Nutanix Certified Associate Practice Exam

Which service performs snapshots in an AOS 5.5 implementation?

1. Medusa

2. Prism

3. Sentinel

4. Veeam

The correct answer is: Medusa

In an Acropolis Operating System (AOS) 5.5 implementation, the service responsible for performing snapshots is Medusa. Medusa is a key component of Nutanix’s storage architecture, specifically designed to handle data protection features such as snapshots, clones, and replication. It operates transparently in the background to create consistent and application-aware snapshots of the virtual machines (VMs) based on the underlying storage technology in the Nutanix environment. Snapshots are essential for data protection strategies as they allow for point-in-time copies of VMs to be created, enabling quick recovery in case of data loss or corruption. Medusa's integration with the Nutanix platform allows these snapshots to be taken efficiently without significant performance degradation, ensuring minimal impact on VM operations. Prism serves as the user interface for managing the Nutanix infrastructure but does not directly handle snapshot functionality. Sentinel is a service related to data protection but focuses more on the analytics and monitoring of data protection processes rather than performing snapshots. Veeam, while a popular third-party backup solution, is not natively integrated into the AOS for snapshot operations; it relies on other integrations to carry out backup and recovery processes. Understanding this functional differentiation helps in grasping how data protection is