Minerva is the internal service name for Nutanix Files. This service runs on the Controller VMs (CVMs) and is the core component responsible for managing the entire Nutanix Files cluster lifecycle, including deployment, configuration, and ongoing operations. When File server services are reported as down, the Minerva service is the primary component that an administrator must investigate on the CVMs to diagnose the root cause of the outage. Its status directly reflects the health of the Nutanix Files control plane.

B. Sysstatsserver: This service is responsible for collecting and processing system statistics for performance monitoring and reporting, not for core file-serving operations.

C. Cassandra: Cassandra is a distributed metadata database for the overall Nutanix cluster. While critical, it is not the specific service that directly manages the Nutanix Files functionality.

D. Insightscollector: This service gathers data for the Nutanix Insights platform for proactive monitoring and support. Its failure does not impact the core functionality of the File server.

1. Nutanix University

Nutanix Unified Storage Administration (NUSA) v6.5

Student Guide: Module 2: Nutanix Files Architecture

in the "Control Plane" section

states

"The control plane for Nutanix Files is the Minerva service

which runs on every CVM in the Nutanix cluster... The Minerva service is responsible for managing the file server."

2. Nutanix Files v4.4 Administration Guide: In the "Nutanix Files Architecture" section

the document details the role of the CVMs in managing the file server. It explains that the "Minerva service" running on the CVMs orchestrates all file server operations.

3. Nutanix Support Portal

KB-7840: This knowledge base article

which details the NCC health check fileservercvmservicescheck

explicitly mentions checking the status of the "Minerva leader" and other Minerva services to ensure the health of the Nutanix Files cluster.

Assuming the exhibit illustrates a disaster recovery setup between two distinct Nutanix sites managed by Prism Central, with configured Protection Policies and Recovery Plans, the correct term is Smart DR. Smart DR is the Nutanix orchestration solution that automates application and data recovery between sites. It encompasses the policies for replication (such as Async or NearSync schedules) and the plans for executing failover and failback operations. This provides a comprehensive framework for recovering from a site-wide outage with a non-zero Recovery Point Objective (RPO).

B. Metro Availability: This is a synchronous replication (RPO=0) solution for continuous availability between two sites with very low latency (<5ms RTT), which is a different architecture.

C. Availability Zones: This feature, also known as rack awareness, provides high availability within a single cluster by distributing data across different fault domains, not DR between separate clusters.

D. NearSync: This refers specifically to a replication schedule with a very low RPO (1-15 minutes). While it can be used by Smart DR, "Smart DR" describes the entire orchestration solution.

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1. Prism Central Guide (pc.2023.4)

Chapter: Disaster Recovery (DR) with Prism Central

Section: Nutanix DR Solutions (Smart DR): "Nutanix DR solutions (also known as Smart DR) provide a way to recover from a disaster with minimal RPO and RTO. Nutanix DR solutions use the protection policy and recovery plan-based DR configuration." This defines Smart DR as the overarching orchestration solution.

2. Data Protection and Recovery with Prism Element Guide (AOS 6.7)

Chapter: Data Protection

Section: Metro Availability for DR (RPO 0): "Metro Availability is a continuous availability solution that provides a global file system namespace across a container stretched between two sites... The recovery point objective (RPO) is zero." This distinguishes it from asynchronous solutions.

3. Data Protection and Recovery with Prism Element Guide (AOS 6.7)

Chapter: Data Protection

Section: Asynchronous DR with a Near-sync Schedule (1 to 15 minutes RPO): "Near-sync replication provides a lightweight snapshot-based solution that offers a low RPO... You can set an RPO of 1 to 15 minutes." This identifies NearSync as a specific schedule type

not the entire DR framework.

4. Prism Element Web Console Guide (AOS 6.7)

Chapter: Cluster Management

Section: Rack Configuration: "Nutanix provides a rack fault tolerance feature... When you create a rack configuration

the cluster can sustain the failure of one or more racks... This feature is also known as rack awareness." This clarifies that Availability Zones (rack awareness) are for intra-cluster high availability.

Prism Central is the centralized management platform for Nutanix services, including Nutanix Files. Before creating a new file server or upgrading an existing one, the Prism Central instance managing the cluster must be upgraded to a version that is compatible with the target Nutanix Files version. This is a mandatory prerequisite because Prism Central orchestrates the deployment and upgrade workflows. The management plane (Prism Central) must support the features and API calls of the new Files version to successfully perform the operation.

A. FSM: The File Server Module (FSM) is a component of the Files software package itself. It is upgraded during the Files upgrade process, not before it.

B. File Analytics: File Analytics is a separate, optional tool for monitoring and analysis. While it has its own compatibility requirements, it is not a prerequisite for creating or upgrading the core file server.

D. FSVM: The File Server VMs (FSVMs) constitute the file server cluster. The process of upgrading Files involves upgrading the software on the FSVMs. This happens as part of the upgrade, not as a prerequisite step.

1. Nutanix Files User Guide v4.4: In the "Upgrading Files" chapter

the "Prerequisites" section states

"Ensure that your cluster is running compatible versions of AOS and Prism Central. See the compatibility matrix in the Nutanix Files Release Notes." This confirms that Prism Central compatibility must be established before the upgrade.

2. Nutanix Files User Guide v4.4: In the "File Server Deployment" chapter

under the "Prerequisites" section

it lists

"A Prism Central instance registered to the Prism Element cluster." This establishes Prism Central as a foundational requirement for creating a file server.

3. Nutanix Software End of Life Page (Compatibility): The official Nutanix compatibility matrix (accessible via the support portal) details the interoperability between different software versions. For any given Nutanix Files version

it specifies the minimum required Prism Central version

reinforcing that PC must be at a compatible level before deploying or upgrading Files. For example

to run Files 4.4

Prism Central pc.2023.3 or later is required.

File Analytics is a centralized service that is deployed and managed through Nutanix Prism Central. To perform the initial deployment of the File Analytics virtual appliance, the user must have the highest level of permissions within the Prism Central environment. The built-in Prism Admin role, commonly referred to as the Prism Central administrator, is the only role with the necessary privileges to install and configure new services like File Analytics. This role grants unrestricted access to all features and settings within Prism Central, which is a prerequisite for the deployment workflow.

B. AD user mapped to a Prism admin role: While this user would have the necessary permissions, this option describes a specific implementation (an AD user) of the required role. Option A is the more fundamental and encompassing answer, as it defines the role itself.

C. Prism Element administrator: This role is scoped to a specific Nutanix cluster managed by Prism Element. It does not have the required permissions to deploy or manage services at the Prism Central level.

D. AD user mapped to a Cluster admin role: Similar to a Prism Element administrator, this user's permissions are limited to a specific cluster. They cannot perform administrative actions, such as deploying services, within Prism Central.

1. Nutanix File Analytics Deployment and User Guide v4.2

Chapter: Prerequisites

Page 10: "Log on to Prism Central with a user account that has the Prism Admin role." This statement explicitly requires the Prism Admin role for deployment.

2. Nutanix Security Guide v6.5

Chapter: Built-in Role Management

Section: Prism Admin

Page 101: "Prism Admin: Has full access to all entities and features in Prism Central. Can create

read

update

and delete all entities. Can also perform administrative tasks such as adding users

creating roles

and so on." This defines the scope of the Prism Central administrator role

confirming it has the authority to install new features.

3. Prism Central Guide v6.5

Chapter: Role-Based Access Control

Section: Built-in Roles

Page 218: This section details the permissions for built-in roles

distinguishing between the Prism Admin (Prism Central scope) and the Cluster Admin (Prism Element scope)

clarifying why C and D are incorrect.

Nutanix Data Lens is a data analytics and security service designed for Nutanix Unified Storage (Files and Objects). Its Audit Trails feature provides a detailed, searchable log of all user and administrator activities on the file server. This includes events like file reads, writes, creations, deletions, and permission changes. Administrators can filter these audit trails by specific users, client IP addresses, file paths, and other criteria to generate precise reports on a user's activity, which directly addresses the question's requirement.

A. Prism Element Alerts menu: This menu displays system-level health and performance alerts for a specific cluster, not granular end-user file access activity.

B. Prism Central Activity menu: This menu tracks administrative tasks and events across the infrastructure (e.g., VM operations, policy updates), not end-user data interactions within Nutanix Files.

D. Files Console Usage: The Files Console provides high-level storage metrics such as capacity utilization, share count, and performance statistics, but it does not offer detailed, user-specific activity logs.

1. Nutanix Data Lens User Guide v2.3: In the "Audit Trails" section

it states

"The Audit Trails page displays a list of all the file and object activities that Data Lens has captured... You can filter the audit trail by user

file server

share

top-level directory

file path

or client IP address." (Section: "Monitoring File and Object Activity > Audit Trails")

2. Nutanix Files User Guide v4.4: The "Files Console Summary View" section details the information available

which includes "Storage Usage

" "File Server Health

" and "Performance." It does not mention user activity auditing

confirming this is not the correct tool. (Section: "Files Console Management > Files Console Summary View")

3. Prism Central Guide v2023.4: The "Activity Monitoring" section describes the Tasks view

which "provides an aggregated list of all tasks running in the registered clusters." This confirms its focus on infrastructure tasks

not user data access. (Section: "Prism Central Infrastructure > Activity Monitoring")

4. Prism Element Web Console Guide v6.7: The "Alerts Dashboard" section explains its function: "The Alerts dashboard displays a list of the alerts that have been generated for the cluster." This is for cluster-level events

not user file activity. (Section: "Health Monitoring > Alerts Dashboard")