HPE2-K45 Using HPE SimpliVity Questions and Answers

 HPE SimpliVity allows customers to connect ESXi compute nodes to HPE SimpliVity datastores without additional license or configuration. This enables customers to leverage the data efficiency and protection features of HPE SimpliVity for their compute-intensive workloads. However, the compute nodes must reside in the same cluster as HPE SimpliVity nodes, and they must be authorized by HPE SimpliVity to access the NFS datastores. The number of compute nodes per cluster is limited by the maximum number of hosts supported by VMware vSphere. References: HPE SimpliVity User Guide; HPE SimpliVity Compute Node Software Installation and Startup Service

• HPE SimpliVity is a hyperconverged infrastructure solution that combines compute, storage, networking, and data services in a single platform. HPE SimpliVity integrates with HPE StoreOnce, a disk-based backup appliance, to provide efficient and reliable data protection and disaster recovery for distributed edge sites12.
• HPE SimpliVity uses HPE StoreOnce Catalyst, a deduplication protocol, to replicate data from HPE SimpliVity clusters to HPE StoreOnce appliances. HPE SimpliVity leverages its global deduplication and compression capabilities to send only the unique data blocks to HPE StoreOnce, reducing the bandwidth and storage requirements34.
• To optimize the replication performance, HPE SimpliVity uses a dynamic stream allocation algorithm that determines how many streams it needs to copy data to an HPE StoreOnce target. According to the HPE SimpliVity with HPE StoreOnce Reference Architecture document, the algorithm considers the following factors:
• The document states that “The available bandwidth is the most important factor in determining the number of streams. The more bandwidth available, the more streams can be used to copy data. However, the number of streams is limited by the latency and the size of the data. If the latency is too high or the data size is too small, adding morestreams will not improve the performance.” Therefore, the available bandwidth is the criteria that HPE SimpliVity uses to decide how many streams it needs to copy data to an HPE StoreOnce target.

References:

1: SimpliVity Hyperconverged | HPE 2: Expand backups to secondary storage with HPE SimpliVity hyperconverged infrastructure and HPE StoreOnce 3: HPE SimpliVity with HPE StoreOnce 4: HPE SimpliVity with HPE StoreOnce: A better together story : [HPE SimpliVity with HPE StoreOnce Reference Architecture] : [HPE SimpliVity Data Virtualization Platform] : [HPE SimpliVity Intelligent Workload Optimizer] : [HPE SimpliVity Federation Design and Scaling Guide]

The Support Capture file is a compressed file that contains diagnostic data from the HPE SimpliVity hosts, such as system status information and log files. The system status information includes the configuration, performance, and health of the host and its components, such as the HPE OmniStack Virtual Controller, the HPE OmniStack Accelerator Card, the datastore, the network, and the virtual machines. The log files include the messages and events that are generated by the host and its components, such as the kernel, the hypervisor, the HPE SimpliVity software, and the HPE SimpliVity hardware1. The Support Capture file is used by the HPE Support team to troubleshoot and resolve issues with the HPE SimpliVity system.

The other options are not included in the Support Capture file. The license entitlement is the information that verifies the customer’s right to use the HPE SimpliVity software and features, but it is not part of the diagnostic data2. The HPE InfoSight connection parameters are the settings that enable the HPE SimpliVity system to connect to the HPE InfoSight cloud-based platform for predictive analytics and proactive support, but they are not part of the diagnostic data3. The security token to access the system remotely is a temporary credential that allows the HPE Support team to access the HPE SimpliVity system via a secure tunnel, but it is not part of the diagnostic data.

References: 1: Simplivity Video - How to gather a SimpliVity Support Capture 2: [HPE SimpliVity License Entitlement] 3: [HPE SimpliVity and HPE InfoSight] : [HPE SimpliVity Remote Support]

HPE SimpliVity provides storage HA by creating two copies of each virtual machine data across different nodes in a cluster. This ensures that the virtual machines can continue to run even if one node fails. However, this also consumes twice the storage capacity for each virtual machine. For development virtual machines that do not require storage HA, the customer can save storage capacity by creating a single-replica datastore for these virtual machines. A single-replica datastore is a datastore that has only one copy of the virtual machine data on one node. This reduces the storage consumption by 50%, but also increases the risk of data loss and unavailability in case of node failure. Therefore, the customer should carefully weigh the trade-offs between storage efficiency and data protection when using a single-replica datastore. References: HPE SimpliVity Data Virtualization Platform; HPE SimpliVity User Guide

HPE SimpliVity 2600 is a compact solution optimized for edge and remote office, branch office (ROBO) environments. It is available on HPE Apollo 2000 servers, which are designed for high-density computing and can fit up to four nodes in a 2U chassis. HPE SimpliVity 2600 provides enterprise-grade data protection and resiliency for virtualized workloads, as well as simplified management and scalability. It is ideal for customers who have very limited rack space and need a hyperconverged solution that can deliver high performance and efficiency. References: HPE SimpliVity 2600 - Product Information Reference, HPE SimpliVity 2600 | HPE Store US, Introducing Our New High-Density Hyperconverged Solution: HPE SimpliVity 2600

You can apply a backup policy at the datastore level, as this is the level at which HPE SimpliVity manages the virtual machines and their backups1. A backup policy consists of one or more rules that specify the destination, frequency, and retention of the backups. You can assign a backup policy to a datastore, and all the virtual machines in that datastore will inherit the backup policy. You can also override the backup policy for individual virtual machines, if needed2. Applying a backup policy at the cluster level (option A), the datacenter level (option B), or the vCenter Server level (option C) is not possible, as these are not the levels at which HPE SimpliVity manages the virtual machines and their backups. These levels are used for organizing and managing the ESXi hosts and the HPE SimpliVity nodes, but not for applying backup policies. References:

• 1: Using HPE SimpliVity Official Certification Study Guide (HPE2-K45), HPE Press, 2019, p. 28.
• 2: HPE SimpliVity OmniStack Interoperability Guide 4.2.0, HPE, 2021, p. 8.

To use this option, you need to select the backup from which you want to restore the files, then click Backup Actions > Restore Files. You will be prompted to enter the following information:

• The name of the virtual machine where you want to restore the files
• The path of the folder where you want to restore the files
• The path of the folder that you want to restore from the backup
• The credentials of the virtual machine where you want to restore the files

After you enter the required information, click OK to start the restore process3.

• HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VMware vSphere 3.7.10 Administration Guide, page 97
• HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VMware vSphere 3.7.10 Best Practices Guide, page 20
• Restore files from a backup - techhub.hpe.com

The Intelligent Workload Optimizer is a feature of HPE SimpliVity that automatically balances the virtual machine workloads across the nodes in a cluster, based on the CPU, memory, and storage utilization1. This feature helps to improve the performance and efficiency of the cluster, and to avoid hotspots and bottlenecks. The Intelligent Workload Optimizer can be configured to run periodically or on demand, and it can also take into account the affinity and anti-affinity rules for the virtual machines2. The Resource Balancer (option A) is a feature of HPE SimpliVity that automatically balances the storage capacity across the nodes in a cluster, based on the free space and deduplication ratio3. This feature helps to optimize the storage utilization and availability of the cluster, and to avoid capacity issues and data loss. The Resource Balancer does not balance the virtual machine workloads or the I/O traffic. The Management Virtual Appliance (option B) is a component of HPE SimpliVity that provides the management interface and functionality for the cluster, such as backup, restore, clone, move, and federation operations4. The Management Virtual Appliance does not balance the virtual machine workloads or the I/O traffic. The Arbiter (option C) is a component of HPE SimpliVity that provides the quorum service for the cluster, ensuring data consistency and availability in the event of a node or site failure5. The Arbiter does not balance the virtual machine workloads or the I/O traffic. References:

• 1: Using HPE SimpliVity Official Certification Study Guide (HPE2-K45), HPE Press, 2019, p. 83.
• 2: HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen10 Node Data sheet, HPE, 2019, p. 4.
• 3: Using HPE SimpliVity Official Certification Study Guide (HPE2-K45), HPE Press, 2019, p. 84.
• 4: Using HPE SimpliVity Official Certification Study Guide (HPE2-K45), HPE Press, 2019, p. 81.
• 5: Using HPE SimpliVity Official Certification Study Guide (HPE2-K45), HPE Press, 2019, p. 82.

 According to the HPE InfoSight for HPE SimpliVity Getting Started document1, HPE InfoSight provides the following functionality for HPE SimpliVity:

• Monitoring of cluster, node, and virtual machine performance, capacity, and health
• Reporting of system configuration, inventory, and compliance
• Analysis of trends, anomalies, and root causes
• Prediction of future resource needs and potential issues
• Recommendation of best practices and optimization actions

One of the key features of HPE InfoSight is the ability to monitor the latency of virtual machines, which is the time it takes for a request to be processed by the system. Latency is an important indicator of the performance and efficiency of the system, and HPE InfoSight provides detailed and granular data on the latency of each virtual machine, as well as the breakdown of the latency components, such as CPU, memory, network, and storage. HPE InfoSight also provides alerts and notifications when the latency exceedsthe predefined thresholds, and helps to identify and resolve the root causes of the latency issues.

Therefore, the correct answer is D. monitoring of virtual machine latency, as this is one of the functionality that HPE InfoSight provides for HPE SimpliVity. References:

• 1: HPE InfoSight for HPE SimpliVity Getting Started, https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/api/document/a00089726en_us?docLocale=en_US