NCP-DB Practice Questions

Nutanix NDB provides the ability to create highly-available (HA) database pairs, leveraging replication and failover across clusters. The two databases explicitly supported for HA pairs in NDB are PostgreSQL and SQL Server. NDB orchestrates HA for PostgreSQL using streaming replication and for SQL Server using Always On Availability Groups or Failover Cluster Instances, ensuring data redundancy and failover capabilities across Nutanix clusters.

Other options are not supported for HA pairs:

A.  

MySQL: MySQL is supported by NDB but lacks native HA pair configuration.

D.  

MariaDB: Similar to MySQL, MariaDB is managed by NDB but does not support HA pairs.

Thus, the verified answers are B and C, reflecting NDB’s HA capabilities.

Official Nutanix Database Automation References

Nutanix Database Management & Automation (NDMA) course, Module 4: High Availability and Disaster Recovery, Lesson 4.1: Configuring HA for Databases.

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5 Knowledge Objectives, Section 4: Troubleshoot NDB Solutions, Objective 4.1: Configure HA for Supported Databases (applicable to v6.10).

Nutanix NDB Administration Guide: "High Availability Supported Databases" section.

 Nutanix Era can be upgraded using the Offline Upgrade and One-click Upgrade methods. The Offline Upgrade method involves manually downloading the software update and applying it to the Era instance. The One-click Upgrade method allows you to upgrade Era directly from the Era management console with a single click, provided that the Era instance has internet connectivity and can reach the Nutanix software update portal1.

A Log Catchup gap in Nutanix Database Service (NDB) occurs when transaction logs are missing or corrupted, disrupting point-in-time restore (PITR) operations for cloning or database restoration via Time Machine. The NDB Time Machine Heal Snapshot feature addresses this by repairing snapshots to resolve such gaps.

Option A (By default the time machine auto-heal feature is enabled) is incorrect because the auto-heal feature is not enabled by default; it requires explicit configuration or manual invocation.

Option B (Manual Heal is only used when gaps in Log Catchup are detected once the operation has begun failing) is incorrect because manual heal can be initiated proactively or reactively, not solely after failure detection.

Option C is correct because a successful Time Machine Heal process restores the snapshot integrity, allowing PITR to span the previously gapped period.

Option D is correct as the auto-heal process, when enabled, runs every 5 minutes to detect and address healable conditions, aligning with NDB’s automated maintenance schedule.

Together, C and D reflect the operational mechanics of the Heal Snapshot feature.

References

Nutanix Database Service (NDB) User Guide, Chapter 5: Configuring Time Machines, Section: Healing Snapshot Gaps

Nutanix Support & Insights, Knowledge Base Article: "Resolving Log Catchup Gaps with Time Machine Heal"

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5 Blueprint, Section 5: Protect Databases Using Time Machine