Nutanix Certified Associate Practice Exam

Which storage protocol should an administrator use to access a new storage container in a Hyper-V Nutanix cluster?

1. NFS

2. SMB/CIFS

3. iSCSI

4. Fibre Channel

The correct answer is: SMB/CIFS

In a Hyper-V environment running on a Nutanix cluster, the recommended storage protocol for accessing a new storage container is SMB/CIFS. This is primarily because Hyper-V relies on file-level storage access, and SMB (Server Message Block) is the protocol designed for sharing files over a network in Microsoft environments, making it the most compatible and efficient for Windows-based applications like Hyper-V. Utilizing SMB allows Hyper-V to take full advantage of features like high availability, easy management, and the ability to work seamlessly with Windows Server functionalities. Furthermore, SMB offers the ability to support advanced features such as live migration and dynamic memory, which are critical for optimal performance in virtualized environments. While NFS (Network File System) is a viable option for Linux-based systems, it is not typically used in Hyper-V setups that predominantly leverage Windows technologies. iSCSI and Fibre Channel are block storage protocols that provide different functionalities and are more suitable for scenarios requiring disk-level access rather than file-level access in Hyper-V. Therefore, utilizing SMB/CIFS with a Hyper-V Nutanix cluster aligns perfectly with Windows ecosystem requirements and enhances the overall management and performance of virtual machines.