and can be restored from the Calm UI using the Restore action.

From the Marketplace page, selecting the checkbox next to the application and selecting Delete from the actions menu will not delete the application or its underlying VMs. This option will only delete the application from the Marketplace, but not from the Calm UI or the Nutanix platform. The application and its resources will still be available in the Calm UI and the Nutanix cluster.

Going to the Manage tab of the application and selecting the Delete action will also not delete all underlying VMs. This option will only delete the application from the Calm UI, but not from the Nutanix platform. The application and its resources will still be available in the Nutanix cluster and can be restored from the Calm UI using the Restore action.

References:

Nutanix Calm User Guide: Chapter 6: Managing Applications

Nutanix Calm DSL User Guide: Chapter 4: Blueprints

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide: Section 2: Deploy and Configure Self-service and Related Components

The error message indicates that customization of the guest operating system is not supported. This issue often arises because open-vm-tools is not installed or not running on the Redhat Enterprise Linux VM. open-vm-tools is necessary for vSphere to perform guest customization tasks, such as setting the hostname, IP configuration, and other initialization tasks.

References:

Nutanix documentation on Guest Customization Requirements.

VMware documentation on Installing Open VM Tools.

To create an application blueprint for AWS and Azure in Nutanix Calm, the Blueprint Developer needs to complete the following actions:

Create AWS and Azure Accounts: These accounts must be created and configured within Nutanix Calm to allow integration with the respective cloud providers.

Add the provider Accounts to the project: Once the accounts are created, they need to be added to the specific project in which the blueprint will be developed. This ensures that the blueprint can use the resources and configurations associated with these accounts.

References:

Nutanix documentation on Creating Cloud Accounts.

Nutanix Best Practices for Project Configuration.

https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Nutanix-Calm-Admin-Operations-Guide-v3_6_2:nuc-macros-variables-overview-c.html

In the Guest Customization section of a blueprint for an AHV Linux service, you can apply a Cloud-init script. Cloud-init is a widely used method for customizing cloud instances during boot time, allowing for automated configuration of the virtual machine's operating system.

References:

Nutanix Calm documentation on Guest Customization.

Nutanix Best Practices for Using Cloud-init.

 Nutanix Calm is a feature of Prism Central that enables you to automate the deployment and management of infrastructure and applications across multiple clouds. Prism Central is a centralized management plane that provides unified visibility and control over Nutanix clusters and services. Prism Element is the local management plane for each Nutanix cluster that runs the Acropolis Operating System (AOS). Both Prism Central and Prism Element are required for Nutanix Calm to function properly and access the resources and services of the Nutanix platform. References:

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) v6.5, Section 2 - Deploy and Configure Nutanix Calm and Related Components, page 1

Nutanix Multicloud Automation Administration (NMCAA), Module 1 - Introduction to Nutanix Multicloud Automation, Lesson 1.1 - Nutanix Multicloud Automation Overview, page 4

Nutanix Calm User Guide, Introduction to Nutanix Calm, Nutanix Calm Architecture

Substrates are the components of a blueprint that define the cloud resources and configurations for deploying VMs or applications. Substrates can be associated with different cloud accounts, such as AWS, Azure, GCP, or Nutanix, to enable multicloud deployments. By using substrates, an administrator can create a blueprint that can deploy VMs to multiple clouds, depending on the availability, cost, or performance requirements.

References:

Nutanix Multicloud Automation Administration (NMCAA) course, Module 3: Blueprints, Lesson 3.2: Substrates1

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide, Section 2.1: Create a blueprint to deploy infrastructure and applications using Nutanix Calm2

A Branch Condition is a type of action in X-Play that allows you to create conditional logic based on the output of a previous action or a custom expression. A Branch Condition can have multiple branches, each with a different condition and a different set of actions to execute if the condition is met. The minimum number of actions required in a Branch Condition is two: one for the condition itself, and one for the action to perform if the condition is true. If the condition is false, the Branch Condition will skip to the next action in the Playbook. You can add more branches to a Branch Condition, but you cannot have less than two. References: Nutanix Calm: Playbooks - Read the Docs and Nutanix Calm: Branch Condition - Read the Docs.

Plays are event-driven automation workflows that can be triggered by alerts, schedules, or manual actions. They consist of one or more actions that run on specified hosts or clusters. An administrator can obtain the following information from Plays:

Host where the action runs: Each action in a Play can be configured to run on a specific host or cluster, or on the host or cluster where the alert was triggered. The administrator can view the host or cluster name for each action in the Play details page.

Execution result status: Each action in a Play has an execution result status that indicates whether the action was successful, failed, skipped, or cancelled. The administrator can view the status for each action in the Play details page, as well as the overall status of the Play.

The other options are incorrect because:

Start time and end time of each action: Plays do not show the start time and end time of each action, only the duration of the action. The administrator can view the duration for each action in the Play details page, as well as the overall duration of the Play.

CVM IP where the alert was triggered: Plays do not show the CVM IP where the alert was triggered, only the host or cluster name where the alert was triggered. The administrator can view the host or cluster name for the alert in the Play details page.

References:

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide, Section 1.2

Nutanix Multicloud Automation Administration (NMCAA) Course, Module 4: X-Play

Training Spotlight: Nutanix Multicloud Automation Administration (NMCAA), Video 4: X-Play

The alert indicates that Calm Showback is unable to reach the Beam service. One possible cause mentioned is that there is no DNS configured in Prism Central. To resolve this issue, the administrator should ensure that DNS is properly configured in Prism Central to allow for name resolution and internet connectivity required to communicate with Beam services.

References:

Nutanix documentation on Configuring DNS in Prism Central.

Nutanix Best Practices for Calm and Beam Integration.

A Calm Developer is a role that allows a user to create, update, and execute Playbooks in Calm. A Playbook is a collection of Tasks that can be executed on one or more Targets, such as VMs, applications, or services. A Calm Developer can also create and use Runbooks, Blueprints, and Library items in Calm. A Prism Admin is a role that allows a user to manage the Prism Central instance and its features, such as users, roles, alerts, policies, etc. A Calm Admin is a role that allows a user to manage the Calm service and its settings, such as endpoints, credentials, projects, etc. A Project Admin is a role that allows a user to manage a specific project and its resources, such as applications, Blueprints, Runbooks, etc. References:

Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Automation (NCP-MCA) Exam Blueprint Guide, page 14, section 4.1.1

Nutanix Calm Roles and Permissions

Nutanix Calm Playbooks