Pass the Nutanix Certified Professional (NCP) NCP-CN Questions and answers with ExamsMirror

As stated in theNKPA 6.10 documentation, when using external storage (such as AWS S3) withLokifor log storage, AWS credentials must be provided securely. This typically involves creating a KubernetesSecretcontaining the static AWS credentials (access key ID and secret access key), which are referenced in the override ConfigMap to authenticate Loki’s S3 storage backend.

Key reference from documentation:

“For Loki to store logs in an S3 bucket, AWS credentials must be created as a Kubernetes secret and referenced in the storage configuration.”

The exhibit indicates an error during the creation of a bootstrap cluster using the nkp create bootstrap command in an air-gapped environment. The NKPA course explains that a bootstrap cluster is a temporary Kubernetes cluster used to initialize Cluster API (CAPI) components for provisioning the target NKP cluster. In an air-gapped environment, all required resources, including container images, must be available locally since there is no Internet access to pull them from public registries.

The most likely reason for the error is thatthe bootstrap cluster image needs to be loaded prior to creating the bootstrap cluster(Option B). The course specifies that in air-gapped deployments, the bootstrap cluster image (typically a kind or k3s image used by CAPI) must be pre-loaded into a local container registry or the bastion host before running nkp create bootstrap. This image is part of the Air-Gapped Bundle provided by Nutanix, which includes all necessary container images for NKP deployment. Without pre-loading this image, the nkp create bootstrap command fails because it cannot pull the required image.

The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “In an air-gapped NKP deployment, ensure the bootstrap cluster image (e.g., kindest/node) is loaded into a local registry or host before executing nkp create bootstrap, as the command requires this image to create the temporary cluster.” The engineer must extract the bootstrap image from the Air-Gapped Bundle, load it using docker load or similar, and configure the local registry to make it accessible during the bootstrap process.

Incorrect Options:

A. The CAPI provisioning method needs to be specified as nkp create bootstrap nutanix: The nkp create bootstrap command does not require a provisioning method like nutanix at this stage; the provider (e.g., CAPX for Nutanix) is specified during the actual cluster creation (nkp create cluster), not bootstrap creation.

C. The Ubuntu 22.04 OS image needs to be NIB-prepped prior to creating the bootstrap: The Ubuntu 22.04 image is for the target NKP cluster nodes, not the bootstrap cluster, which uses a pre-built image (e.g., kind). NIB-prepping this image is a later step.

D. The nkp create bootstrap command needs to be executed as root: While some commands may require elevated privileges, the NKPA course does not specify that nkp create bootstrap must be run as root. The error is more likely related to missing images in an air-gapped setup.

As per theNKPA 6.10 documentationunder “Day 2 Operations: Managing Applications”, the recommended procedure to enable an application (like NKP Insights) involves accessing the cluster’sApplication Dashboard. The NKP Insights application does not appear in the general category list if the cluster does not have the correct context or if the application category is not globally enabled.

The specific procedure to enable NKP Insights includes:

Navigate to theClusterssection from the left-side menu.

SelectView Detailsfor the target cluster (prod-01 in this case).

In theApplication Dashboardof that specific cluster, locate the NKP Insights application.

Click the three-dot menu (ellipsis) for NKP Insights and selectEnable.

The NKPA course clarifies that NKP licenses are based on the number ofCPU coresin the infrastructure hosting the Kubernetes clusters. This licensing model applies to both on-premises (e.g., Nutanix AHV) and cloud-based deployments. The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “NKP licenses are obtained based on the total number of CPU cores allocated to the clusters managed by the platform.” This core-based licensing ensures flexibility across different infrastructure types while aligning with the resource consumption of Kubernetes workloads.

Incorrect Options:

A. Flash: Flash storage is not a licensing unit for NKP.

B. CPU Sockets: Nutanix licenses for other products may use sockets, but NKP uses cores.

C. TiBs: Terabytes are used for storage licensing, not NKP.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

The NKP Pro licensing tier includes Fleet Management, which enables centralized lifecycle management of multiple Kubernetes clusters. This feature is critical for managing larger environments, providing visibility and control over fleet-wide configurations and updates. Other features, like AI OPS and advanced observability, are typically associated with higher tiers (e.g., Ultimate).

NKP uses the Cluster Autoscaler to scale worker node replicas up or down.This ensures that resource availability dynamically matches workload demand by adjusting the number of worker nodes. Pod-level autoscaling (Horizontal-Pod autoscaler) is also supported for pod scaling but is not responsible for node pool expansion or compaction.

Key Reference:

“NKP uses the Cluster Autoscaler to dynamically adjust worker node pool replicas in response to cluster resource demands.”

Attaching an existing Amazon EKS cluster to NKP for fleet management involves integrating the cluster into NKP’s management plane, which requires specific preparatory steps. The NKPA course outlines that the first step is tocreate a service account with cluster-admin permissionsin the EKS cluster. This service account is used by NKP to authenticate and manage the cluster, enabling operations like monitoring, scaling, and application deployment.

The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide explains: “To attach an external Kubernetes cluster, such as Amazon EKS, to NKP, a service account with cluster-admin role bindings must be created to allow NKP to interact with the cluster’s API server.” The service account is configured with a token that NKP uses to authenticate requests. The NKPA course provides detailed steps, including creating the service account, assigning the cluster-admin ClusterRole, and generating a token for NKP integration. This step is critical to ensure NKP has the necessary permissions to manage the EKS cluster.

Incorrect Options:

A. Configure a ConfigMap according to EKS configuration: While ConfigMaps may be used for specific configurations, they are not the first step for attaching an EKS cluster. The NKPA course prioritizes service account creation.

C. Configure HAProxy to get connected to EKS clusters: HAProxy is a load balancer, not required for attaching EKS clusters to NKP. EKS uses AWS-native load balancers, and NKP connects via the Kubernetes API.

D. Deploy cert-manager in the EKS clusters: Cert-manager is used for certificate management, not a prerequisite for attaching EKS clusters. The NKPA course does not list it as a required step.

The NKPA course specifies that air-gapped deployments and centralized fleet management of multiple clusters are advanced features of NKP, requiring theNKP Ultimatelicense tier. The Ultimate tier includes support for air-gapped environments (via Air-Gapped Bundles) and fleet management capabilities, such as attaching and managing multiple clusters under a single management plane, which is critical for the national defense company’s scenario.

The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “The NKP Ultimate license tier is required for air-gapped deployments and centralized management of multiple Kubernetes clusters, providing the necessary tools for secure, isolated environments.” This ensures the company can deploy and manage their three clusters in an air-gapped setup while maintaining strict data security.

Incorrect Options:

A. NKP Starter: The Starter tier lacks air-gapped and fleet management features.

C. NKP Pro: The Pro tier may support some advanced features but not air-gapped deployments or full fleet management.

D. NKP UI: This is not a license tier; it’s a UI component of NKP.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From General Kubernetes Knowledge:

Since this question involves AWS EKS and Azure AKS specifics outside the NKP context, and web search is unavailable, I will rely on general Kubernetes knowledge as of my last update. Using a custom image for EKS and AKS worker nodes means replacing the default, optimized images provided by AWS and Azure, which are pre-configured with components tailored for their managed Kubernetes services.

The primary functionality lost by using a custom image in both EKS and AKS isbuilt-in autoscaling and security capabilities(Option C):

Autoscaling: Both EKS and AKS rely on their default node images to integrate with their native autoscaling mechanisms, such as the EKS Cluster Autoscaler (which uses AWS Auto Scaling Groups) and AKS Cluster Autoscaler (which integrates with Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets). Custom images may lack the necessary agents or configurations (e.g., AWS SSM Agent, Azure VM extensions) to communicate with these autoscaling services, requiring manual configuration.

Security Capabilities: Default images include pre-configured security features, such as AWS’s integration with IAM roles for service accounts (IRSA) and Azure’s integration with Azure Active Directory (AAD) for RBAC. Custom images may not include these integrations, potentially breaking security features like automatic credential rotation or managed identity support unless manually configured.

Incorrect Options:

A. Native monitoring tools, logging, and alerting: Monitoring and logging (e.g., AWS CloudWatch, Azure Monitor) are managed at the control plane level, not the node image level, so these features are generally unaffected by custom images.

B. Cluster networking and load balancing: Networking (e.g., AWS VPC CNI, Azure CNI) and load balancing (e.g., AWS ALB, Azure Load Balancer) are configured by the control plane and CNI plugins, not the node image.

D. Ability to use GPUs and persistent storage: GPU support and persistent storage (e.g., EBS, Azure Disk) depend on drivers and CSI plugins, which can be installed on custom images without losing functionality.

The exhibit shows a YAML manifest for a NodeGroup resource that has autoscaler-related annotations:

yaml

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cluster.x-k8s.io/cluster-api-autoscaler-node-group-min-size: "3"

cluster.x-k8s.io/cluster-api-autoscaler-node-group-max-size: "15"

According to theNKPA 6.10 documentation, these annotations configure theminimumandmaximumnumber of nodes for the autoscaler in the specified NodeGroup. The autoscaler will ensure the number of nodes never goes below the minimum (3) and never exceeds the maximum (15).

Key Reference:

"The cluster-autoscaler will scale the NodeGroup up to the maximum size and down to the minimum size based on workload requirements."